Guest Writer for Wake Up World
As part of my job, I am frequently asked to endorse books, products, and programs that might sell better if I give them my stamp of approval. I’m also asked to decide whether to get involved in media that will draw attention to what I’m selling in my own business. It would be so easy to just say “Yes” to everything. It would please others and gain me approval. Doing so would sell more books and attract more attention to the programs I lead (like my latest program for health care providers).
I used to indiscriminately endorse every book I was asked to endorse by author friends, until one reader accused me of what she called “bloggie incest”, claiming that I automatically endorsed all the books written by everyone in my little blog cliqué. I was guilty as charged. This reader told me she no longer trusted my endorsement because I didn’t seem to be picking the books I endorsed with discernment. I was just agreeing to support my friends. What she said needled me right in the gut and made me think twice about endorsing even well-intentioned books that feed the ego more than they feed the soul. I know my readers trust what I recommend, and I want my endorsement to actually mean something.
I also had to rethink my strategy for spreading the word about my message…
Sure, I could say yes to every famous person who promises to help me broadcast my message. Surely, it’s okay to sell out just a little if it means more people will hear the life-affirming message of my work, right? So what if some radio and television personalities can be offensive and use fear-based tactics for boosting ratings? If they get more spirit-lifting books in the hands of those who can benefit from them, isn’t it worth getting interviewed anyway?
After the spiritual awakening glimpse I experienced earlier this year (which I wrote about here), my soul gave me a lashing, and it’s as if I suddenly wasn’t allowed to ‘sell out’ anymore. It’s as if I used to be able to get up to about 30% out of alignment with my soul, and I could still get away with it. Now – if I’m 3% off center, I get the Cosmic Bitch Slap! This has required me to make some very uncomfortable decisions.
Does The Universe Test Your Soul’s Integrity?
You can probably relate.
Every day, you are probably asked to do something that requires you to betray your soul’s integrity. Maybe you’re in medicine and you’re asked to see 40 patients a day when you know that, to be a true healer, you need much more time. Maybe you’re in advertising and you’re asked to try to sell a product you don’t fully support. Maybe you’re a teacher and you’re not allowed to hug the child you know just needs to be held. Maybe you’re a lawyer asked to defend the client with the most money, rather than defending what’s fair. Maybe you’re the politician who got into politics to be the voice for the people, only now you’ve sold out to special interests because you can’t help the small people unless you get re-elected.
Maybe it’s not even about a job. Maybe you didn’t speak your truth when someone was excluded from your social group, even though her heart is pure. Maybe you skipped your child’s play because of the volunteer position that expected you to speak at the meeting, when you just wanted to cheer on your kid. Maybe you didn’t speak up on the church committee when they started talking about why they don’t want a gay preacher. Maybe you said yes when your soul begged you to say NO. Maybe you didn’t speak up for your own needs when you were asked to sacrifice your own self care for your family.
Every day, your soul’s integrity is tested, and every day, YOU HAVE A CHOICE.
Why You Sell Yourself Out
Your ego will make an argument for why you have to sell out. It will rationalize that you need security, safety, certainty, acceptance, and a paycheck. It will speak in the voice of your greatest fears, threatening you with loss of status, money, or approval unless you compromise what your soul knows. Sure, betraying your soul in this way gains you security and popularity, but at what price?
When you sell out your soul day after day, even if the sell outs are subtle and you’re barely aware of what you’re doing, the voice of your soul (I call it Your Inner Pilot Light) grows dim. It’s harder to hear this voice when you haven’t cultivated a personal relationship with this part of you. Every time you betray the truth of your soul, you split from your true self, and every time you do this, a little piece of you withers away, taking it with it your health and vitality.
I Know It’s Hard
Abiding by your soul’s integrity is hard. It won’t necessarily make you popular or put you next in line for that promotion. Such a commitment is not for the faint of heart. You’ll be asked to do scary things. You’ll be asked to say “NO”- a LOT. People you love may not support you. You become unpredictable, because you’re not ruled by the fears that people use to control one another, and this unpredictability makes some people wary. You may start to trigger others, especially the ones who have rationalized why they’re selling out their own souls every day. You become a mirror those who sell out can’t stand to look in.
You may have to turn down opportunities to make good money you could really use. You may feel helpless to align with your soul’s integrity because you’re embroiled in a system that leaves you feeling helpless- like medicine, education, corporate America, banking, publishing, or politics. You may feel like you don’t really have a choice…
It’s Worth The Sacrifices
But something magical happens when you commit to aligning with your soul 100% of the time. The others who long to live in alignment with their own souls will flock to you. Your true friends will resonate with you because your vibration changes. People who are finally ready to align with their own souls come out of the woodwork and join hands with you, filling in the vacancies that tend to appear when you lose those who aren’t so happy with how you’re making decisions in your life.
The good news is that, as a sort of thank you for aligning, your soul will magnetize into your life true joy, unconditional love, a sense of connection with the Divine, professional vitality, and physical health. Don’t be surprised if miracles start happening.
It’s almost as if, when this happens, the Cosmic Forces cheer, “We’ve got one!” and take you over, since you are now taking orders from the soul, rather than the ego.
It requires courage. You’ll be asked to do hard things. You may lose friends. You may even lose your job.
But what you’ll gain…it’s PRICELESS.
Are You Willing To Commit To Your Soul’s Integrity?
Once you decide to abide by the soul’s integrity, it’s easy to let the ego grab onto this new reason to inflate itself and judge others. But that’s not the point. This kind of decision doesn’t make one person superior and another inferior. It’s a personal decision- one you must make for yourself. We’re all on our own paths, doing the best we can. We have no right to judge whether others are aligning with their soul’s integrity. This is not why I wrote this blog post.
The reason I’m sharing this is because I’m inviting you to join me in making such a commitment for yourself- if you’re ready. In case you think I’ve got this all figured out, trust me. I don’t. I get confused. I get tempted. I still screw up. It’s a process and a practice, and when I veer off course, I comfort myself with the story of the Concorde, which you can read about here.
Are you willing to go outside your comfort zone to stand for what is true for you? Do you know your soul well enough to know when you’re compromising your soul’s integrity? Are you willing to let your soul take the driver’s seat in your decision making?
Committed to your soul growth,
Updated August 2014
Previous articles by Lissa Rankin:
- Will You Practice Judgment Or Compassion?
- To Do Or Not To Do?
- How to Stay Sane and Sustain in the Wake of a Spiritual Awakening
- 7 Stories That Will Make You Believe in Miracles
- Love Yourself Skinny – the Tapping Solution for Weight Loss
- 10 Health Habits They Don’t Teach in Medical School
- Coming Out of the Spiritual Closet
- 10 Fun Ways to Reduce Your Cortisol Levels
- 6 Stories To Make You Believe In The Power Of The Mind To Heal You
- 6 More Stories To Make You Believe In The Power Of The Mind To Heal You
- A Radical Way To Grow Spiritually In A Relationship
- The Health Benefits Of Finding Your Tribe
- 7 Tips For Finding Your Tribe
- 10 Surprising Things That Trigger “Fight-Or-Flight”
About the author:
Dr. Lissa Rankin, MD is a mind-body medicine physician, founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute training program for physicians and health care providers, and the New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself. She is on a grass roots mission to heal health care, while empowering you to heal yourself.
Lissa blogs at LissaRankin.com and also created two online communities – HealHealthCareNow.com and OwningPink.com. She is also the author of two other books, a speaker, a professional artist, an amateur ski bum, and an avid hiker. Lissa lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and daughter.
Connect with Lissa on Facebook.
If you've ever found value in our articles, we'd greatly appreciate your support by purchasing Mindful Meditation Techniques for Kids - A Practical Guide for Adults to Empower Kids with the Gift of Inner Peace and Resilience for Life.
In the spirit of mindfulness, we encourage you to choose the paperback version. Delve into its pages away from screen glare and notifications, allowing yourself to fully immerse in the transformative practices within. The physical book enriches the learning process and serves as a tangible commitment to mindfulness, easily shared among family and friends.
Over the past few years, Wake Up World has faced significant online censorship, impacting our financial ability to stay online. Instead of soliciting donations, we're exploring win-win solutions with our readers to remain financially viable. Moving into book publishing, we hope to secure ongoing funds to continue our mission. With over 8,500 articles published in the past 13 years, we are committed to keeping our content free and accessible to everyone, without resorting to a paywall.
