Reassurance

The beginning...
It's hard to pinpoint in words.
I know the truth of it, know the timing of it.
Childhood.
Early on, I was full of wisdom and faith.
Weren't we all?
I remember knowing - not thinking - but knowing with total assurance that I was good. It would all be okay. I didn't need to know the plan or how it would all play out. I just believed in me.
Simple.
Then, life happened.
I believed I needed, or should listen to, others. I felt the strain of not listening to myself, but thought I could trust others to know. To know for me.

A lot of pain. Agony. Misunderstandings. Good intentions. A focus on other people's perceptions. Never feeling a fit.

Then there were the moments - times when you knew you were in the zone. You got it right. You followed your instinct and were, of course, rewarded. But you could never consciously replicate this, never understand how you found yourself in harmony. Never truly SEE.
These were beautiful times. Times you felt proud. But in the low times you also could never guide yourself back.
This wasn't good enough!
"Someone must know how to help me."
Circular...looking outside of yourself for answers...again...again.

On my journey, I remember my few years as a teacher. I loved, and hated, my job. The kids, I loved. Their families, I loved. My fellow educators, I loved. The bureaucracy, and all that pulled me away from my students, I hated. (I worked in a very elite public school). One thing I know is that I impacted each child that I taught. They meant a lot to me and I paid close attention. They taught me and I taught them. We all supported each other and took risks together. They felt that I loved them, and their families felt it too!
The results:
Astonishing growth for each child in both academic and social benchmarks.
But that's not the important detail. That kept my principal happy; a natural consequence. 
The important thing is that I was able to listen to my own wisdom while I also listened carefully to each child. This was the magic. I listened to each child with full belief in their huge potential...they did not disappoint. I did not falter.

I know now, with my understanding of The Principles (mind, thought, and consciousness), just what kind of magic was taking place. I know that by putting all personal thinking and insecurities aside, and by trusting in the wisdom that they were all perfect and exceptional already, I was able to be at a very high level of consciousness with them. This was powerful, and remains among my favorite memories.

But still, I left teaching. I felt unhappy with the profession. I didn't understand how to translate my positive feelings in the classroom over to the meeting room, or to my endless hours of prep work. Again, the positive experience felt like a fluke. Undercurrents of hopelessness and helplessness crept in.

Fast-forward 10+ years, and I've learned so much about how my thinking creates my total experience. I realize now that it's not necessarily knowledge that helps you navigate with peace of mind, but it's the knowledge that You Are Navigating!
You are deciding which thoughts to pursue and which to dismiss. 
You are either helping yourself hear your own wisdom and intuition, or you're working hard to muffle it.
You are deciding, in all of this, what you will be aware of, and this changes your path...or at least how it looks.

I don't know if it's nicer to know that we all have this innately healthy guidance system within us, or if I'm more thrilled that I can understand it all now thanks to my understanding of Mind, Thought & Consciousness.

Reassurance.