Integrity- ‘the state of being whole and undivided’
For all of us who are on a spiritual path to wholeness, or simply want to become more conscious, the underlying imperative is to understand that it is a journey of increasing levels of integrity and therefore accountability. This journey is really a journey back to who we really are and the power and possibilities we have within us. A Course of Miracles says that as the son of God (or if you choke on that, as a part of the universe or a product of the Divine – whatever works for you) we have thrown away all our gifts and inheritances except one and that is the gift of choice. And that is enough to find our way back to who we really are.
The first stage in winning back ourselves is to give up our victim beliefs, stories and actions. This is certainly not who we are and it is a place of misplaced dependency which results in our feelings of powerlessness and suffering. The way out of our neediness and dependency is to start on the road of taking responsibility for our lives and the lives of those around us.
The next stage we need to transcend is our independence or more accurately how we victimise others. We need to be aware of the vortex that is dependence and independence which can keep us from real growth for decades, even lifetimes. Both sides of this vortex lack integrity and we see that amply displayed to us daily in the world around us.
The goings on in the USA today are showing us vividly the results of a lack of integrity. It is hard to imagine any more massive displays of rampant corruption and self-interested enrichment. However this situation has been a long time coming with our focus on what we believe gives us power and success – material things that lie outside of ourselves. This belief in material success means we are heavily invested in taking from others, and from the world around us. Taking is the basis of a lack of integrity and the essence of the criminal mind. The neediness that drives the taking comes from a total misunderstanding of who we really are.
It would be easy to point the finger at our corrupt leaders around the world but that is just to cast ourselves in the victim mould. We need to start by looking inwards at our own taking, and we know when we are taking by how upset and angry we get. All our upsets come from a belief that we are being thwarted by something or somebody outside of us. However there is a law of the universe that goes “no taking allowed”. It might take a while but at some point when we do it wrong it will go wrong. We live in a consistent universe: when you do it right it works out right; but so many of us still think the laws of Karma do not apply to us.
No one deprives us of anything. We may blame others who appear to deprive us of happiness and success, but it is we who deprive ourselves. Then, in the pain of this deprivation, we go out into the world and try to replace what we want by taking from others. We dress it up in political and financial models but the resulting inequalities are testament to how blaming and complaining lack integrity.
The truth is we are powerful beyond measure and embracing that concept then recognises and relates to our creator, which then becomes the source of our joy and happiness. It is a journey and one we will take in time.
I am getting impatient with myself, but that shows my lack of trust that everything is happening as it should. And I remind myself that all we need to do is to keep learning the lessons, one day at a time, to close one more fracture in wholeness and integrity.
With love,
Jeff
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