Back in my aviation days as a flight instructor, we had an expression, “Under the hood.” That was how we trained student pilots — we put them under a hood.

It was literally a hood they wore over their heads. The hood allowed them to see only straight ahead to the airplane’s instrument panel. It blocked out their peripheral vision. The only visual clues they had were the plane’s instruments. They were literally flying blind.

It was often the hardest part of any student pilot’s training. It certainly was hard for me when I was a student pilot.

So why are we talking about this today? What does it have to do with spirituality?

Spirit

We love that phrase “flying blind.”  When you’re flying blind you are ignoring, or being forced to ignore, the world around you. And that’s a good thing.

The world around you, what you perceive “out there,” is not real. It’s an illusion you should ignore. Just as the student pilot flies under the hood, so should you fly through your life “under the hood.”

By that we mean your focus should always be on your inner vision—your “God vision,” if you will. That vision will never lead you astray.

When a pilot is flying through clouds or fog, and has only the plane’s instruments for guidance—so too do you have your “instruments” to guide you. Your instruments are your intuition, your inner guidance. As a pilot trusts the airplane’s instruments, you too must trust your “instruments.”

The “world our there” is not a reliable guide. If you follow it regularly, you will “crash and burn” sooner or later. But if you follow your inner guidance—the God within—you will never be led astray. You will always be guided safely to the true home you never left.

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In this talk, Charles Eisenstein discusses how and why we should trust our inner guidance.