Your Truth, here on Earth, is who you are in a way that transcends family, culture and social convention. Your Truth even transcends your own Body. It is your mission and purpose here on Earth to be the embodiment of Divine energy in a unique form. The Truth is your soul expressed, unfiltered, changing, evolving. The Truth is you.
Truth is about alignment with your Divine source. When we are aligned, we are “on-point.” We know our mission and purpose. We speak Truth. We expose Truth. Our soul is shining through. Once we taste our Truth, we want more— and we are driven to be more and more of that Truth. (Truth is like potato chips!)
Truth is happiness─ we are very comfortable in our own skin when we are living our Truth.
Even when we are totally ignorant of our Divinity, our Truth will still tend to bubble up. It peaks its head through the veil of ignorance in different ways. In so doing, it lights the way. As we are drawn closer to it, we see more of it, which better lights the way for more realization of our own ultimate Truth (our Divinity).
Sadly, our Truth can be beaten down or held down by fear, social convention or ignorance. The most fundamental Truth to remember is that we have Divinity at our core. Contained within that Divinity is our Truth: who we will be and how we will serve on this Earth.
Aspects or features of our individual Truths include, but are not limited to: our beliefs, our relationships with others and our planet (how we treat these, and how we expect or desire to be treated by them), our values, our passions, and our goals. When we are able to express these with confidence, and live in a way that is coherent with these aspects of ourselves and does not conflict with or contradict them, we express our Truth to the world.
In general, Truth happens when we allow internal forces to surpass external forces in shaping who we are.
“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” –Buddha
Uncovering Your Truth
Are you doing what you were born to do?
Is the person you are within the same person that is shared with the world? Are there parts denied, omitted and/or disguised for public consumption?
Our Truth programs us from birth for a predisposition to serve others in an often very particular capacity, whether that be through creating, expressing, healing, teaching, leading, entertaining, inspiring, loving, caring, calming, guiding, birthing, relating, valuing, defending, advocating, provoking, connecting, building… or what have you. The impulse to serve in our unique way is an inner force connected to and directed by our Divine spark that pushes us towards its fruition.
Truth gives us our way of being, our personality, our sexuality, our talents, and our perspective. Truth is authenticity in that it embodies these traits as an expression of our Divinity.
At the same time, powerful external forces of socialization are constantly at play. These forces come through family, religion, culture, and the overall expectations and demands of society. They can suppress our innate Truth at a very young age, or break it down abruptly later. These forces can also implant limiting beliefs that may direct us as to what our options might or should be in life based on gender, race, sexuality, religion or other aspects of our social condition.
Our job as spiritual beings is to break down─ and break through─ the limits placed upon us by the forces of socialization. Only then can we start to explore and reveal our own Truth, on our own terms. It is not easy, as limiting forces can often come from those who love us and who may have good intentions for us.
Those who love us might say things like: “Don’t quit your day job.” They may push us to sign up for the baseball team when we all we really want to do is take that art class. In the interest of protecting us, those who love us sometimes encourage us to avoid risk, to take the path of least resistance— but the easiest path is not always the right one, and by avoiding risk you may be suppressing your Truth, which is ultimately far riskier to your overall wellbeing than, say, risking financial instability by leaving your job or risking temporary loneliness by moving to a new city.
That it requires such Courage to be ourselves and live our Truths in this world disturbs me. It speaks to the power of the veiling of our Divinity and the power of convention and socialization in our modern world.
Somebody congratulated me when I first had a poem published on a creative writing web site. Writing felt like it was part of my evolving Truth. They said my actions were courageous. I thanked them automatically but later, when I thought about it, the accolade felt strange; it felt like I was being congratulated for going through a green light at an intersection! I guess that when we are really in our Truth, we simply see the green lights and go through them. We don’t allow the red lights of fear, doubt or naysayers to veer us off our path.
Living Your Truth
When we live in our Truth, the way we live can sometimes defy practicality and logic. Our lives can go against the grain. Living our Truth can also leave us grinning from ear to ear. It can leave us feeling so comfortable in our own skin that it is difficult to explain the sensation except with this phrase: “I am doing what I am supposed to be doing!”
Living in one’s Truth may disturb others. While you will have likely have some cheerleaders along the way, you will also have detractors and naysayers. In the best case scenario, these people are often concerned that you are harming yourself in some way if your Truth does not fit their image of social convention. To them, it may seem that you are pursuing a “pipedream” at the risk of “normal” milestones (such as safe, consistent employment with health benefits, marrying and having kids, owning a house and saving for retirement, etc.).
Living one’s Truth and matching some desired social convention are certainly not mutually exclusive, but be prepared for the pressure to comply with the expectations of others, including family, friends and society in general.
In the face of all this, you may suffer doubt: Is what seems like my Truth actually a pipedream? Shouldn’t I be achieving certain social milestones by now, like my peers have done? Am I being stupid and unrealistic? Am I delusional? Do I just need to “grow up?”
The ego will certainly chime in with its commentary as to how one is being perceived and whether one is keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak. The Divine core, by contrast, wishes the Joneses well, but cares not for their opinion relating to your Truth.
This is a classic conflict for many─ varying from Truth and varying from social convention will both cause anxiety. The key task here is to be able to discern between the two. You may waiver back and forth between them or you may be able to reconcile them.
It is also a challenge to not distract ourselves to the point where we neglect or ignore this discernment nor the urge to follow Truth. Plenty of distractions are available. I see many people who make themselves insanely busy with fairly insignificant things. With such a booked schedule, they simply “don’t have the time” to deal with the anxiety that will ensue if they reflect on the how the conflict between their Truth and the expectations of others manifests in their lives. Avoidance by distraction also prevents busy folks from inheriting the astounding, soul-filled gifts of one who has discerned their Truth and is embodying it in their daily life.
“People who lack the clarity, courage, or determination to follow their own dreams will often find ways to discourage yours. When you change for the better, the people around you will be inspired to change also….but only after doing their best to make you stop. Live your truth and don’t ever stop.” -Steve Maraboli
Truth & Anger
A Truth suppressed and then expressed can arise in anger─ not always, but sometimes. Years of holding down one’s Truth can breed anger and resentment, and when Truth erupts, the anger can erupt right along with it. Let it flow; often, this anger is directed primarily at one’s self for denying one’s Truth and/or allowing others to pin it down for so long.
On the road to your Truth, there may be layers which will unfold. One of the first may be the realization that─ guess what?─ your needs matter and your Truth matters too! There may be anger that wells up inside you at being made to feel otherwise for “your whole life” up to this point. Let it flow. There will also be Joy as your Truth unfolds. Let that flow too.
Signs & Synchronicities
You will inevitably receive signs along the way, as your Truth erupts or evolves. Who knows what shape or form they will take: Dreams? Hearing the same words of wisdom repeatedly, from different sources? Having the right teacher/mentor pop into your life at just the right time? Receiving money exactly when you need it to effectuate your Truth? Being presented with opportunities that are offered fortuitously? Your Intuition will tell you when you have received a sign that you are on the right path while you pursue your Truth. A sign helps to appease doubts that naturally arise.
When I was changing careers from government to counseling, I had already put notice in to leave my job and was wrestling over where to apply my newly acquired counseling skills. Right at that moment, I received a call from the people who had been renting my former home for a number of years. They informed me that they would be moving out, since they had just purchased their own house. I then received an unrelated invitation regarding a counseling internship in the very same neighborhood in which my soon-to-be-vacant house stood. These were pretty overt signs to me that affirmed my path and which allowed for a smooth transition to my internship, housing included! My Intuition affirmed these events as signs to be followed.
When in tune, your Intuition will kick in to affirm that you are, in fact, on the right path while you pursue your Truth.
I caution, however, I was lucky, but I advise against expecting signs and desperately seeking synchronicities along the path to Truth, to the point where you may see them when they don’t really exist. Signs and synchronicities are wonderful to experience, but you don’t really need them or have to have them. When you are in-tune and aligned with your Truth, that is a strong enough presence in and of itself.
The best synchronicity is simply feeling aligned with Divinity when you are in your Truth. Make no mistake— you will know it when it happens.
“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.” -Rumi
Truth Is Abundance
There is no greater law of attraction than simply living one’s Truth. A person living their Truth and serving others is literally living “in their element.” They will radiate Love and attract others to help them or to receive Service. They will, in turn, receive the abundance of being aligned with their Divinity, which may or may not entail material abundance beyond what one needs. Whatever abundance they receive in their Truth will be enough. The Bliss and Joy they receive will be Infinite.
I have learned to focus on Truth and not focus on abundance. I have also learned that abundance is a byproduct of Truth. My mantra on this topic is: Let Me Hear My Truth.
Nurturing Your Truth
From a practical perspective, it is a journey and a work to find our Truth. Often times, there is pain and suffering along the way. The process can be like putting together a puzzle, like following breadcrumbs in a dark forest. Our Truth can evolve and change over time, with each manifestation providing strength and a foundation for the next level of Truth. Some can be lucky and know their Truth early. Blessed be to those who do.
At the same time that there is this process, our Truth is always just “there.” We really don’t need to strive for it. We can learn to just “be” it. Often, our chief duty is to remove the barriers to it.
Truth is a pilgrimage where just one step need be taken, the step within.
“Whatever purifies you is the right path” –Rumi
The Simple Truth
The Truth is about being honest, not lying, having integrity, being authentic and taking responsibility for one’s actions. I don’t really want to spend much time here as this should be a no-brainer, spiritually-speaking.
When you are aligned with your Divinity, your soul-essence, you don’t lie. Souls don’t lie. They are incapable of such. It is incomprehensible for them. Conversely, when you are consistently and habitually honest, you align more with your soul-essence/Divinity and, therefore, you align more with your Truth.
Exaggerating, omitting, gossiping and spin-doctoring are all forms of dishonesty. Honesty implies there is no slant upon one’s statements, no hidden facts and nothing said behind another’s back. It doesn’t mean you are “right” all of the time; feel free to say “in my opinion” or “It seems to me like…” when you are unsure. What is important is that there is no intent to deceive or manipulate with your words— that your intentions are pure, and that what you are communicating is an accurate depiction of what you truly feel, think, know, etc.
Honesty also means speaking up, not withholding and suppressing what needs to be. It doesn’t necessarily mean to speak up in a rude manner, but to speak up just the same. Speak up when you see someone being abused or mistreated. Speak up against broader social or global injustices. Speak up when your feelings, or your body, have been hurt. Speak up when you know that you’ve hurt someone else.
Integrity means to be “made whole.” It means that there are not different, separate parts to who you are. In psychology, there is a concept called Self-Identity Constancy, which measures the extent to which a person “is” and how a person acts regardless of venue or social group. It implies that one is not chameleon-like and does not give up a part of oneself depending on the situation. Integrity is a sign of mental health. On a spiritual level, having integrity implies that one is whole and that our Humanity and Divinity have been appropriately reconciled and integrated. Ego and any false sense of self has largely fallen by the way side. We are authentic and aligned with our Truth.
Dishonesty is founded upon egoic energy, which seeks to control image and environment. What is a lie, anyway, but an attempt to control a situation or feel a sense of control? In Truth, we surrender the need to control all situations. We don’t lie. We don’t need to lie about, by inventing or exaggerating, our achievements, because we are content within ourselves and do not need outside approval or praise. We don’t need to lie about, by denying or omitting, our mistakes, because we accept that everyone makes mistakes and are still able to recognize our Divinity, even if others may not. We don’t need to lie about other people because we feel no sense of competitiveness or angst against them, recognizing them as fellow manifestations of Divinity and not coveting anything they have, including social status, attractiveness and fiscal wealth.
Truth can be who you are all of the time, consistently.
Truth is having difficult conversations.
Truth is to be impeccable with your word as per the book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Truth is the alignment of one’s actions with one’s spoken word.
Truth disdains hypocrisy. With Truth, we remove the log from our eye before pointing out the speck in another’s.
Truth is honesty with oneself.
We are not seeking to be “the best;” we are seeking to be our best, i.e. our most pure self. We allow ourselves to just be in our Truth and, in doing so, we live our Truth and our Truth is continually expressed in Service to others in the highest and best expression, always. We always do our best, without thought or struggle, because our best is simply the purest expression of our Truth, of who we really are.
“Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you.” –Steve Maraboli
Collective Truth
Truth is rebellion. Truth is confrontation aligned with our Divine nature. Truth demands duty on a personal level (with your word). On a larger collective level, it will demand that you call out any hypocrisy, non-truth, falsity, discrimination or oppression taking place in society.
The alternative is indifference, tacit consent and going along with hypocrisy and non-truth, energies that take one out of alignment with Divinity. Think of all the people who went along with antebellum slavery or the Holocaust. Those are examples of misalignment on a massive scale.
Calling out collective Truth takes Courage, and some rare individuals are born for this sole purpose. The calling out of Truth is made easier when speaking up against hypocrisy, non-truth and that which oppresses is made a core human value taught to children and supported by all.
Blessed be the whistleblowers.
“That which can be destroyed by truth, should be.” -P.C. Hodgell
Collective Truth Heroes:
The child who speaks up in the fable The Emperor’s New Clothes,
Tank Man, the anonymous protestor in that iconic photo who blocked a parade of Chinese tanks,
Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist who simply refused to sit in the back of the bus,
Jesus, when portrayed as toppling tables in a sacred temple being used for money-making,
Any whistleblower who calls out shams, charades and bullshit,
The person in the dysfunctional family who speaks of the elephant in the room,
The witness to a bullied person who calls the bully out.
Truth in Partnership and Community
The right partners and communities support your Truth and exploration of it without judgment, and with Joy and Nurturance. A soulmate is really a Truth mate— someone who supports you in living your Truth as you do the same for them. A tribe is the community you may fall into as your Truth unfolds, which serves to support your Truth.
Nurturing every child’s Truth is a key duty for all, even as we realize that a child may have a Truth we don’t understand or that conflicts with what we know or expect.
“In Truth, we are all shadows of the Beloved” -Rumi
ALCHEMY
Courage, for many, is the primary element that helps us to manifest and be our Truth. Courage is necessary in order to get past social conventions and the expectations of others in order to be our Truth. It takes Courage to stand up against hypocrisy and bullies. It takes Courage to be honest with ourselves and hear what our heart is telling us.
Truth requires knowledge and acceptance of Change as your Truth changes. Also, you may have to Change to live your Truth.
Self-Awareness guides us to Truth by helping us to know our story and how it may have shaped us away from our Truth.
Healing serves to correct harm done to us in how we were shaped and how we experienced life in ways that were not Truth-serving.
Intuition is always the voice available which leads us to Truth.
The Energy in people, places and actions directs us towards Truth when we are attuned to follow the Energy that resonates with us.
Solitude and Meditation give us insight into our Truth by stripping away outside distractions.
Creativity can remove inhibitions stifling Truth and give us insights into our soul’s expressions.
Gratitude supports us as we stumble upon each nugget of Truth throughout our lives.
Acceptance is required when we learn who we are and what our Truth is.
Non-Judgment and Nurturance serve to help us support others in their Truths. This is especially important for our children.
Surrender allows us to allow Truth to be and to happen, without trying to control any situation with lies or other means of control.
PRACTICE
- Constant self-inquiry is the prime practice for Truth. This may involve looking at who we are and trying to discern what part of ourselves is about meeting social convention and the expectations of others. Answering these questions can help in this process: What would I be doing if money were of no concern? How would I be acting if I had no concern for the opinion of others? Have I made major decisions based upon the expectations of others? What did I most enjoy doing when I was a child? At what times do I feel most like me and comfortable in my own skin? What are my passions? How is it that I can best serve others? What is the meaning of my life?
Writing these questions and answers down may be useful in keeping track of them as time progresses. Maybe what you want your life to be about now wasn’t what you wanted it to be about five years ago, and a decision you made then is affecting how you feel about your life now. Maybe you’re not sure what you want your life to be about, and have just been reacting to whatever comes your way. Maybe you used to do something important to you, then you got “too busy” and stopped. Maybe it’s time to pick up that hobby or habit again.
- Meditation can strip away ego and constructs of social convention that can free up Truth. Ongoing meditation practice helps to confirm our Truth. For me, when I am not aligned with my Truth, it is harder for me to Meditate.
- Integrating an ongoing practice of Solitude will also help reveal Truth. Two hours per week of Solitude, preferably in Nature, is a good start.
- Engaging in any type of creative pursuit can allow Truth to emerge. The method and manner of creative expression may be part of your Truth. Regardless, any action and exploration in this arena can provide hints of Truth and make for a shedding of inhibitions─ whether it be dancing, painting, sculpting or some other form of healthy expression. If you are unsure, experiment!
- Journaling as a method of creative expression or as a stand-alone activity can also provide information about your Truth. Unlike the writing exercise described above, these journal entries can be about absolutely anything. They can even be fictional! You may be surprised by how much you learn about yourself through creating characters and scenarios— even if that character isn’t “supposed to” be you, and the scenario isn’t something that actually happened to you. What you create is a reflection of your Truth.
- Travel alone. We expand our horizons and lose inhibitions by doing so. We discover that part of us that is consistent among different people and in different places. We see how others live their Truth when we travel, and may become inspired to live in ways that are uncommon in our hometown or city-where-we-work.
PRAYER/MANTRA
Let Me Hear My Truth
(Or as a blessing for another): “Let (their name) hear their Truth”
I Am Ready To Be Seen; I Am Ready to Be Heard; I Am Ready To Be Visible
I Am My Truth; Let Me Be My Truth
My Truth Unfolds in Divine Order
I Am My Truth; Let Me Be of Service to Others in my Truth