INTEGRITY IS MOST OFTEN thought of as behaving with impunity, exhibiting only the highest moral standards. In a spiritual sense, it can be thought of as being congruent with the richness of Soul - walking only in loving ways, one's real Truth - the only real reality there is. In still another sense, it is walking the path that only you can walk, for no other can walk it for you.

For example, we often get out of balance when we are asked to do things that are not really what we're about, yet feel somewhat guilty when we say no to them. If our commitment is so strong to living with integrity while still having attachment to pleasing others, we can actually make ourselves sick over it.

There is a remedy for all this: from now on, don't go where your feet are not to tread. Then you won't be placing yourself in a position to garner the guilt, shame and ridicule for having done so. Know, too, that saying "no" is perfectly proper. As a matter of fact, it is the ONLY right thing to say or do when a request - either from outside or from one's own ego - takes you away from your spiritual integrity, meaning from that which nourishes Soul. We don't need to take on childish impositions of others as our reality in order to prove we're good enough or to please others. These are not yours to fulfill and thus are not to be. Being true to yourself is the only integrity you need to witness. Being you is the perfection of your being, always expressed in your own unique way. Living this, and only this, is a valuable lesson for us all.

If the issue is fear of not being loved or approved of if you don't say yes to an inappropriate request, all one need remember is that the most important one to love you already does, and always will: God. Of course it is important for you to love yourself, too, and this is what you are doing by taking care of Soul instead of someone else's need for you. Others already love you, too, at least those who can honor another's dignity. All we need to do is stay aware that our only job is to live in spiritual integrity, not to be at all concerned about how others respond when we do. In plain and simple language: what someone else thinks about us is absolutely none of our business.

A key thing to remember in similar situations is that there is only one you, only one who is what you are, expressing what you are in the ways you uniquely do. No one can do that for you. Nor can you do it for someone else. Staying in that mode of expressing your Truth is being perfectly you. Perhaps not perfect as others might want you, without human flaw, but perfect as far as your being what you are - as life is to be - for one and all. If they object, it may well be that they are doing so because you are not meeting their expectations for you, or perhaps even for themselves. You may typify a view of life that they'd like to emulate but cannot, so they prod you into being the way they want to be but are afraid to be themselves. Actually, they may not yet know this, so they project their wishes and dreams and expectations, and yes, even self-judgment, onto you. You are wise not to succumb to their fantasies. Live your most natural way of being instead.

So it's not a bad idea to look at integrity, both in ourselves and others. Words and actions do not match when integrity is lacking. When in doubt, follow the action; words are only part of the game. One's acts are the clearest clue to what one really intends. Using another for personal gain is the worst. For example, using one who is vulnerable and keeping him or her that way by feeding their egos and then using them builds(often unknown to the participants), codependence. But don't let yourself be caught up in codependence, for it is Soul-depleting. Stand in your own Truth, and give others the freedom to do the same.

When such discernment is not clear to you, go within for guidance. Whatever you are to do will become abundantly clear. The "wrong" answer for you has a sense of angst attached to it, while the Truth brings with it a peace that infills. The bottom line is that being the light you are is your only concern - your only business - so don't filter yours through the response of another, one way or the other.

Continue on your fast track to discernment. Sort out projection from reality, from integrity. Hold the light of love for others always and awaken them so they are not pulled down. But don't take it on as a task, but simply as fulfilling what you are. Being this bridge between heaven and earth is letting light shine through the clouds of despair, shedding enlightenment on darkness wherever it is present.

"I am light?" you may ask. Yes, you are light, and so is everyone else, but most don't know it and thus don't demonstrate what they really are. And along the way those who are too lazy or too satisfied with their station in life may resent you and cast aspersions on you. That is simply broadcasting, projecting their own inner discontent or discomfort with who they are or have become. On some level, they are casting their venom in the only direction they feel is safe: at you. It simply is too scary to look at themselves, so they project it outward where they feel safer taking it on. As long as you are aware of your own integrity, you can melt their fears and ignorance away with light, that is, enlightenment, opening their lives to their shadows. Those who come to face their shadows will eventually step into their own light. You will have thus been an instrument of practice that leads to inner peace.

Not to be cute, but what you are is what Is. You are of God's Essence, thus can create from that awareness. When you see the Truth of this reality, you come to understand that all you are and do is good, for you create in the integrity of God's image. You don't have to be able to describe what That, or God, Is. Let Is simply be. Only intellectuals with a super ego need to fulfill the egoic need to know - always know, know, know - buttressed by material evidence. I love instead the definition of name: labels put on others, when stripped away let us see God in all.

One uses his or her spiritual sense to discern God's presence, God's reality, what God is. When you have said to another, "I just know God exists," this is right on target. Such knowing is not an intellectual knowing. No, this is a declaration of the Truth, for God is a knowing within, not a presence without, to be proven to another. Each must sense God within his own being - resonating with, being aware of - for themselves, what it is that God is for them. This can come about only by having the trust that this could be the Truth and then letting it unfold.

What is important about all this is not even that you come to know God as real, as existing in your everyday life, throughout eternity. What is important is that you eventually come to know yourself as God's image and likeness. Therefore, you exist exactly as God does, and thus come to see yourself as but one example of life as God creates life; as one example of Godly Essence in your own individual shape and form, with your own unique gifts to the world. This is the ultimate in integrity.

Continue to speak openly about what you know about God, that you are a full-bodied example of Godliness. And create only loving demonstrations as extensions of what you are. Only those steeped in egoic materialism see others and things as apart, separate from themselves, rather than just other examples of what they, themselves, really are: loving Essence. Seeing life as separation is the height of vanity. The more they come to see this - first in themselves and then in others - the more they will come to be at one with God and, eventually, one with God as all. Then they will come to respect the sacredness of all beings, always. Eventually, when they are fully aware of the loving Essence all of life is, life will be that for them. As it is said elsewhere, when we change the way we see, the things we see will change. How we experience life thus becomes all about our perspective about life.

Remember then to do your business with integrity. Listen to God within, and respond as the dutiful person you are. This is not to say that you won't err from time to time, especially in honoring only your own highest good; what is best for you; what works for you. When you are able to fearlessly acknowledge your error - your simple mistake, not a sin to be punished - you come to understand that error is really just a sign of your mistaken identity: forgetting what you are and instead manifesting what you have erroneously come to think you are not and behaving out of that misunderstanding. When you subsequently understand the nature of your error, you are taken to yet another level of completeness. Thus each step takes you closer and closer to the totality of seeing what you already are and always will be. Just let this meaning soak in over the next few days and weeks and you will be startled by its outcome.

In every moment God is rending the veil from your vision so that you can see and be this perfection. Do not be afraid to look at God in yourself. It will neither blind you nor kill you. The admonition that we cannot see the face of God and live is a misinterpretation of Truth's intention. The real intention, the spiritual mediation for it, is that one cannot see the face of God and live the way he formerly did, out of fear and untruth. Thus manifesting what you are not will no longer be possible. Only integrity waits to be faithfully expressed.

This new way of life may seem scary at first, even to think of such a change, but when you already have trusted God so much, just one more shred of trust will reap great benefits for you and all you touch. Think about it: what else does one need to be fulfilled, except this last step in loving yourself, meaning the God fully in you, as yourSelf?

You and God are One, remember, and not separate. So live not in separateness any longer, but rather in the magnificence of that Oneness. This is what you were created for; what your divine purpose is. This understanding is neither onerous nor blasphemous, just the Truth it is. This is simplicity at its best. Oneness is That, as you are That. Accept the power of Oneness you already are, knowing deep within that spiritual power is nothing God needs to convey to you, to place in you. You already are that Power, by virtue of your Oneness. The moment you accept this Truth, you will manifest It and nothing unlike it.

Thoughts and words are the beginning of the road to integrity, and if you hold them close to you as Truth for you, they will manifest. The more you say them, the greater your commitment to them, so be careful how you say things, even to yourself. If you are thinking about something new in your life - about creating a new role to play, or a purpose to fulfill, or a new relationship to nourish - don't share these things out loud with others until they are firmly assimilated into every ounce of your being as Truth for you. When this is so, the universe rushes to fulfill your longing with all its resources. People needed to fulfill and advise and contribute will show up at exactly the right time in exactly the right way, physical resources and financial means likewise.

You attract much of this to you already, and quickly, after committing to doing a particular thing. Take a personal inventory and see if this is not the case. Surely it will be one that needs only the response of sincere gratitude proclaimed. My guess is that when you have clearly and sincerely declared your intention, you have manifested it in but a few days. How much better can life be? All of life is this way, so let this demonstration alert you to how quickly you manifest, how great is the power of the universe of Creation.

Conducting our lives this way is tantamount to expressing the ultimate faith, not in God, but rather the faith of God in what we have come to know is our inner Truth. And acting out of the awareness that it is Truth demonstrated that inspires others to follow the same creation path.

On still another level, it is important - no matter where you go, or with whom you meet - to pay attention to your thoughts and quickly test them as to their congruence with the loving way. If they are congruent, then follow these guidelines, manifesting what it is you are called to lovingly create. Don't be at all concerned what anyone else thinks about what you are creating...or how...or even if it is the right thing to do. Your voice, your inner Authority is for you and you alone. When followed, it is the secret to real success, the lynchpin of the creation process that places you in integrity.

By all means, be sure to leave all those ideas that do not match with the loving way aside, for such images are created by ego's need to maintain separation so it can keep you in the win-lose game, and thus detract you from your primary purpose, and drain you of the energy you need for that purpose.

When we fail to live in our own integrity we wait for others to influence our decisions, make life known to us. Yet Truth is within us already, waiting only for the opening through which it can enter into the light. We can assist by paying attention to those ideas that bring a smile to our heart and on to our face, that inspire us. Assimilate those as your creational buffet. There is an endless stream of such things to do, to express genuine loving through. It's all there simply for the hearing and obeying.

Your heart is the key. Loving is where your heart is. Let all the rest fall by the side as what it is: the simple details of life. But the details are not your life's purpose like your heart's songs are. It is those which must be sung and otherwise played, lest you will have left your music within you when you move on in spirit. When you trap your music inside you, you come to think life has no purpose for you, that you are wasting time, unfulfilled, and not accomplishing anything of value. So sing! For what are you waiting?

You, like all of God's creations, have an extraordinary imagination, with many songs to sing and much to create. You just may have forgotten this Truth about yourself. Or you may have let someone convince you otherwise. Get on with those expressions now and enjoy them. Have fun simply putting them into the realm of the visible, so others may benefit from your gifts to the Universe.

When listening to your heart's longing, merely let the Truth come through those obedient hands, free from the constraints of the ego. This is living with integrity. You have the inalienable right to speak from this voice and none other. This is a mandate once you come to the grips with your Truth: that you are One as God is One. That you are Loving made manifest, and express That and only That.

Now that you know this intellectually, know it in the silence of your being. Assimilate it into your every fiber, in every aspect of your life, and you will revert to what you already are: a being of light and loving. With your full awareness of the power inherent in this Truth for you, the impact on your life will be amazing, both in terms of what you look like and how you respond to all of life.

By living this way you will be returning to eternal youth. It is the Truth of this Universe, so simply let it happen this way now. And be as a child, with no externals to distract, only the presence to rest in, moment by moment, wrapped in the Truth of Loving. In the context of innocence, Loving is not something you decide to do. It is a way of life. The way of life. So just be yourself, lovingly, childlike in your manner, living out of innocence and trust. God's grace will then be your sufficiency.

Sooner or later we all learn this, even though many think it is too late for this to be. It is really never too late if one really wants to live in harmony with his or her Truth. One doesn't have to work at what one is even for a single moment, for time is irrelevant. One only needs to acknowledge what she or he really is, even for but a moment. That moment becomes an eternity of fulfillment, one that no one can take away or diminish. Loving and integrity are rendered as One, and thus complete, nourished in the sanctity of sacred dignity.

SPIRIT NOODLES

1. Define the difference between who and what you are.
2. What is integrity for you, both in relationships and within your own behavior patterns?
3. How is your integrity defined, without or within?
4. How would you change your pattern of living with integrity if you thought you could?
5. Do you feel you are living your purpose for being with integrity? What does life feel like for you when you are? When you are not?
6. How can you redefine your life so you can live it with integrity?
7. What can others do to assist and support you in doing so?

© Jim Young, 2006

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Young, who exercised an early retirement option to pursue his art and spiritual interests, is a published, award-winning writer, poet and documentary/fine art photographer who has received grants and gifts for support of his art, some of which is found in institutional and private collections nationally. His photographic images are exhibited widely throughout the United States and abroad. Dr. Young is a graduate of the ecumenical School for Spiritual Directors at the Pecos Benedictine Monastery (NM), and served as the monastery’s first lay director of public relations and fund-raising, where he initiated an extensive religious arts program. Basically a metaphysician who labels himself as an orthodox eclectic, he also has availed himself of numerous holistic healing intensive programs and is a Reiki, Christian Science and Holographic Repatterning practitioner in addition to serving as a spiritual director. The author of a dozen spiritual manuscripts, he is a lifetime student of spirituality and its implications for reframing life’s journey, especially from one of separation and the pain separation engenders, to one of Oneness, and the inner joy and peace that infills from this perspective. Dr. Young is a gifted inspirational speaker who often uses life’s parables to convey spiritual meaning, and inspires others to look within for the Truth that can transcend the superficial.

Jim has just published three books in a new "My Spiritual Awareness" series: The Creation Spirit; A Labor of Love; and Keys to the Door of Truth. All are available through his personal website, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore. Visit him online at http://creationspirit.net, or email him at dimitrios@creationspirit.net.