Integrity

Until a moment ago integrity was, for me, a perception that my actions, values, methods and principles were consistently good. In this light integrity is the alignment of all values. By living in integrity I have a value of goodness and acceptance for, and through, all actions.

Wikipedia defines integrity as “the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness in regard to the motivations for one's actions.” As I read various definitions for integrity I started to wonder if could integrity mean more than this? What if integrity is to seek God without purpose?

God has been defined as infinite intelligence, infinite wisdom, and infinite understanding. Seeking God without purpose is also considered by some to be the ultimate spiritual realization. Assuming these axioms are true, could integrity be demonstrating God in everything you think, say and do?

I have come to believe that living in integrity is essential to a conscious life, regardless of which of the above definitions may resonate with you. In the past I have certainly had moments where I was not in integrity. Before my mother made her transition I often failed to approach her with integrity, and I believe I opted to treat her differently. Sometimes this was out of fear and at other times I thought out of love. I do not believe I was treating her badly in trying to ‘soften’ the blow of some of our interactions, but as I look back I think that the only person that was being hurt through my choices in this regard was me. I now note with interest that since my mother made transition that I have not only been more conscious and mindful throughout my life, but the following Sunday was the first service I attended at the Centre for Spiritual Living in Edmonton. Is the timing coincidence or symbolic? I like to think both; but then the beauty of perceptions is that we do have the option to choose how they sit in our minds (insert knowing smile here).

In finding God for the sake of allowing God to work in me and through me I allow that which is God to be my values. And if I seek God in every moment I seek to let the values of God live through me, in alignment with the Divine intent, in every moment. Surely there can be no better alignment of all my values if each thought, word or deed is a seeking an expression of God in, through and as me. When looking to others we must see the integrity of the God that is their true self, and know that they have what they need to live in integrity. If this is true then I would propose that a path to mindfulness is to be loyal to our integrity and to those in our awareness in all that we think, say and do.

I offer the following treatment for your contemplation:
That Thing that pervades everything, that Truth, is here with me now. In this moment I recognize Divinity. I think of all things created and see them as an Effect, but more than that I bask in and recognize the Cause. I only have to choose It and It chooses me.

I know that every moment in this incarnation, every thought that I think, every word that I utter and every action that I take is seeking God without purpose. For the joy of joy I live. In surrendering and allowing God to work through me I become divine. I look forward with delight at seeing what God does. From this moment on I need only one desire, I need only experience God. In this experience I realize God. I walk forward on feet unburdened by the ball and chain of desiring anything but the One Mind in my life, and I celebrate the knowing that the joy of communing with God is enough.

Just as God maintains and sustains the world we live in without advice from man or woman, I place myself and these words in the care of God Governance. I trust and understand the idea behind these words, the words themselves, and the faith I place within and about them. In turn, these words are fulfilled. It can be no other way. My whole heart and soul yearns for God and in this place of self-surrender I offer joyful thanks and gratitude. And so it is.