2004-03-28-Trust
SE Idaho #84
Topic: Trust
Group: SE Idaho TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Daniel, Aaron, Michael
TR: Bob S., Simeon, Nancy
Session
Opening
Opening Prayer (Bob S.): Friends, this is Daniel, let us pray
Source of all good, all truth, all beauty, Source of all, we reach out to You with gratitude in our hearts, knowing we are Your children, and one day we will meet face to face. This time between that moment and our experience, of today, is fraught with difficulties, for Your children, here gathered, cannot see what lies before them. Allow them to feel Your presence, to hear your words, to know of Your existence. Clear their eyes, strengthen their hope, increase their trust, and always be present with them, with encouragement and Your mercy. Be with the teaching staff tonight as we attempt to convey words of truth and beauty and goodness, clearly and completely. In the Masters name we pray. Amen.
Daniel (Nancy K): Greetings, I am Daniel, your friend, guide, and teacher, continuing on. As the staff has gathered to assess where each of you are currently, with the many complex issues in your lives, we have ascertained that discussion of trust would be beneficial this evening. However, we are also aware that we have provided plenty of intellectual information regarding trust, in the past, and so, a reiteration of those lessons is not the way we will proceed this evening. Our desire is that you, collectively, provide the lesson, to which we will respond and amplify, and punctuate.
Lesson
In order to frame the discussion of trust, we ask that you share with one another those areas where you are experiencing the most difficulty in completely surrendering your lives to God’s will. Are there questions before we release the TR’s, to this discussion? …… Very well! Please, each of you share with this topic, and then will the TR’s please return to stillness.
[Ed note: Due to the length of the discussion, the conversations have been snipped and edited to provide the essence of the sharing.]
– Events of every day living and their problems and finding the trust therein.
– Recognizing and trusting the moment by moment, one at a time, and to live in that moment.
– Uncertainty of the future, where trust is most difficult, is the unknown. Not knowing what the experience will be. The known you can deal with.
– The lack of control is my problem with trust. The feeling of wanting to be in control.
– My trust and faith have been shaken, by the passing of friends, more than I anticipated. I had thought I was stronger than that. It comes out in me, usually in anger. I get mad at people in ways that don’t make any sense at all. How do we increase our trust?
– Series of events, over time, have moved me away from trusting. Thinking God was a partner in my life, wanting to create good and exciting things. I saw life as a fun adventure, to be explored each day, and to find newness, adventure. I do not see life that way any more. I experience a lot more apprehension and anxiety, more of a sense of things not working out well, than expecting them to.
– Question from member about being “shaken”. What do you mean?
– God is always there, supporting us, He is our friend, and never would let any thing really bad happen to us. Death has really hit me hard. Intellectually I understand, what an opportunity it is for those who have moved on. However, I see those of us who are left, and I do not think it is a good opportunity for us. Things were better in my life when Debbie and Bill were here. It has shaken my faith. I thought I had things kind of figured out. Now, I do not have things figured out.
– Is that part of the control thing? In that we want our life to go along nicely with no ups or downs.
– It could be. I have for years asked that my will be aligned with God’s. I assumed, as I work with that, it’s gotten better, but these deaths that have occurred, have shaken me more than I would have anticipated. So, it is a fight between my animal side and my spiritual side. My spiritual side knows that all will be okay in the end. I know that! I am positive, but the other side of me is say! ing “that may well be, but I ain’t feeling very good.”
– All things work together for the good, but what is the definition of good?
– We have to deal with what is happening now, and my emotional side is not where it needs to be. My animal side is struggling.
– The control thing for me, I don’t mind challenges and struggles, but I like to pick them, and then I am a full partner. I don’t like it when I can’t choose the things of my interest. I have a hard time taking the perspective that we are in school and what matters is what we do in the situation, not the situation. Are we acting or reacting?
Daniel’s lesson on people surviving under harsh conditions, were the ones who made the best of the situation. Being of service. It is not the controlling of the circumstances, but the controlling of one’s reactions to them. I haven’t been feeling that trust to form that partnership with God. I have been doing things on my own instead of being really in partnership with God. I don’t experience God with me. I know that God is always there with me, so it must be me that is not connected in the same trusting way. The type of incredible reserves that people have, wh! o not only lived through, but have grown in the midst of just horrendous things – what sort of trust did they have? They clearly had trust in the ultimate outcome that let them just be.
– Trust comes on so many different levels, and trying to coordinate and think about all those levels, and just having the trust to think it’s okay to share your feelings, with other people. Usually with questions of God, my trust is pretty good.
– My biggest problems with trust is generally in relationships with other people that I don’t understand or I am uncertain about.
– The whole Sept. 11th and following events, developed a worldwide distrust of each other. I wonder how many scars have been put on people, unconscious scarring.
– Distrust of things, people in charge of our national safety (Government), world affairs, etc.; not trusting what to believe.
– Expressing my opinions and finding anger and resentment and probably distrust, in that. My shattering of faith, regarding 9/11, it’s the lack of time to absorb the reality of what happened. I just don’t know whom to trust.
– That had to affect the collective consciousness in a major way too. That is something we are struggling with.
– It is not just politics, it is anything you go to read, and you don’t know whether to believe it or not. There is an over abundance of information, and it is hard to weed-out the truth, or the motivation, in the written and spoken words.
– There is trust at the human level and there is trust at the spiritual level. I have problems in trusting in my self, my spiritual self. On a spiritual level I look at myself and I have my doubts. When I challenge my doubts, my abilities, to do things spiritually, I am challenging my own self-forgiveness, and understanding, and my spiritual relationship with myself.
– Events have to be seen in the eternity of time, rather than the material events that disappear in the stream of time.
– It is in problems that the real YOU comes out. My way of coping is to be of service, do as much as I can.
– Maybe that’s the answer, forget about our own problems, and just keep serving.
Aaron (Bob D.): I am Aaron. Let me take a moment today to thank you for your heart felt sharing, on this topic of trust. I would offer a few comments related to this topic. I recognize your progression of thought, from an inward focus discerning the difficulties you have, in various circumstances. I also note your general sense of assurance, and comfort-ability, in areas where you are looking outward at what you can do. Your abilities play a role in developing trust. For when you are moving away from a self-focus, toward creativity, then you are losing, letting ! go, of that which you have no control over, to that which you can do. When you apply yourself toward that which you can do, you initiate a loss of focus on the self, and a creative focus that utilizes various components, of your being in an integrated fashion.
There is a spiritual principal here, for when your resources are utilized in creativity, your trust begins to build, not only in your self, but also through that creation. You begin to trust that value is evident, within and outside, in the world around you. So, if you can look to creativity as the bridge between, or the bridge that you can cross over, into developing a more trusting nature, you may be surprised at the buildup of your trust resources. Also, you will be aware of the reality that you are a productive citizen, and thus serving the world and the universe. So, in some sense, yes, Bob, as you intimated earlier, if you can reduce the amount of time thinking about your problems, an! d increase the amount of time applying yourself in various avenues, the solution will be self evident.
These are my thoughts today, to add with yours, in this soup of thought. I will remain present if there are any questions, or another will share with you also.
Michael (Nancy K.): My friends, My children, I am your Father, Brother, Michael, here with you in verbal communication again this week. I appreciate your efforts as you challenge the realities forced upon you through material living. I, too, from My experience, know the many nuanced and varied levels of trusting. I lost My human father and had to take the roll of father to My brothers and sisters. I became the breadwinner. And I wondered how I could do it all and still achieve the purpose, the greater purpose, for My bestowal mission. That was ! My human response. My spiritual response was to rely on My Father, to trust that He knew the many twists and turns of My life career, and the varied circumstances that I would confront. And so, I combined trust in My Father with creative action, as shared with you, by Aaron, to complete My life’s work.
I would point to three legs that provide the balance to the stool of trust:
– Companionship with the Father.
– Creative action.
– Service.
While employing these three gifts, your trust in all components will be strengthened, at the same time that your ability to discern in whom to place your trust is enhanced.
My precious children I ask of you that you turn your thoughts to Me when you are in doubt, when you struggle. I wish you to know that I understand, not just intellectually, no, but experientially, I have walked where you walk. My love, My support, My guidance, is always there for you.
Closing
Please stand and hold hands. Let us pray to our common parents.
Oh, great parent, be with these, Your children, as they seek You, as they seek Your peace, Your joy, Your certainty, and Your perfection. May they evermore know your generosity and Your ever abiding love. Give them Your gift of trust, Your gift of faith, as they take those moment by moment steps, in their walk to You. Be with us all in the coming time frame. Glory to You, Oh Father.
