Spiritual Courage is Remembering
Who We Are
by Rev. Jennifer Baltz
 A while ago, ABC Primetime aired a story called “Why do People Follow the Crowd?” In it, they highlighted a study by Dr. Gregory Berns, where subjects were asked questions comparing geometric shapes. Most participants did well on the written test...their answers were mostly correct. But when brought into a group where the rest of the group consistently and deliberately gave incorrect answers, their previously correct answers changed...to match the group.
Dr Berns took it a step further...using an fMRI, he discovered that when the subject was deciding, the area that lit up in the brain was actually the spot where vision is interpreted...not where decisions are made. For those who decided against the group, the fear center lit up as well. It turns out that our brains might just be hardwired to go with the group...to actually see what others see, to follow the herd.
It makes sense. We are tribal creatures, and our survival, even today, depends upon one another. Our greatest fear as human beings is being alone. But sometimes the courage to take your own road can make the difference between being who you came here to be and being just another face in the crowd.
True courage is giving yourself permission to be true to yourself, no matter what others may say or think. And it’s not easy. Even your brain wants to take the well-traveled road, even if your intuition and your logic both say otherwise.
This is one reason why I think it’s so difficult for most people to trust their intuition, especially when the group around them says differently. We tend to second guess ourselves when the majority disagrees. The path of following your inner guidance often takes great courage. Even after 15 years of doing intuitive readings, I still come up against that fear sometimes in trusting my intuition. It’s part of the process, and I have learned to acknowledge it...
>>> Click to Continue Reading "Spiritual Courage"©
Copyright Reverend Jennifer Baltz. This article was
originally
published at our website, SoulfulLiving.com, in Summer 2006,
as part of our "Courage" Issue.
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