Trust is basic and yet the most powerful subject
in all spiritual teachings.
In my thirty-five years of study, reading, experiencing and teaching what have I learned? The reply to that question is simple and direct – I have learned to trust Life, God, the ‘IS’ that I AM!
Trust awakens slowly through our natural deep craving to learn, to understand and to find meaning and peace. Trust is not acquired but awakened. Trust is our birthright. In fact there is no spiritual awakening per se but the unfoldment of trust.
This article-booklet will be divided in three sections…
1. What is trust?
2. How we lose trust.
3. How we regain trust.
In this ego world we have lost the most powerful and the most treasured possessions of innocence and inner freedom through losing trust, believing that the world is more real than our very essence.
In this article/booklet I have garnered the precious teachings of “A Course in Miracles” plus the writings of well-known sages regarding the enneagrams which I call ‘soul-types.’ Although there is no such thing as an individual soul but simply a separate mind yet the term will suffice.
The ‘soul’ is our consciousness and its accumulations and memory. Consciousness is eternal because it is derived directly from pure awareness. Pure Awareness is our true nature of love, oneness, goodness and innocent spirit.
Most people are not aware that all human beings belong to one of the soul-types according to how they pursue meaning in life. There are nine soul-types and each one has its own way of pursuing the same one goal – the goal of all human beings which is BEING itself!
It is imperative to remember, right at the outset, that the soul-type you represent is not the real you. These nine types are collective energy that manifests when trust is temporarily lost and distrust takes its toll on the mind/body organism of the individual thus losing their true nature.
The ego world is built on distrust and hence the wars, corruptions and man’s inhumanity to man, and yet within the very fabric of this distrust is the craving for something to believe in and becomes one’s one separate religion, belief, system, organization, cult, political system or just a separate way of life that divides and separates humans into groups. Yet again, despite this division does the bigger picture want Oneness, Unity and Love.
Please note: The soul types known as enneagrams can be found by googling for them on the internet asking “Free Enneagram Test.” Make sure that you are honest in your answers and then try another test to see if the results coincide.
What is trust?
Trust is the natural result of innocence which in spiritual parlance is known as Emptiness or Spirit. It is the child that looks up at his father in utter openness of heart -- that’s trust.
We do not develop trust – we awaken it from its dormant state that stifled, suppressed and thwarted it.
The ACIM “Manual for Teachers” says:
“Trust is the foundation on which on which the teachers of God fulfill their function.
The teachers of God have trust in the world, because they have learned it is not governed by the laws of the world made up. It is governed by a Power That is in them but not of them. It is this Power that keeps all things safe. It is through this Power that the teachers of God look on a forgiven world.
When this Power has once been experienced, it is impossible to trust one’s own petty strength again. Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him? And who would place his faith on the shabby offerings of the ego when the gifts of God are laid before him?
How do we lose trust?
We are human beings. There are over 6 billion humans on this earth but there is only One Being. Our world convinces us that objects are real and therefore we learn early to ignore that which created the objects in the first place. In other words, we disregard that which we cannot see, hear or feel. Thus we find ourselves completely sold on our humanness and totally forget the Being that we truly are. In this forgetting, we still crave the Being but have so forgotten it that even its name becomes a belief rather than the truth of our nature. We have many beliefs, religions and teachings that remind us of this Being but find it hard to swallow when the world is so enticingly and seemingly real in its temptations. We spend our life pursuing fame, fortune, success, specialness and accomplishment and in this time-consuming effort our inner Being ‘suffers’ from ignorance and it shows in our restlessness, unease, dis-ease, unhappiness, war, violence, crime, desperation, loneliness, isolation and fear. In this separation from God we have lost trust in Being.
Yet despite this so-called loss, we hunger for completion which is impossible with lack of trust. It is this distrust which is the suffering of mankind.
The nine soul-types pursue their goal of Oneness (Being) through the following ideals: (the numbers indicate the soul-type):
1. They pursue perfection in everything they accomplish and so are often dissatisfied and restless.
2. They pursue the ideal through their own ego will and are often hurt or unsatisfied in their relationships.
3. They idealize harmony and achievement but find outer goals empty and unfulfilling.
4. They idealize originality and individuality and suffer low self-worth as a result.
5. They idealize omniscience through knowledge but often feel alienated.
6. They idealize strength and it often takes the form of outward goals.
7. They idealize wisdom and prefer optimism to pessimism, they seek this through future planning.
8. They idealize truth but it becomes their truth through control.
9. They idealize holy love and miss it from fear of not having it.
How the ideals create delusions & distrust
1. Reality is split between good and bad.
2. “I have a separate personal will.”
3. “I am a personal doer.”
4. “I have a separate identity.”
5. “I am a separate self.”
6. “I have no true nature.”
7. “I have a personal self unfoldment.”
8. “Reality is dual and conflictual.”
9. “My love is localized.”
How distrust creates difficulties
1. The belief in wrong.
2. Easily humiliated.
3. Often feel helpless.
4. The feeling of abandonment.
5. The feeling od isolation.
6. The feeling of insecurity.
7. The feeling of being lost.
8. The feeling of guilt.
9. Often feel unloved.
How difficulties create reactions
1. “I have to improve and be better”
2. “I can get love through manipulation.”
3. “I have to strive and do in order to be worthwhile”
4. “I need to be in control or I lose myself.”
5. “I need to withdraw”
6. “I feel suspicious and need to defend myself.”
7. “I need to plan.”
8. “They are to blame for this.”
9. “I go unconscious during conflict.”
How trust grows
We awaken trust through the recognition of our true nature as pure awareness. Pure awareness is already the case but due to distrust we end up not seeing the obvious. Each soul-type has its own ‘buts’ ‘what-ifs’ ‘maybes’ and fears. In other words, we do not see the Being as obvious because our delusions according to soul-type are such deep-rooted fixations that they undermine any attempt to seeing the truth. After all, these delusions created by distrust have created a monster that seems to have a personality of its own. This monster is known as ego. And here’s the good news – there’s no such thing as ego but a self-image that got twisted by so much distrust. This distrust is often finding ways in order not to find peace, which paradoxically, it is always striving towards. This self-sabotage is the work of the soul-type ego.
Get to know your way of wanting peace and inner fulfillment. This is often referred to as the Holy Idea. Then having found your dream-goal towards meaning, get to know how you have created the belief of distrust and how that belief created the difficulties and reactions. It is these reactions that are known as emotional suffering.
Here are some usual questions.
How can I overcome my difficulties when they have become almost part of me?
There is no need to overcome anything but just be aware that when you are suffering it is because you have relied on your favorite delusions. It is this ‘seeing’ that is essential.
Am I stuck in this soul-type for this lifetime?
You are NOT this soul-type but it is your expression in this lifetime. What’s important is what is real. Your soul-type is NOT real because it is only for this lifetime. However, you can find peace and inner fulfillment despite the soul-type because your true nature is Oneness and not individual type.
But if everything is Oneness and there is no individual to overcome anything or control anything then what can I do?
That’s the wonderful news – there is nothing you need do but SEE clearly what-is happening and then smile, laugh or simply forgive it (which means allowing yourself to see its illusion).
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