Listen and Trust
About 5 years into my 24 years of practice working with people, I realized that if all anyone ever did was listen to themselves and trust in themselves, the whole world would be a completely different place.
One of my clinic tutors in chiropractic college was very wise. I can see his smiling face (he was always joyous) but his name seems to be gone from my memory banks. He would always make a point of telling us "Listen to your patient. They know what is going on with them. They usually don't know that they know. But they know." Turns out he was right.
I noticed that nearly every new practice member I saw would say a variation of "I don't know what's going on. I think I just need to ______, but what do I know." Or "Maybe I just need to _______, but I can't because of _______." And "I know it's crazy but I think this has something to do with ________."
Whenever I heard this sort of thing, I would write it down and invariably it turned out to be true. If the client thought they needed to drink more water, drinking more water would help. If they thought it had something to do with their mother-in-law, then it generally had something to do with their mother-in-law.
It seemed very odd to me that I couldn't convince people they'd been right all along, even when I pointed out how they'd been correct. The suggestion that perhaps you should listen to that intuition when it comes up is, more often than not, poo-pooed. People in general don't have faith in themselves.
But who would know more about you than you?
I keep hearing over and over that all we need do is listen and trust.
I came across this passage last week in a book by former Olympic gymnast Dan Millman, "The Laws of Spirit", on what he calls the law of faith. I found it interesting that he also used the words listen and trust. The passage is a conversation between the Sage and the Traveller in this parable:
"Faith is one of the greatest stretches, one of the greatest leaps, a human being can take. Because all you have to go on is, well, faith.”
“So how do I make that leap?”
The sage sat down, settling like a leaf on the grassy slope, and asked me, “What if you suddenly knew with certainty that a higher intelligence was working through you and everyone else for the highest good of humanity – that there is indeed a purpose for every pleasure and hardship?”
“If I knew that, it would make a difference.”
“The Law of Faith doesn’t require you to believe this, Traveler, but it guides you to live your life as if this were true; in other words, on faith. And as you live in the light of this law, it will transform your perception and experience of the world. You’ll begin to see every difficulty as a test in order to instruct you; you’ll find lessons and opportunities in every challenge.”
“Are you suggesting I value faith over reason?”
She laughed, apparently finding my comment amusing. “Faith is not the opposite of reason. Applying the Law of Faith is one of the most practical, reasonable, constructive things you can do to live an inspired life.”
Reaching out to touch one of the flower petals, she added, “As one of nature’s most delicate and vulnerable life forms, a flower’s life is short and tenuous. A careless footfall, a dry winter, or pounding rain can make a life-and-death difference to a delicate blossom. And yet, each morning it opens wide. Flowers have much to teach us about faith. When you cultivate the garden of faith in your own life, you will, like this flower, come alive in a new way.”
I looked down and touched the delicate blossom, so soft and so vulnerable. For the first time, I realized that I didn’t have even the faith of a flower. The sage’s next words responded precisely to my innermost feelings. “Faith is not a commodity that you own or possess,” she said. “It’s the divine order that pervades all things, the light behind your eyes, the loving and mysterious intelligence that emanates from the center of creation.”
“How can I experience that kind of faith in my every-day life?” I asked.
“To begin, listen to the intuitive wisdom of your heart, where Spirit speaks. So many people rely on books, teachers, scientists, psychics, oracles, or others to advise or direct them, or to validate their views.”
“But aren’t I relying on your advice and direction?”
A light drizzle began to fall, turning into a downpour. The sage led me under the cover of overhanging branches as she responded. “Teachers and books have their value, and sources of guidance and inspiration may enter your life in different forms. But never forget that the treasure is already inside you; others cannot give you anything you don’t already have; they can only provide keys to your own inner wealth. So listen well to those who speak from experience, and embrace wisdom where you find it, but always weigh external guidance against the wisdom of your own heart.”
“There are times I’ve trusted myself, made a decision, and been wrong.”
“You may choose one path over another, then meet with great hardship and difficulty as a result of that decision. Does that necessarily mean it was the wrong choice in terms of your highest good and learning?”
“Well, no, I guess not.”
“Faith is assuming that you always make the right choice.”
“I’d love to have that much faith in myself.”
“Self-trust,” she offered, “develops naturally, from your own direct experience; you learn to trust your body’s instincts, your heart’s intuition, and your mind’s ability to access universal intelligence.”
As a light sprinkle of rain cooled my forehead, the sage pointed to water pouring out of a crack in a nearby rock, forming a waterfall that splashed onto the boulders below. “Do you see how the water appears to pour out of the rocks?” she asked. “Yet, you know that the water comes not from the rocks but through them – that the water’s source is above. Like water, higher wisdom doesn’t come as much from your brain as through it. You aren’t a vessel to be filled with facts; you’re more like a radio receiver attuned to the universal intelligence operating throughout creation. All you have to do is to listen and trust.”
“I wish I were as certain of that as you,” I said.
The sage smiled again. “Faith means living with uncertainty, Traveler – feeling your way through life, letting your heart guide you like a lantern in the dark. There is no absolute security except in absolute faith. This doesn’t mean that all circumstances will go your way or that divine justice is operating every time you injure or heal yourself. All sorts of events, both beautiful and terrible, can happen in this world. Our small mind cannot always see the bigger picture or know what is for our highest good. So despite the confusion and insecurity of life, when you can learn to live on faith, like the flower, trusting Spirit working according to a higher will beyond the reach of your mind, you’ll see Spirit operating everywhere, in everyone and everything.”
With Love,
Sara Joy
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