To wrap up this 3-part series, Rebecca Victor discusses trust and integrity, the last two of the six guiding principles of the inward journey. As you move along your personal inward journey, you will start to learn how to trust the voice within you. It is a voice that knows what’s good for you, a presence that looks after your best interests. It’s like riding a plane and you trust the pilot will take you to your destination because you know the pilot personally – because the pilot is you. As you listen to this episode, you will learn how to achieve the willingness to trust and live in integrity with what it is that you are learning and discovering for yourself.
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Trust And Integrity: The Six Guiding Principles Of The Inward Journey Pt. 3
I’d like to welcome you to this episode, where we’re going to be talking about trust and integrity. These are the last two of the series of six principles that I’ve been sharing with you in previous episodes that I have found are important guiding principles or guidelines for me as I have walked my journey. You may or may not find them the same but that’s okay. The whole idea in this journey and my sharing with you is not to have a mini-me as much as can I provide ideas and concepts that might cause you to explore further what’s important and makes sense to you. As you move along your personal inward journey, you’re starting to learn to trust the voice and the presence within you. Who and what that presence is depends upon what you believe it to be.
I am not the one who’s going to sit there and tell you. I have my particular ideas. I will present oftentimes in alignment with those ideas and share some of them, but not with the concept of, “This is how you have to believe it for this inward journey to make any sense to you, but to give you an idea of how it can work and how it does work for me.” If the information I’m sharing with you has interest then you might turn within, apply it, and see how it works for you and what you believe. When we’re looking at an inward journey, we talked about being willing, the whole willingness of taking a journey. Am I willing to learn more about who I am, about life and about what it’s all about for me? Maybe I am or I’m not. Maybe I am, but I’m nervous. We can do what I used to call, being willing to be willing.
I was grateful when that opportunity was given to me. Once I opened up to that willingness, then am I open to the possibilities that are available in this inward journey. After which, we explored looking at the concept of surrender. Oftentimes, we begin to turn inward and start to begin to hear, sense or experience this inward communication. In that experience we meditate, contemplate or create space within our being to pay attention and become aware of who we are, what we’re feeling, and the thoughts that are moving through our minds. Oftentimes, it is moving beyond those thoughts to the quiet space within that we begin to have an understanding that we don’t necessarily get when our mind is constantly chattering. We become a little more aware of something about ourselves that’s tender, beautiful and wise.
When that begins to happen, there’s a light turning on within us. When that light comes on, that light of greater wisdom, what happens is, as it shines, we begin to notice there are places within us that have shadows. The light is shining and the shadows are these old ideas that we hold about ourselves, life or what’s possible that keep us living life smaller than we want to live. It’s learning how to say, “Am I ready to let go of this idea? Am I ready to surrender to something greater for me?” In doing so, it’s important to have compassion with the process because often surrender isn’t a giant leap. The process of surrender is a step-by-step experience.
It’s like when I’m traveling the neighborhood. If driving in my car and I’m taking a big leap, I don’t get to appreciate the neighborhood and the beauty of it. If I’m starting to take a walk around my neighborhood, I begin to notice the beauty of the flowers and how somebody placed a certain rock or formation in their yard that has a nice twist to it. I get to notice and appreciate things that if I were taking one huge leap, I wouldn’t see, but by taking small steps, I get to appreciate and enjoy them. That’s what compassion gives us – the opportunity to appreciate where we are and what we are learning.
What you have within always has your highest and best good in mind. Click To TweetFaith In The Journey
Now, we want to take a look into how walking our internal journey calls for us to be willing to trust, to live in integrity with what it is that we are learning and discovering for ourselves. When we’re talking about trust, I akin it. There’s a little story that I was reading on Wattpad.com. The man was sharing about a guy who was on an airplane. He was sitting there and all of a sudden, there began to be problems. They were noticing rather than being able to relax, have a beverage and a meal, the stewardess had kept coming on and saying, “We need everybody to have their seatbelts on. We’re sorry that we’re not going to be able to deliver your beverages and meals because there’s turbulence ahead.”
As they were getting ready, they started to feel the plane jerking around and being pushed from side to side. He’s looking around and noticing that there are a lot of people like him who were feeling panicky and nervous. They were not sure, fidgeting and demonstrating their lack of comfort. When he turned around and looked behind him, he noticed there was a young girl and this young girl almost appeared as if she was oblivious to what was happening in the airplane. She was looking at a book. She paused, closed her eyes, relaxed and kicked her legs up underneath her. She might kick her feet out, pick her book up, and read it a little bit more.
In the whole process of watching her, he said, “She never demonstrated any worry and concern at all.” When they finally landed, he said, “I had to find out what was going on in her mind that when everybody else on the airplane is panicking, she’s at peace.” He went up and asked her what she was thinking and what she was doing. She simply said, “Sir, the pilot was my father and he was taking me home.” That utter faith she had in her father and in the journey that they were going on together was a wonderful metaphor for the idea of what this journey is for us as we’re walking. All of us are walking together in this world and yet we’re also walking individually within our personhood.
As we’re moving within that, we can get concerned about all the different things that are going on in life. We hear people worried about this, worried about that and upset about this. It’s the concept of the sky is falling and there are changes going on and huge reasons for there to be a concern or being expressed, and that’s all around us. We can join with everybody in that or we can pause and say, “What is it when I turn within what’s happening inside of me to support what I need to do relative to what’s happening around me?” For the little girl, there was the awareness that she was okay because her dad was a pilot. Regardless of what anyone else was doing, she knew she was okay but for others who didn’t have any relationship with that pilot, they didn’t have any sense of that comfort.
This internal journey is just that which allows us to get to know that internal pilot within us. Whatever we defined it as, however we express, explain and identify it, it’s that internal guidance, and it is well aware of who we are, the beliefs that we hold, the fears that we have, and the truth about us that is far greater than we may be aware of at the time when we’re feeling frightened. We might not be aware that we contain within us the ability to move through whatever we are in with greater ease. We might think that we have to panic like everyone else is because we don’t know at this point what we’re part of. We haven’t yet got that experience.
Inward Journey: The source within us loves us with absolutely no filters. There is nothing stopping it except our ability to allow it, to accept it, to believe in it.
We might have learned growing up in our own particular religious traditions what that guide is or that source of our life is, but it hasn’t made its way home for each of us. We may never have had that experience of a traditional, spiritual or religious practice. All of a sudden, it’s coming to terms with what that is for us based upon what we experienced. Does it have any value? Is it valid for us? If it is, then what is this thing we call ‘it’? What is this thing we’re saying has validity? This internal journey is about discovering what we feel, think, believe and know about the source within me that loves me with no filters. There’s nothing stopping that except my ability to allow it, accept it and believe in it.
Part of the journey for me in this inward process is learning who I’m flying with. What am I flying with? What am I part of? Do I trust that? Maybe it is that a lot of the things that I’ve been taught, I am questioning, so I don’t necessarily trust. I’m wondering. It didn’t make sense when I was small and it’s not making sense now, so what do I do with it? How do I process it? The inward journey is that opportunity to become aware of the areas where I don’t trust it as well as the areas where I do and in areas where all of a sudden, it’s more than where my mind can play with thoughts. When I’m creating quiet and space, there’s an awareness that starts to unfold that I don’t have a way to describe to you what it feels like or what happens within it. It’s an awareness where there is a calmness, a stillness and a gentle joy. That’s how I experience it.
In the inward journey, I marvel at the fact that I’m always experiencing it anew. It’s like, “Now you got this far, here’s some more.” Here’s like a child, you’re introduced to numbers and then they tell you, “You need to know how to do algebra.” When you realized that there were numbers. It’s like, “Algebra, all that is too much for me. It’s neat to think about but I’m still here at the numbers game,” and it’s that same feeling that in my journey, the learning process has taken me where I can understand it so it’s in service to me in my growth. It comes along with what we all are willing not as a conglomerate but what each of us is willing to open up to within ourselves as far as what’s possible.
The important thing is letting go of wrong or right as much as becoming aware, “What do I feel? What do I think? What am I willing to open to explore and experience so I can discover something new?” The aspect of trust is the realization that when we turn within, that which is within has our highest and best good, always. It’s not about the highest and best good that says, “I know what’s good for you, therefore you’re going to have to struggle and suffer here in order to get here.” That’s not what it’s about.
If I, as a teacher, have a student who is struggling with a concept, I’m not going to push that child to try to understand that concept when they’re at a loss for it. I’m not going to sit there and keep pushing at it and say, “I know it’s better. We’re going to keep going. You’re going to have to pick up on it and learn it.” As a teacher, I’m going to watch and pay attention to what the child says to me, how it’s thinking, and how that child is putting things together so I get a sense of what they’re seeing. I can re-introduce the subject relative to how they’re perceiving it, so they can learn and grasp it.
The inward journey is a journey of love. It is a powerful journey to walk in. Click To TweetIt may be even that they can’t but it doesn’t mean I’m going to keep pushing an issue that’s difficult. I’m going to let it go and there will be another time for it to come up. It’s looking at that for me. That inward guidance isn’t going to keep pushing something that I’m not capable of understanding or not willing to look at this point because I’ve got all other beliefs. They’re all melded in with this that are impacting my ability to understand or receive the information that’s there for me.
I hope this is making sense because everything oftentimes is simple and interwoven. This aspect, and what it is trying to share with you is trust. How do we trust something we don’t see? When we’re asked to turn within and somebody says, “That’s okay. There’s someone who’s flying the plane and they’re going to get you home.” You’ve never had anybody fly the plane for you and or walk you home. How do you trust that? I don’t have words because I don’t want to discount whatever that experience was and is, except that in the time that I have walked in not only my journey but have worked with people as they have walked theirs, I have observed that everybody arrives at a time within their journey of understanding peace if that is their intention.
In that, there’s also an awareness of love. I’ve observed it coming in ways that are aligned in experiences that support whoever the message is for. It’s fascinating what I need in my journey and the experiences to affirm or confirm for me. They come to suit what I am capable of or not even capable but willing based upon my beliefs to embrace. I have noticed that when I’ve worked with others, how they described their journey, which they are placing their faith and trust in the words they use and the experiences they have are unique and profound for them. If you’re someone who is in this process of turning inward, isn’t even sure of what it is that you were looking to say that you trust. Maybe it’s my willingness to say that there’s something better and I feel that way.
I’m not guessing or pretending. I don’t know what it is but I know there’s something better. I know it’s right because when I say or think about it, it feels in harmony with me. It feels like that opinion and thought belongs there. It’s not like I’m in opposition to it. I’m saying something that I don’t believe or disagree with. It’s a sense that I get when I say, “I don’t know what it is but I do know that there’s something.” Even when I talked about it in previous episodes, there was a time when all I could do was be willing to be willing in my journey, and that willing to be willing was me saying, “I’m willing to trust that there’s a possibility here. I’m willing to dip my toe in the cold water to see what it’s like.”
In this journey of developing trust, the thing that I was grateful for is that trust began to be developed where I was ready for it and a willing participant. This trust came for me. It was there for me to serve me in the way that I needed it. I am not alone in that. The people that I’ve worked with talk about it. It comes in a way that is most meaningful to them. The sense of trust, how they define it, how they’d explain it, what they talk about and the words they use. They’re unique. When I sit and listen to them, they’re speaking of an experience that I can relate to, even though the words we use are different.
Inward Journey: Living in integrity is crucial. It’s what enables us to walk the world with a sense of strength and courage.
If you’re in a space where you’re not quite sure who or what to trust, that’s okay. Ask yourself if you’re willing to be open to a possibility for that and allow yourself to be open and shown. If that’s the case, then in little ways, things are going to start showing up in your world. You’re going to flip on the TV and hear something. You’ll turn on your internet and you’ll read something. Somebody will make a comment and it’s like the thing that you need to hear. There’s a part that goes, “That’s it,” and it’s a confirmation. It comes in the wildest ways at times, but the willingness to trust and believe in the possibility that there is something good out there specifically for you, not in negation to anyone else but simply for you that you are valuable and important, that you matter to such a degree. It is there ready to meet you as if it was holding up a sign, you were getting off the airplane, and they were saying, “I’m here for you, waiting.”
A Journey Of Love
In addition to trusting, another principle is being in integrity with ourselves operating, speaking and acting in ways that align with what we believe. That what I say and do is in alignment with what I believe. It’s like sitting here in this show trying to share trust with all people who are reading and have all experiences in life. To know on certain terms, am I going to be able to speak to everybody in that but in hopes that I can do the best that I have at this moment based upon my experiences. In that, affirming, encouraging and knowing the love that’s there for me, is indeed there for you in that way and that is most honoring of you.
Living in integrity is crucial. It’s what enables us to walk the world with a sense of strength and courage because we’re not living somebody else’s life. I’m not trying to walk in somebody else’s shoes. I get to walk in my own. As I do in this journey of turning inward to live in integrity, I get to feel the beauty of my own journey. Knowing that my journey and how I’m walking it is perfect for me even when it’s not perfect for somebody else. Me walking my journey and living my internal journey in an outward fashion in the world in a way that lights my heart up. It may make no sense to anybody else and that is okay. It’s my hope that if it’s not making sense to somebody else, then they’re walking their path and find the way that’s working for them. I believe the world which we’re a part of is so much grander than what we’re aware of.
I have felt that and witnessed it. Sometimes, I sit there and smile because there’s something beautiful and it’s been worth the journey for me so far. Letting go, developing the trust, learning how to live in the integrity, of facing my own fears and embracing my own gifts, talents and skills. This inward journey enables us to live a life that is empowering, joyful, prosperous and in harmony. That’s what this inward journey can do and it becomes a journey of love. When we walk in that, it is a powerful journey, my friends. It’s a powerful energy that is love. The effect that it has is amazing.
I was looking at a study that they have instruments that can show the energy that’s radiated out from the body. They were showing the energy that’s radiated out just somebody in their present standing and sitting there not thinking of anything. It was registering the electromagnetic field around them. When they started asking people to send out love, think of people that they love, tap into that feeling of love within them, start sending that out, what they began to notice was the field of electromagnetic energy that people were generating, what was being registered, grew significantly. It dwarfed what had been done before they started. But once they started sharing, generating love, and sending it out, the electromagnetic field that they were assessing just grew.
I share that with you because I love that we have equipment that can help us to see and know what many have known all along. That there’s more to us and these acts that we offer ourselves and one another. To help create a life that feels good, enjoyable, exciting and fun to be part of, to create from and to share with others. For me, that’s the inward journey for an outward expression.
I hope that you have been able to tap in for you the desire to trust and where you are with it. As you come to understand that, you will welcome compassion and love in your journey to create possibilities for you that will make your heart sing because they’re fun to be part of.
If you are one who is walking this journey or is unsure, please share your thoughts, ideas, hesitancies, and feelings about that so that we can share. Not to fix one another because I am not here to fix anybody, and I don’t want to be fixed. I’ve been through that and I don’t want it. I want to grow, play, evolve and have fun experiencing all these wonderful gifts I have. When we share comments, we’re not here to fix one another as much as we are to share journeys. Nobody needs “fixing” as much as validation, appreciation, recognition, honoring and celebration. I hope you all share your comments with us. Let me know if there are other things that you’d like to learn more about. I want to thank you for taking the time to be with us. Until we meet again, I celebrate you, I celebrate me and here’s to our lives.