Moral Compass

Look inside, what are your moral compass? What is a moral compass? Why do we have a moral compass? Listen in to Susan Burrell explains her truths about freedom, values, and what to do with your own moral compass.

Transcript

So, I was in somebody's office the other day and he pointed to this compass hanging on his wall and it had North and South on it. And I said, Wow, That's great. He said, Yes, That's my moral compass. I said, Okay, So what does the North and the South stand for? It didn't have East and West. Well, It had the East and West markings, But he said, I'm right, Either right or wrong. And that stunned me actually, Right or wrong, Because this person only gave himself two choices when there's a plethora of choices. And it got me thinking, Okay, So what is a moral compass? How do we use it? Why would we have it in the first place? And what would be the other points on that compass, Right? So in the previous paradigm that has completed, The paradigm of patriarchy and which includes control, And that paradigm was necessary for countries to be built, For countries to fall, For things to change, For things to grow, For people to conquer other people so they could have more of what they thought they wanted or needed for power in the world, Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera. And that paradigm, Fortunately, Everyone is complete. We are still seeing and feeling repercussions of that paradigm, But the new paradigm has more points on a moral compass than right and wrong. It is no longer us versus them or black and white or any of those things. Really the moral compass that needs to be created now in this new paradigm needs to have many points on it. So as I began to think about this idea for myself, What is my moral compass, I realized one of the points would be integrity. So for me, Integrity is huge because if I don't stand in my own integrity, Then I become inauthentic. I am hiding behind a mask of some kind. So let me read something about integrity to everybody so you have this kind of in your brain. This is from a book called The Gentle Art of Blessing by Pierre Pradevan. And he says, Integrity is a quality of being. It is holding onto that which you know to be your highest sense of truth and vision at all times, Whatever the cost. It is resonating with that deepest fiber of your being which urges you to peacefully but firmly hold your ground whatever the supposed prestige of the authority or person opposing you. Not out of stubbornness, But prompted by the quiet daring of that inner urge within you which says, This above all to thine own self be true. It means following your highest sense of right at all times, Whatever the consequences, However lonely the path. Integrity is speaking truth to power when silence would be easier and more advantageous to your interest. It is holding onto the power of truth when everyone around you is accepting compromises or pretending it really doesn't matter. It is standing firm and undaunted when others disappear into the underground shelters of their fears and timidity. Integrity is yet refusing to water down your inner sense of truthfulness even to satisfy, Appease or gain the approval of a loved one. Above all integrity means refusing to cheat yourself, Lie to yourself or abide in the doubtful shadows of half truth. So to me, My moral compass would have integrity and it would therefore also have truth. What is my truth? And that was something else that was interesting. If there's just right or wrong, There's so many gradient shades. There's 50 shades of gray in there, Right? Between right and wrong. And then there's also the individual's perception of what is right and wrong. Because we're all unique emanations, We're all different, We're all individual. Our perception is always just a couple degrees different from the next person. And when we fall into the trap, Which is the old paradigm everyone, There are only two choices right or wrong, Good or bad, Then the perceptions that individuals hold of what those gradients could be get lost. And so our freedom of choice becomes diminished. Are you following what I'm saying? So I'm not talking about that in the gradient shades between right and wrong, We get to commit injustices against our fellow human beings, Commit crimes of rape and murder. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is in looking and seeking what the truth is in any situation, There will be gradients of, There will be shades of gray. There will be a couple of degrees of differences of perception. And it's important because the old paradigm was I'm going to force you to believe what I believe, Or I'm going to make you, This is where all the bullying comes from everyone. I'm going to make you think the way I think, Or I'm going to force you to submit to my will, To my rules, Because I'm in a power of authority. And that's why that quote from the Gentle Art of Blessing about integrity is so powerful to me personally, Because it talks about speaking truth to power, Even when you're afraid and peacefully standing in your own integrity. This is my truth. So on your moral compass, On my moral compass, I would have truth. What is my truth? And so some of these points you've got to really think about where are, Like with integrity, You get to build your boundary lines, Right, By holding integrity. With truth, You get to really ask yourself, Well, What is my truth? What is my new truth? So here's, I was having another conversation with a friend this morning, And she said to me, Well, Every time you make a change, Then there's a new truth. I thought, Wow, You know, Your past does not have to be your current truth in the present. It certainly is something that can mold you and peel you and shave off parts of yourself. But it also is a place of dynamic shift so that your truth in the present moment is informed by what you did or who you were. That your truth in the present moment, Again, You have choice. This is my new truth. For instance, My new truth is that I choose to be happy and free and live a life of love and expansion. My truth before was I'm miserable, I'm unhappy, And I guess this is the way it's supposed to be. Do you see the difference? And I'm talking about in my previous marriage, You know, Before I got divorced and divorce cut me open and cleaned me out and, You know, Helped me find my real truth that I had forgotten. And my truth from the beginning of my life was that I choose to be free and happy and to be loved and joy in this lifetime. And I had forgotten that. So lots of times when we are only living in the two gradients of black and white or right and wrong, We forget all these other colors in between all these other beautiful rainbows of color that are our truth or our life experience. So in figuring out what is on your moral compass or mine, Another thing for me at least was compassion and compassion on a compass. When you have compassion, It leads you to a greater truth. How am I saying that? It leads, Compassion helps you to remember to keep your heart open and it means having compassion for yourself. So this is my moral compass. So my moral compass is always in relationship to my inner self. Who am I? Who am I now? And that I am within me is integrity and that I am within me is my personal truth and that I am within me is compassion towards myself because we can only start right where we are with ourselves. And if we can't have compassion for ourselves when we beat ourselves up, Then we again, We limit our life. We make it very finite and small and we move into only two choices, Good or bad, Right or wrong. So adding more points on your moral compass is very important. And I just realized another point on my compass is freedom, To be free as well as love, Which fits in with compassion. That love I think is greater than, Compassion is something you can have for others, But you don't always have to love them. You can have compassion for the person who did a heinous thing, But you don't have to love them, Right? Love is a higher, Deeper, More connected to spirit and source energy. And again, It starts with loving myself first. But the freedom piece is important too. I don't know about any of you who are listening, But I know when, As you, In my experience, Let's talk about me. In my experience of going out into the world as an adult and becoming an adult and all the bumps and grinds and falling on your face and things that happen, I was a rule follower, You know? I'm black and white, The right and wrong, The good or bad. I'm following the rules that's in between those two. Oh my God. And what happened in my earlier life is in following just those couple of rules, My world, My life diminished until there was just one narrow path that I was in. And it was a rut. It was a rut. And it was a rut in my first marriage. And I didn't realize that I had freedom of choice. I thought I made these vows and I'm stuck. I made these vows. I'm going to make the best of it. How many people out there, Raise your hand, I'm raising mine. How many people out there are in a marriage, A relationship? It could even be a job relationship. You're in a job and you feel like you're stuck in a rut. And then you're just, I'll make the best of it because I really can't retire for another couple of years or I really can't pay my mortgage until blah, Blah, Or I really, You know, I really can't do that. So I'm going to stay stuck where I am. So I have a larger quote by Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Who did phenomenal work in South Africa during apartheid and spoke truth to power, Stood in his integrity, Not only for himself, But for his community and his country. And we're going to see if this quote fits in with what I'm talking about, About personal freedom. It's a quote about freedom. And Desmond Tutu said, Freedom is so much a part of the human makeup that it is not too far fetched to say that an unfree human being is in a sense, A contradiction in terms. The ideal society is one in which its members enjoy their freedom to be human freely, Their freedom to be human freely, Provided they do not thereby infringe the freedom of others unduly. We are made to have freedom of association, Of expression, Of movement, The freedom to choose who will rule over us and how we are made for this. We cannot ultimately be eradicated this yearning for freedom to be human. This is what tyrants and unjust rulers have to contend with. They cannot in the end stop their victims from being human. Their unjust regimes must ultimately fall because they seek to deny something that cannot be denied. So, Each and every one of us on the planet is human, Unless there's some aliens that have left the mothership and come and walk, Walking amongst us. But really, We're all human. And so therefore, We all have this innate need and desire to be free, To be free, To live their human life and therefore having choice. So whatever choice people make that we then turn and judge, That is still their choice to be human, Their choice to be free. Now, If you're making choices that are influenced by other people, Like influenced by the media, By the advertising, By your friends, Your peers, Your colleagues, By the business culture you're in, This is why I think a moral compass is important. Because when you define your own moral compass, Then when you are in situations where you're feeling constricted or in that against mode, That us versus them mode, The only two choices, The moral compass will help you to expand, Not only expand your heart through whatever you've put on there, Like minus freedom, Integrity, Truth, Compassion, Love so far, But it will also help you to expand your perception of a situation, Your perception of a relationship, Your perception of how things really are. So you can shift your perception in defining and utilizing your moral compass. It's also something that it's not something to just have in your head, Right? Okay, I have this list of six things or 10 things or whatever is on your. . . It has to be more than two people because we're out of the duality now, We're out of the right, Wrong, Us, Them paradigm, And we're into a collaborative and connected and communicative paradigm, Which is to me, Looks like a circle. And funny, A compass is a circle, Right? With these different points off of it. So what you want to do is move that once you create your moral compass and move it from your head into your heart, And you can just envision, This is what I've been doing, Envisioning that compass with these points that you discerned, And mind you, They may change over the course of a week or a year or a lifetime, But those points on the compass and that circle, You just breathe that into your heart center so that it becomes embedded, If you will, In your heart. Your different moral degrees on your compass will become embedded in your heart so that wherever you go, Whatever you do, When you lead with those points on your compass, Your moral compass, When you lead with that first, Which is about leading with your heart, Leading with your heart, I'm taking a deep breath, When you lead with that first, Then all the circumstances of your life become manageable. They actually even become doable, And they actually even bring in possibilities that you hadn't considered. New perceptions show up, New synchronicities show up, New opportunities to be compassionate, Since I have that on my compass, Or to be more love, Or to stand in my truth. And then you can notice, Oh, This is in integrity with my moral compass. This is what I set as my moral intention to be these things, To activate these things within myself. So just some food for thought, Everyone, Finding your moral compass, Identifying it, Defining it, Figuring out what the truth is in your life so that you can be those things of integrity. So creating freedom for yourself and others. The moral compass will help you in this new journey of this brand new paradigm, The new paradigm of being collaborative and being cooperative and figuring out other choices besides just the two, Black and white, Right and wrong, Good or bad. And so it is. Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for a thought provoking talk, It has however opened up conversations about what faces these moral bearings on a compass. North has South, East has west, do all the bearings I hold myself have a opposite bearings ? Do they need opposites to exist ? Those parts that we shave of ourselves surely were the opposites at one point in our lives. Fantastic talk, the conversations continue 🙏

a message I needed to hear about integrity 😊 had fun designing my moral compass

Really good idea to show if we are on track with our own path. Will draw mine and see where I am. I had integrity and truth with authenticity inbetween and compassion and freedom with service to help others inbetween