How are my actions aligned with the truth?

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Ollie Cornes
London, England
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Hi Peter,
I would like to ask a question if I may. If an emotion arises which pulls us towards an action, how
can we get to a place where we know that the action is aligned with truth? To me the idea of "what comes from within must be right" is very attractive and seems like the ultimate destination, and yet this reasoning could easily be used as a justification for the most abhorrent of actions ("I felt like killing him"). I think what I am asking is how to find some sense of stability in a world where the old foundations of my self (created by my mind) are crumbling through the realization that I am not my mind.
Thanks,
Ollie

Ollie,
Good question. We shouldn't depend on that which comes from within being an indication of anything
true. Every impulse and emotion "comes from within" and they are designed to serve some purpose. This purpose is not the truth. It is actually the mind serving the mind, or to say it differently: emotions serve the self. This is a long story and so you'll just have to wait for the book I'm working on now (Now Published Titled: The Book of Not Knowing) to come out, if you want to hear more about it from me.

We can reflect, however, that what arises from feeling deeply into the "heart" seems in a different class
from most other impulses. Yet we need to acknowledge that there is heart pain, and so anger, etc. that
can cloud even this resource. If we work to clear such reactions from our hearts, we do find a sort of
measuring stick that provides a clearer sense of honesty and a fuller view on relationship. The heart
function seems to be about relationship, and so leads us to a space where our consideration isn't habitually narrowed to immediate self-concerns, and this does seem to allow a more honest or open relation to things. However, I'm not proposing this is the truth, and falling into a heart-state fantasy -- although infinitely better perhaps than our normal states -- shouldn't be mistaken for the truth. The truth is discerned through direct realization, since it is itself and no personal relationship or feeling or conjecture or belief has anything to do with it.

Regarding action: action is action, to what truth should it align? If you mean: do your actions express and represent your internal state? That depends on your level of integrity. If you mean: do your actions
express an honesty and openness? That depends on your commitment to telling the truth. The fact is
actions will relate to experience, or what is perceived inside and out. If you experience the truth in someway or in some form, then your actions will arise from and relate to this experience. This then leaves us with the task of simply experiencing the truth. And that can be a lifetime endeavor.
Thanks for your input. Hope I've added to your investigation.
Peter Ralston

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