How to Know the Truth

Last week I had a discussion with a good friend who is on the other side of the political arena. I’m incredibly grateful for her because unlike most, she stays open-minded and curious when talking to those with different views.

But here’s the interesting thing. Not long into the conversation, we realized we actually didn’t disagree on much. In fact, we had very similar perspectives for most of the key issues.

So why, one might ask, are we voting for different people?

Excellent question.

As we talked further, it became clear that some of the information we were both taking as “facts” about the intentions of our political choice were in direct contradiction.

Truth, something that should be incontrovertible, seemed instead nebulous. Without the ability to directly verify the information, we are dependent on third party sources – or depending on the person themselves to be telling the truth. And how do we know if they are?

As we both believe everything is a learning opportunity, we decided to look at it from a spiritual perspective. What is the purpose of this strange time we are living in? Why has it become so difficult to trust what we hear? How do we navigate in this world and make good choices when we don’t know the truth?

In western culture, we have leaned heavily on our heads to guide our lives. We “think” to get answers, make decisions, and determine the course of action to take. But you know what? That’s only 1/3 of our abilities. We also have our intuitive knowing and our instinctual knowing. We are body, mind, and spirit – not just mind.

So, here we are in a time when the mind is well, frankly, unhealthy. It is inundated with fear, constantly trying to navigate situations it has no prior experience with, and often going into crazy town. The intuition – our heart-knowing – is typically ignored. And our instincts? Well, we just save those for when we have to jump out of the path of an oncoming car (something that hopefully never happens to any of us!).

Did you know that the first organ to functionally develop in a fetus is the heart?

Perhaps we should look at this model and let that organ lead. Which means instead of thinking about things to decide the truth, maybe we need to listen to our hearts – we need to sense the truth, not just think about it. And I know this isn’t something we are used to doing. The intuitive side is more subtle. It doesn’t call you up and clobber you with the information. You have to listen for it.

But guess what? Every one of us has the ability to do this. We do it all the time.

Have you ever experienced walking into a store and feeling your heart open and your body relax? Or, in contrast, walking into one that made you feel tense?

I’m sure you have all had experiences like that. If you pay attention, you can tell if someone or some place is safe or if it isn’t. We are wired for survival. Our instincts and intuition exist to keep us alive.

So, I have a proposition – what if we start building our intuitive and instinctual muscles again? Let’s listen to our sense of things and pay attention to our body’s responses. Let’s choose the options that make our hearts feel open instead of constricted. Not only will it help us navigate these contentious times, but it will also bring us back into balance. We will feel safer when we are using all our gifts, not just one of them.

And if you need some help with this, I still have a couple spots left in my fall coaching program. Part of learning who we are and what works for us, is learning how to use our intuition and instincts. And applying that understanding in our relationships with others will help us all live more peacefully.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Soaking up some Lake Michigan peace!