TRUST

Trust is that magical ability that enables us to leap into the unknown without any tangible evidence or proof that we'll be OK. To a certain extent, we couldn't even get out of bed in the morning without it, so we all have it. It's just a matter of to what degree, how we limit our access to it, how often and how much we use it, and under what circumstances we deny its existence.

Trust is the state of being that gives us conSOLation and comfort. The English word derives from a High German word - "trost", which means "solace", which in turn derives from the French word ("solas") for "comfort", and the Latin word "solus"-- "alone". There you have it, all the shades of experience that together make up the complex state of Trust == solace, comfort, alone-ness and all-one-ness.

As a way of being in the world, trust is the antidote to chronic anxiety, worry, misery, disappointment and suffering. Trust is a valid way of be-ing.

Trusting as a verb, however, can add to those shaky states because "to trust" someone or something is a calculated decision arising out of a state of wariness -- non-trust. Expecting Trust to flower from seeds of Non-trust is an exercise in futility.

Doing Trust entails a judgment of the ego with reservations,  conditions,.and, in case of a falling-short of some implied standard, maybe even threats of some punitive withdrawal of wellbeing and approval hanging all over it. When we say we "trust" someone or something, we usually mean that we are relying on the person or condition to be as we want them to be, and not as he/she/it actually IS. When they're not as we expect them to be, we cry.  "Do-ing Trust" is a bit of a worry. It has an edginess to it. Being in Trust is a relaxation, free from anxiety.

Pure Trust has nothing to do with Belief. In order to live in Trust we surrender our reservations and doubts, our fears and desires to the divine flowing of life through us

To enjoy the state of trust we first decide to go it alone. If we're leaning on someone or something else for support we are still in a condition of reliance, a very different state from trust.  Each of us is called to enter the Halls Of Trust alone and unburdened.

Contrary to popular victim-speak, trust cannot be given to us, or taken away by others. When we say we "don't trust" someone or something, what has really happened is that we have relied on an unreal expectation of the other, had that expectation undermined, and consequently electrocuted ourself on an existing condition of self-distrust. To reconnect with that Trust which is the overarching confidence of the whole of creation, we have to let go of any doubts and reservations about the reliability, truth and worth of our true nature.

To live in a state of Trust is a commitment of someone voluntarily responsible for the custody, charge and care of life in himself and the world around him. An aura of Trust is the hallmark of a person who willingly says "Yes" to all possibility, without reservation.

To access an experience of trust, we are challenged to let go of any assessments or reservations, and accept what-is unconditionally. Acceptance is the doorway to trust-ness

Transformation certainly is not possible without Trust. Transformation results from a step into the unknown; unless we trust, we cannot enter. Trust underpins courage; they go together.

Doubt is easy -- any fool can do doubt. In doubt we protect our self, hanging on to what feels more secure, less dangerous. We doubt because we feel threats of being lied to or cheated upon. We wear doubts like a suit of armour. Like all protective apparel, doubts limit our movements, reduce our field of vision, and make us even more vulnerable (ask Ned Kelly about that one!). Our increased vulnerability results from two certainties -- a) Every suit of armour has its weak points; and b) Every suit of armour traps us into a confined space with our own weaknesses -- the ones that cause us to feel threatened in the first place. We feel threatened by someone or something else when we do not trust ourselves to be able to deal with that other person just as "they are".

We peer out of our suits of armour through narrow slits at a world we distrust. Even with people we feel more comfortable with, our trust is tentative and conditional. We simply take one hand out of our armour to shake hands (with the right hand -- to show we carry no weapon at the ready). But the armour remains, just in case, ready to retreat into the moment either of us feels threatened. Even in our love, we trust only this much.

The ability to "trust" (as a verb) comes only from "Trust" (a noun), a grounding state of be-ing. We began life on this plane in a state of Trust -- it is our natural state. Then we encountered experiences that raised serious doubts about the validity of that state. Just being born was enough to rock that cradle! Since then, we have encountered plenty of proof that our doubts are justified. In order to return to Trust we must consciously dare to live vulnerably in the face of our fears. We are challenged to live as if the whole of existence is in the deepest friendship with us. Not until we make that leap of trust can we discover that indeed it is -- we are fully supported by a universe that is so much a part of us, it is impossible define where our environment ends and we begin -- there is no separation.

To trust means to live at-one-ment with existence. Who, then, is going to shaft me? There is nobody else to shaft me because the "other"does not exist anywhere but in my separating mind.

In trust, we can see that the whole of existence is very, very affectionate towards us and conspiring FOR us, but only when we drop our armour and diffuse into existence wholeheartedly. When we are closed, existence is closed, just because of us. When we create a fortress, existence never interferes. Neither Prince Charming, Jesus Christ nor Jack of the Beanstalk fame will come to rescue us from our self-imposed isolation. If isolation and doubt are what we want, existence allows. We are allowed to embrace, to go against, even to betray. There are consequences, but no rewards or punishments.

Trust arising is a sign we have come to recognise that, like waves on the ocean, we appeared out of all existence, and that one day we will dis-appear into it again. So how can there be any opposition, except in our duality? In Trust how can doubt sustain itself? There is nothing to feed it. When we drop our armour plating a radical shift takes place:

Suddenly we are back home.

The enemy was never there, except as a projection from our own eyes, created out of fear of the unknown. In a state of fear, enemies are all around us. Once fear is let go, there is no enemy. They were a figment of our fear.

A person of trust cannot be deceived. Whatever happens, he/she will not take it as deception.

A burglar entered the house of a Zen master and demanded everything of value. The master not only made no move to stop him, but aided him in his search, suggesting other things he might take. Just as the robber was about to leave, however, the master called him back. "You forgot to say 'thank you,'" he said. The thief mumbled a stunned "thank-you" and departed.

In due course the thief was caught with the goods that someone recognised as having belonged to the master. But he was released again when the master truthfully told the police hat he had given his goods to him; the man had said 'thank-you' and left.

The thief followed the master to his home. "Why do you follow me?" the master enquired. "If you have come to take more, please give me some time. You have cleaned me out." The thief replied, "I am not coming to rob you. It is you who have robbed me. I am no longer a thief. I can no longer steal. My old life is gone."

One of my doubts is that I could ever reach that level of un-attachment. But I don't think that's the point of the story. What I can do is make a choice to change my perceptions. The master chose not to experience the loss of his goods as robbery.

A man of trust cannot be deceived because his vision extends beyond the immediate and the obvious into a realm of other possibility. He simply chooses not to experience what happens as deception. He knows that we all experience what happens to us in line with our favourite/habitual ways of seeing. We see whatever we expect to see. We do not see things as they are. We interpret. How we see things says more about our expectations than it does about things as they really are. Trust knows we have the power to choose an interpretation that works for us, rather than against our long-term wellbeing.

Trust allows our compassion to engulf all.

Trust is the greatest quality. It is Love be-ing.