Integrity is of the Heart

Nowadays the words mindful, integrity and consciousness are tossed around in spiritual and personal growth circles.  These things have become catch words or concepts and can sometimes create a weird guilt if we are not perfect at it.  Yet what does any of it mean and how do you know when you are in or out of integrity?

Some say that it is a personal standard and that we suffer when we are not living up to that standard.  Others would say that it is just being aware.  For me, it’s all about the heart.  It is as simple as whether your heart contracts or expands. We know when we’ve betrayed our own knowing, or the values we hold dear in our actions or relationships.  We also know that we can’t change or fix another person or have them be in tune with a similar heart. So our integrity (or being unified within ourselves) is all about how we feel and judge ourselves. We are the ones who have to live with ourselves, feel the heaviness of guilt or hurt or shame.  In fact, if we are numb to those emotions, we have probably learned to shut that part of ourselves off because it hurts so much.  For me, and from the work I’ve done with intuitive soul coaching, I would say that this is the difference in living from the heart versus the ego. It has to do with a felt sense of what is loving, caring, feeling, respect, being honest with oneself and honouring others in the spirit of fairness. From the ego, it is about numbness, disconnection and pretending as if others don’t exist so it’s easy to not consider their presence or their needs. 

You know yourself best and you know what matters to you.  It will be different than what matters to me. Yet we can hold space for what is each other’s truth and path.

For example, I’m in integrity when I say I don’t want to have kids. That feels right in my heart. If I were to listen to others who have told me to have them and then I go ahead and doubt myself and decide to birth a child or two, I would actually be betraying myself and my own knowing. This will lead to misery and suffering for me and those around me. All because I didn’t listen to myself, and stay aligned with my own integrity.  My heart just knows that I’m not meant to have kids. Period. There are those who feel like it is right for them to have kids and are willing to go through and step up to that path. To go against it would lead to their suffering and the suffering of those around them.

So you see how important this is? And it’s also for the small stuff in our lives. What we eat, where we spend our time, the friendships we create.  It’s actually a daily practice to check in a see if there’s any area where you can be more in your honest truth.

Is there any area of your life where you are feeling out of alignment? Are you pretending to like something or go ahead with something even if your true feelings are telling you otherwise? It takes courage to be honest. Once you are, though, the doors will fly open and there will be a ton of support for you to go in that direction.  I truly believe that!