If I say the word trust,
What do you think of?
Depending on people,
In relationships,
Having a belief in the universe,
God,
A higher power,
Having a confidence in your government,
In politics or particular organisations like your workplace,
Or relying on yourself,
On your own abilities,
Skills and discernments.
Usually your ability to trust is based on experiences.
If you have been hurt by someone,
You might find it difficult to fully trust another again.
If someone is making decisions for you,
For the place where you live,
Your company,
Your government or someone in authority over you,
If the evidence shows they are not honest or reliable,
Not trustworthy,
Then you might find it challenging to rely upon this institution.
And what about yourself?
Do you trust yourself?
Can you trust yourself?
What are the characteristics that could help us to trust?
Authenticity,
Honesty,
Reliability,
Loyalty,
Faithfulness,
Responsibility,
Certainty,
Consistency,
Integrity,
Transparency.
There may be more you would want to add to that list.
So do you have all those characteristics?
The majority of them?
Some of them?
Your initial response might be a yes,
I fully trust myself,
I have some of those things.
Let us look a little deeper.
Our mind chatters away to us all day long.
We have approximately 60,
000 thoughts a day.
60,
000 things.
If you were to examine each one of those thoughts,
You might actually discard more than half of them as complete nonsense.
But what about the other half?
Are they responsible,
Certain,
Consistent?
Reliable?
I would guess you would probably say not.
Our thoughts morph and change as quickly as the shape of a cloud.
So can we really trust in our thoughts?
There is still no hard and concrete evidence for what a thought is scientifically,
But it can be termed as a mental representation.
So a thought is a representation of an object,
A person,
An event.
But the word representation means a description or portrayal of something or someone in a certain way.
It means a likeness.
If you asked me to paint a picture of you,
You might see a likeness,
But it wouldn't be an exact,
Reliable replica of you.
It wouldn't be the real you.
And so it is with our thoughts.
Our thoughts are a narrative.
They're a story,
A presumption,
A guess based on past experiences and memories.
And a mental picture is then formed.
So can our judgments,
Opinions and decision-making be trusted?
What about our bodies?
Can we trust them?
Are they loyal,
Responsible,
Consistent,
Reliable?
Some who are lucky to be blessed with good health might say,
Yes,
I trust my body to move me around,
To digest my food for me,
To beat my heart for me,
To breathe for me.
But others less fortunate might have illness or a dis-ease in the body and may not be able to fully trust in their physical bodies.
We have all suffered with illness at some point.
We may all struggle with some kind of physical impairment as we age,
And we all will come to a point in our lives when our physical bodies cease.
So can we fully trust our bodies?
We may then come to a conclusion that no company,
Government or person,
Including our own thoughts and wishes,
Have all the characteristics we require for full trust,
But have enough for us to choose to trust them anyway.
It is possible to become dispirited and pessimistic if we believe we have no one we can fully trust.
But this is not the truth.
There is some way you can go to fully experience all the characteristics we desire to be able to fully trust.
This place is you,
The truest self,
The core of your essence,
The very root and source of your being.
In today's session I would like to take you on a journey to this place,
To experience this quiet but profound space,
A place for you to become friendly and intimate with,
A place that may feel totally alien but also the most natural place in the world for you to be.
I invite you to close your eyes.
Become aware of any parts of the body in contact with either clothing or the seat or the ground.
Become aware of the breath.
Is it possible for you to watch the breath as if seeing it for the first time?
Watching what takes place in the body with each inhale and each exhale.
Is it possible for you to imagine that with each exhale the body becomes heavier and sinks further into your seat,
The bed or the ground?
Really sensing the softening of each muscle and really imagining the heaviness of the body.
Place a palm over your heart area and breathe.
Breathe deeply into the heart area.
Imagine that with each inhale you are now entering this heart area,
Going deeper and deeper.
Is it possible for you to imagine that the place within the heart is a vast open space and you are there.
You are stood looking around.
There is only dark space but this feels comfortable and safe.
You know you are safe.
This place is the very core of you.
Here is the source of everything.
Here you know nothing but are aware of all things.
Here there is no thing but here is everything you need.
Here is vastness and space.
Here is silence and here is the sound of the whole universe.
Allow yourself to fully absorb all that is here for you and in you.
Become fully conscious of the stillness here.
Realize the peace and know that you are safe.
Here is authenticity,
Honesty,
Reliability,
Loyalty,
Faithfulness,
Responsibility,
Consistency,
Integrity,
Transparency,
Uncertainty.
Here you can trust.
Here is the real you.
And now breathe in deeply through the palm of your hand into your heart.
Breathe all the characteristics you have just experienced.
Breathe them into every cell and fibre of your being.
Breathe deeply.
Sense them within you.
And now release the hand and continue to watch the breath.
And know that from this place we can learn to trust.
We can discern what is integrity,
What is authentic,
What is reliable and we make our decisions from this place.
We know who to trust and who not to because we are coming from this place.
And this place can be accessed at any time with stillness,
With quietness and with the breath.
This is a poem by Butterflies Rising.
Pause.
Breathe.
Be here with me.
It's all I want.
It's all I need.
Just this.
Become aware of the body now.
Any contact with the floor,
The seat,
The bed.
Can you hear any sounds outside the room where you are?
Or inside the room?
Have a picture of yourself in your space where you are right now.
Picture what is around you.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Thank you.
And now release the hand and continue to watch the breath.
