How Can I Find the Truth? - 3/13/06

I received a sweet note today asking how someone can find spiritual truth and figure out the best path.

Her letter inspired me to start thinking. What is truth, anyway?

I'd have to say that I define "truth" as being different from "facts."

Facts are static, irrefutable pieces of information that describe the essence of something.

Truth is far more wiggly and changeable.

One person's truth may be very different from another person's.

People's experiences and their accumulated beliefs, knowledge, and wisdom are unique to that person.

My truth may be different from your truth. In fact, my truth is an ever-evolving sense of truth, not a static thing at all.

I've had experiences which were real. I've compared notes with thousands of others who have had the same experiences. And I've worked with thousands of people who have been able to enter into the same experiences of energy and Spirit that I've had, as we worked together in healing session or consultation. And writers around the world have written about these experiences, as have many supposed "experts" in the metaphysical and healing fields

But not for one moment do I feel that any of us have found ultimate truth. Truth is bigger than all of us. If we're lucky, we can cultivate the ability to have moments where we can obtain a glimpse of higher truth, and by stringing together a series of those moments, we can gain a clearer picture of the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

Truth can be drawn in many colors, painted in many shapes, textured with different tones and energies.

I define truth as that which enhances your deepest knowing about yourself. Truth is an additive thing that uplifts you and brings you into a more cohesive, intelligent, and loving place of awareness.

And truth can be found everywhere, in everything.

I also think of truth as that which moves you closer to love and away from separation. Truth is inclusive. It carries a "You and I are in this together" feeling.

Facts are too often used to beat someone over the head, to prove your worth at the expense of another person's. Facts can be tools of the devil. Facts are often used as armaments bolstering the illusion that you are wiser, more intelligent, more informed, or more legitimate than whomever you have identified as "the other."

That's why facts can be so easily manipulated. They are disconnected from inner truth, from a respect and love for all things and all peoples. Facts usually serve as a tool of separation, not inclusion.

What is your personal definition of truth? What is your definition of a fact? These are great questions for us all to be asking.

In the meantime, keep searching, discerning, and measuring what you personally believe to be true against your internal spiritual compass. That way, your aim in life will always be true.