Many years ago I worked with teens at the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. We were supporting them in becoming more focused and confident. One of the exercises we used was a trust walk. One person was blind folded and their partner led them on a walk. They could not see and had to trust their partner. This proved to be challenging for most of the students. In discussions following the exercise, the young people who were blind folded shared about not feeling safe. They didn’t want to give control of their safety to another and there was little trust that the partner would take care of them. The ones leading were afraid that they might not lead well and their partner would get hurt. The interesting thing is that each person could “feel” the fear in the other and that accelerated their own discomfort.
That exercise and those conversations have stayed with me all this time. Most of my clients want to work on TRUST. They don’t trust others and many of them lack self-trust in varying degrees. The definition of trust is: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. That sounds simple right? However, the words that stick out to me are “firm belief”. As a child my firm belief was that I was not safe and violence was the norm. I was hyper-vigilant and scared most of the time.
It took many years for me to learn to trust myself and others. Here are some tools that might support you in a TRUST WALK with yourself.
- Check the perception lens that life is viewed through. If you are looking at life through the field of fear, doubt and mistrust – that is what you will create.
- Learn to access and listen to your intuition. Are you following your “gut instincts” or wanting others to make decisions for you? You have a powerful inner knowing. Accessing it, listening to it and trusting it take practice.
- Pause if there is any doubt in the direction you are going. We are living in an accelerated time and want to get things done now. The challenge is that decisions made in haste can create chaos and confusion. Take time to do research, create a plan and use forward thinking to anchor your choices.
- Make sure people DO what they SAY. Trust is built over time and people consistently showing up in authentic and honest ways creates a foundation of honor and respect.
You are the most important person in your life and you are brilliant. Take time to learn to trust yourself and you will attract trustworthy people. You will feel safer, more joyous and have more clarity.
I trust that you are on an amazing journey of fulfillment and expansion.
Love and light,
Rev Cynthia James
