Key concepts:
- A map requires a compass to show which direction you’re facing. Otherwise, a map is nearly worthless if you’re lost.
- The invention of the compass gave explorers the tool they needed to safely venture into the wilderness.
From the video: “The compass is everywhere because it’s literally how we find our way across the face of the earth. You can go off and explore and find out what is over that next hill or that next horizon, but you can also reliably find your way home.”
In other words, a compass helps you explore new terrain, and it also can help you find your way back to where you came from.
Optional activity: If you have a compass handy (likely on your phone), you might demonstrate how you can always use it to find North no matter where you are.
The Inner Compass
Explain that just as a physical compass shows the way to go so we don’t get lost, we all have access to an inner compass, which is similar to the word conscience: an inner feeling or voice that guides you toward what is right for you and others.
Wisdom traditions from around the world have spoken about the inner compass:
- Judaism talks about a “still, small voice” that guides us.
- Hinduism talks about “the golden city of the heart.”
- Christianity talks about a “Kingdom of God” that is “within you.”
- The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius writes that you should, “Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good, and it is always ready to bubble up if you just dig.”
- Sikhism says, “God dwells inside everything; Seek the divine, therefore, in your heart.”
- Islam talks about God being nearer than your jugular vein.
In each case, there’s a belief that you can access inner guidance that will point you in the right direction. The concept is real, but it is impossible to fully convey in words. We each have to experience it for ourselves.
Discuss:
- In our family, what names might we use for this inner guidance?
A few possibilities:
- Inner compass
- Your true self
- Your best self
- Intuition
- Conscience
- Heart knowing
- Love
- Spirit
- God
- Inner light
- Inspiration
- Revelation
- Pure awareness
Share that there are some outside voices worth listening to — trusted adults, friends, and siblings. But none of them should eclipse our inner knowing of what is most generous and loving.