Showing posts with label Virtue development - honesty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virtue development - honesty. Show all posts

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Virtue Development, Part three, honesty: pretense or genuineness?


Part three - Pretense or genuineness?

:Putting one’s faith in the Spirit and not in the ego, and being consistent in one’s choice, there is no doubt about Truth and what it entails.

The Truth resides in the mysterious and glorious Oneness of all creation and the turning away from separation, locality, and individualistic egoism.

Honesty and truth no longer depends on appearances and form but rather on genuineness, authenticity, and substantive content.

When one is aware of the Ground of Being, one cannot help but to be honest, be the real deal, have their shit together.

Some people have their shit together, but, it seems, that most people don’t. They don’t know themselves very well, and have no idea what makes them tick. They are afraid to find out, scared of their imagined defectiveness and inadequacy. This fear, this sense of shame, clouds their awareness of their natural inheritance of love.

And so honesty, after faith, is a key virtue. It takes a lifetime of practice to forgive our mistaken illusions, our pretense, our deceit and lies, and rest in the authentic and genuine.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Virtue Development, Honesty, Part two: To thy own self be true


Part two: To thy own self be true

Peace of mind comes from honesty. It is the dishonest who experience anxiety, anger, depression, and ultimately despair.

It is the wish and intention to deceive that is the root of all evil and leads to conflict and war. The worst war is the conflict within oneself between the false self and the authentic self. The worst dishonesty is self deception where one murders one’s own soul because they have lied so much they forget who they really are.

Where, when, and with whom can you express what you really think, how your really feel, and what you really want? Who knows, if even yourself, what really matters to you?

Knowing what really matters to you, is the source of your faith. People often say one thing for approval or to get along or to manipulate others, when deep in their hearts they know that their presentation is a deception. The problem arises when a person starts to believe their own deceptions.

Shakespeare has written “To thine own self be true.” Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Grandfather said, “Honesty is the best policy,” and Diogenes roamed the earth with his lantern looking for a honest person.

If a person is to cultivate the virtue of honesty, they must begin with themselves. Lying to oneself is the biggest impediment to happiness that exists. Lying to others is bad enough, but lying to oneself is deadly.


Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Virtue development, honesty, part one. Honest people sleep well.


Once one has achieved the virtue of faith, they have chosen what matters in their life, honesty comes next. To what extent is a person true to themselves?

Honesty, does not depend solely on what a person says. In A Course In Miracles, it is taught that honesty actually means consistency. “There is nothing you say that contradicts what you think or do; no thought opposes any other thought; no act belies your word; no word lacks agreement with another.” M.4.11:4-6 Does a person say what they do and do what they say?

Corollary ideas to honesty are genuineness, sincerity, authenticity. Deep honesty requires that a person knows themselves. Being honest with oneself is one of the greatest blessings of life. If nothing else, an honest person sleeps well.

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