TRUST ON THE PATH: SURRENDER OR HIDING PLACE?

We often speak of trust as something essential on the spiritual path. “Trust the process,” we are told. “Trust life, trust yourself, trust the divine.” But what do we really mean by trust? And is it always what it seems?

For many, trust becomes another concept to hold onto—a kind of spiritual insurance policy against the unknown. But true awakening is not interested in our policies of protection. It invites us to walk naked, to stand undefended in the fire of now, without the scaffolding of belief.

If we look closely, we may find that what we call trust is often laced with expectation. We trust that things will get better. We trust that pain will be transformed into peace. We trust that we will be rewarded in some way. This kind of trust still seeks control, still bargains with life.

But real trust—if the word is to be useful at all—points to something much deeper. It is not about outcomes. It is not a feeling we can manufacture. It is the absence of resistance. It is the willingness to be with what is, without turning away. It is not the trust that something will happen—it is the trust in this moment, as it is, even if it breaks you open.

In this way, trust is not an effort or a virtue. It is what remains when the ego stops trying to hold it all together. It arises not from the mind, but from the quiet of being. It is the natural fragrance of surrender.

And yet, even surrender can be misused. One can appear to trust, to surrender, while secretly hiding. Hiding from the pain of disappointment, hiding from the fear of annihilation, hiding from the unnameable mystery of existence.

The invitation here is to look honestly: Is this trust alive, or is it a strategy? Is it a letting go, or a subtle holding on?

There is no shame in discovering that what we thought was trust is actually fear in disguise. This recognition is a gate. If met without judgment, it dissolves the veil.

Ultimately, the real question is not whether to trust, but whether we are willing to meet this moment without defense. When we do, trust is not something we need to cultivate—it is what we discover in the silence that remains.

Amoda’s latest video: Rest in the Silence of Being.