In April’s Wisdom Circle we took on the topic of “Trust”. We asked ourselves if we truly believe in trusting ourselves, trusting in others, or trusting in a higher power.
We began our discussion using Spiritual educator and author, Dr. Wayne Dyer’s teaching,
When you trust in yourself, you are trusting in the wisdom that created you.
He cites his three markers for Trust:
Trust in yourself –listen to your soul speak and tap into your intuition and inner voice
Trust in others-practice noninterference, free yourself from trying to control others who have their own inner voices to follow
Trust in Source or the mystery of creation. “When you trust in divine intelligence you cooperate and invite the shift to Meaning.” http://www.drwaynedyer.com/blog/its-never-too-late/
With this as a starting point, the ladies in our Circle felt they couldn’t say with 100% certainty all three pillars worked for them. Most surprisingly, they realized they couldn’t fully trust themselves. It really came down to 4 major reasons:
Many spoke of growing up in a generation where we were taught that “doing the right thing, following the rules” was the paramount rule to live by! “We didn’t hear the words or have a foundation of spiritual guidance to let us know to always trust your heart and find your inner voice. It was never our option to self-direct and go inside of ourselves as the way to create our own path. Self trust never entered the picture.”
For most, it was felt to be practically impossible not to be affected by what others think—personally and in the work place. “How often do we tend to call friends and ask for their opinions or judgments about our own stuff or go against what feels innately right to us because our jobs demand it, or we simply want to feel like we fit in?”
Religion trumps everything---most have been taught of the necessity to abide by the rules of religion on “blind faith” as passed down from generations. The lines between Trust and Faith can appear blurry as a result. For some, “trusting in a higher power is not a guarantee that all will be well”, so begs the questions “how can we really trust and isn’t there an expectation that everything will always work out if we do?”
Life experience gets in the way of fully trusting! “We become jaded as we age with experiences of being duped, mistreated, cheated and judged both by ourselves and others”. Cynicism creeps in and before you know it we’re farther away from our inner voices and our soul connections as ever!
So we asked ourselves-- how can we learn to trust ourselves first? How do we even begin to find our inner voices through the fear, stress and chaos of life? Are we strong enough within ourselves to turn away from what others think and feel about us? Is it possible to separate faith and trust? Can we accomplish this without trusting in a higher power?
Ascended Masters known as Abraham teach us:
…you have to train yourself into trusting. It is about practicing the good- feeling thoughts until you are able to continually align with your Broader self. http://www.drwaynedyer.com/blog/trust-in-yourself-conversation-abraham-and-wayne-dyer/
While this rang true for the Circle, knowing who you are, what you believe and what you stand for became our starting point. The ladies had these suggestions
Find times of stillness and silence in your day to tap into your inner knowing—learn to listen to the quiet. When you catch a glimpse of your inner voice, remember how it feels and try to allow it come through again the next time
Change your negative thoughts to positive, better feeling ones to get you in better alignment with yourself--listen to the teachings of Abraham, starting with “The Laws of Attraction” https://www.amazon.com/Law-Attraction-Basics-Teachings-Abraham/dp/1401912273
Commit yourself to getting rid of self-judgment. There is no value in it on any level!
Find ways to self-sooth---a bath, music—as a way to start being able to trust you can give yourself what you might need
Learn to Trust in a higher power in a way that resonates for you individually and SURRENDER!
Try not to let other people’s recriminations get to you! Their criticisms and judgments are really always about them!
Try to be more conscious of the “trusting moments” so you can learn to build upon them
Learn to LET GO of all the stuff that gets in your way and notice what happens when you do
Try and separate Faith from Trust—ask yourself if you can trust yourself to keep your Faith.
Practice daily rituals to keep you grounded like meditation, walking in nature, creating vision boards
The Oxford Dictionary defines trust as “a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.”
Does this definition resonate for you? Do you trust fully in yourself, others, and a higher power? Are all 3 important to you? Where do you begin? We'd love to hear from you!
Resources:
Co-Creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers by Dr. Wayne Dyer, https://www.amazon.com/Co-creating-Its-Best-Conversation-Teachers/dp/1401948448
The Shift, by Dr. Wayne Dyer, https://www.amazon.com/Shift-Taking-Your-Ambition-Meaning/dp/1401927092