Honesty is the basis upon which all relationships rely. Without honesty, either to yourself, or to others, or in a collective, a blockage to natural flow of mind and heart develops that leads to discord and the inability to function properly.
To be honest with ourselves means to not be against our own truth in some way. This means to not try to be something we are not, to lie to ourselves about the truth of something, or to deny our feelings or experiences we have had. When we deny our truth in this way we feel an immediate sense of disassociation with ourselves, feeling like we are two people, one on the surface who lies and one that is deeper that is always in the truth no matter what. This can make us feel so desperate and isolated from others that we can get depressed. The remedy for lying to ourselves is to be honest to ourselves, This means admitting what is false by realizing what is true. What is my truth? Is this who I truly am? What do I truly feel? When we can answer these questions with honesty and truth we can begin to heal and become whole again.
Lying to others leads inevitably to the breakdown of the relationship. Even if the thing you want to lie about could damage the relationship, the minute you lie to someone you create a distance between yourselves, a gulf only crossed through honesty. Relationships are built on trust, a trust that is based on honesty. If that trust is broken, the one lied to will feel betrayed and not feel like supporting the relationship as much. A lot of sadness and anger can come from dishonesty. The remedy to lying is being honest all the time, even if you think its difficult. There are certain occasions where white lies are appropriate, but these are not based on harmful intentions, but simply kindness. You be the judge. When honesty is expressed it is the ground for healing of a relationship where trust can be restored.
Dishonesty in the collective systems we have in the world today would cause the collapse of our society. If all politicians were dishonest, then those which ruled our country and made many of the decisions that affect our lives would be based on lies, leading to the disenfranchisement of parts or all of the populous. If the media were all liars then we would never know what was truly happening in the world, locally or globally. If all corporations lied then we would have no way of knowing if our food was safe, our products were not overpriced, and our social media services were not taking advantage of our information and our identities. The remedy for this kind of dishonesty is to have clear and open channels of communication, complete transparency, and a way for the population to voice their opinions about how these things are run. Democracy and good capitalism die in the face of dishonesty.
Honesty is not just a way to think about ourselves, or speak to others, or behave in large public and private organizations. It is the path. It is the way to true freedom and spiritual enlightenment. When we align ourselves with the truth within us and all around us we begin to connect to the Divine, the reality that is the basis of our being and our ultimate nature. Honesty is about realizing our truth, and letting go of all the ways that we are false. In this way we liberate ourselves of the ways that cause us suffering in the mind and make way for the fullness of our being to be expressed. May you come to know the full meaning and importance of honesty that you can see yourself, others, and the whole world come to its greatest fruition.