Trust

Trust. It’s a word we throw around a lot, but what does it really mean? We’re not talking about the blind faith that ignores red flags or the naive belief that nothing bad will ever happen. This is a deeper, more primal trust. It’s the trust of a baby in its mother’s arms. The trust of a seed in the soil. It’s the radical act of surrendering to the flow of life, even when you can’t see the destination.

Our minds are wired for control. We want to know what’s coming. We want to have a plan. We want to be safe. But the spiritual path asks us to do something terrifying: to let go. To release our white-knuckled grip on the illusion of control and to trust that we are held by something vast, intelligent, and loving. This is not a passive resignation. It is an active, courageous engagement with the present moment, just as it is.

The Tao of Trust

The Tao Te Ching is a love song to trust. Chapter 17 says, ‘When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised. If you don’t trust the people, you make them untrustworthy.’ This is a deep teaching. It tells us that trust is a mirror. When we trust, we create a world that is trustworthy. When we mistrust, we create a world of suspicion and fear.

Chapter 23 speaks of the importance of trusting the Tao itself: ‘Express yourself completely, then become quiet. Be like the forces of nature: when it blows, there is only wind; when it rains, there is only rain; when the clouds pass, the sun shines through. If you open yourself to the Tao, you are at one with the Tao and you can embody it completely. If you open yourself to insight, you are at one with insight and you can use it completely. If you open yourself to loss, you are at one with loss and you can accept it completely. Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses; and everything will fall into place.’

Advaita Vedanta and Trusting the Self

In Advaita Vedanta, the ultimate trust is not in an external God or a guru. It is trust in the Self. The real Self, the Atman, which is one with Brahman, the ultimate reality. The path of non-duality is the path of realizing that you are not the limited, separate ego that you take yourself to be. You are the vast, unborn, undying consciousness in which all things arise and fall. To trust this is to be free.

This is not an intellectual concept. It is a felt experience. It is the deep, unshakable knowing that you are whole, complete, and perfect, right now. It is the release of the endless striving to become something other than what you are. It is the simple, deep trust in your own being.

The great sage Ramana Maharshi was a living embodiment of this trust. When he was a young boy, he had a spontaneous and terrifying experience of death. He lay down on the floor and surrendered completely to the experience. He did not fight it. He did not run from it. He trusted it. And in that surrender, he realized that he was not the body. He was the deathless Self. From that moment on, he lived in a state of unwavering trust in the Self. He had no plans, no ambitions, no desires. He simply was. And in that simple being, he became a guide of light for the world.

A Real-Life Example

I worked with a man who was a successful entrepreneur. He had built a multi-million dollar company from the ground up. He was a master of control. He had a plan for everything. But he was also riddled with anxiety. He couldn’t sleep. He was constantly worried about the future. His relationships were suffering. He came to me because he was at the end of his rope. I told him that his problem was not his business. His problem was his addiction to control. I challenged him to a radical experiment: for one week, he was to do nothing. He was to delegate all of his responsibilities. He was to have no schedule, no plan, no agenda. He was simply to be. He thought I was insane. But he was desperate, so he agreed. The first few days were torture for him. He was bored, restless, and anxious. He felt like he was going to jump out of his skin. But then, something shifted. He started to notice the world around him. He went for long walks in nature. He reconnected with his wife and children. He started to feel a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt in years. At the end of the week, he came back to me, a changed man. ‘I get it,’ he said. ‘I’ve been trying to hold up the sky. And I just realized, it’s not going to fall.’ That is the gift of trust.

How to Embody This Teaching

Trust is a muscle. You have to build it. Here’s how:

1. **Practice Small Acts of Surrender:** Start with small things. Let someone else choose the restaurant. Take a different route to work. Say ‘yes’ to something you would normally say ‘no’ to. Notice the feeling of letting go of control. Notice that the world doesn’t fall apart.

2. **Spend Time in Nature:** Nature is a powerful teacher of trust. The trees don’t worry about whether they will have enough sunlight. The rivers don’t worry about whether they will reach the ocean. They just are. Spend time in nature and let its wisdom seep into your bones.

3. **Body-Based Practices:** Trust is not just a mental concept. It is a felt sense in the body. Practices like yoga, qigong, and dance can help you to release the tension of control and to cultivate a deeper sense of trust in your body’s wisdom.

When This Card Appears

When the Trust card appears in a reading, it is a gentle but firm reminder to let go. It is a sign that you are trying too hard, that you are holding on too tightly, that you are trying to force an outcome. The universe is inviting you to relax, to breathe, and to trust that you are being guided. This card may be pointing to a situation where you are feeling anxious or fearful. It is asking you to release your need to know, to control, to be certain. It is an invitation to step into the unknown, to have faith in the process of life, and to trust that you are exactly where you need to be.