Who can you trust? We hear so many stories, we see so many examples and we are exposed to so many people intent on fooling us that we have become suspicious even of ourselves.
We are driven today to not accept anything without double-blind proof, to only accept scientific evidence, never to trust feelings or internalisations, for these clearly will deceive us. We cannot always trust even those who love by double-blind evidence - for although they are certain of the statistics, we are not a statistic, we are individuals, and many facets of being spiritual individuals are never tested.
Yet this leaves a gaping hole in our lives if we follow it. How can we interact with anyone, any system, any piece of equipment if we demand all this evidence that we are ill-equipped to generate. And where does this leave us with many of the energy-type spiritual sensations and experiences that we seek and enjoy? What of love? Or happiness? Or sorrow?
One of the biggest changes we might experience is to acknowledge that an energy world does exist. This change does not come lightly it requires a number of convincing incidences before we accept that there is substance in what we sense and feel. No double blind experiments here, just as we learned to balance and walk by trial and error, so we learn much about the world of spiritual energy from our successes and failures, we learn about our place in all this by contemplation and investigation, meditation and introspection. Does this invalidate all we know, about where and who we are? Not at all in my opinion. These are personal experiences, derived by internal challenge, confirmed by external and internal outcomes, only believed when we see results repeating, when we manage to go beyond the perceived mere chance scenarios and when we finally see that what we feel is real and honest.
So who can we trust? Well in terms of the experiences we can certainly trust ourselves as long as we remain vigilant and open and questioning.
What then about the choices we make? Can we trust those?
The answer is much less certain.
With an eye on the outcome, a desired outcome, with pressure on ourselves to demonstrate success, with the claims we make and the expectations of ourselves and others we walk a fine line between honesty and bias. With our self-proclaimed spiritual status, our guru ranking we are at risk of seeing things though the filters we feel will make things look most rosy. We are not unique this is true of many in our society.
The was a man, a healer of sorts who tended the sick he was well loved by those he tended, he was well respected by his peers (I know one of them and can confirm this), he addressed the ills of those in need in a manner that he felt was right and responsible, and in many instances decided what was best for them no need to try to always explain why he chose to treat them in some particular manner, he knew what they needed, and often they did not really understand the full details and implications of what he proposed for them or what a lack of treatment would mean for them. He trusted his judgement, they trusted him they appreciated him and loved him and society rewarded him well for his labours. Eventually of course it all caught up with him. Harold Shipman has 215 murders ascribed to him though the actual figure is likely to be much higher, he *knew* what his patients needed and did not trust them to decide for themselves, yet they trusted him indeed he trusted himself all he did was from a misrepresented stance of love and compassion, a lie. He avoided the risk of rejection by never educating or offering the options, by treating people with a lack of respect as if they were less than him. In doing so he diminished himself, he became deluded and forgot what he was there for. He forgot the promises he had made to help others and instead helped only himself.
Some people, like those that came to Shipman were in need, and people in need are particularly vulnerable, they will believe in a manner that is driven by that insecurity, and allow themselves to be carried along by deceit because of the depths of their despair, they are in desperate straits and it is easy to take advantage of them.
Within each of us is the ability to decide what we need, to choose how and when we make changes in our lives, to be self-determining and to make the right choice for us be it physical, situational or spiritual. As we change and progress on our journey we make many choices, each one is a learning opportunity, those that work out as correct teach us different things to those that work out badly for us but each one teaches us about ourselves. This is not something only a few of us have, we all have it we need information, and experience and self-trust in order to make the best choices, but we all can do it we have the power within us, and by looking within we know right from wrong, respect from contempt, love from selfishness.
We should never allow others to make these choices for us, not ever their goals and their morals, their feelings and beliefs cannot be trusted with something as important as our very existence, our journey through life, in fact if we allow others to make these choices we are diminished and subsumed, our very identity as an individual becomes at risk, and our self-respect jeopardised. Actually we should see it from the other side where we realise that our drivers, our beliefs and our judgement cannot be trusted to derive and encapsulate the real needs of another person, we can only be trusted with our lives, our journey and our judgement. We should be more worried about what we think of others than what they think of us.
So who can we trust? Well we can trust ourselves, our feeling and our abilities, but only when we are the one making the choices about our own lives. We cannot trust ourselves, tempting as it is, to make these choices for others, we should trust them to do this, by doing so we empower them to take control of their lives, we honour ourselves for not being tempted to assume we are better than them and in doing so we honour them, and we generate love and respect for each other between us all by doing so now those connections are strong and because they are based on love and honour and respect - those we can trust.
love
chris
Can I just ask you something, Chris? Are you posting your own words here? I have to say that very often your posts seem like teachings that have come from another site. They don't read like spontaneous posts nor do they appear to invite discussion. I just wondered if you are posting to teach us all something or what?
Hi Sunanda,
All my own - why? not sure - pehaps a way of sorting out what I think - putting all the jigsaw pieces together.
Why do you ask? are they bugging you - perhaps i should stop.
love
chris
Hi Chris
For what it is worth, I found your post thought provoking.
Patchouli
From a modarating perspective, cutting and pasting from other websites (even your own) is not allowable on the forum, so it's jolly good that you didn't say they were! lol 🙂
Gorseflower x
Hi Sunanda - I'm not sure my prevoius response really got to it so i've dredged the following entry from my diary. In answer to your question ablout where the words come from - these are my words - if I use other's words they will be indicated.
love
chris
Understanding the Why
It is so easy to ask questions without ever considering the complexity of how the answer will be generated. The question of why we are here is one of those.
Many of us go through some kind of personal crisis about who we are, why we are here and what the point is. For each of us there is a different answer not one we can borrow from others, there is no answer that we can make up or one we can assume statistically. We cannot reply on behalf of others for the answer, the true answer lies only within us.
This is one of the problems of todays environment we have contact with many who have found their answer, and even more who have not. We can read, and read and follow and ask, but no matter how much we read, no matter how much we question others, no matter how many gurus and leaders we follow, attunements, blessings and regressions, none can help us with this question. I read few books, I follow no one, I have discovered the answers lie within me and that is the most valuable source of information there can be this is where revelations can be found. The words of others are not useless, they allow us to see the questions, they can inspire and encourage, they can heal and comfort, but they cannot answer on our behalf.
This is not an answer we can just march up to and hey-presto we have it, it involves a personal quest, a journey into our own hidden realms where things are never quite as clear as they might be, where answers are often camouflaged and need some translation.
This is a hard journey, we face many things we would rather leave behind, to forget and expunge from our memories we are often forced to be our own critics, to learn to laugh at ourselves and to learn to love ourselves. Yet each time we deal with just one issue, one repressed thought we take a small step towards the answer. All of these issues and anxieties create a screen of fear and apprehension that we cannot see through, these are interferences that must be resolved, the mote in ones eye that prevents us from seeing that must be removed. We fear to face the issues, to give them substance by naming them, and we fear to retain them, and if we do nothing we end up angry and bitter, unable to break out of the destructive cycle we have created. We shield ourselves by turning up the noise, we invoke avoidance tactics and will not look in the mirror all, to keep out the one question we should be seeking the answer to. We point at others as if some comparison with others will ease the discomfort of not knowing the answer, the disquiet of that lies within the vacuum that an answerless question creates.
Yet the answer, and the courage to seek and find that answer lies within us.
Those who believe in a continued existence after death, a soul and a connection to what many call God know this answer is important, it is the very reason for this existence, and if we do not find it we die without achieving what we needed to do. We make no progress on our journey, we learn no important lessons and we remain isolated.
For those who do not believe in a continued existence after death, they are lost, and until someone finds them, helps and guides and heals them, opens their eyes to the truth they will wander aimlessly and hopelessly, in despair at their life of no purpose, seeking only to increase material wealth, gathering possessions without care for others, demanding scientific proof of the very things they deny, dead without knowing it a wasted existence of no value.
So how does one find the answer?
I cannot answer that, I seek my own answer to the question and it is my own path that helps no one to follow, they will just become more lost for the answers they seek are not on my road but on theirs.
It is not the path that they need to be shown, but the light to see the path. For this they must look inside, and from the complicated jumble of issues, the labyrinth that is where they find themselves they must one by one clean up and deal with everything that obscures their vision then they will see the answer. For some this means meditation, for others self-healing but in every case they will need to work at it until their journey ends and they find the answer. For some they will find clearance by helping others, for others by allowing love to enter their lives, each of us has a different solution.
As we approach the answer we begin to experience the environment in which the answer lies. We begin to feel the connections to the people and places of this world that we live in, we find that love and compassion grow and become a way of life, we see the good in people and feel happy for them, it all begins to pervade our everyday lives. We begin to glow with the elation of being, we learn to walk with grace and confidence in this life, knowing that we are making progress on our journey. We find cohesion and peace in our spiritual, emotional, physical and mental bodies. That sense of joy that others can see, of calm and balance and of love and compassion, it all shines out. It is often at this time that we look around and try to help others on their journey, to encourage and comfort, to unconditionally accept them as they are, this is a power that is within our gift it is a natural part of us that was suppressed and maybe one day they will lift us up when we are in a dark place, when we are lost or uncertain, who knows.
I do not know if I will ever find the answer I hope so, but I will never stop looking for this is my journey.
Hi Chris
It only bugs me inasmuch as I find large chunks of text quite hard to digest. I prefer shorter and chattier posts TBH, ones that maybe ask a question and invite a response. But that's just me. I wouldn't dream of asking you to stop posting and I'm sure lots of people get a lot out of them. Most of what you post resonates with me but it does feel like a teaching rather than a dialogue. It really doesn't bug me that much though....
xxx
Hello Sunanda,
Bear with me - there is a question at the end....
I have considered your responses here and they are very interesting. You see most people who find something that they do not like simply move on, yet you took the time to respond.
Your responses were rather strange, somewhat negative, laced with a touch of something I am finding hard to pin down - yet you did respond.
Now the last piece was not originally wriiten for this forum, it was not meant to be easy to read, it was a consideration taken from my diary, yet based on your response I found that piece and posted it - this is no coincidence, I could have chosen any of several hundred others, but this one rang the bell - and I'm not even sure why - yet everything is as it should be so there is a reason.
There is a reason - you ask if it is to teach - this was not my intent, you even asked if I wrote it, a wierd kind of question, it was not chatty enough and it does not pose a question, yet it resonates and despite its lack of obvious request for a response it did generate one.
So finally here is the question - what is the real reason you responded? What is it inside that stopped you from just passing by and brought the reaction that it did? The answer lies within you.
love
chris
Hi Chris (are you a male or a female Chris? just so I can get a feel for who I'm talking to :o)
I can't answer for Sunanda, but I think I can understand where she was coming from...
There is a reason - you ask if it is to teach - this was not my intent, you even asked if I wrote it, a wierd kind of question,
It's not really a wierd question. I think Sunanda was picking up on the fact that a lot of things you've posted, especially where they are new threads, are posted in a font which aren't the default font for this forum. Now, whilst you can change the font on the forum, most people don't unless they are trying to highlight something, so the fact that these posts have been made and they are large amounts of texts in a different font, but the font isn't being used to highlight anything, would tend to indicate that it's been copied from elsewhere; and the usual assumption would be that it's been copied from some other website. Occassionaly we do get some people joining who just come here to try and preach their 'wares' and it's usually fairly obvious by the fact it 'looks' like it's been copied from elsewhere, as well as the fact it often comes across as telling people something or preaching, rather than opening up a discussion.
...it was not chatty enough and it does not pose a question, yet it resonates and despite its lack of obvious request for a response it did generate one.
It's absolutely fine to share your thoughts with people, if you feel it is something that people will want to read and discuss (after all these are 'discussion' forums, so we like things that can be discussed. :D).
Now, the fact that you've indicated these come from your diary (I assume you write everything up on your computer) at least explains the difference in font. Perhaps though, when you post something, you could keep is summarised and ask a question of other members to get their views and opinions on it and use snippets from your diary to highlight and answer with your own thoughts. That way it would elicit more in the sense of discussion and give other members pointers to what the topic of discussion and/or the questions are that they are answering.
Now, if I were just to go with the topic as the question you ask in the subject line "Who can you trust?" I would answer along these lines...
Trust is a subjective thing. Different people will trust different people, yet just because someone trusts one person and doesn't trust another, doesn't really mean that the untrusted person is someone who cannot be trusted. For example, an unemployed mother may not be completely trusted by the benefits office for giving them all the truth as they may consider she is out to claim as much benefits as she can and therefore may lie to them, but that mothers daughter trusts her mother completely to look after her and care for her. The mother cannot be both trust and un-trust at the same time, so the quality of trust lies not in the mother, but in the person perceiving the mother. Trust comes from within the mind of the person themselves not the object of trust.
In light of this, trust can only come from judgement and judgment is purely based on our expectations of the future which are created from experiences of the past, which in themselves are not the present moment and no longer exist. So any judgement that is created in the present moment that is based on the past cannot be truth as it is falsely created.
Trust cannot truly exist without judegment and certainly cannot be created from the present moment. If we live in the present moment, then we live without trust, whether that is postive or negative trust. It is surely better to trust everyone than to judge them untrustworthy, and to instead act in the present moment for the current situation as it arises. If we start to not trust others then we lose trust in ourselves and hence lose ourselves from the present moment.
All Love and Reiki Hugs
Hi Giles
Trust cannot truly exist without judegment and certainly cannot be created from the present moment. If we live in the present moment, then we live without trust, whether that is postive or negative trust.
Sorry but that is simply not true, people who choose to live in the now trust just the same as those who choose not to live in the now, granted people who live in the now will rely more heavily on their intuition, but they do trust within the now (present moment).
Trust is a choice like everything else, we can choose to trust someone and expect positive dealings with them, or we can choose to distrust someone and expect negative dealings with them, the thought patterns employed will ultimately have an impact on the manifestations which result from the relationship.
From Energylz:
I can't answer for Sunanda, but I think I can understand where she was coming from...
With perfect telepathy, Giles answered for me exactly! Thanks Giles.
From cactuschris:
So finally here is the question - what is the real reason you responded? What is it inside that stopped you from just passing by and brought the reaction that it did? The answer lies within you.
Thanks Chris, but I really have no intention of spending time searching for my motivation in replying to your original post. I simply am not interested in my 'real reason' in responding to you. I'm just going to move on....
xxx
Hi all,
As usual these threads go places we don't always anticipate.
I did not really expect the kind of comments made based on the above starter - and presumably other posts - I'll say again I do not plagarise or break copyright - I feel that would be rendering me less than I am - I merely relect my thoughts. I am not offended by the question, but it carries overtones of accusations that are not very nice.
I have no regrets that some feel I do not fit the boxes that people use to categorise people, or that my words are not written in a manner that is tailored to suit others.
My sex surely is of no consequence, I am who I am, irritating perhaps that I am content in that place, but it is where I find myself. I work with tolerance and love and compassion - how does that make things wrong?
If the mods want me to leave please let me know.
love
chris
My sex surely is of no consequence, I am who I am, irritating perhaps that I am content in that place, but it is where I find myself. I work with tolerance and love and compassion - how does that make things wrong?
If the mods want me to leave please let me know.
Oh, don't be daft, Chris. Why would anyone want you to leave? We're all just talking to each other, for heaven's sake!:rolleyes:
xxx
Chris, if I were you Id start practicing the Reiki principles,this is meant in a positive way and not getting at you 🙂
Hi Star,
good advice as ever - I assume that you think I am angry - but I am not. I live by the precepts and have felt no anger through this thread and I hope my words did not convey anger.
love
chris