Inner Security

We have the sense that if we shore up all things external to ourselves that we’ll be safe from harm. Thus, the exponential rise in laws and regulations, as well as the war on terror, all spring from this deeply held belief in safety from the outside in. Recently I had a simple, yet profound, realization of the falsity of this way of thinking and know that in fact my sense of feeling safe is held internally, not externally. I say "my sense" of safety because this is what I am addressing here. How we in fact "feel" safe internally, not how we "are" safe externally. These are two different experiences, although I believe they influence each other and overlap at times, but what I want to address here is the actual feeling of security that we all struggle with in some way or another.

We are so deeply conditioned to believe that our sense of safety is not within our control, that we are at the effect of life, God, the government, our spouses, bosses, parents, children, income, and a whole host of endless life situations for our well-being, but in reality, the one factor that exists beyond these conditioning experiences, our only real influence on how we feel secure, is what is deeply believed to be true. In other words, when we know ourselves beyond concepts and experiences that come and go, we see that in fact safety resides within our own heart and belly; within the strength of our undefended vulnerability. This innocent knowing of who we really are allows us to relax and open up to the joy and freedom that is our birthright which is centered right in our own body.

When we see deeply into this truth our life changes radically, if not immediately. Learning to live from this place is challenging, is not for the faint of heart, is a path full of pitfalls, and the only real choice if you want to free yourself fully. To live in joy takes a commitment to unwavering personal responsibility, and in this taking gives us the deepest sense of security possible.