Rico Provasoli: The still, small voice within has been promised to lead us out of confusion, into clarity. But how can we be certain that this voice is guiding us, not beguiling us?
In Zen, we speak of The Trickster, the devious ego capable of twisting the sincerest intention into a bamboozle. Hucksters from the Carpet Bagger tradition were known as scoundrels who said just about anything to get a poor widow to make a donation to feed starving children only to learn that the man was seen feasting in a swank restaurant, attempting to cash the check she’d written, to cover the bill.
So, how do we learn to determine the authenticity of this inner voice? Is there a benchmark, a litmus test to differentiate the true from the false? The Holy Wars were proclaimed to be the work of God’s true followers protecting the One True Faith. Yet history has proved that it was a sleight of hand, a bundle of falsehoods sold by The Church to allow barons free rein to murder and pillage to their heart’s content, accumulating untold wealth and riches. They were forgiven if they gave freely of their plunder to The Church. How could people be duped into this? Where was the wisdom of their hearts? How could they have fallen for this doublespeak? This outright deceit. Well, they had put their blind trust in the Church elders.
This is the central question we might ask ourselves. Who do we put our trust in? The news media? Politicians? Chicago was known as the Windy City, not for the frigid, howling winds coming across Lake Michigan, but for the long-winded politicians expert at dodging questions from citizens regarding how they’d kept their campaign promises.
Most of us are aware of an internal conversation going non-stop in our heads. Judgments, opinions, conclusions, and decisions. We are mostly unaware of the subtle biases we inherited in our childhood. Many might remember the cartoon-like characters of an angel with halo sitting on one shoulder, a little devil on the other. The American Indians tell stories of how we have two wolves living in us. A good wolf, a bad wolf. Which one we feed the most is the one who controls us.
But what if we put all duality aside? What if we don’t believe any conversation? What if we find the quiet within? Nurture it. Feed it. Protect it like a small flame until it grows. And maybe, if we dedicate enough attention, it might speak to us. But it will not be the same conversation we have grown accustomed to.
What about the mirage desert travelers swear they have seen, convinced that a lake was on the horizon? Again, we learn to no longer trust our impressions but rather, to develop the capacity to rest in the quietude of our hearts. If there is a voice, then dismiss it. And return to that spring within where silence has the power, the wisdom of our hearts.
There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen!
– Rumi
Previously also published in goodmenproject.com – Featured image by Özgür Çankaya via istockphoto.com
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