Confidence – The Outer Expression of Inner Faith
Aplomb, assurance, boldness, courage, firmness, nerve, self-possession, self-reliance – these are some of the many synonyms for confidence – a positive and admirable quality. It is seen in experts of all descriptions. At its best, it is a sunny quality that shines out including others in a cheerful, lighted assurance that all is, and will be, well. Like a powerful magnet, confidence draws all into its wake.
Its source can arise from a wealth of natural talent, good fortune or accumulated experience and skill. Founded on these favourable outer conditions, however, such confidence can be susceptible to the unending changes of modern lives and then what was a constant and secure presence can become a fleeting illusion, a disturbing impairment and insecurity. It is also true that, for some of us, confidence may always have been, and still remains, a relatively rare experience while insecurity is not. In competitive environments, the losers far outnumber the winners, and unfavourable circumstances, whether mild or severe, also contribute to a lack of assurance, however confident one may appear to others.
It may not be so obvious, but confidence does not need to depend on these exterior conditions. There are spiritual foundations for a much more dependable confidence. It requires a shift in the way we look at this and the perspective that can be given by another synonym for confidence. That word is faith. In common usage, it seems that faith is a far less popular word than it once was, and it does not seem to have the shimmering appeal of confidence. One dictionary definition says that faith is belief (without proof). Such definitions suggest a worldview dependent on the physical senses and an underlying implication that spirit cannot give rise to manifestation, or that belief is merely baseless doctrine or imprudent trust.
In contrast to this, Triangles service considers spiritual consciousness to be the medium for initiating material consequences. This is the foundation for a network of lighted goodwill and spiritual teachings, that resonates with the premise of this Biblical passage, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." [Hebrews 11:1-6 King James Version] The world of the spirit shines through this. Every Triangles worker builds with this confidence that thought is creative and via this lighted thought goodwill is distributed. In this work, we have every confidence. With connected points of light, a network is built for creating right human relationships – at its centre, an alignment of hearts forming a path for the expected avatar, the Coming One.
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"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." Have you ever noticed the occult significance of these words? Quietness refers to the necessary condition of the astral or emotional body, and confidence, which is the outward expression of an inward faith, describes that of the mind. … Quietness leads to a right reflection in the quiet pool of the emotional life and this in the light of the soul. Confidence is the expression of the personality faith in the fact of the soul and of the Plan. ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ These desired realities, when reflected in the emotional nature, evoke aspiration and develop faith. Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. I, A.A. Bailey, p. 339