Michelle Locke

Trust is a word we bandy around a lot these days. It’s a good word and I totally believe that trusting is a much better way to be than fearing, but what is trust and what am I trusting in?

I have been caught out here a number of times, especially when I ‘trust’ in something other than my own inner voice, or what I think is my inner self has really been my ego (the ego can be a tricky son of a gun!). For example: my ego tends to seeing the good in a person or situation. It can be blind to difficulties or obstacles and another person’s negative traits. This is a wonderful trait at times, but it can also come back and bite me, because it is a perception that my mind uses to protect itself from feeling unloved, disapproved of, depressed, discouraged and lonely (it’s a long story).

So, in fact, what I think as trusting, is often not love-based but fear-based. Arrgh! It’s going wide-eyed into relationships and situations with blinkers on! Okay, so let me take the blinkers off and look again. This time the situation/person has both positive and negative points. Can I trust myself to weigh these up appropriately and make decisions that enhance and bring life to the situation and myself? Can I look objectively, in a detached yet compassionate fashion, and move and act in a way that is authentic to my truth?

One of the biggest gifts I have received is the knowledge and experience of hara. Hara is Japanese and refers to ‘the centre of energy’ in a person. It is the belly area, and a person with a strong hara has both physical and mental strength and wisdom. Some traditions refer to this area as the ‘seat of the spirit’. For me it is the physical aspect of my source of inner knowing and wisdom. It is connected to the source of life. It feels grounded and real. It is not knocked off balance by life situations or the dynamics of relating.

When I am centred in my hara, I am calm, detached and flexible. I move through challenges in a patient and dignified manner. I can see all sides of a situation and intuitively know which way to bend in order to flow with the situation. When I am centred in my hara, I am trust! I trust my knowing and can make appropriate decisions as required without judgement of myself or the other. Staying connected to my hara is part of my spiritual practice. It’s not always easy to maintain balance, but every experience is an opportunity to practise staying centred.

When my fears are bigger than my hara, this too is an opportunity – not to fight the fear, but to face it, look, enquire and hopefully realise that my fear is based on a misperception and I can change it.

Michelle is the founder of Wu Tao, www.wutaodance.com, 0417 989 397