What is Faith? … (04/25/08)
As far as trust and Faith are concerned, I have a few thoughts based on my relatively extensive research into what these two concepts engender once they are engaged …
First of all, it’s important to know what we are talking about … To define terms, ‘trust’ is a hope-based belief that a person will engage in certain behaviors or a situation will yield certain result. Even if well-intended, it is a self-centered way of ‘manifesting’ and/or yearning for a specifically desired end … ‘Faith’, on the other hand, may have certain goals in mind as to what behaviors might be preferred or what results might be desirable, and yet It never attaches to any hopes for those outcomes. Faith is fully aware that we are not to limit the Universe’s ability to provide for us in surprisingly Wonder-full and fully unexpected ways …
Thus, someone who trusts (i.e. attaches) to specific goals or hopes is often disappointed when they are not realized, while the one who has Faith has a vision(s) to guide him/her and yet accepts whatever comes as a result of walking thereto. The former leads to suffering while the latter leads to Peace — The former limits what IS by what ‘should be’, while the latter emPowers Life to perfectly provide for what is needed (as opposed to merely what is desired) …
I have personally experienced both trust and hope to be ‘false virtues’ — inevitably either causing suffering &/or weakening our power to unconditionally Love others (and thereby precluding us from attaining true Peace) …
It is my personal understanding that the deeper traditional definitions of ‘trust’ are actually referring to Faith — or actions intended to generate a specific outcome while being completely (and humbly) detached from the same …
Regardless, much more important than these discussions is what we each experience when putting them into practice. Only you can know where you stand on the hope vs. trust vs. faith question. And you can only Know where you stand after you have made repeated courageous choices to test these ‘truths’ for yourSelf!!! Such Self-rediscovery is often frightening, and yet in my experience allWays yields the only true Comprehension of our personal, unique Paths back to Oneness …
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