All of us have had the experience of being about to do something, but then stopping ourselves because a little voice within seemed to say, “Wait a minute — this might not be good idea!” And then we either chose to listen to that inner voice, or ignore it and proceed anyway. If we decided to heed that voice, we might have felt a sense of relief or relaxation. And if we did not, we might have felt a sense of tension or nervousness. What is that inner voice? It is the voice of the conscience, of our inner truth — which is our link to God.
If you think about it, our conscience operates on four levels: First, it is the immediate feeling of “yes” or “no”. Second, it is a deep connection to the principles of how we conduct our lives. Third, it is the divine energy stream that lifts us up and helps us to be the best of who we are. And fourth, it is our guardian spirits trying, with the help of God, to get through to us as we live our lives on Earth, to lead us away from Darkness and toward the Light. You might also say that our conscience is our intuition, which includes all levels of spiritual awareness and communication. And it is also inspiration, which — at its best — always comes from a higher level of being, from our connection to the Divine.
How our thoughts are influenced reveals how attentive we are to our conscience —which is always trying to guide us. For example, when an artist is creating a painting, the image — its composition, colors, lines and proportions — reflect the degree to which he or she is in tune with the spirit. What is the vibration that emanates from this painting? Does it convey peace? Does it convey love? Is it primarily a reflection of the Divine and the vitality and joy of life, or is it mainly rooted in the ego of the artist or the darker vibrations of life? Does it inspire us with a feeling of compassion, joy or beauty, or does it reflect a negative, depressed or ugly view of life? These are all indications of how deeply the artist — or anyone — listens to the conscience, which is always a force for the highest good. Or we can put it in more essential terms: Is an artist influenced primarily by the Light, or by Darkness? My friends, it is the ultimate responsibility of every artist to know what essential choices he or she is making, for those choices will affect every viewer. And it is our responsibility as viewers to be aware of the vibrations emanating from every work of art, so that we can choose what to include in our life and what to reject, so that we choose beauty over ugliness, so that we may be better influenced by our conscience, which is always of the Light.
It’s the same thing in business: What are you selling? What are you buying? Is your business set up with a mission to make money regardless of the consequences to health, the environment, or ethical principles themselves? Or does it operate with a mission statement that says that every product or service must reflect a commitment to the well-being of everyone and to the environment? Are your prices fair or unfair? And if you are in the financial services, is it your practice to treat your clients fairly and ethically, or are you merely out to make your own profits regardless of the consequences to anyone else? Are you listening to your conscience?
In all relationships, from marriage to friendship to business to education, there is a give and take which requires constant compassion, tolerance and fairness. We have a choice, for example, to overreact to a slight by our partner — or to have a peaceful conversation to resolve the issue. The basis of all relationships is love, which — in essence — is what makes the conscience possible, as God loves us all unconditionally, and fervently wishes us all to lead loving, compassionate, positive and contributive lives. In order to achieve this, we need our conscience to guide us every day. Our conscience is not only our link to God; it is God’s gift of guidance, which stems from God’s eternal and unconditional love.
And we know when it is God who is calling us, whether directly or through one’s guardian spirit, as such guidance never carries a feeling of compulsion or guilt, but rather a gentle and persistent voice appealing to our inner sense of wisdom.
I believe that all professions, activities and relationships are united in one way: How we do what we do is a reflection of how deeply we listen to our conscience. But although we are all fallible human beings, it is our obligation to awaken our spirits to the point at which we can hear our conscience loudly and clearly. There is no middle ground: We cannot do what is right some of the time and do what we know to be wrong the rest of the time; we cannot live a divided life. Living according our conscience means directing one’s will toward the Light and away from Darkness; it means embracing positive energy and kindness and rejecting negative energy and meanness. Ultimately, it means evolving toward an ever-higher spiritual state of mind — which happens more quickly if we live according to the dictates of our conscience, and more slowly if we reject that voice. How many lifetimes on Earth it takes to learn to heed that voice every day depends on our own, God-given free will. Let us make the right choices now, and live as the children of God we have always been!
Thank you, and may peace be with you.
Rev. Roger Davidson