Just yesterday I discovered that the English name for a flower that in Germany is called “Mondviole” is honesty.
This name is so very fitting in many ways:
Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen: it is rather small, the flowers are not big and showy, but it is always present by its wonderful smell. When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.
Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity. If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up. On this open basis of honesty the most amazing changes can blossom, just like the flower ‘honesty’.
When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful. I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.
The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” A clever trick I have exposed by being honest with myself and allowing myself to feel and show all the beauty and wisdom that is there deep inside of me, just waiting to be shown again.
Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.
If it is brought to a situation or to life in general, there may be massive changes. Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath. The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again.
What a marvellous reflection nature can be.
By Michael Kremer, Personal Assistant, Buchholz, Germany
Related Reading:
My Connection with Nature
An Amazing Journey with Honesty and Expression
Writing in a Journal and the Power of Honesty
Words on Serge Benhayon 
Sadly I think honesty is not our normal, we are far more used to marketing, persuasive language and manipulation therefore we mistrust more often that trust, and learn to accept and repeat suitable truths rather than value the simple and occasionally uncomfortable truth.
I too love the simplicity you have offered here about honesty, if we can embrace that simplicity then anything other than that feels really uncomfortable.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself “ – this is so true. We don’t realize how much of betrayal that is to ourselves when lies become our foundation in the relationship with ourselves.
Thank you Michael, as we step out in life we are going to come across all different types of flowers and they are a lot like humanity they come on all different shapes and sizes and like the flower not everyone is honest let alone True, so we have to be discerning and at the same time love them all equally. As some are Loving others are poison, some get us excited and others put us to sleep, so feel in our bodies then we can discern the energy they come in and not be fooled by the pretty pictures they can be.
Thank you Michael for the perfect blog for me to read this morning, especially with how you have shared about honesty being about “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity” – this too resonates beautifully for me and inspires me to allow all these qualities through with the honesty deepening in expression.
Honesty is about peeling back the layers of protection and allowing oneself to be vulnerable. But what I have learned too is that as we go deeper with our connection with self, this does not mean we have to tell everyone everything. Being honest is about a willingness to be open and vulnerable in the body and not about the words we speak or what we say – some things/words are best not shared with everyone, and yet this does not mean we are hiding or being dishonest, so long as in the body we are open and connected.
Thank you Michael, so true about honesty supporting us to remove that which masks our true beauty within. This was also a powerful line “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” Honesty does expose these things within ourselves and offers us a loving opportunity to be in our power instead, to keep being the fullness of ourselves, which is our ultimate responsibility.
‘Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.’ Reading this makes me realise that when I am being myself – sweet, tender and sensitive – that I am being honest, I love the simplicity of this.
After reading your awesome blog Michael the only thing I want to do is to be honest all of the time. Your words are such an inspiration and invitation – simply beautiful – thank you!
Gorgeous Michael; ‘simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.’
Michael, I love this; ‘Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.’ I had an idea that honesty was about words, so it is lovely to feel that how we are being – showing our beauty is us being honest because we are being our true selves.
The beauty of the flower Honesty is also after the flowers have changed to seed heads that are almost transparent, The seeds can be seen inside the papery outer case which is delicate and thin. Being open and honest in life can reflect that vulnerability and fragility – which is also its strength.
Gorgeous analogy Sue and how beautiful about the seed and its see-through-ness – it is the transparency of honesty that is its strength – why hide what is so divine on the inside?
Michael I love the delicacy in which you describe honesty an the effect on your body and how it opens us up to be seen for who we are.
‘I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.’ This is something I am discovering. There are areas in my life I find challenging because I am learning new skills and being assessed. Reading this I feel I can drop my protection, drop any attempts at false confidence and just show all of me and be open to the learning on offer.
There is so much bullying and victimisation going on in the world – this is a sure way to keep us from the responsibility of living our own lives whatever that might look like – so easy to hide as the victim as you say and thus avoid the joy, connectedness and strength that responsibility brings.
Honesty is very simply when I realised that it is just simply feeling what my body is feeling like and expressing that.
I live in England and have not heard of this flower … but am not very aware or good with flowers etc and their names!!! With honesty (feeling not flower) I thought I was honest but have seen over the years there are always deeper layers of this; I guess it is how much are we prepared to leave no stone unturned within ourselves and our relationship with ourselves. What I am discovering is when we start to leave no stone unturned and are honest enough to really go there with what we are feeling a shift occurs and a deeper truth within starts to unfold.
There is a very widespread belief that dishonesty makes you less vulnerable since it allows you to manipulate others by creating a false image. Honesty, however, strengthens you since you move with all of you there and you waste no energy trying to trick others for the sake of feeling safe.
Yes when we are open and honest there is no hiding and as you say no wasted energy given to the false image we are trying to portray. As dishonest dealings are now being revealed in the world at large currently – corruption – this shows that truth will out in the end. When expressing honestly from the body we don’t have to try to remember the lies and pretence, when chances are they will be found out anyway. Even accepted ‘white lies’ are a form of dishonesty.
Oh I love the truth of that Eduardo. Perhaps our plague of exhaustion is related???
We can learn tons from the smallest things, a flower can inspire us to realise the deep meanings of life, an animal can remind us of a deep knowing within ourselves, another person can reflect to us the beauty that we hold within. When open to seeing the detail of every moment, we are open to much greater awareness of life.
If we’re honest lovingly then there is no judgement (either on self or another) and we can then grow from the realisation rather than be identified by it.
If we allow ourself to see all that there is to see then we can see the absolute beauty around us. We are so focused on what we do not like and thus do not want to see that we miss out on the bigger picture, on the all that is there to see.
On reading this blog I was wondering what is it about me that finds it so challenging to be deeply honest… I can go half-way there and pretend that I have covered the honesty box, but getting really honest exposes hurts that I don’t want to bring up and a lack of responsibility that I don’t want to feel.
I love what you say about having no fear when you show all of you, including the vulnerable side because you have nothing to hide. This is very powerful and beautiful. How simple all the relationships can be if that was our common foundation?
I absolutely love what honesty means to you – “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity.” And when I read those words my whole body nods in agreement, for it is in the body that honesty is always felt with anything else, dishonesty, being in total contrast to this very natural and very exquisite feeling.
It is easier to be honest with ourselves first in order to then get to the truth.
The seed cases of the flower honesty are transparent and you can see the seeds within, and there are usually 4 seeds, so a magical reflection of transparency as a foundation for honesty and truth.
Absolutely a ‘a magical reflection of transparency as a foundation for honesty and truth.’ Very willing to let us see the beauty of itself and also to share this beauty when the seeds find their own way and go where ever the wind blows them to.
Honesty is an interesting ‘flower’ – on one hand a sometimes painful process of discarding the lies that veil the underlying suppressed beauty, at the same time liberating oneself from the falsities and invigorating the sleeping beauty. Great to be a botanist of one´s own true being.
Honesty opens us up to a deeper understanding of truth.
Although it may be confronting at times honesty is like a friend in that it opens the way for being more genuinely authentic to who we are.
Honesty has a beautiful scent to it.
I agree Michael, being honest brings the feeling of being open and vulnerable, and, this invites others to also be honest. I often find when I am being honest the person I am interacting with tends to open up and be honest too. It is amazing how this works because we are a reflection for each other with how we choose to respond, communicate and express.
‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity. ‘ I do love this observation. So true. Feels like we can bless our lives with honesty this way.
Being honest with another can at times feeling very uncomfortable as we are not sure how they will react. This is often the main reason we are nice instead as we don’t want to upset the other person, but I have discovered being nice is actually harming whereas being honest opens the door for whatever healing is needed, for both of us.
Honesty is beauty, one of the most beautiful things is being held in love by somebody who is completely honest and transparent. In that, you know that there is no pretence and no fairness, you feel the truth of their care and it can melt your heart, I know it melts mine.
Thankyou Michael for reminding me that trust, openness and transparency are all ingredients that nourish honesty.
With all of what you’ve shared Suse, when we take them onboard they nourish our body and our relationships. When our body and our relationships are in harmony, we then offer much healing to humanity in return.
Beautiful Suse, absolute wisdom shared simply and powerfully in your comment.
That is very true. An amazing reflection we receive by symbolisms in nature and all around every single day. If we would just open our eyes and truly see what is there on offer..
If we are honest, transparent, there is no need for a shield as there is nothing to protect.
Offering honesty is an understanding that we are sensitive to what is less than truth around us.
Honesty is the gateway to truth, and as we deepen our connection to truth the lies of who we are not are exposed, allowing greater trust and confidence to be and live all that we are without question.
This highlights how important it is to embrace honesty in every aspect of our life. Without honesty, we blind ourselves to truth and what life is all about.
Very true Chan – we cannot be truly free to live all that we are if we first cannot be honest about who we are not.
‘they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath.’ And that’s the beauty of honesty the peeling back of the layers, the letting go of often false beauty to reveal the depth and joy beneath, and it’s never a static process but always a call to be and go deeper.
I have always had a very strong relationship with Nature as a child it was my go to. We would spend all of our spare time out roaming for miles in the local countryside. When I look around me this way of life is not there for children any more it seems to me that most children live a quite restricted life which is now based on the use of mobile phones and social media. The innocence of childhood seems to have been lost and children are being asked to grow up a lot quicker to their detriment and that of society as a whole.
I know the term “to grow up quickly” but I feel what’s happening to kids nowadays could be described as growing away from themselves or losing themselves.
Honesty is incredibly simple, it’s at the heart of what you feel at any given point in time. Add delicacy and that honesty cannot be self-critical or judgemental, but a delicate way of understanding life and ourselves as a platform to move forward from.
‘Honesty is incredibly simple, it’s at the heart of what you feel at any given point in time.’ Beautifully said – I love this Meg as it highlights the fact that we all know what it is to be honest as we can never not feel, and in fact it is our innate way of being. And so to not be honest is a resistance to our natural way of being as such why the tension exists when we are willingly not being with honesty.
I love what you have shared here Meg and have gone to a much deeper appreciation of how the simplicity of honesty can totally disarm any lie or misrepresentation.
By being honest, the truth´s path of unfoldment is guaranteed and its beauty pours upon those who are willing to receive it.
“Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen” So true how often do we go straight to honesty rather than jump straight into excuses and blame.
These words: simplicity, delicacy, vulnerability.. they carry so much of what loving and truth behold. They point to a way of living that is not the norm, and yet within them resides a deeper strength and commitment to just allow ourselves to be, no matter what. They are words to live by.
I do agree and think it’s a great point about how true honesty does offer and bring a powerful simplicity with it, both within ourself and in relation with everyone else.
Honesty is the breaker to our truth. Honesty is always offering us the opening up to be more of our truth and come back to living this way. The more we are honest. The more we will reveal our truth.
Nature does a great job of reflecting to us exactly what needs to be seen and understood.
I agree Michael, there is incredible beauty in being absolutely honest.
Honesty does bring simplicity to our life. When we experience honesty in ourselves or from another person it is very freeing and inspiring. Honesty is a quality we all have and when we choose to be completely honest in a world that is not so honest it is like a bright star shining its light in a dark tunnel showing people the way out into the light again.
‘I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less’. We can underestimate the power in vulnerability, there is such a tender strength that comes with it.
I have been observing myself lately as to my level of honesty and have come to realise there is a much deeper level that I can go to. I can now see there is a block within me as to how honest I am prepared to be in some situations. It’s time for that block to go as I am now realising that it is absolute honesty that is being called for if my life is going to change…and I am fully ready to answer this beautiful call.
I have been doing the same Ingrid. I thought I was pretty honest until I discovered that there are many layers to honesty that I haven’t gone to. I find with my willingness to go deeper with honesty and bringing it more into my every day it is really supporting my relationships with people and with myself too.
If I am not honest with myself how can I be honest with others? So, when did we begin to become dis-honest with ourselves? When we are very young our honesty can make others feel very uncomfortable and so it is often discouraged. The result is that we then choose to hold back what we know is true and replace it with what we feel others want to hear, simply to get love and approval. And so, the disconnection from what is a natural part of us begins; but it never leaves us and can be reconnected to any time we choose.
‘Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.’ and with this, as you say Michael,’ the most amazing changes can blossom’.
We can only truly restore ourselves when we start with honesty.
Honesty can lead to truth yet only if we are being honest with ourselves about our honesty… or lack of it. My understanding of honesty has been expanding lately and I see it weaves through every small detail in life without excuse or favour.
Very true Victoria, honesty has to first come from us and it is an important step towards truth. Honesty is our very first steps towards breaking through the thick fog of illusions and lies that is currently covering our world.
Michael, your symbolic interpretation of what the Mondviole flower represents to us all was simply magical to read, and felt like true philosophy, science, and religion all in one. The timing of reading this was also amazing for me on a personal level, as I have recently been feeling how much I have held back fully exposing my own exquisite delicate nature that I have protected for a long time, especially with my partner. Another sign of how we are guided by our souls to read the exact thing that can help us evolve when we are ready.
Honesty is such a bedrock and offers so much to us when we embrace it, and often I find it starts with seeing where we are and in some cases admitting we don’t like or want to deal with, but that opening is an amazing start and allows us over time to embrace what is presented to us and see more of us and more of life … it allows us to be real, to be more of us.
Without honesty we cannot even begin the journey to true change.
I agree Elizabeth, it is like we are stuck in a deep thick mess of misery that we have created in life and honesty is like the very first rope we can grab hold of to start pulling ourselves out of this mess. As we begin to grab one rope, we will find there are more we can grab onto to support us out of the this mess of misery we have gotten ourselves into.
There is a beautiful strength in honesty because when we are honest we let simply be what is there and there is no need to protect or put effort into keeping up a picture that we are not.
That is true, it is much more effortless being honest than all the things we create to avoid that unavoidable fact, we have to face anyway somehow someday.
I love too how the seeds of honesty are so fine and delicate yet strong and true, they stand for a longtime after many other plants have withered and died. The stems too are very resilient and upright. We often find them in decorations throughout the year for they last a long long time.
We can be dishonest in so many ways, for example when the doctor asks do we drink, we might say just a glass or two a week when in fact it could be a glass or two each night. We might be dishonest with ourselves and imagine that we have only eaten a small amount, when our body knows full well we’ve eaten more than we needed. We can also be dishonest when we ignore what we feel, and that is dis-honouring too. Honesty in relationships allows us to feel and express what we feel no holds barred.
Nature can be as you say Michael such an extraordinary reflection… And if we have the eyes to see we can learn and evolve with this extraordinary mirror that is in front of us every day.
When I think about it, it’s amazing how much we try to not be honest in life. Yet, the way you describe the beauty of honesty and what it brings, it is difficult to understand why we block it.
When I drop everything (pretences, defences etc.) to be honest with myself and others a lovely sense of relaxation and expansion fills my being – the way is then open for intimacy and Love.
Beautiful, I can absolutely feel that in your written words Lyndy.
I just had to go and look up the flower Honesty after reading this Michael, and discovered I have it growing wild, naturally seeded, at the bottom of my garden, a slightly wooded, shady and natural part of the garden – it shows me there is always the opportunity to be honest and that it is beautiful and natural once we are prepared to look into the shadows.
Gorgeous Rosanna!
Honesty is for me pure love. It all starts with truth and no path can be walked without being honest first. Because in which direction do you walk, when you did not set the right direction?
Beautifully said Stephanie, truth is thy compass.
I remember once in a wonderful session with Serge Benhayon many years ago in which he asked me why I had stayed on at the Conservatorium of Music when it used to make me feel physically sick to go there and I replied that I was in Sydney, age of 16, alone, and had friends at the Conservatorium who went back to high school music camp days, and that I just wanted to stay where there was some safety and sense of belonging. He said that this was honest . . . but then questioned me about the truth of the situation which was that I was completely denying the truth of energy that I was feeling in my body and going against that. I then realised that honesty was a valuable stepping stone to truth, but not in fact truth.
I absolutely agree! It is in fact much more easy being honest, than to claim or see the truth of a decision or situation. But at least it is the start of opening up a jar with a closed lid. We should though not rest in being honest and stay comfortable, as only truth does heal.
Honesty is a strong foundation for all relationships, without it, relationships can be pretty rocky.
Honesty is a very honouring way of being – something that can be clearly felt in this blog.
I agree a flower is a great analogy for honesty – when we are honest it’s like there is an openness to us, and we’re ok to let the world see our imperfections, whereas when we are dishonest we shut down or close up so that people don’t see them.
So the honesty keeps the flower open, rather than closing off thinking we are protecting the petals from damage but only really hiding away from the world. Also when we hide like this we are hidden from our source of energy the sun, and so we cannot grow.
Nature in all its beauty is a reflection of our own. Honesty and transparency has a beautiful fragrance.
A beautiful and deeply inspiring blog Michael. Giving myself permission to be more honest with myself continues to bring more transparency in every communication and a deeper connection with others
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up”.
The word ‘honesty’, from which this plant takes its name, is derived from the word ‘honour’, as symbolised by its translucent seed pods. For there can be no honesty without translucency – our willingness to show our true selves to the world and in this expose all that is not true that may have taken up residence on the surface.
I love that this word comes from honour as it shows that it first starts with ourselves- do we honour ourselves and how we feel in every moment.
Honestly, I love this blogs appreciation of the simple magic of god, pun intended! Honest can be scary but when you are keeping up a falseness, it actually comes as a sigh of relief and I can feel my body release.
Being honest is the first step towards truth. The magic is, when we start being honest, truth can unfold in front of your eyes. Without honesty we keep ourselves in the illusion which does not serve anyone, but delays what needs to be looked at in the first place.
Such a beautiful description of this tiny flower. and I was just thinking that any tiny little flower that blooms in a garden or along the wayside brings such a beautiful and powerful message to us about the strength in simplicity and delicateness, and how this stands with all its life and integrity beside the larger and sometimes grosser growths of life.
My mother has this flower in her garden, and I love the simplicity and steadiness they emanate. Honesty may come across as unpolished and even awkward at times, but I truly appreciate the transparency it offers therefore opportunities for deepening relationships.
How amazing it is to be able to express honesty in any moment we feel and see how our world not only expands but our understanding of all unfolds too.
Being honest is for me also connected to transparency. Showing and being seen in any moment what you feel and who you are.
Honesty does leave us feeling delicate and vulnerable but any other way simply isn’t true. I know I have always felt something is wrong with me when feeling vulnerable and that just exposes the big lie we live in, where we think we need to be tough and strong. It’s not honest nor is it true.
In order to know who we truly are, we need to expose that which we ‘are not’ but have been living in place of this truth. Thus the honesty required in this process and why it can be said that honesty will lead us back to all that is true.
I love how like the flower, honesty is not always the first thing that we see, but when we do it is something to appreciate and enjoy.
Another beautiful aspect- the plant would not survive without the flower. It needs it to grow and expand its population. Same with us- we cannot live without honesty, we need it to expand to come back to the grandness we are.
I agree Michael; there is such a beauty in honesty. When people are being honest about things that are going on for them in their life it is very enduring as it reminds us that we are in fact all the same no matter how it may appear on the outside.
Someone being honest has an absolute beauty!And it does connect us with each other immediately. It allows the intimacy we are all looking for, because we show ourselves to the other person and stop playing any role that we think we need or that we choose to be safe and “comfortable” in …
I find being honest with ourselves and others is a great way to build trust and open up our relationships to a deeper level.
I used to think honesty was just about what was said – as in was it honest or not, but recently I’ve found honesty is much more than that – it’s our ability to show the world who we are and not hold anything back – to speak the truth but also to walk the truth.
This is what honesty brings ‘The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again.’ Being more honest myself these days I can see the beauty and power it brings, I now allow myself to make mistakes and to not hide them or feel guilty.
I have noticed in my life more recently how I am becoming more honest, more real, and how my past life had been so dishonestly lived by being caught up in ideals that are false and only complicate life, honesty is like a breath of fresh air simply opening us up to the delicacy and vulnerability that lies within.
I have to be honest with someone about how I am feeling and I love reading this ‘ I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.’ The desire to hide uncomfortable feelings is very strong when I have invested in appearing all together within myself. Learning to take off the mask of this falsity is what is required to move forward, surrender and be open whilst never being less.
Honestly, I think you’re on the money (pun intended) ha-ha. There is a process when returning to who we naturally are, you have almost broken it down in steps, which is great. Honesty, being key to then build a foundation. In the past, I have felt like being honest is like walking out on the battle field into open fire with no weapon and in some ways, it is but that is only if you are “doing” honesty in the bastardised
form. Being honest is not spilling the beans in every situation, it is a relationship with yourself to move in a way that is truly how you are feeling. It is the ability to drop your body when someone has noticed you are holding, its knowing that it’s okay to make mistakes. By the time you start living from truth, honesty irrelevant and truth is absolute.
This is gold Michael – ‘When I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.’ Being vulnerable is not a sign of weakness, there is great power felt when we don’t hold back our vulnerability and express it in life.
Honesty comes without fear, judgement or any form of hiding, so the example you’ve used of a delicate flower is brilliant Michael, and so true that nature is a magnificent reflection for us all.
I find the more honesty we surrender to within the more we understand about who we are, what makes us tick and also how all others are too, making honesty an important expression of the all and the intimacy in which we move through life.
As I bring more honesty to myself and my way of living, my body is responding with a fragility, delicateness and lightness, just like the flower ‘Honesty”.
Yes I have heard many people say (including me) ‘I was just being honest,’ but sometimes this is not true honesty but a harmful dig or put down.
With honesty we feel empowered and not overwhelmed by life. With honesty we allow ourselves the opportunity to get to the truth of what is going on rather than what we choose to believe or perceive is going on.
Reading this made me want to go and buy a bunch of flowers, an impulse I had been feeling but was too busy for previously, but I love having flowers in my room and this reminded me of this.
I love your description of the flower and appreciation of its similarities to honesty. Instead of being something to avoid or be scared of, you have highlighted the beauty and simplicity of honesty.
We could say that honesty has a certain fragrance to it – it is light and refreshing with a hint of sea breeze clarity!!.
Love the truth of what you have said here Elizabeth about honesty and the poetic way in which you have said it.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” Choosing to allow honesty to blossom within us is to choose to be aware of a deeper truth.
Honesty offers us to opportunity to stop and truly feel into our way of living with ourselves and with others. Often it can leave us raw and uncomfortable but in time, with continued honesty, we will begin to heal what no longer fits into our lives, opening up the space for what truly does.
Choosing honesty is also saying no to a way of moving in the shadows, that is constantly calculating, measuring, concealing and delivering what is needed to feel in control.
Very true Eduardo, I like that ‘moving in the shadows’ life is not free if you are not at the least honest.
There is a great simplicity that comes with being truly honest and it certainly helps us to develop more clarity in our lives.
It has been really amazing to realise how honest the particles of the body are compared with the total dishonesty of the human spirit. When the body is hit it shoes a bruise and loudly speaks: This is not acceptable, this is not love’. Whereas the spirit constantly overrides all the harm that is flying around and is about it all Honesty is a valuable commodity and well worth investing in.
Honesty is the stepping into expressing and communicating how we truly feel, and being prepared to renounce that which we are holding onto – expressing truth is something which is equally living and absolute in another or us all.
Honesty is a platform for amazing change, if we are totally honest then we have a firm solid platform to move forwards from.
Yes, I totally agree Meg. The moment we’re willing to see what’s really going on, is the moment we can begin to make changes.
I had a wonderful moment recently when I had it confirmed that children know what honesty is and how it feels in their body if they are not being honest. A young girl shared that a member of her family had told her she should have lied when she had spoken the truth which had upset several family members. I asked her how it would have felt in her body if she had lied and she instantly responded that it would have felt horrible. How wonderful that at nine she has retained her understanding of the truth and honoured it; may it continue as she grows.
Honesty is something that I feel I live, but am I bringing a consistency in life to that honesty? I find that I am super honest some times, but then when it suits me I will tell the white lies to cover my own bum or someone else’s. So I was pondering what does it truly mean to bring honesty consistently, what would that look and feel like. I am still working on this, bringing a lot more awareness to how I operate and make choices day to day.
Life with out honesty is a life lived in grey, even when it looks amazing, which is often the case.
Yes! I love that analogy that life without honesty, or truth you could say is like living in analogue when the whole world is in colour.
Honesty is always the first step in true healing.
Nature doesn’t hold back showing us how glorious it is, its beauty is displayed in full, it reflects honesty and reminds us how glorious we all are.
This is a beautiful reminder of how nature will reflect back to us all the attributes and aspects within ourselves we are called to activate and make a normal part of how we relate.
Very gorgeous Michael, looking at honesty this way one can view all the beauty it offers.
Being so transparently honest does feel vulnerable and delicate and it is because of this we can make the choice not to go there. But the beauty that lies there is unmistakeable.
It is a joy to revisit this blog, offering a moment to stop and appreciate – the honesty that this blog and that nature can bring to us. In every moment our delicateness and vulnerability can deepen, as we give ourselves permission to be more honest with ourselves and with others.
A moment to stop and appreciate the honesty that this blog and that nature brings to us. In every moment our delicateness and vulnerability can deepen, as we give ourselves permission to be more honest with ourselves and others.
Our honesty brings a wholehearted truthfulness to all that we feel and see.
I love returning to this blog Michael. Today it’s all about reminding me of the degree to which I’m prepared to be delicate, and it is beautiful to read and feel this time how honesty and openness are the precursors to delicateness, and that feeling vulnerable (but not weak) is part of the process. My focus at the moment is about allowing myself to feel fragility… something that feels a bit foreign after years of armouring, and I’m loving the inspiration offered by the mondviole and you.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” So true Michael. Being open and vulnerable brings an honesty that others can relate to and our protective walls can come tumbling down.
In order to be truthful we first have to be honest with ourselves and it is through honesty first that we come to truth.
Honesty shines the light on all the shadows that our issues and hurts hide amongst.
I am totally with you Michael, nature is the most wonderful reflection for us to always remind us of what is important and what we are.
Honesty comes from accepting our vulnerability and when we do accept and allow that vulnerability to come through there is a great power in it, as it discloses the truth to us.
Being absolutely honest is the next step on the path to being in our divine essence or reconnecting to being in truth. So maybe dishonesty is so entrenched in our bodies we have no idea what it is like to even start to understand what honesty is all about.
Honesty is a way that has been lost for many but your exquisite description can be felt Michael as something we do all know and that still resides innately within us. I loved the warmth this comment brought through – ‘The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again’. Very Beautiful, thank you Michael.
Honesty is the first step towards renunciation.
I am glad that you have reminded me of renunciation this morning Michael. Sometimes I falter with this, and feeling great I just go ‘oh well, things are good, I can coast a little’. But no. Continual awareness and honesty, reading situations and understanding is needed and the renunciation of the old ways.
Ah the good old “I’ve got over that issue” or “I’m better now than I’ve ever been!”… such insidious tricks to keep us from truly appreciating where we have come to but also appreciating and accepting what is on offer to move forward.
How delicate and precious we each are and the more we are honouring of this quality in ourselves, the more others will recognise and accept this in themselves.
It feels so freeing to allow honesty. It brings a steadiness and vulnerability that really helps confirm that we are ok.
There is nothing more gorgeous that being in the vulnerability and delicacy of honesty, be it our own or another’s. When we surrender, let go and are honest, the body rejoices.
Honesty melts me too Nikki. There is nothing more equalizing than the power of honesty.
So often what we call honesty is reaction dressed up as ‘free expression’ or hurtful barbs framed as ‘speaking your mind’. The quality that comes across so beautifully in your sharing Michael is that true honesty is divinely simple, natural and precious, like this flower standing proud – it can be chopped down but it knows it’s true strength, for if it is cut down it will simply grow back again. Honesty is not in a rush it knows all it needs to do is just be true. A great reminder to everyone who reads your words.
I Love love love what you have said here Joseph. The discernment of true honesty is indeed a beautiful thing. The whole impediment happening here on earth is that we are so often acting in disguise, parading as something we are not. The ‘what is not’ is the main costuming we wear!
Yes, I totally agree, Joseph & Lyndy, and when we take off that costume of the ‘what is not’ our true cloth of honesty is exposed and it is glorious even though it is simple and unassuming.
Me too, I love what you’ve shared here Joseph. Also, honesty has nothing to prove, it just is and like you’ve shared if it gets cut down it grows back without needing to hurry because the roots and the core is always strong and steady.
Being honest is something we all think we do really well, but in truth we only really be as honest as we feel to so not to get hurt or not damage the protection that we can live in. But actually being really honest can be the one way to bring love and truth to how we live.
Honesty allows us to appreciate and cherish another’s reflection of the love that we are.
‘The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.”’ This strength you speak of Michael is the power of a true super hero – the one who neither persecutes or is persecuted.
Showing vulnerability is honesty and it is from here the next movement to deepen this quality is one of transparency. When we connect with others a this level it is amazing how much more we can learn from ourselves and all others because we are not holding back the truth of who we are.
We have so misunderstood how powerful vulnerability is. Not only does it support us but also it supports everyone around us because when we are vulnerable we drop our guard and protection and allow ourselves and everyone else to just be.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This is what I have been really noticing and appreciating with myself and others. There is definitely a feeling of delicate and vulnerable when we are honest and open.
There is such openness in honesty, which paves the way for a deeper connection and relationship with yourself and therefore with others.
Honesty comes with surrender to truth, and that’s the reason of its powerful and liberating nature.
What a beautiful and inspirational article to forever deepen our level of awareness and honesty with ourselves and with others.
It’s so true that we build trust within ourselves the more honest and transparent we become, both with ourselves and other. This trust emanates from us so others can trust us and begin to trust themselves too.
To me honesty and love go hand in hand. How is one to find love if we can’t be honest that we were the ones that left it in the first place.
Yes that is the crunch Kim. In the truly loving one there is a deep humbleness, like this beautiful little flower.
I agree Michael, honesty is first and foremost about beauty; the beauty of being so unequivocally honest with ourselves and the feelings and harmony that flow.
A very beautiful sharing Michael, and a great reminder for me in your words that we can choose to be victims and invite the world to bully us and in doing so, of course, we hide away and we do not take responsibility – a clever game indeed and one I’ve seen and can still see play out. I love honesty and the fact that around us in life are always reminders and reflections of it.
For me honesty allows for surrender, for once I be honest, there is no need to hold my body in tension and defence, hence my body relaxes and surrenders to simply being itself. The honesty in simply being one’s self is reflected, as Michael shares here, constantly in nature. I have never seen a tree trying to be another tree, or an animal, so why do we contort our bodies trying to fit a belief or ideal that we are not?
It’s true Leigh, the tension just drops away when we are honest with ourselves and with this we can surrender more deeply into our bodies and our true selves.
It is so, so lovely to read the words of a man expressing tenderly. It breaks the mould of how we think men ‘should’ be. Michael is as beautiful and delicate as the flower of which he speaks.
Honesty is the way through which we embark on the path of knowing who we truly are.
How I love simplicity! The simplicity and beauty of your writing Michael. So refreshing amidst a world of complication.
This is a beautiful post Michael, it is rare to hear a man express with such tenderness and sensitivity.
What a wonderful expression of honesty Michael, very inspiring, thank you;
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”.
It is always so refreshing to be around people who are honest. There is a safety that is created and it is also a lot of fun because it inspires everyone around to be honest as well.
Yes, it’s absolutely true that when we are honest with ourselves, we really allow others around us to see it’s ok, and not such a scary thing and that when practiced is actually enormously freeing.
Michael the level of honesty and transparency you share in this blog is beautiful to read – a gorgeous quality that inspires and supports others to also make this loving choice.
I love the layers you mention Michael, and how choosing honesty is a beautiful start, like opening your eyes, instead of being in the dark. But then the next step is to question what it is exactly we see. Is that a mess of stones before your nose, or a diamond in a nest of pearls? A bunch of weeds or a flower with the most beautiful petals? Looking closer helps us be more open and honest and arrive at what lives underneath – the universal truth of everything.
Honesty is the freedom to bring our full expression to the world and not hold it back, as it is the greatest movement and choice to be real, vulnerable and intimate with not only ourselves but others also. From here we see great connections and growth in all facets of life.
Nature offers us so much in way of reflection, and I always feel left alone by nature. When we are honest it offers ourselves and others an opportunity to not continue to be affected by something that is maybe false or unloving.
There is great majesty in honesty for it is the gateway to truth… which allows the world to see through the veil of illusion it has been fooled by and step forward with a knowing and purpose of how to transform what has come before through the lies.
I was spell bound by your writing this morning Michael, particularly this section – “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself…” Mostly because I am re-connecting to the fact that we feel everything that goes on around and inside us. We feel it, but often we don’t want to to feel it because what is going on may not match what we want it to, we may hold a set of pictures or ideals/beliefs around that block us from reading what we feel….so we react and can pretend its not happening – bury it with work, food, alcohol, drive etc… But when we are honest, and feel what is there to be felt, it builds an honesty with ourselves. Beautiful.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful” Beautifully inspiring, how powerful when we fully embrace honesty and openness.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This has been true for me, the more honest and open I have been with others, the more I have felt the trust from others, which has allowed them to open,
As I read these words how beautifully they describe honesty “the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.
Honesty carry an openness, a vulnerability that does not deem ourselves less and it is an expression and action of intimacy very naturally expressed from the heart. Often honesty is not treasured or appreciated enough as it does not have the appearance of having everything in control and hence professional according to society’s standards, and this is a reflection of how our world is at in regards to deepening intimacy and connection.
Many words and actions have been bastardized to mean something completely different to what they truly mean… hence we miss out on the magic of reflection and true expression when we walk in the false meaning. Listening to men today share how much they have held back in fear of being ridiculed for being vulnerable and intimate with another, you see how much the true expression of honesty is so needed.
Being totally honest does indeed bring truth and simplicity; what a wonderfull simple and powerful lesson for us all, thank you Michael;
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity”.
There is indeed an ever-present simplicity with living the truth – honesty is a needed step for us to move from the lies we have lived to the truth we all know.
Being okay with feeling delicate and vulnerable in the world and being honest about what does not feel true / loving is very powerful, learning to live with grace and not reactions, while honouring what we feel is very healing for all.
The most wonderful thing about honesty is that it leads to truth and in truth you will always find love and simplicity.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” It is so true, when honesty is our foundation, it allows others to be honest and to open up and flourish equally so.
Nature is nothing compared to the grandness of me – of us all – truthfully.
For me honesty is the key for true relationship, through honesty with self do we build a true foundation for a relationships with others, with a true foundation of honesty .
We cannot underestimate the power of honesty even in the most challenging of situations. What melts our hearts and thaws away the fortresses we put up in life is the open vulnerability of another; in that, we remember ourselves. The world needs this so desperately today, and this can only come with honesty as the first step.
Nature is the perfect reflection! In appreciating her we can appreciate ourselves, I love that we are made up of the same stuff of star dust it is such a beautiful thing to know, we are all part of the universe.
I love the word honesty too Michael for it allows us to be open and clear in how we express. When we allow such honesty from our movements of expression we begin to unravel the raw, vulnerable and intimate parts of ourselves which allows us to grow. Honesty is the bridging foundation towards transparency and intimacy in all relationships and it is one word and movement that can begin to unfold so much for us all.
‘Honesty’ so beautifully symbolised by this tiny fragrant flower is a first major step towards coming to truth. Without honesty, which in itself is not truth, truth cannot come to light.
…. honesty allows the flower to unfold to show the truth of its inner beauty. I love natures glorious reflections.
It is only through our willingness to embrace honesty in our lives that we can once again claim ourselves back as sons of God.
Very befitting read for me today and I agree Michael, standing true to what we feel and is there to be expressed is a responsibility that is needed to be taken. Like you say it can be a bit confrontational for starters but in the end the purpose is to reveal the beauty that we have chosen to not live.
I too enjoy the reflection of nature and how at moments when I have taken stuff on or been affected by the day I can go for a walk and find that it supports me to find my rhythm again.
.’.. when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.’ I sat a while with this experience of you Michael and it inspires me to open up myself everywhere and feel the fragility and at the same time the strength honesty brings.
Beautiful Annelies!
I so love your ‘miniatures’ Michael, which hold the wisdom of the world and universe within them. I have only just been reading about the potency of honesty in Serge Benhayon’s book ‘Space’ where it talks about the vitalness of ‘honesty’ in addressing our collective will to be ignorant to all that we in fact feel but choose not to be aware of: ‘ Mankind need a huge dose of humility. And this can only come from us being honest about all that is not right or true about human life. And this is how we will expose the you that is not the true you, thus exposing all that is senseless and unnatural to us in this plane of life we call human life’. (p. 92)
I love how you hold yourself up so beautifully to the magic and wonders of nature that reflect so much back to us. And honesty is extremely beautiful to hear from another and to express – it is humbling, inclusive, and the key to saying yes to having truth at the foundation of one’s life.
Honesty is key to clarity in relationships, when we hold back anything that needs to be expressed it creates an unnecessarily complex atmosphere where we can all sense there is ‘something’ but don’t quite know what and react to the holding back. We hold back for fear of reaction but the result of holding back is far messier than simply expressing it in the first place.
This is a great reminder for the fact that we are never wrong and that even though we have not made many wise choices in the past it does not change who we are and the quality of choices we can choose to make in the future.
Love what you have so beautifully shared Michael “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up. ” honesty connects us to our divinity within, offering us a powerful reflection to others.
As awareness develops so is the opportunity to be more honest with ourselves and life. Through honesty we come to know truth.
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful. ” Absolutely agree, there is so much power, strength and beauty in honesty, you can feel it in every cell and particle in the body, it is an amazing feel of joy within.
I find it interesting that the eyes are not good at picking up honesty. This is a reflection of the fact that we limit what we take in of what we are constantly receiving. In any event, honesty is something that we can feel (even if not just the blog but also the popular phrase relates (dis-)honesty to smell –as in I smell something fishy in here-) if so we choose.
True – nature is a needed reflection when we have been living other than our true rhythm and flow.
There is indeed true beauty in honesty and divinity in Truth.
Honesty made me reflect on a situation with a young child recently when I totally opened up and explained why I had been behaving the way I had; there was no answer from this seven-year-old but his whole demeanour conveyed understanding and a deep knowing of what unites us – utter transparency and love if we but allow it.
Even just reading the word ‘honesty’ expands my whole body. Honestly, if every one was honest we would be in a far truer place. We constantly walk around with a layer of protection to the work, even those closest to us that we speak to or live with every day and ourselves that we are doing okay. When the truth is we ‘re not, we might be lonely, miserable,sad, worried, struggling etc. yet we don’t talk to people about how we are feeling, we say I’m fine and carry on with our day. Most of us are not honest with ourselves let alone anyone else. There is nothing, well almost nothing more amazing, bring truthful tops it, than being honest. It’s a breath of fresh air when someone is honest with themselves and people, it makes life far more real.
I thought I was living honestly and you could say I was as I was not one for lying and pretending but it was not the honesty I am coming to know. To live honestly requires the commitment with oneself to accept all imperfections and feel at ease/content with where one is at in the world. Whenever I do not want another to know about something in my life I am being dishonest. I am essentially hiding and pretending at the same time. What I am coming to realise is that to live honestly is a commitment to letting go consistently of where I think/hope I am to where I actually am in my evolution and the more I am willing to do this the more honest I am becoming.
It is through self-honesty that we come to know the truth of who we are and live the power of all that we are, in all its majesty.
Thank you Michael , that is one big revelation for us all.
There is no doubt Michael that when we are totally honest, with ourselves and others, we feel delicate and vulnerable; a feeling of expansion and truth.
I love the point you highlight here: When I am honest and show all of me – my vulnerability included, there is nothing to fear. If I’m afraid, or even just unsure then this is a great indicator that there is space for a deeper honesty. This is a light globe moment for me – so thank for sharing your blog Michael.
Honesty is the precursor to truth.
Nature is never ceasing to reflect the truth we are from, calling us to deeper levels of honesty and ultimately truth when we connect and appreciate all that is presented.
Isn’t it cool how we are being shown truth in nature all the time. So much to learn when we’re willing to see beyond the physical.
Honesty is the bridge to truth but many of us stop short on this bridge, unable to look into the waters below and see the depth of what is reflected.
I agree that sometimes when I have not been completely honest for a while this builds up layers that have to be peeled away when I do decide to start being more honest in my life. This can initially be uncomfortable but well worth it in the end as removing these layers means I feel so much closer to everyone in my life. Much more connected and this makes my heart sing!
The great thing about honesty is that it gives us a platform for which we can grow, learn and express from and that in itself is evolutionary, because when we choose to bring honesty to our lives we open up to the all and that shows a commitment to life and it’s a confirmation of our connection too.
When all our intentions are based on honesty there is an openness and more purposeful approach to our everyday.
I have found that honesty is so important when it comes to breaking down the layers of protection and guardedness that can exist in any relationship, including the one with myself.
If one is not truly open to life, and to others, then one cannot claim to be honest, no matter by what principles they hold their life by. True honesty can only be claimed by one who is truly transparent, for even though they may have nothing to hide, and may in truth have such integrity that any ordinary person would say that they are honest, the truth is that they are not honest if they do not allow people to see all of them, and so grant them opportunity to decide for themselves by way of what they choose to see. In other words, a truly honest person is not concerned with what other people think of them, and is only honest because they know no other way.
You know what honesty is amazing, it can change relationships and bring understanding.
Honesty is beautiful and just as its reflection can be found in nature its beauty can be reflected in children too. When a child speaks honesty and contradictory to what the parent wants to hear it blows me away.
Its great what you share to be absolutely honest we have to go to the vulnerable side of us too, only then we can be transparent and openly honest.
To be honest is to allow trust in us and opens the space to allow trust with others – this is just beautiful Michael, and allowing ourselves to be honest is to be transparent and that creates a whole other space for something very special, more us being us and a space for all of us to do the same, just magic!
I felt really vulnerable the other day as I realised I was hiding something I didn’t want to be known about but I chose to say it and it was gone it felt like a weight was lifted, something that didn’t belong to who I truly am. I like this approach to weaknesses, honesty is definitely worth working with.
In absolute honesty I have a way to go to be understanding of how to be completely honest in every aspect of my life. As I feel more responsibility to being honest I know that many things in my life have to change so that I can start to be absolutely honest in all I do.
I too am becoming aware of the disregard in my life due to the lack of honesty. It is a huge wake up call and one I am now beginning to appreciate.
So true Caroline, feeling that I can appreciate the fact that life can only evolve through me being honest which is on my way to absolutely honest and therefore on my path of return to truth.
I love honesty.
What marvellous reflections in nature we can have to support our everyday lives. Something really worth noting.
Thank you Michael, the more I learn about honesty the more I feel there is a science to it, as it is only through honesty and the letting go of the what is not that I can now discover the true beauty within me.
Your words ring true Francisco, being honest is a science that I feel needs more attention in my life.
I love how you align honesty with nature Michael. After all, it is not unusual, but more our natural way to be in this world. I used to think of honesty as being rude and cutting things down, but now I can see that true honesty is to come back to the universal facts. To talk and discuss, to complain or revise all can be done, but when we carry this out thinking we are just human beings and nothing more, this is still making plans based on lies.
Through honesty comes healing and evolution
Honesty for me is key, when someone is honest it’s like a breath of fresh air, does this then not show many of us, if not all of us, bar a handful of people world wide, are living a lie.
So true Gyl, lying through my teeth used to be the way I would sometimes feel what I needed to do. As I now work on being honest it does feel like a breath of fresh air.
I absolutely love Truth. The best thing about honesty is that it can lead to truth.
Indeed Michael what a wonderful reflection nature is. I love your words on honesty, such a beautiful reminder to feel and speak honesty;
“simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity”
I love your blog Michael, and today I really love these words in particular. “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” As I read them I could feel your vulnerability and I could feel mine, and even though it brought me to tears, I could feel a most gentle space presented to me; a space where anything was possible. It is with dishonesty that we build a life of complication that holds us bound to a world that continually challenges us, but with the simple choice to begin to live with honesty the complications slowly but surely dissipate giving way to a life of simplicity.
If honesty is a natural and easy expression I wonder why as a general collective we find it such a challenge, and tend to use protectiveness and dishonesty as a preferred way of being?
We can’t underestimate how essential honesty is and God communicates this with us constantly and how beautiful it actually is.
The plant honesty is considered a wildflower but it grows freely in my garden and I nurture it as it is an early spring flower that offers nectar and sustenance to butterflies and bees and I appreciate its deep purple petals. I now realize that honesty is in-truth an essential part of my garden of life.
You bring us such beautiful vignettes of wisdom through appreciating nature Michael – first the snail, then the walnut and now through this delicate little flower. The first feeling that comes to me of this flower and its ‘honesty’ is the humble-ness and the no necessity to ‘big-note’ itself as the beauty is undeniable, no matter how unnoticed or tiny it is. To be honest with ourselves first and foremost is the most valuable thing and it opens the door to the archives of God sitting in our innermost heart.
There is honesty and then there is honesty. The first is the type of honesty we showcase to the world as a badge of honour. It becomes part of our personality, of our identification of who we are. We are “honest” because we see it as part of being “good” ,and makes us feel good to do the right thing. As such, it even offers relief, especially if we have been particularly dishonest about something. That is one form of honesty, but it is not the type of honesty that leads us to truth, for it is part of the facade we put up to the world. True honesty requires self reflection, to seek to understand what drives us to become the way we are. It requires surrender and acceptance, and a humbleness to accept our imperfections so that our pride does not prevent us from acknowledging the truth of the matter at hand. That is true honesty. If one has the latter as their foundation, then the first type of honesty to which I referred comes naturally anyway. However, if one hangs their hat on the first type of honesty only, then one can be easily fooled into thinking that they are living the highest form of good, without realising that such honesty never leads to the realisation of the truth of all things
I hear you Adam and agree. How you’ve expressed these 2 types of honesty helps me understand why sometimes I feel like the person I’m with is being honest, but not entirely, something feels a little off, or superficial in some way, like there is a lot more underneath that isn’t being revealed, but on the surface it sounds like it’s right.
Your comment Adam stopped me in my tracks. That ‘there is honesty and then there is honesty’. It can be easy to masquerade in your first example of honesty and believe that is all there is, can relate to there is. But there is much more and as you share ‘True honesty requires self reflection, to seek to understand what drives us to become the way we are. It requires surrender and acceptance, and a humbleness to accept our imperfections so that our pride does not prevent us from acknowledging the truth of the matter at hand’ Being aware of and discerning between the two examples brings us back to truth.
The Latin name for this plant is Lunaria Annua, lunaria pertaining to the moon (and annua meaning yearly). The moon part refers to its large, translucent, moon-shaped fruits – and I would add, to its equally large, even more transparent seeds. Like the moon, it reflects – and in this case transparency… the companion of honesty.
Ah yes…we can only be true to ourselves if we are wiling to receive the reflection being offered that there is more to life than how we currently live it. Nature has a unique way of providing this reflection, consistently reminding us that we are more than what we play ourselves to be and to find a way to let down the walls of protection we have built around us so as to let this ‘more’ shine forth.
“What a marvellous reflection nature can be.” Yes indeed and it is always sharing its wonders for all to see.
Perceiving struggles as masks that hide the true beauty underneath and that the simplicity of honesty is what reveals it, is a profound understanding that you bring Michael.
We all have much more strength than we realise, our tenderness is abundant with strength.
‘…simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.’ Very powerful words Michael that break the shackles of imprisonment in the many many ways we hide the truth and as a result live relationships that never reach their potential.
Thank you Michael for it is the honesty that allows our delicate petals to share their natural beauty that truly allows our hearts to shine.
Michael, this is so beautiful to read and feel and I’m considering what you offer here that honesty is allowing yourself to be seen without protection; and I see that yes I am honest but not always absolutely so – that another level of honesty can be lived one that is not afraid to show the fragility, the tenderness and one that is willing to be bare, to not have an end goal or game in mind but to just share what is going on without a picture of how I or another should be.
A gorgeous symbol you’ve offered here Michael, I particularly love your statement that… “honesty for me first and foremost is beauty”. There is something intrinsically beautiful when someone expresses honesty, I have frequently seen and experienced it in others, it gives permission for others to let down their guards and pretences and be openly honest also.
When we are totally honest with ourselves and others I can feel Michael how you equate beauty and tenderness, thank you for deepening my understanding of honesty.
I love how you reveal how honesty can make us feel fragile and vulnerable, which might be why we often avoid it. But this fragile vulnerability is not a weakness. It is an openness to being transparent in all that we are.
I had never really made the connection before between beauty and honesty, but how can we let the world see the gorgeous person we are if we are not completely ourselves?
Very true Melinda, we don’t think of ‘being ourselves’ as being honest because we are so conditioned to present the ‘version’ of ourselves we think those around us want to see. The one that either gets accepted for that version, or the one that doesn’t ‘rock the boat’ and ask others to drop their ‘version’ and be more honest. To understand that we are not in fact ‘being ourselves’ when we are not honest is quite a revelation.
Honesty is the way forth in our healing, I have found that only when I have been truly honest about something I have been able to let go and break away from the ingrained behaviours that I had previously thought to be me, this hasn’t been an easy ride but as long as I keep coming back to being honest I can appreciate and trust what is ahead of me.
So true, Katie. And then one has to ask themselves why they’re being dishonest. Protection.
When I read the following: “When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” I also feel like you wouldn’t have been able to have this realisation if you didn’t embody those qualities yourself. So by being those attributes, you were able to have a deeper appreciation and understanding of what was before you. What a beautiful confirmation.
It feels so lovely Michael to come back to your blog and to openly and honestly receive the beautiful messages and lessons that you have presented. What you have expressed here I particularly resonated with;
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” This is certainly a work in progress for me.
How often do we all get those clear messages on what is truly being responsible and honest about a situation and we choose to ignore? This blog is a great reminder that there is always an opportunity to go back and clock this and not fall into the pattern of perfection or harm.
I missed a moment for sharing honestly what I felt about something today and so it has been great to come across this blog again. It has give me the opportunity to reflect and to know that the opportunity will come again and I will not miss the moment next time.
Honesty and evolution go hand in hand, one can not move from an untruth If the truth hasn’t been seen.
In all honesty I have a long way to go to be truth-full, seeing I at least need to be honest in all things before truth can start to become fully lived.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person” This is still a work in progress for me. I would classify myself as an honest person, however, do I remain honest, even if it is going to confront others, I do not. I cower, I tell half truths, calibrating what and how they may receive the message, not to upset them. This is something I am placing a lot of attention to at the moment, to really feel where and when I can bring that honesty, honouring myself and ensuring that when expressed, it is with discernment, but saying what may need to be said.
I so relate Reagan to what you have shared, my feeling is I always have to be at least honest with where I am so that I can honour where others are at.
Honesty for me is refreshing, clearing and so incredibly illuminating I marvel at the power of the simplicity that follows and wonder why I would ever choose to hold back on honesty.
It is great to talk about honesty. Currently there is not enough honesty in the world, just this morning on a walk I could feel in my body no longer could I ignore issues or behaviours I had pushed to the side and didn’t want to address but it is time for me to be honest and heal what I haven’t wanted to feel. The beautifull thing is this is not a long arduous painful process but when honesty is truly sought it is simple and easy leaving the body feeling lighter … it makes me wonder why on earth I have left it so very long.
`Thank you Michael for showing a true light in the sky – by showing us such simple way of what honesty is and how it is reflected in a flower.
“Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty…” nature is beautiful in its honesty. Flowers don’t hold back their beauty when in full bloom, and trees are not afraid to show their bare branches in winter. If we were all as honest and open as nature then the world and everyone in it would return to their own true beauty.
Nature is a powerful reflection in every sense and I love this of a flower in full bloom – beautiful and delicate – it can teach us a great deal about the importance of honesty and what this can bring to us. If we are willing to be open, we reflect this to others.
‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.’ The truth in this statement is evolutionary. When I am honest with myself first, there is a liberation felt in my body that is undeniable and can only bring more honesty and truth to all. Michael this is a life changer and I appreciate so much your expression here.
Our truth and love is ever-present and available everyday to emanate through all we do. It is only us that ever holds back this magnificence of who we are. Honesty is indeed an act of love through which we can re-build trust with ourselves and then share with each other in honor and as a confirmation of the love we all are in essence.
I love being in the company of those who are honest. They are so easy to be with and everything becomes very simple. I love the lack of complexity that honesty brings.
Awesome Michael – being who we truly are and letting the light shine out is not weak, wimpy nor meek or mild in any way but very very powerful.
It is not just that we tend to hide parts of us we feel weak. We also tend to hide behind something (images, characters, etc). Hiding is a whole body decision that comes with a plea: leave me alone. Honesty, on the other hand, initiates a movement that brings a totally different message: hello, here I am.
Nature to me feels a lot like the inner workings of our body. We can often forget to appreciate or even realise how much it offers us as we go about our day worrying about things that ultimately have no true importance. The vulnerability we choose to avoid is the very thing we’re actually craving..to be open and free of the constriction of the protection we work so hard to develop and refine.
I love this ode to honesty. When I am honest with myself, I feel false versions of me fall away. I feel lighter and more complete, as I stop pushing away what has been there in my face to see. Although I may feel vulnerable, I feel strengthened by this completeness and know I have all the resources to deal with whatever I need to address.
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”.
What a gorgeous inspirational explanation of honesty Michael, thank you.
“Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.” I love the simplicity of this Michael, to appreciate that honesty can be more beautiful than any form of adornment.
Honesty opens our eyes to the reality of the world around us…. which in turn makes us more likely to commit to addressing the mess we have all created.
‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’ Beautifully said Michael and very true, learning to be more honest with myself first has been key to deepening all my relationships and makes space for us to truly connect to everyone without the need for any protection.
“I do not see myself as small and less.” Such a great reminder – even if we are not perfect, we do not have to feel small or less because underneath it all we are all the same and our points to work on do never identify us.
Universal Medicine sets the standards of honesty to a new level. Nowhere else on earth do I find myself so safe, because I know honesty to be the foundation of an ever deepening path that leads to the truth.
Nature is a great teacher and is here to support us evolving. It is about time to make a choice to be part of the evolution of this planet by not being so self-destructive. All I have done is start to be more honest in the way I treat myself and others. After 12 years as being a student of the Livingness I still have many lessons to learn about at least being honest!
As a Student of The Livingness for the last 12 years, I have to be honest and say that I am still not ‘still’ all of the time. I am still very much a work in progress.
“When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” A beautiful description of what honesty is. For me the relationship between honesty and a person is the level of transparency they have to be seen in their essence, and for all of us the qualities you describe are the very foundation of our collective essence.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable” Thank you Michael a beautiful blog.
I have been noticing recently how being honest feels totally refreshing, I have started to notice more obviously how healing being honest is. I have also clocked how often I want to avoid real truth by avoiding how I am really feeling. Overriding our feelings may give a moments relief but is never worth it in the long run.
Beautiful Mochael- even a flower can shows us the truth in the world. That says that we are not from here. If we are honest and feel in our hearts – we only have one home. Which belongs to the Universe.
Absolutely beautiful Michael, I love the reflection and the analogy of the ‘Mondviole’, delicate, vulnerable, totally itself and so divine;
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful”
“…honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.” This is not the usual way people may take the reflection of honesty, more being about duty than beauty. But beauty reflects not something someone is trying to do or be, but something that they naturally are when connected to stillness, such as that in nature. In that stillness I have felt a full surrender to knowing and not having any concern about expressing it.
As an ex-smoker, I also thought the cigarette was stilling me when all it do really did was bring a stop in my life so that I thought what I was experiencing was stillness but in all honesty I was never close. Today after 12 years of being a Student of The Livingness I still have times where my body gets racy but I am a shadow of what I used to be when it comes to how racy I now get!
The essence of honesty is very freeing and joy-full. It’s like the slightest breeze that refreshes on a hot day and the kiss of sunshine on a cool one. It’s incredible how light and open it feels in my body to be honest and after a little practice it becomes simple and second nature to stand in my knowing that I am worth saying what I feel and everyone is worthy of receiving with no pre-assessment or pictures of how something will be received.
This is a lovely word “Mondviole”, meaning honesty. It is indeed like a flower that allows the inner radiance to shine, where we are all bathed in the fragrance of its love.
We wield so much energy and invest so much time on covering up the truth and protecting ourselves from being honest as we have come to believe that there is somehow some sort of power in concealing the truth. Yet we instead we end up existing in a way that is powerless, protective, contracted and reduced, as we are not free to move in a way that reflects that truth of who we are and we are also not open to receive the truth from anyone or anything. When we embrace honesty we then are able to move in a way that is effortless, allowing connection, expansion, growth to develop from truth, as it is simply a natural expression of all that is already there within us, waiting to be lived.
When we are willing to be honest with ourselves we are willing to then stand in the truth of who we are. There can be no greater strength than that that comes from our connection to who we are in essence, as it is this graceful power that brings light of truth to our world. It is through our self-honesty that we will enlighten any relationship that we are in with the Love that we all are from.
The saying often goes honesty takes courage, why is this?
Does it seem strange to associate something that describes how things actually are as a brave thing to do.
Doesn’t this highlight how much we have deviated from how we naturally should express?
Honesty with ourselves first and foremost offers transparency which is a vital part of how we live. When we stay behind our inner walls is makes true connection impossible. We are here to connect with others and it is our levels of honesty and transparency that dictates what kind of connection we have.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This is so true Michael. This openness and transparency based on honesty is amazing to feel in a relationship and this level of transparency is amazing to walk in life. I find that when I am open like this, there is never any need to justify or defend myself for anything. I am simply me, mistakes and all, but I am me in truth.
I was just pondering on how complexity comes in when something appeared to be so simple and obvious, and I would react really badly to that with frustration and judgement, and in that I would be pulled into a well of complexity myself. I am witnessing and experiencing this a lot at work. And your sharing here reminds me that in trying to fight complexity I am already gotten at, and observation and honesty is the key.
A flower does not hide or falter with its delicate beauty it blooms in full appreciation of all that nurtures and nourishes it. Honesty in its natural state is blooming marvellous. Thank you Michael.
there is so much joy and delicacy in this blog Michael. self honesty is a gesture is very good for our connection with ourselves, and comes down to all of the little details in our day, like the tiny flowers and the ants.
‘simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity’ I like this marker for honesty. To express in this way opens the doors to ever deepening relationships and pathes the way to Truth.
Honesty shifts us into letting go, and truth evolves us.
Thank you Michael for a great article on honesty, I realise so much of my life has been dishonest by not speaking up what I was feeling, I love your definition of honesty, why would I not want to feel the beauty of this word and its actions. “the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.
Hello Michael and a flower called ‘honesty’, very interesting. It amazing just to appreciate all you got from this. When I was thinking of flowers, I saw them of not being ‘afraid’ to show their bloom. The don’t change colour or shape depending on what is happening around them, they just shine bright. Simple in their beauty and simple in their expression.
I love how honesty and simplicity go hand in hand. When we don’t say how we feel it lets in huge complications through trying to please another, or fit in or hide behind what someone else wants. I’ve had so many experiences where I want something and when asked will say something like ‘what ever you want, I don’t care’, when all the while I know exactly what is needed for me in that moment. So it creates complications and more discussion to get to the point of someone making a decision. With honesty a decision is already made and allows clarity for the next move to happen.
Actually seeing how powerful honesty can be for ourselves and also others, it’s amazing that so many of us fear it so much. Because I was honest with myself this week how I felt about a situation, the other person involved opened up and there was an opportunity to express what was not true and loving and then we were able to appreciate what it showed us. Yay for honesty!
There’s so little real honesty in the world that when it occurs it’s like a breathe of fresh air. Most of the time we don’t even realise we’re being dishonest – that’s how way off we are as a society. Yet part of the responsibility of being human is to bring the truth, and of course, honesty.
Honesty is a beautiful quality and one I struggle to connect with. This simple way of sharing asks us to be responsible for ourselves and where our expression comes from. When something is bothering me the challenge can be me choosing to react rather than to feel the hurt within me that is behind my dishonesty before I express therefore my expression is not always true. When I take responsibility and feel and let go of the hurt that is fuelling my dishonesty my expression is simple, freeing, unloaded and naturally loving truth for everyone involved.
Honesty is the opening of a flower to reveal its natural beauty and essence from within, just like us. I love returning to your wonderful blog Michael. Thank you.
Honesty is very important in our evolution, without it we stay in the ignorance and don’t show who we truly are. It is a deep strength that comes from being completely honest and see that what is and what is not us.
This is a lovely reminder for me to feel the openness and vulnerability that comes with honesty and not go into protection or shy away from the honesty. I feel like it is the vulnerability that I struggle with when being so open. I know there is a strength in being vulnerable and it feels very freeing to allow myself to feel this vulnerability, but for me, it is like I can only feel so much before I try to shut it down.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” I love that sentence. It is a phrase in development for me.
Wow! Thank you Michael, and if we could just imagine if the whole world stepped into the reality of least being honest for one day. If we all got honest for one day maybe there would be no way back to the lying agenda that sets the scene today! Now to stop the lying and corruption that would be worth giving honesty a chance for at least one day!
When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Same here Michael, and it is in this space that grace can flow through….
I too appreciate in every moment “What a marvellous reflection nature can be”, and this little flower has certainly reflected such a very beautiful light for you Michael, a light that now you have shone forth for us to deepen our understanding of what it is to be honest. Thank you for your exquisite sharing.
There is so much to be learnt by allowing ourselves to feel vulnerable, open and honest with how we are feeling. It is in these times that I receive some of the most profound awareness that I otherwise would miss because I haven’t given myself permission to be so open.
I have always considered myself an honest person. But more and more I am learning that like all other qualities honesty is something that can forever deepen. Just now reading this article as I read through all the amazing description of honesty and as I acknowledged how exquisitely wonderful those moments feel in my body, I felt my shoulders and upper torso noticeably let go and relax – showing me a level of protection and lack of honesty that I had not been aware of. It is lovely to get a prompt to check in and be more honest.
Nature is indeed the most marvellous reflection and your blog has opened me to appreciating it so much more.
I love coming back to this blog, Michael. It is a blessing to feel and read the surrender in your words, to being honest about how we truly feel inside. This is something I would have not entertained in the past, so engrained were my holding patterns of protection. And now I too find myself opening up to being me, being true to what my body is telling me and having the loving regard for myself and others to share what is there to be expressed.
I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less. Yes Michael, I too have found this. In a situation some time back, where I was just totally honest with another and felt totally equal with them and didn’t need them to get what I was sharing, I just felt that I wanted to share how I felt, which was a huge revelation for me, as in the past I would have pushed my feelings down and pretended I felt okay.
One of the big things I am finding about honesty of late is that, in being honest, I can’t be hard on myself. At times I feel that if I am honest with another or myself, this will lead me to then be hard towards something that I have identified that I need to work on. Rather than the honesty being a revelation of an aspect that I am yet to fully refine. This sense of wanting to be hard on myself for my imperfections is something that has restricted my honesty.
Honesty is what allows us to be real in life. There are far too many people who are in their heads living theories about how life ought to be instead of being real with how life actually is.
I have found that honesty brings liberation and an expansion whilst dishonesty brings a hardness and contraction to the body that is limiting and abusive.
Flowers don’t open up to expose everything that is ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ with them, they open up to expose their own beauty. Yet I have related to honesty in a confessional way in the past, fighting being honest to avoid ‘bringing out the dirty laundry’ so to speak. But without shedding the budding stage we don’t get to experience the beauty of the flower. Being honest for me has and is a learning process of not being critical but simply expressing what I am experiencing, which then opens the doors to responsibility as to why I chose to experience this expression and question if this is truly me expressing in the first place.
It never ceases to amaze me the simplicity that nature shows us, always present, always holding, loving and honest. Just as we too are.
Honesty is the first step in stepping in the direction of greater awareness. It may be raw at first, and sting a little bit.
Michael you are a master at revealing natures wisdom, thank you.
There is a lovely feeling of lightness that comes with honesty whereas dishonesty feels dark and heavy.
I love how you describe what honesty is for you Michael “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity”. There is such beauty in truth.
Being honest frees your movements and detaches you from anything that you do not truly belong to.
We do not fear when we embrace the whole of us. Only when we do not so.
The simplicity and delicacy with which you write about honesty is very refreshing. Often it can be like a weight to bear but the way you express, it is the most beautiful, honouring…and yes sometimes uncomfortable, way to be.
Very beautiful Michael – ‘Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty’
I like how you compare honesty to beauty, there is beauty in honesty as it opens the door to truth.
Dishonesty can seem like a comfortable spot, where we can hide and do not have to own up to who we truly are as it allows us to blend in and not stand out… however it will never deliver us to the joy, fulfillment and glory like honesty can.
Being honest is a very important, integral first step towards truth, and I have to keep reminding myself that it is not a destination, but it really is a bridge, and there’s more for me to feel into and realise.
I just love this blog. The lightness and the simplicity of it. Sometimes we could be shouting ‘honesty’ and there’s heaviness and forcefulness that is just imposing, and even though my head could compute the ‘correctness’ in what is being expressed, but my body knows it otherwise.
Reading this blog this morning I realise just how often I hold back and am not honest with myself and therefore naturally with others. More and more I feel the harm this causes to my body. I am slowly breaking the cycle of holding back my expression and then going around my usual cycle of beating myself up for holding back. By holding my connection with myself and being totally honest with myself I am able to stay with myself and feel my vulnerability and fragility and connect deeply with truth.
Honesty feels like a very important part of medicine that we all need a good dose of. It may not always present the full truth of a situation but honesty certainly is the key to open the doors to it.
Being honest with ourselves is a very powerful thing. I know I used to think being honest was being hard on myself and admitting making mistakes. It’s definitely important to acknowledge when we don’t get something right. But it’s also important to be honest about seeing and feeling our beauty and appreciating this. For if we don’t and all we do see and acknowledge that which we don’t get right and only see it for not being perfect then we (and others too) are missing out on our innate beauty that is with us every single moment of the day.
This blog is exquisitely beautiful Michael, like honesty itself. when we are honest with ourselves we allow ourselves ‘to feel and show all the beauty and wisdom that is there deep inside’. Being honest allows us to show and share who we truly are.
Beautiful Simon. We can think of honesty as a big explanation or candid revelation. But I get a strong sense reading what Michael says today that honesty is just us sharing how we are feeling, unloaded, uncomplicated, natural and simple. Just like the flower it just is gorgeous as it is, nothing extra or no garnish is needed.
Yes Michael – honesty is so very powerful and it brings up to the surface all that which is not true to then make way to that which is.
I just feel inspired by your blog to develop this deeper for myself today as a new foundation of normal. There are many comments here that build and confirm how important it is for us all to reassess our normal.
There is so much to appreciate here, honesty should be our normal, we should be comfortable with being transparent, it should be a great strength. Should be and is, if we are not protecting, hiding or trying to deceive. It is becoming very clear to me that we have a choice in every moment to express in either way and practice to choose honesty because protection has been the chosen go-to for so long.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up” – truly beautiful, indeed, what a power honesty holds, and as you say it is so simple. And what comes to me as its polar opposite is how common it is for complexity of manipulation and strategies to enter when trying to make/force/impose others to trust and open up, instead of allowing.
Michael this is perfect timing for me to read your blog today. Honesty bringing our vulnerability and delicateness to the surface so we are not hiding any part of ourselves away and presenting a weakened version of ourselves. Also the simplicity. This has touched me deeply the way you have expressed about honesty and likening it to the flower. Thankyou.
Michael these words stood out for me today ‘Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen’ it made me realise how often we are dishonest with ourselves and others, nature reflects honesty to us everyday and there is a great lesson we can learn from watching how raw and honest nature truly is.
For me the important reflection in this blog is the size of the ‘honesty’ flower – “small”. Being honest with someone can, for me, sometimes feel like this great big wall, a huge hurdle to cross…yet if it is expressed in full and as soon as something is felt, it is small and simple. What makes it big is the dishonesty, allowing it to build and the emotions attached to whatever has happened. Honesty itself couldn’t be simpler.
Awesome Michael – just what I needed this morning. Some lightness of heart with the scent of a flower.
It’s very easy to lose touch with our beauty when life throws big hurdles at us. But as you say our reaction to change in life is simply a masking of the beauty that is underneath.
If we are first honest with ourselves, looking deeply within at who and what we have been and who we truly are, we will feel safe to open up to others, because scrutiny of us by others cannot hurt, as there is nothing that we have not already faced within ourselves….then we can truly be, and let the world in.
The beauty of nature and the raw honesty it offers us by reflection is quite amazing for us all. The way you have written this is very beautifully touching and relate-able too Michael and brings a smile through my whole body to read and reflect on and feel the beauty all around in nature and the magic of it all.
At times I feel very delicate and vulnerable when being confronted by a reaction after I have expressed a truth; I am practicing valuing and holding myself in love and steadiness during these times. As we all know it begins with being totally honest with ourselves, appreciating the opportunities to expand and honouring ourselves.
It is incredible to watch the rhythm and cycle of a flower as it moves from shoot to bud to full bloom to shedding its petals- it doesn’t need to be anything else and every part has a purpose, and the bush continues. There Is no confusion, or trying to be something else or another flower. Each flower is exquisitely perfect for what it needs to do.
It all starts with being honest with ourselves first and foremost.
Honesty dissolves back the layers of complication and machinations that obfuscate the real issues and the ‘hurts’ we think we are protecting, only to find the hurts are only choices we have made to deny knowing who we truly are.
When we can start to be honest with how we feel and express this openly to others this deepens our trust, respect and love in our relationship. It requires us to be vulnerable and transparent. This is still work in progress for me.
‘I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.’ This is key for me too Michael. If I am honest with myself I want to show all of me always, however I am realising that I don’t trust others to accept me as I am. I am learning more and more to trust myself instead!
It is incredible to feel how much I have held myself back for fear of what may come. But in doing this I am being dishonest with others and deeply dishonest with myself.
It is easy to convince oursleves that we are being honest with each other, until we start to become aware of how much we hold in our bodies. I know from experience that I had thought I was being honest with myself, but as I learn to let go of what I have held onto for so long, the more there is a willingness to allow myself to feel more, and with that comes the realisation that I was lying to myself about how honest I was being.
What I think of when I read this is the weight of the lies that I carry with me. I can feel them on my shoulders and over my back and shoulder blades, and in my face, and….well, they affect our whole body. That is why honesty opens you up – your whole body changes as you drop the lies, your face ignites, you shoulders roll back, your lungs deepen, your eyes sparkle, your stride lengthens, you are IN the world and you are transparent. Honesty is medicine for the body.
‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up. On this open basis of honesty the most amazing changes can blossom, just like the flower ‘honesty’.’ So true Michael.
I am always bowled over by honesty – you are right – it’s amazingly beautiful, and I always have enormous appreciation for anyone who has the courage to be honest in a world that predominantly lies.
“…simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” This is a beautiful definition of honesty Michael and takes it beyond what is often known as honesty. This addresses the vulnerability that can be felt in the openness of honesty and is in stark contrast to the manipulation, protection and hiding that is found when there is a lack of honesty.
I enjoyed the honesty that it takes to clearly state that when we take a step towards being me and ‘the beauty of changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again,’ is what life, which is evolution is all about.
This is so beautiful Michael and I can totally relate to it too “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. ” It is a very precious feeling and it allows me to be immensely tender with myself and those around me.
Yes Michael, an amazing revelation just by nature of what honesty is – being equally vulnerable also.. This is reflected in the flower that is just open and acceptive of its own beauty. We should take this into everyday life and explore that nature is just showing us what we equally have to do. Amazing piece, yet so simple.
The first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity. Yes Michael, the simplicity of just sharing how you are feeling in the moment without any need for anything back from another at all, as you are just expressing what actually is, nothing more. This is super lovely as everyone is just left to be with themselves and not go into any emotional comeback or comment really, because everything that needed to be expressed is done in that honest moment.
‘What a marvellous reflection nature can be” – absolutelyMichael. My eyes have been opened by Serge Benhayon to the ‘Magic of God’ by which in every leaf, flower, bird and insect, every weather pattern, indeed in every single detail in nature there is message for us. I find it fascinating and wondrous and incredibly supportive to have connected to this magic and great fun to view the word around me with this new depth of engagement and understanding.
It takes a lot to hide how vulnerable we are feeling and to pretend that we are otherwise, especially when things are feeling really raw. This is what we need more people to admit when they are feeling vulnerable and to be open enough to let others see and feel this, then they will see that it is not weak but extremely powerful.
“The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again”… this is like coming back to being a child, no holding back. Children just love to express from their hearts and if we allow them to do so their honesty can teach us a lot, just like the reflection of nature, it is all around us in the flowers, birds, animals, the weather, and especially in all of us, all we have to do is pay attention to it.
Honesty brings a beautiful tenderness and openness to our body, and when it is in relation to another, there is also an opportunity for a far more intimate and real relationship.
Choosing to be honest in a moment is like a breath of fresh air, where there is so much space to just be yourself and you don’t have any need for another to get you or to be on the same page with you. You stand there fully supported in your own love, and they get to feel that reflection. A truly simple moment of evolution right there.
Honesty is the first step to truth and truth will set us free. It is a loving commitment to be honest with both ourselves and each other and it does create much simplicity even if things are messy for a while.
Being totally honest is very freeing and as you say Michael being honest can also be confronting for ourselves and for others. I love what you have expressed here as I feel the same when I can express with total honesty.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable”.
I look at so many flowers differently after reading this blog, thank you Michael. there are so many reflections in nature to remind us of our stillness and delicateness.
Honesty offers us the ability to be who we truly are, a beautiful gift of intimacy to ourselves and others.
Wow this is a great example of what Honesty can actually bring us, everyone around us and the Universe. As you say Michael it sometimes can be very confronting and uncomfortable but at the end of the day when we have taken what ever has gone on personally out of the equation and left to just be who we are – We can breathe and have the space to do so and not feel imposed by what was constricting us from not being truthful and honest. This is powerful and super freeing.
“…when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less…” The honesty being lived here is, in my opinion, like medicine to the body, in the way the posture doesn’t take on a protective guard, and the ‘fight or flight’ response isn’t always activated. Being honest and accepting of ourselves would I guess be the foundation of preventative medicine.
Thank you Michael for a really beautiful blog. I have slowly been opening up to becoming more honest, more real, and have just experienced that doing away with the right and wrong has allowed me to be honest with just what is, I am feeling the delicacy and vulnerability you spoke of and it is so beautiful to feel in my body.
Honesty offers transparency and with transparency our masks drop away and we let the world in.
Timely to re-read your words Michael and to feel the true power we bring to our lives when we are honest with our choices and decisions. I can feel when we allow ourselves to be truly honest we open the door to go deeper and to look at the momentums, choices and decisions we have been making and to see if those choices reflect our commitment to being our all in life or a distraction to keep us playing small.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” This vulnerability is something that I am coming to understand as a strength. When I first started to feel this vulnerability associated with honesty and tenderness I shied away from it because I couldn’t quite handle this level of openness. Now more and more I am feeling the strength of vulnerability.
If I am to allow others to truly see me I must first be honest with myself.
I love the clarity that honesty brings and also the feeling that you can trust someone who is honest because honesty builds trust. In today’s society where there is so much mistrust amongst people it is a joy to be with someone who is demonstrating trust by opening up and being honest.
Michael I’ve read this before but somehow today I feel the true and delicate beauty offered that as the flower honesty and it’s attendant vulnerability are both raw and a strength and it’s absolutely worth pursuing and going deeper with – yes it can be uncomfortable and maybe even messy at first but what I feel reading today is the joy and freedom offered in living this way. Thank you for the awesome inspiration.
… honesty naturally leads to a blossoming and natural expansion, as in the flower’s innate reflection.
Honesty just like the flower you describe Michael has a beautiful simplicity and a delicate scent. Honesty allows us to connect to truth.
Michael you share a revelation…”I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear…” we often think that showing our vulnerability will lead us wide open to attack and become fearful, yet you share in your experience that allowing yourself to be vulnerable there is no longer anything to hide and protect because all can be seen… this is beautiful in its honesty.
Through nature the reflection of truth can been seen for never does it fight the cycles it is governed by.
Being honest is the stepping stone to being true.
This is such a true observation you make, Michael, that dis-honesty masks true beauty and that although being honest can initially be a struggle it is worth it as it does eventually reveal it.
I am learning how being honest can sometimes mean saying the first thing that I feel to say, without analysing it, without re-constructing it, without measuring it. Just saying, because it is there to be said.
It is beautiful to allow oneself to feel the real power in honesty, that its delicate and vulnerable but completely freeing. I know growing up I lived a web of lies, it was exhausting and the more I then started to bring honesty into my life with the work of Universal Medicine, the greater freedom I felt in my body. I have not fully appreciated the delicateness that brings me but it is lovely to read about this.
Flowers share their honesty in full without fear of the elements around them. They bloom and move from their own cycle and rhythm. When we express from this place of honesty we also bloom in full appreciation and acceptance of our own expression. That’s a pretty amazing for us all to consider.
“Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath. ” yes struggle is felt and sometimes very challenging, but to be able to feel the beauty and honesty that lies beneath is the blessing. Having been open and honest about some challenging situations has allowed me not to hide but expose the patterns and momentums that have been controlling me.
To be open and honest with one another is so liberating and energising, as anything else brings a complication and uses a lot of energy which can lead to exhaustion. A flower only does what it knows it needs to do to flourish and bloom in all its delicateness and beauty, and with that there is a fragility. We all have these qualities within us, and nature has a wonderful way of reflecting to us what we already know but so often ignore.
Honesty for me creates trust and when I have that in any relationship, nothing else really matters, no matter what or how bad it is, if my daughter, friend, family or be it work colleague, if they express honestly, there can be understanding and acceptance from my part so easily.
Being humble and honest will eventually bring Harmony!
I love that you bring in the word vulnerability when talking about honesty Michael. Vulnerability brings a tenderness and sensitivity that allows us to be honest without needing to go into a story or justification…honesty in the most simplistic way ….just like the flower.
Heavenly gates open when honesty is at play and the riches of truth flow towards us.
When I’m really honest I feel very liberated.
Honesty is a total game changer indeed, and can smash old ways of being so very easily and without all of the drama that often takes place when emotions come into play. And as you say Michael, it leaves you feeling strong and definitely much more present with yourself.
Rereading this blog Michael, I am struck by how much we need to love ourselves and honour what we are feeling in the moment (even if we are wrong) to be able to be truly honest. I was speaking with a friend about it and we agreed that it is important to ‘back ourselves’ no matter what, as what we bring can contribute to the unfolding of a greater truth that is universal and for all.
I have recently been asked to compromise from being honest in two different situations. In both of these it is natural for the person requesting this of me to be that way and it shows just how normal it has become to so many people to be dishonest to the point that in certain circumstances it is now acceptable within our societies…to claim back ppi, to protect a business contract, to not upset a friend or relative, to hold onto a relationship. In asking the question where did we start to stop identifying with the truth the answer I feel lies in the moment we choose to stop being honest with ourselves, when we do not want to feel that which is natural to us and what is all around us and when we chose to live in accordance to that which is outside of us rather than within.
Honesty provides such an important doorway to deeper understanding, it is an important first step to exploring the truth of a situation…
It is really inspiring to read and feel how vulnerable you allow yourself to be, Michael, by choosing to be honest. We cannot underestimate the power that this level of openness has the potential to bring, and as you say, there is nothing to be fearful of when all our cards are already on the table. Honesty can be disarming, but in the long run everyone knows it within their hearts, and so it can indeed be life changing and profoundly re-connecting.
I spent a lot of my life thinking that little white lies would protect me and keep me safe. I was scared of what might happen if I told the truth, especially when I was a kid. I now see that honesty is the freedom and lies are a prison and an addictive trap and the perfect way of avoiding reflection and responsibility.
Honesty is a great starting point for us to go deeper to finding the truth.
I have realised the beauty of how true honesty develops me, and I have found that there are layers – I can always get more honest with myself.
Trust, or lack of it is a huge issue for many, I am still allowing myself to trust more, so how wonderful to help in this way, ‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’
I love this Michael – “Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.” To show our beauty and live it in the world – what can be more honest than that,,,
Beautifully said Michael, ‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.’ This is so true.
Honesty in the body is a completely different experience to dis-honesty in the body. In the latter the body hardens, there is a restlessness, an agitation, a knowing that what one chooses is not open and one has something to hide, which results in a hardness and closed off-ness in the body. Honesty on the other hand, though not always easy to choose as there is the discomfort of admitting something one has done which may not have served anyone, is still very freeing and open in the body – it is a relief to let go and be open. Honesty is about showing oneself, warts and all, it is not about perfection but rather about celebrating who we are, powerful though not perfect, fragile yet strong, vulnerable yet steady.
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.’ That is indeed what it does. I am in a similar situation where I want to be honest about something. Something in me is resisting, wants to have solutions, answers. Sometimes just stating exactly how something feels in the presence of another, might just be the only next step to bring clarity to a situation.
Just the other day at work I was made aware of the importance of honesty and not covering up my feelings of inadequacy or lack of confidence by not speaking up how I was feeling re the role I needed to take.
Had I allowed my vulnerability to be exposed I would have been more supported and been more of assistance, and not been so hard on myself.
Ah, so love this blog. I am learning as I go about my day to day to feel much more of the unspoken and can see I have a much clearer radar for truth and honesty.
“…the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” I love this understanding of honesty. Like the flower, honesty can always be present although it is not showy and can’t flaunt itself, but you definitely notice its absence.
So lovely to read this again and feel how truly simple yet glorious life can be when we let ourselves shine brightly who we naturally are, not letting anything else come to tarnish this, and to have absolute fun and joy with it. That’s the kind of life I want to live and it is my choice to do so. What power indeed just like the flower.
I looked up this flower and know it – and I love your description of it: “the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” Simplicity can be often seen as dull but it is actually really beautiful when you start to feel at ease with being with yourself in life. Honesty is often portrayed as “come on be honest” which I find always makes it a huge complicated thing like that I have to give in, confess and show my mistakes, yet honesty in all its simplicity is simply being honest about something without any complication and emotion attached. Which always brings clarity and space.
I agree Michael, nature offers so much wisdom in it’s reflection. I am learning and finding that when staying open and feeling vulnerable there is no fear which before I would not have believed. As you say honesty is incredibly powerful and life changing.
I had a lot of experiences the last years with honesty and found that I feel very fragile and raw by expressing in honesty, like unprotected. But I found as well ‘protection’ as an illusion of safety but in truth it is a separation, a closing down with others and so it creates a sad- and loneliness. Being honest opens up the door again – and I agree Michael: there is beauty behind this door all over.
What a marvellous reflection you have presented to us Michael;
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”. Your words on honesty are so true, wise and powerful.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.” Five years ago Michael I would have seen delicateness and vulnerability as a weakness, I had a stereotypical view of being vulnerable was not what the world wanted to see, and did not allow myself to feel my vulnerability. Now having allowed myself to feel this I totally agree with you Michael that showing our vulnerability is incredibly powerful. There is a rawness that people can feel that feels more honest and open and something that people can connect to.
Oh Michael I love this expression of yours: “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.: I feel exactly the same and it is a moment of great tenderness within…
Being honest is a step towards letting ourselves be truly seen.
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable’. Beautifully expressed Michael. Becoming more honest in my life has been a game changer for me and has strengthened and deepened all of my relationships, letting go of the wall of protection I had has allowed the space for magic to happen.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity. If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up. On this open basis of honesty the most amazing changes can blossom, just like the flower ‘honesty’.” Because being this way with ourselves and others is uncomplicated, it is beautiful, and comes with an incredible holding energy to explore the basis to which we live in some or all aspects of our lives – together – in honesty… so deeply gorgeous.
I had a very lovely experience of honesty this evening when answering the question of how my day was, I replied honestly that I had felt a bit down and a bit hurt following a conversation at work. Being honest was first a process with myself, admitting that I felt hurt. And then a process of openness without protection to allow another to know how I felt. This was a very beautiful connection to honesty.
A beautiful reflection on true honesty Michael shared with such delicacy and understanding it feels such a joy to read and experience. The clarity and simplicity of speaking our truth is so refreshing in a world where we all shy and hide from this by so called protecting ourselves and others when in fact we are harming all the time when we don’t . An amazing revelation.
Being totally open and vulnerable is in fact our natural state of being and although it might look and feel strange to us, as from our wayward and off track way of living, it is a state of being we all have to return to in our way back home to a way of living that restores brotherhood back on earth.
Honesty brings forth our beauty, opening up the body to reveal more of what lay underneath. Living in protection incarcerates this blossoming as we hold it all in, not wanting to be seen, to be wrong, to be judged or attacked – however, attack ourselves in this process by withholding our truth.
The qualities you describe of the flower are identical to the qualities you hold and value within yourself. A beautifull reflection, beautifully expressed so others can to feel this.
Nature is the most wonderful reflection to us Michael. There is always a flow with nature, nothing stands still and everything works in union with everything else. Leaves and blossom springing to life in the Spring, and dying down in the Autumn, resting in winter and in full bloom in the summer, only delayed if the temperature or environment is not condusive to what is needed to support its growth. We can learn so much from the magic of God around us if we only choose to observe.
When we have someone in our lives that we know is totally honest, we can trust what they say. This is a most valuable quality and rises above the need to be nice.
Honesty is definitely beautiful and what comes from it you have described perfectly. Very inspiring to know what comes out from honesty;’The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again.’ Honest bodies are gorgeous!
‘Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath. ‘Trusting, if not knowing, that this beauty is always there even if there are struggles on the surface is exactly how it is. This is a truth that we need to come back to in those troubling times when we lose touch with this. Thank you Michael .
I agree Michael, nature offers us so much and I find it quite interesting there is a flower called honesty. Apart from that I feel honesty is the basic fundamental of evolution and healing
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.’ Beautifully said Michael, the more honest we are in life the more this supports others to also express honesty. When we walk around protected and shutdown in life we miss out on the beauty and love all around us.
There is an enormous level of arrogance and protection in this world today. Most would not even think they are arrogant or ignorant of what is going on around them, but the truth is that we generally are. I was like this too, and still am to a point, but honesty is the gateway to being to be real, open and truth-full with others (and myself) about what is really going on in life.
It is when we embody “simplicity, delicacy and strength” that we come to true honesty, and through true honesty we will get to truth. Michael, your lovely, gentle blog is so beautiful and refreshing to read this morning, it reflects the beauty and honesty that is you.
Michael – I agree that honesty is so important. As you say it brings simplicity and this is so needed in the world.
When we are honest, first and foremost with ourselves, then we can be honest with others and call things out and develop relationships based on this transparency rather than comfort and illusion.
Honesty is a delicate and fragile step towards truth. Truth for me is considering the whole in any situation, when honesty has been come to, asking why what has occurred did actually occur in the first place – getting to the seed of every situation. Truth to me is considering the purpose of the flower on a whole, for the whole garden bed and also for all of nature. It’s looking beyond the beauty of the flower and asking what does the flower really bring to the all, from the seed, to the dying and the end of each flower. There is no point in honesty without considering the truth.
Honesty is natural and we can encourage children to stay honest if we do not react with emotion or judge them when they tell us the truth. If we do that they learn to manage the situation by tempering the truth so that we can handle it. They learn from us how to be polite, how to be sympathetic, how to present a watered down version to avoid confrontation. By receiving their honesty without reacting they trust us and can share what is going on with them without fear of judgment. By being able to share it openly they get to connect with their ethical nature which knows if something they did was harmful, or hurtful – and they will often admit that, without us having to point it out to them. When we treat them as equals and do not talk down to them from our position as parent but offer loving guidance from our experience without any ‘I told you so’ then they will stay open to making more loving choices without feeling the need to rebel because we have told them what to do.
“ . . . when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.” Michael, this is a lovely statement. If we are protecting ourselves it’s because we think we might get hurt or we have something to hide. If we accept ourselves as we are we will not be afraid to show ourselves ‘warts and all’. When people feel an open vulnerability in someone they are less likely to react to them or attack them and it may possibly encourage them to also let go of their guard which is really just a false protection.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” Michael this is so true, when I am totally honest and open, I am no longer hiding in protection or worried about the next step because it all flows naturally, however I do feel how delicate and vulnerable I am because I get to feel so much more.
Honesty is essential with ourselves, our relationships and in fact there isn’t anywhere or anything we do that doesn’t need honesty to be applied to it so that it holds true and genuine. If I try to get away with anything less than honesty, my body hardens immediately and stays that way until I stop and look at what is going on. I am also finding that honesty is something that has no limit as to how deep I can take it, which can cause me to squirm at times, but nonetheless I also appreciate the richness of what I am being shown. Thanks Michael for this blog – it’s so valuable in what it is offering us readers to consider further.
I have two dear friends who are always very honest with me, they won’t hold back on saying how they feel or pulling me up if needed, this is the greatest form of love I have known because they are prepared to expose what is not love regardless of what my reaction may be and for this I am deeply grateful.
Recently I had occasion to speak honestly about an issue, and although I was concerned about speaking up, I stayed steady in myself and in what I had to express, and even though the other tried to engage and pull me in emotionally, my steadiness did not allow that to happen bringing the issue to resolution. In honestly expressing what was needed I felt a stronger sense of myself and expansion which allowed the other person to see the issue with clarity clearing that which stood between us enabling us to come back to a place of spaciousness.
There is honesty in presence. It is like the foundation for everything else that may unfold, as our feet are the foundation for our body. If our standing is not based on honesty, all that we build in life will lack stability. To become honest, presence is needed.
Michael I love both the analogy of the flower here and also the fact that I am appreciating the real power and strength in being vulnerable, something that I had previously seen as a weakness but now feel as the very essence of being real and honest.
Such a beautifully, simple, yet profound blog Michael I enjoyed reading it very much. Coming back to it today I got a sense of the power and strength of honesty. “Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen: it is rather small, the flowers are not big and showy, but it is always present by its wonderful smell. When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”. We are so used to dis-honesty either with ourselves or in others that being honest is not always our first choice and therefore not seen for what it is, just like the flower you describe, What you write here really brings home the meaning of honesty, the simplicity the strength and clarity…..it makes no sense reading this why we try so hard to avoid being honest.
Recently I spoke honestly and asked for what felt true and received responses that had the capacity to make me feel less and that I could have chosen to feel hurt and not listened to but the true beauty of this situation is that I spoke up and voiced what felt and was true for me – this brought so much joy because I claimed ‘me’, I claimed what was true. Honesty can be a struggle but the truth always outweighs holding back and not saying anything.
All flowers serve to remind us of the stillness that is ours to behold, should we allow ourselves to surrender to its immanent presence.
Honesty. I can never hear this word enough. The levels of ‘honesty’ we think we go to – are they truly it? We have become so good at telling ourselves lies that we don’t even realise we are Being dishonest half the time. For me the greatest unravelling of my dishonesty is actually being honest about how I truly feel.
It is beautiful that you are calling yourself and any irresponsibility to account by exposing with an honesty, what you may otherwise attempt to hide … and then allowing the truth to deliver the beauty and wisdom such transparency offers you. This is a truly inspiring way to live.
Honesty can feel quite squirmy at times and a little uncomfortable, especially the doosies that the mind doesn’t wish to acknowledge, but the release it can bring in your body is well worth the momentary squirm.
‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.’ This feels like bathing in a mountain spring. Simplicity clears all the rubbish we accumulate through our lies and deceit. It makes the choice of honesty or being sullied by deceit an easy choice.
The fact that honesty stands out so much is a pure reflection of how dishonest we have allowed ourselves to become.
‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’ In a world where people have been encouraged to be dishonest – pretend things don’t bother them when they do, be tough when they are sensitive etc. someone who is committed to rebuilding trust with and within themselves truly graces the world.This is gorgeous to feel and be inspired by.
Michael, a man marvelling at flowers is deeply touching. Thank you for bearing your tenderness and beauty for everyone to feel your relationship with honesty. You are, right now, changing stereotypes and grounding the true sensitivity that every man is born with but all too often dismisses by the time they are adult, if not sooner.
I have enjoyed reflecting on the link between honesty and being delicate and vulnerable. But when I am simply honest, there is also assurance and authority, words which perhaps are not often placed next to delicateness and vulnerability but it is a delectable combination when you ponder it – just like a sweet heavenly voice I have heard recently singing with gusto and soul.
A small and intensely fragrant flower Mondviole, also called “honesty” how apt, honesty is intense anywhere it appears, but it only is so because we have accepted our world to be run by lies. Honesty also tells us its power is not reflected by size, its greatness is not in how it looks like, and honesty will always be there dedicated in opening the way for truth.
I love what you are saying in this blog Michael and I agree, it is so empowering to open up, be vulnerable, be honest, let others see you for who you are with no protection or pretense. This is still a work in progress for me but one that I am committed to in full as I see how my relationship with my self and others then deepen and blossom.
It can feel very exposing and uncomfortable at times when another is being honest with me but I know deep within it is love of the highest form in that moment.
“…the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” With honesty comes truth. When people feel the whole truth they have a very clear choice to align to that or not. In each of us being truly honest about where we are at in our lives, our day, how we are feeling deep down, etc. we are allowing everyone around us to explore that with ourselves, themselves and each other. There is a beautiful connection right there.
Honesty is a blessing for everybody and like a gift we give to ourselves and to others.
Honesty allows a transparency and vulnerability that creates the basis for true and amazing relationships. I have found that the more honest and open I am, the more open are all those around me. As I have deepened this honesty and openness, even within myself, there are greater depths that then unfold for me.
Being open to the reflections and inspiration in nature has been, for me, the inspiration to explore opening myself up to life. Honesty without critique has been a ‘mahoosive’ key.
This is so true Michael – ” If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” I am experiencing this more and more, and lovely connections are unfolding with people I have barely met, just awesome.
Being honest brings refreshingly simplicity to a situation, clearing the air and allowing all involved to move closer to deeper relationships.
Whenever a situation seems difficult and complex, honesty brings clarity.
Indeed, it provides a simplicity. Just state how it is and feels without knowing where it leads to. Just start expressing.
The beauty, sensitivity and clarity that true honesty creates is an amazingly simple way to live in a world that is so biased towards complexity everywhere. Nature is pure honesty in reflection and this is why we love it so much.
“When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” I love that a flower has been termed Honesty. Having that in the garden would be a constant reminder of the need for more honesty in the world and in our own lives. I too, love the simplicity of a little white flower, I have a native flower in my garden here in Australia it has a very tiny flower, with just 3 white petals and a little green spot in the middle. It too for me shows the 3 characteristics that you enumerate, simplicity, delicacy and strength, it too is a very delicate little flower, and the plant has great strength, it survives in the garden with no special care, just spreads gently among my other plants, just living harmoniously with them with no competition. Its 3 petals for me are a reminder for me to live continuously connected to me, to shine my light out onto the world. My plant has no name, I grew it from a seed I found one day in a rainforest, and it has grown happily in my garden for over 10 years, maybe I should also name this one Honesty. I just love it.
“Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath”… I so agree with your sentiment Michael, honesty is a virtue and being honest with ourselves may feel a little exposing at first, but like you say, allows for the feeling of vulnerability which allows our true beauty to come to the surface.
Thank you Michael for your reflections on honesty. I was brought up to be anything but honest. We were required to be polite at all times. It is so refreshing to see the natural honesty in my grandchildren who have no qualms about telling me that they do not like a birthday present I have given to them. They say it so matter of factly that it makes me laugh every time.
Honesty can be so easy and yet without it the next step is impossible. Truth can never be hidden even if we think we are covering it up. If there is not enough nutrients in the soil the plants may grow and look good even amazing but they may be susceptible to attack from pests and be bitter when eaten. At some point the truth comes out how we live with it is up to us. Do we tender to the plants and keep an eye on them and adjust what is needed or do we sit back and say they look fine, not delve or investigate and test thoroughly?
Nature is indeed a beautiful reflection. Yesterday I saw this very sweet and ‘fluffy’ feather on the street and it just reflected back to me my own yummyness, fragility and sweetness.
Whenever I am tempted to be dishonest in life it is usually to protect myself and keep up some kind of guard. It is when I am fearing being vulnerable. But this keeps a wall up with everyone and prevents true intimacy so I am learning that honesty is the best policy when it comes to healthier relationships.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity”. When I read this Michael I could feel the freedom in my body that being honest brings. Sometimes I can feel I hold back from being truly honest in fear of judgement from others when I do go there and say how I feel I am always surprised at how much easier and simpler it is than I thought it would be.
Honesty holds the foundation for true intimacy and an openness that brings clarity to living. I even love saying the word honesty, it’s like an invitation to a party that allows you to explore life from all angles it encompasses.
I love this Michael – “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” So true and I experience this too. 🙂
I too am a big advocate for honesty and was quite shocked at myself for how fast I tried to cover up a mistake with an outright lie rather than be honest myself and the others in the room. It was a really great moment because it stung so deeply that it made me see how many little lies we tell all the time without even thinking about it.
This beautiful blog has given me a moment to pause and reflect on the changes in my life since attending Serge Benhayon’s presentations. I genuinely believed I was honest with myself, only to discover I had been kidding myself for a long time! Having a deeper awareness and presence with my body these days has brought a completely different level of honesty and an appreciation of how things are in any given moment, whether it be stagnant, stuck, flowing harmoniously, tension, pain, flexibility, hardness, gentleness, sad or joyful etc. With this honesty, the fragility and delicateness can now be felt within – many giant steps away from how numb my body was, having chosen to not feel to ensure there was no access to even a glimmer of deep, old hurts that were buried within. Thank you Michael for this breathtakingly joyful blog bringing a marker of the amazing new choices and changes and appreciation for both my self and others, beyond anything I could have imagined.
Michael this is a beautiful analogy with flowers and all they bring the simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity and this allows us to feel and be who we truly are and living this way confirms it back to us joyfully. Thank you
This is such a beautiful read Michael and very true what you share here. Honesty really opens up the space for everyone, it’s like a breath of fresh air in a situation and can bring in great change indeed. And I agree with you here too Michael, What a marvellous reflection nature can be. Only when I have allowed my mind to judge what nature is reflecting to me do I react to it’s awesome reflection and gift. If we didn’t have nature reflecting our truth where would we be?
This is an exquisite blog to read again Michael. Honesty is the foundation of all relationships. We are continuously blessed with magnificent reminders from nature. It is easy to miss when we are not living this in our everyday lives. By you choosing to live what you’ve so beautifully shared with us Michael you have inspired us all deeply.
This is so true Michael. Although it may feel confronting at times I always feel that anything can be resolved if we start with a basis of honesty and no true harm comes from truth.
Yes honesty is such incredibly powerful thing when we start to use it in full.. It is a wonderful tool to become aware and let go. It is also very simple and revealing.. Showing us in the most loving way that we are born with the same essence, we still carry within us, even though it might look we are further away from it – honesty brings us closer to it again.
Honesty is something of a rarity in our world today. An unfortunate truth but this is the reality we have made this world to be. It is almost like we find it too confronting to be honest with ourselves, our bodies and all around let alone begin to be truth-full about what is really going on. Boy oh boy is honesty so so important.
Very true Joshua. Is that we find honesty confronting because it means once we choose to be honest we realise we have to start accepting responsibility? Therefore, without honesty responsibility is not fully applied. Our world seems to lack responsibility as well as honesty. We can change this by first being honest with ourselves to expose what is really going on.
This is a great sharing chanly88. It is so normal for us to blame others for our woes instead of truly being responsible and at the very least honest. It is actually very very crazy that we choose to live this way.
The word that jumps out for me is strength. And this is a relatively new feeling for me. I have felt it through tenderness as well. It’s strange – because both honesty and tenderness break down the armour, break down the protection, take off the masks (all of which one might think give us strength) leaving a raw, unprotected and open being (all of which one might think leaves us more exposed and ‘weak’). But quite the opposite is true and I feel a greater strength in myself when I commit to these expressions – and that strength comes from the fact that I am connecting to who I truly and absolutely am. And nothing is stronger than that.
My daughter and I were reading this Otto and she said that was ‘cute’! She is inspired by the strength in the tenderness and spoke about it all car journey home!
Thank you Michael, this blog is so beautiful to read I love this sentence. “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” how very powerful to be real.
The simplicity of honesty is gorgeous and shows how all complication is just a way of avoiding it.
Honesty is the foundation to heal the body.
I keep coming back to your definition of honesty Michael, it resonates so strongly with me;
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”.
There is so much to uncover once we start being open and honest with ourselves, everything around us starts to change, because we begin to develop a life from honesty, which we are then able to build on that foundation and come from a place of truth.
I agree Brendan and we have a very long way to go to really stop all the illness, disease and out of control behaviours that are all around us and growing at a rapid rate, we need to make a enormous stop all together and address this as a society and not single-handedly.
I loved rereading this blog; honesty is raw, exposing and opens the path to evolution. A cup of honesty daily is a medicine that can only heal.
Honesty brings equality to all we encounter.
Honesty allows me to be open as I am not hiding from another or myself. Honesty allows me to express truth rather than trying to dress it up with words that do not actually feel truthful.
Honesty is raw and it offers an opening, a space to explore where our truth lies.
Honesty brings simplicity, clarity and the opportunity to heal “Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” Without honesty we can not let go off the illusions, habits and behaviours that entrap us. Honesty allows a freedom, a breathing space and a surfacing in to the light of truth, love and divinity.
I like your comparison with the flower. Honesty, like the flower, may not always been seen, but it can always be sensed, and thus felt.
This is true and if we see it like this honesty is like an invitation and not like something uncomfortable.
I cried reading this today, thank you for the healing Michael. This line was the clincher – “being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.”. We can feel the truth, we know the truth and honesty can bring us to the truth. But when we fight it because we don’t want to see it, we bring forth so much complication.
It is a beautiful quote, I have seen this occur many times and it is healing every time, to see the ease and trust that comes when honesty is chosen. Even if it is confronting and reactions are chosen, it can still feel simple, clear and healing.
Michael, since reading your article I have been more aware of some little white lies that I tell, mostly to my son, becoming more aware of these has allowed me to feel that actually these are harmful because for some reason I am not choosing to tell the truth – maybe to make life easier for me or if there is something that I don’t want to deal with and the little white lie means I don’t have to deal with it, or not wanting to get a reaction, cause upset, but actually it feels super important to say what is true and be honest and deal with whatever it is that needs to be dealt with and set an example of living honestly and truthfully.
If honesty is a step towards getting to the truth then it’s a great and valid one we need to make first. Thank you Michael for your sharing.
This is so beautiful Michael. I work in the world of beauty, and I encourage people to get honest with themselves about how they are feeling. If they manage to do this I simply watch as the layers of hardness and protection drop away from their faces revealing the beauty underneath. This is true beauty, and it is the honesty that helps us to uncover it.
Beautifully expressed Rebecca, many of us have these layers, I can feel how I have been letting them go and exposing this delicate, vulnerable, gentle, beautiful woman. Seeing the tenderness within someone, is beautiful. Being honest is essential for how we feel, and expressing how we feel is so healing.
Brendan growing up I constructed a life of complete dishonesty, as a result I didn’t know who I was, through honesty, as you say, we learn about ourselves and life.
Michael – the way you describe honesty as a platform for you to open up to others and them to open up in return is very beautiful. We walk around in hiding of who we are, keeping our lives private and confined to those we know well. Not being open to everyone we meet. Of course I am not suggesting we tell our life story to the local butchers, but what I can see is that in honesty, we can see the world does not have to be separate. We can choose how much time we spend with people, but we can also see everyone as equal. The stranger walking down the street most likely has so many close relationships, so why must we not even acknowledge them as an equal human being. As you say – it can start simply with being honest and open towards everyone and everything.
As you say many of us walk with protection where we ‘think’ we are separate from each other “…in honesty, we can see the world does not have to be separate.” I have had that experience that honesty has brought me closer to people, I have less barriers, I am more transparent, more trustworthy, and people appreciate that and in terms of how they respond to me, often it is with letting their guard down, they become more open themselves. It feels a lot more intimate and connected, lovely.
davidonsamantha – this is very confirming to read your experience, and how if you open up yourself you inspire others to open up too. It is a very simple way of connecting with others as we naturally know how to do. We have spent so much time and energy figuring out how to separate from ourselves and each other, that we can overlook how easy and simple it is to connect back. It is amazing how different an interaction with someone can be depending on how we are in that interaction.
The real depth of honesty is like a fathomless pit of what there is to be seen and exposed . The deeper we go with it the more there is and this is our true way of evolution back to the awareness we have come from a very long time ago as we live in our cycles of returning home as pure love and nothing less. This is a great blog of symbolism with nature and simplicity as a way of living.
Honesty has strength! That is something I always knew growing up but was shown from others around me that honesty is actually a weakness as a man and you have to ‘grow up and be big and tough’. To me honesty is far greater than any physical strength could ever be.
Honesty truly is the best policy, how much simpler life would be if honesty took preference over all the lies and deceit that is rife in our world.
A very relatable line “…when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.” I grew up socialised that having a fault is seen as a weakness, so it’s kept hidden to protect oneself. However it’s complete illusion that we could be any less than others by not being “perfect” (since there is no such thing!) and it’s a sure way to cut off growing as a human being by not being honest about where we are at. Being honest is actually an amazing strength.
I find relationships keep me honest for without them I would never see the impact my choices have on other people.
That’s so true Katie, when there is more self love it naturally rolls on to you just wanting to be more honest and build more of that love in your body.
The true joy of honesty is something only felt as we start to live it and it brings an amazing simplicity and honouring to life from a humbleness and sincerity that really does open us and the world up to living the love we all are.
On re-visiting this blog this is what resonates: ‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’ When I avoid saying what I feel simply and directly I create confusion that leads to complexity which then undermines my trust in self. I have just realised this pattern of mine and see how it leads to self-sabotage. The simplicity of this wonderful blog belies its profoundness.
In the past I used dishonesty as my way of not being fully responsible for my choices in life, and not wanting to see those choices that I was making. If I thought it was someone else’s responsibility, I could just ignore what was right there, but this did not make the issue go away and felt totally disempowering. Learning to be honest about where I am at and not judging that as a bad thing, totally frees me up to see more of myself and the bigger picture from a place of true understanding and love.
I love how this blog comes back to the truth that there is always a beauty waiting to be seen and felt that honesty is the catalyst for.
Brendan this comment highlights the importance of forever being open to deepening our honesty.
Have you ever noticed that when you present someone with the truth, and you get a ‘But’ as a return reply it is like an empty envelope? Real truths are Teflon coated and stand-alone.
Turning one’s back or refusing to see and hear the truth is the only choice we have to ignore the truth.
Great point Brendan. Also, how bad does it need to be for people to then choose to stop, feel and speak the truth openly and honestly about what’s going on for them – at home, workplace and in society?
I feel people don’t want to open pandora’s box in some situations, or create negative repercussions by speaking up e.g. fear of being bullied more, fear of losing their job. But, by remaining silent we are saying ‘Yes” to what is not OK .
A beautiful metaphor Michael. No wonder then that the best is in some ways reflective of an honest day’s work.
By being dishonest we often feel we are getting away with something, but we are simply getting away from our true and beautiful self.
Great question Melinda and I know certainly when I have been dishonest in the past that even though there is the initial relief that you don’t get exposed for something that you don’t want someone to know that really it leaves an unsettled feeling within because you have been dishonest. This can even just be with yourself and I know that when I have chosen this my body contracts and has tension. Makes more sense to allow the honesty of everything to our natural way and see how life unfolds instead of trying to control and anticipate the next thing. Leaving us a body that is open, free and spacious.
I love the analogy of honesty peeling away the masks to reveal the true beauty. Simple and true.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This is so true, I know that the more I bring honesty to myself, I truly see that reflected in others with whom I live and interact.
And what I love about bringing in honesty as well Reagan and Michael, is a reducing of judging myself. Acceptance develops.
Yeah that is super important Gina to accept and allow what is to be. Which for most of us is actually a revelation as we tend to be tied up in images of what life should be etc that we stifle our expression to fit in with this image. Exhausting and deadening way to exist.
Beautifully said Gina and with this understanding we get to really appreciate just how amazing and important we are when we are in connection to our essence.
Absolutely aminatumi, we really need to understand the impact to the world of the power of our expression when we are in connection to our essence. Equally the responsibility to work towards being this 24/7, because the impact on the world when we are not in our connection is harming.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” So true, Michael. It cuts through all the game-playing, mental chess and all the other complications of ‘how to be’. Instead there is the openness and freedom to feel and express what is truly present and how one is feeling. To live life this way is taking me time to re-learn as I have built so many layers of protection and images of how to be over the years. However, every time I manage to express from this place of truth I am confirmed in the beauty, power and loveliness of this simplicity and more and more of the layers are dissolved.
In this I feel how honesty keeps life feeling fresh as each moment is accepted for what it is.
I agree Jonathan I have been learning this for a long time too, to just be willing to say what I feel in a moment without holding back, or trying to micro manage reactions and manipulate outcomes, but to feel to express and be willing to risk that is a real learning and the more I am able to do it the easier it becomes to be my normal rather than something that I am working on.
It is indeed that simplicity and indeed no subtle micro management reactions and manipulation of outcomes. To let that fully go is the learning ánd the liberation. Then it just becomes the new normal: just to express what I feel.
Yes, I know this too Jonathan. The more I allow myself to feel what is before me and then express from what I know to be true, the layers of protection simply drop away and allow for deeper and more loving and beautiful relationships. Makes me realise how much I have controlled what I have been willing to allow in and out and restricted my own evolution, but also how simple and gorgeous it is to change this choice.
Such a beautiful blog Michael of confirmation, appreciation and joy; reflected to us all through nature.
“The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again”.
Also your definition of honesty is stunning, laying a solid foundation for a deeper awareness of truth.
I have always regarded myself as an honest person but that concept of myself was challenged when I began to attend Universal Medicine and hear Serge Benhayon speak. What I was defending as an honest way of being was just scratching the surface of what the word really means. Not only that, I have come to realise is that at times I was claiming that I was honestly applying myself to situations or being honest and responsible with myself about certain scenarios. In fact I was ‘honestly’ clinging to and believing a story that I had created in order to not go deeper and discover with more genuine honesty what I was avoiding seeing/accepting/acknowledging/letting out etc. I also wasn’t always honest about what I was observing in others, sometimes because what I was seeing made me uncomfortable so I simply didn’t want to acknowledge it. So to me, honesty is a massive area that is asking me to continually refine what I am discerning as truth.
I can relate to the clinging to a story and, or a picture. In so doing we become blinkered and see only the parts we want to.
I recently had the experience of seeing something as I wanted to and believing myself to be absolutely right, once I got honest and looked deeper for the truth I was exposed totally in the picture I had put onto the exchange. What was amazing was that I had the opportunity to revisit the experience as it was a webcast I had reacted to and in watching it again I could see clearly that I had projected everything I had reacted to onto the event, nothing I saw on the day was there it was all my stuff, but whilst caught in it I would swear black and blue that I was right.
This is a very open and honest account of how we live our lives and how we are in the illusions on so many levels, I know that when I think I am right I will not listen to another and although this has changed dramatically this is still an important area to continue developing, ‘surrendering my arrogant spirit’.
Great opportunity you had. I am experiencing a similar thing, although I don’t have a broadcast to watch again. Just by re-viewing the film (situation / what occurred) myself and myself in it, but then the honest and broader version, I can see how I contributed to that situation (a clash with someone) to happen. So-called ‘little things’ added to the situation: I was already in reaction before I started to talk to the person; actually, something I read, made me call that person – the call itself was ‘from reaction’; I had already made up my mind what I (not) wanted, but was pretending it was an open conversation to decide upon something together. And if I go for deeper honesty, I see an old pattern of immediate doing-ness, when I get confronted with unexpected situations. And that brings me back to: how present was I in that day? That brings me to my constant learning to be in and with my body. Honesty is a doorway to greater understanding of myself, situations and brings freedom to make different choices.
It is indeed a massive area, Helen, like an ocean. It has a width and depth, which never stops. I find that there is always a deepening in being honest with myself.
Yes Michael, nature is continually reflecting back to us that which we most need to see, and or feel, to deepen our awareness of ourselves, our movements and our expressions. If we are truly honest with ourselves whilst pondering the meaning of the reflections offered to us, amazing opportunities to see the truth of how we are living and expressing, and how we may choose otherwise, come to light.
This is a great point, nature truly is reflecting to us how we live. It then becomes our depth of awareness as to whether we see what is actually there to be seen. There is much to learn and understand from the symbolism of nature, the reflections there are grand and small, just depends if we are present enough to see them.
Yes being present within ourselves is a vital ingredient in being able to read the symbolism of nature.
These are both great points; the support we receive from nature about how to truly c0-exist alongside each other and the depth of stillness that can be attained always blows me away.
This is a great point Raegan. Whether we see and take notice of the reflections we are offered on a day to day basis, simply comes down to whether or not we are present enough and/or willing to see and read them.
Nature continually offers us clarity and confirmation of what is true in our lives. Thank you for illustrating this to us so beautifully, Michael
Doesn’t it, there is so much to learn from nature even through the behaviour of others, and often it is easier to do so because of the depth of trust we hold nature in.
I agree Anne, nature is such a gift for us to see how easily harmony can be lived at every level, the fact we come from the same source shows we too can live with harmony equally with all. We just have to want that more than we want to be comfortable in our misery or excitement or distraction or numbness, that sounds mad but its true we actually like our misery as for most it gives a false sense of control over life. Rather than surrendering to the grandness of divinity and allowing life to unfold as it has already been designed to do.
It is time for us to get really honest. I felt this today when driving down a road in London and saw a shop called the Sweat shop, it was a shop for trainers and then I pondered on the name, it was like making a joke. What do we know ‘sweat shops’ to be? I know them or associate the term ‘sweat shop’ to be a place similar to slave labour where people including children are forced to work long hours with little pay or breaks in very poor conditions. On reflecting on this further what I felt was that as soon as we label something, give it a name, like slave labour or calling the places ‘sweat’ shops then it become okay. It is like by giving something a name we then accept it as part of our society. Maybe what we should do is not name things but work on stopping them so they no longer exist!
Such names shock us into taking note of them. This reflects the carelessness we have allowed in the marketing industry where integrity has been trumped by distraction and deception (not in all cases) but it is very common. Sex sells is a perfect example.
It is very interesting that the way marketing is done as you say Abby, to go for the shock value. It is like we have become so numb to all the media and imagery around us that to wake us from our slumber we need something beyond what has become acceptable that will jump out at us and for us to notice something.
This is a great point that you make Abby and it is exactly that. Have we become so complacent as a society that names/brands/forms of entertainment are now coming up with ways of shocking us in order for us to take notice of them, to make them stand out from the rest? As you say, sex is a great example of this and is avaialbe in so many ways and to all ages.
What I find interesting is that to me honesty feels like a lie when compared with the true truth of a situation yet honesty is a step further to being real, open and observant to what is really going on around us.
It’s true, that even though honesty is such a great step, it is still only the start of something far greater, that eventually leads to the truth of who you are.
This is a great point, to always be open to further expansion.
Yes a stepping stone to a greater awareness.
This is great Shami and Joshua as it is huge how far we can loose ourselves in the thinking that we have sorted a situation based on the fact that we have been honest about it, however returning to how we have been living does not deal with it, we actually have to change our patterns and behaviours thereafter.
Yes, we have to learn to be honest first, and then we can go deeper with our understanding which eventually leads us to the truth of any given situation.
Exactly. It’s like a doorway that leads to a deeper and ever-expanding expanded view.
And this is where the fun starts.
We have to be honest about the lie we are living first, to get to the truth.
Great understandings around where honesty can lead us to.
Honesty is stepping on the threshold to discover true living and connection and what’s great about honesty is that it leads us to living from our truth, what’s not to love about that?
Great point Kelly. And if we do find honesty to be challenging then are we not just resisting connecting to the fact that how we are living is not entirely true in the first place?
How many of us could say we are living a true life – as in connected to our soul every minute of the day, maybe 1 or 2 people we have the joy of being inspired by to know this is possible. Everyone of us is in a process back to living what was once our natural way and will be again, and that path is only started with being aware, then honest then truthful. It is loving to hold every part of the process as necessary and equal.
I agree Kelly, and we have so much to enjoy once we get through that hurdle.
I agree Josh, honesty is a step towards being transparent and much truth is felt in transparency.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” Thank you Michael for opening up this conversation on honesty as many people say that I am always very honest but I never really see it as anything special and simply shrug it off, but there is something more for me to deepen my awareness here. Being open is a confirmation of what it means to be vulnerable and real. This is much to appreciate.
This is a great line, as many would not necessarily associate openness and honesty with feeling delicate and vulnerable. But it truly does, when one can allow themselves to be vulnerable, delicate and does create an openness for others, its almost like it creates an opportunity for another to be the same.
Being honest keeps things very simple -no cover ups, no explanations needed. Simplicity allows us to feel our delicateness and vulnerability and then we can have a deeper connection to ourselves.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.” Like nature what a beautiful reflection you share Michael.
Michael as someone that was never honest and would make up all sorts of stories I can completely relate to the fact that honesty and simplicity go hand in hand. When I would make up stories, lie about things it would always get really complicated trying to keep track of all of that. Yet through honesty it brings a simplicity that is palpable to life.
Honesty is our key and individual privilege to return to our Soul and start to unravel everything that is not us. Therefore as this blog, and flower is showing us – that every step we make to choices, in honesty, allows us to let go of old hurts, stubbornness(emotions), investments, illusions, ideals and beliefs. Honesty is therefore our number 1! And number 1 step to come back to who we are.
“Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen: it is rather small, the flowers are not big and showy, but it is always present by its wonderful smell.” This is beautiful Michael and describes honesty so well it is not showy or in your face it sits there quietly until we are ready to see the beauty of honesty.
When we are open and honest then we feel a natural sense of space and at ease with ourselves because we are not trying to control or calibrate something that we don’t want share or see. Being honest with ourselves and then being this with others is the only true way to be with each other. Everything flows. The next step after that is to be the truth that we are.
Simply reading, “to be the truth that we are” feels like the most honoring and freeing choice that we can make to lovingly support who we are and share this with everyone.
Honesty builds a solidness in our constitution which can be felt in the ease of which we hold ourselves in natural posture.
Its like we have placed so many layers of junk on the flower bed. Yet when we dig deeper and brush away the debris, honesty flowers. Like an unexpected gift it defies our belief that it is something nasty, hard and mean, but stands as you show Michael, tickling our chin with it’s delicate petals, as if to say ‘hey what were you thinking my friend?’ Honesty is the greatest seed we can plant in this world, for from it grows the love we all yearn for.
‘What a marvellous reflection nature can be.’ Indeed Michael one that I am always grateful for. and delight in.
Beautifully said Michael – ‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.’
In the last few days I have seen that I have not been completely honest with myself on a number of things and that I still hold layers of protection around me. My understanding at the moment is yes I can be honest but it is what do I do after I have come to a point of honesty. What action do I bring in place to honour it.
Great point Brendan, we get so accustomed to callibrating and playing down what we say thinking how others might react, or even numbing to not feel what is happening so that we do not then take the responsibility to express what is needed in that moment… but this is only a way to keep the world in its fogginess and haze, and does everyone a disservice.
The strength that comes from honesty is a strength that nurtures us, that allows us to grow and deepen the connection with our innerhearts, and from this to discover even more of who we truly are.
And it is only through deeper honesty, that we can get to the truth.
I had heard presentations by Universal Medicine about being honest with ourselves, but it took me a while to appreciate the simplicity of what this actually means – so now for me it is not trying to sort out in my head what is happening, but rather simply to feel in the body what is coming up to feel, and to express that. This is not about thoughts, reactions, analysis, just allowing the space and in the connection to our body, be truly present to feel what is there to be felt. And being honest in this way allows a greater awareness and thus even greater honesty is possible.
I love this blog, I’ve read it a few times and I keep coming back to it. The appreciation and simplicity of how you express Michael is beautiful and exquisite. Reading it opens my heart, allows honesty to flow and grow.
The thing I’ve realised about honesty is that it is an unfolding path that leads me to truth. If I start getting honest about something it seems to open me up to deeper and deeper awareness about that thing until I reach a point where the absolute truth about that thing is felt and known. Honesty is our pathway to the truth.
Me too, for that tension only lasts as long as it takes for honesty to kick in and different choices to be made.
Honesty is medicine.
I like that Kirsten, awesome
I like that kerstinsalzer15, and shall remember that when I find I have a bitter pill to swallow… because not taking our medicine actually hurts us more than if we choose NOT to take it.
And it’s some of the best medicine I have ever had.
Whenever I read the title of this blog, Honesty, something pops up. Just now it was the honesty that my whole life I’ve actually run away from me. I felt that this morning while I was deeply surrendered and (!!) accepted that this was actually normal. That the deep surrendering and Grace is actually me. Which leads to lots of questions: why did I run away, what is it exactly that I run away from, etc. But I also feel that these questions are taking me actually away from feeling the surrendering and the Grace that I am.
Floris van der Schot, your words here are very relatable for me at the moment, the honesty that my whole life I’ve actually run away from me. I too have come to this point and have been reminding myself that all I have to do is surrender and choose to stay connected to my heart and my body, then grace is naturally there.
It’s lovely to read your confirmation Julie, as well as the Grace that I feel from your words. It’s so lovely and spacious when I choose to be connected to my heart and body. I am building on my the realisation that I’ve run away these days and feel that it’s just a (simple) choice to connect to my sensitivity. I used to think that I couldn’t feel or that feeling was something that I have to do. Now I’m becoming physically aware that it’s just one choice and I’m re-connected back to me. Lovely to be on the same path Julie.
That’s so cool Floris, “But I also feel that these questions are taking me actually away from feeling the surrendering and the Grace that I am”, because in asking these questions implies that you are waiting for an answer and not surrendering to the Grandness that you already are, right here and now 🙂
Yes, isn’t that amazing Sandra, that when we actually choose surrendering that we start asking questions that don’t even matter – at all. I’m really learning to be with life and be with the Divine. The other day somebody shared with me that what we feel in any given moment is all that’s needed. Nothing more, nothing less. The Divine will supply what’s needed in any situation. How marvellous is that. We’re given all that’s needed in any situation. How freeing, spacious, Divine, wonder-full is that…
That is true Sandra, the answers are there or rather the questions are not there when we make the choice to live in true connection to who we are.
Beautiful Floris, the questions, the regret, the reactions are all designed to stop the deeper surrender into the Grace of who we truly are.
Yes Annie, they are indeed designed to take us away from the Grace inside. And I’m learning now that it is up to me to buy into the design or that I stay with my Love and Grace. As I’m writing I’m realising that this is in fact another design. Which one I choose is up to me – in every single moment.
Yes Brendan, we avoid feeling the uncomfortable reaction in others. With honesty comes an authority in expression.
Well said Matthew, the authority comes from the knowing of the lived experience in the body.
Such an important point hidden (like the flower) in the context of the blog, is how trust begins with oneself before it can extend to others. And this opens up the significance of who we are, what can we trust in ourselves, where our feelings come from, their quality and what they signify.
Yes Simon, honesty leads to self-awareness and the more honest we get, the more self-aware we become.
“simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity”. A wonderful explanation for honesty Michael. Like you when I am truly honest I feel delicate, vulnerable and connected to my innate wisdom.
I feel that too Shirl Scott, but with that delicate, vulnerable and wise stance there is an indomitable strength as well.
True jeannett, I have also felt the indomitable strength go hand in hand with the feeling of delicacy and vulnerability.
Yes, and with honesty all the walls come down – you feel vulnerable but there is a strength when you express from a deeper wisdom and truth.
That is a good point Loretta, being honest requires us to embrace our vulnerability which is often seen as a weakness especially in men who identify with what they do. Vulnerability is a strength and a lovely way to build intimacy in our relationships.
Beautiful Shirl, – you make it sound as if it is worth trying. 🙂
The real strength and simplicity of honesty in our lives is so often underestimated as it requires integrity and delving deep inside but brings a flow and honouring to ourselves our bodies and everyone else and is very healing to our lives.Thank you Michael beautifully said.
‘…simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.’ Beautifully said Michael.
I love the feeling of honesty as a flower. In my own life experiencing just how honesty grows like a flower.
That’s so lovely Michael.
When one person opens up to honesty, this can have a ripple affect on others and they allow themselves to open up to honesty too, so what a gift it is, to not only bring honesty to ourselves but to allow others the space to do the same.
‘Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath.’ I love this sentence, it is true sometimes it isn’t easy to be fully honest, but everytime we are and allow ourself to go trough this struggle there is always beauty underneath.
I agree Benkt there is always a simplicity and a beauty underneath honesty… we just have to let ourselves get to that point to feel it. We might need to wade through a but of “gunky” stuff to get there bUt it is well worth the effort.
Rachel, how true, there are times where it seems to be more difficult to get to honesty, because it asks us to change some behaviour we have, but then when we have arrived in being honest it supports us in feeling more lightness again.
So true Benkt, it can be murky and uncomfortable to be honest enough and go through the layers we have accumulated but it is worth feeling and realising that none of this is truly us, and underneath it all is the truth of who we are just waiting for us to connect and free ourselves from those layers that burden us down and obscure the beauty and lightness that resides always within.
That is what it is, it’s these layers of dishonesty are not us, it is just what we have used to cover up the truth of who we are, to not feel what we have left.
The beauty of Honesty in our lives cannot be over estimated as it is a real marker and revealer of love and what is really going on in our lives. This is a beautiful blog offering the simplicity of honesty and all it brings if we are open to it like the flower, thank you Michael.
I never used to see honesty and simplicity as being intrinsically connected, but as am bringing more and more honesty into my life it is so joyful to observe how everything around me starts to become more simple. The life of dishonesty and complication is beginning to fade into the past, but I know that I need to be ever vigilant to not allow the old and stressful way of living to sneak in again.
Such a great blog Michael. The cringing and wanting to avoid the discomfort of exposing ourselves is so very strong. In the past I have dodged it like a bullet. Since having the support from Serge Benhayon and experiencing the feeling of truly being honest with myself the feel is undoubtably the best ever. It is super empowering and as you say when we let ourselves be vulnerable in the honesty there is a power and strength within that feels solid and unwavering.
A beautiful analogy of ‘honesty’ and the flower you describe Michael… And how, although it may not be “the first thing to be seen”, it is yet, ever present. Your words are a call to deepen in the quality of our own presence, that we may be in touch with our natural ability to be so honest – for without this step, as Serge Benhayon has taught extensively in relation to Esoteric Psychology, we cannot get to truth. Truth being the unifying factor that allows the full essence of who we are to shine forth, and for us to be reunited with each other once again.
Yes Victoria so true. That need we all have for the one unified truth must start with our willingness to be honest.
Beautiful expressed Victoria, embracing honesty is the way forth for us all to live in a different way that will eventually bring humanity back as one.
Agreed Francisco. “A different way”, yet one we do all know within. Our denial of the depth of truth and love we do know, has left this world such a mess… yet we must never negate our ability to return to all we know to be true.
Honesty is a great step, one that is deeply needed and to appreciate in full.
A beautiful blog Michael, I feel when we are honest with our selves, it’s like it gives others permission to be honest too. If we are living our truth in honesty then others feel this too and can feel like they can be them selves without competition or judgement.
This is such a beautiful observation Christopher: “when we are honest with our selves, it’s like it gives others permission to be honest too.” What a wonderful gift to give not only ourselves, but to others as well – the gift that keeps on giving.
Absolutely Christopher. By being honest and open with other people it sets an example that we can be ourselves, note how we are feeling and observe how our choices have been, all without judgement.
Cool, Susie, honesty leads the way out of judgements and thereby lays the foundation for truth, where we are equal to each other.
Thank you Michael, I agree, the “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity” will all be part of what is felt when we are at least honest.
Honesty is a stepping stone to the Soul.
There’s much in this world that can seem to bloom like honesty. But on further examination, touch and feel can turn out to be an imposter, just like those plastic flowers you sometimes see in shopping malls or airports. Your analogy Michael reminds me how true honesty has a quality that is vulnerable, delicate and beautifully natural. It’s not sharp, brittle and harsh. So no longer will I choose to settle for bouquets of fake flowers.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up” That has also been my experience if I am honest and open with my communication others feel safe to communicate honestly. Sometimes my struggle is with myself and trusting and feeling safe to feel vulnerable and delicate with myself and therefore others.
It is wonderful when I let go of ideals that I have been running with and just get honest about how I am and where I am at. This is all that is required to live an honest life.
Rebecca I love how simple this feels, and what power honesty provides.
Exactly Rebecca, it’s simple in theory and in practice once you cotton on to the wonderful benefits of honesty, but honesty can be hard to start for anyone heavily invested in their beliefs. Serge Benhayon has the patience of saint, as he gently and lovingly supports us to let go of these investments and get honest about how we really feel, about what truly supports us, about what is going on in the world.
‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’ This is so true Michael, I love what you present here, the ultimate way to build trust is to be honest with ourselves first.
…and so much is opened by way of opportunity for relationships that can truly flourish Michael and chanly88. The deepest joy is there for us all, if we are willing to drop the walls we have hidden behind, that have presented a dishonest rendering of who we truly are.
Whilst we may like to curate and tend ornate gardens, nature and these flowers you describe Michael, don’t worry about arrangements. They just spring up anywhere the climate allows them. Today I am considering how rather than just becoming honest ‘because I have to’ or constructing it somehow, I can grow honesty everywhere and embrace each and every flower.
That is a lovely observation Joseph. When we embrace honesty there is a natural flow and unfolding, and we can choose to have this every moment of our day.
That feels like the type of flowerbed I would like to sleep in Joseph! Upon awakening every day a new arrangement of honesty would be there, thanks to the nature of me naturally feeling the magnetic pull to reconnect because of the beauty I have chosen to surround myself with. A forever expanding expression of honesty that is not set in concrete, as I have chosen to reconnect to my soul.
Michael your last paragraph relates such an important point that honesty can bring us to a place where we feel inside a struggle and unpleasantness we have been holding on to. So dishonesty then resurfaces to rebound out of this place. Yet as you say, remaining with that delicate acceptance, we do find a very lovely essence sitting underneath, which strengthens our resolve to remain honest in the future. All that we feel that is disturbing inside is not who we truly are. Living thinking it is, is living a lie.
Great point it is the unpleasant uncomfortable feeling of confronting the lies we have been living we avoid which sometimes means we dig ourselves into a bigger and bigger lie more contracting. When we sit with the feeling through the unpleasant feeling we have been living from we can feel our delicateness and vulnerability dissolve the hurt of the lie we have been living.
A beautiful expansion on Michael’s sharing Simon…
We all do know what is true, deep within. Allowing ourselves to be real and honest, to feel the discomfort of a compromise, lie and/or facade we have been living, is the greatest gift. For in this we can, as you say, shed what was never truly ‘us’ in the first place, and reconnect to yet deeper qualities of our essential selves, where truth reigns in all its clarity.
The perspective you bring here is refreshing Victoria – to acknowledge that our ill behaviours are in fact not us is a gift and presents the opportunity for us to unwrap the gift to reveal our true nature.. Love.
Beautifully said Abby. This is something I find I go deeper on every day. ‘Our ill behaviours are in fact not us’.
Do we truly acknowledge, let alone accept this and the depth of its ramifications?
A very beautiful reflection of how nature can show us that being delicate and vulnerable, has a strength and beauty, and when we are honest and feel that vulnerability there is nothing to fear.
Absolutely Sally, this is certainly not spoken about much in our interactions day-to-day and yet it can be a huge part of our lives, so this blog brings about another level of honesty which supports in understanding ourselves and others even more deeply.
Allowing the space to feel how we really are and being with others is an unspoken form of honesty that I would say is as equally significant as expressing to others honestly.
Honesty feels very foundational, just like the base of a pyramid. It gives you something solid to build upon.
I agree Matthew beautifully said. Without the foundation of honesty in our relationships it becomes rocky and easily falls apart.
I agree that honesty is foundational, honesty and truth allow transparency – you can feel this foundation in the way people hold themselves. The more truth is lived the stronger and equally loving ones constitution feels.
Absolutely Matthew, foundations are set from being at least honest about the truth of who we are as a Son of God.
Agreed Matthew. Without such a foundation, we are on shifting sands – our bodies and beings left in nervous tension and stress as a rule. Honesty in our daily way allows for a foundational steadiness in our being that holds us through our interactions and activities.
Absolutely Matthew, it is foundational. I hadn’t appreciated this before, but do now.
Matthew foundational it is and without it we are lost at sea, with no inner anchor.
It is remarkable how dishonesty is based on clouds, being focused on self, dismissive of what is true and is hard work needing constant attention to keep it up, yet in contrast honesty has a steady foundation, holds strength, harmony, appreciation, honouring, and flows with grace and simplicity.
Yes polar opposites they are..
I can tangibly feel the difference in my body from each way you have presented Golnaz. When we are deeply honest, we invite a flow, and can go about our day remaining in connection with the beauty and steadiness innate to our essential selves.
Yes Golnaz, so beautiful in its simplicity.
Golnaz presented like this, I felt a difference in my body as I read each one. Honesty brings freedom, simplicity, inner-strength and true connection with self and others.
Love your sharing Golnaz, to flow or not to flow, to be honest or dishonest, to let love in or keep it out.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” This is a feeling that I have had too Michael and there is a strength and power in this openness and lack of need for protection. I have been feeling of late how protection holds me trapped within myself, keeping others at a distance, while honesty, openness and vulnerability allows others in.
Awesome comment Lee, it is very honest and in your sharing opens up opportunity for the readers to reflect and grow.
I totally agree with this Lee. Allowing ourselves to be open and honest does make space for others to let them in, and it leads to beautiful and unexpected things. But by remaining protected and closed simply closes doors to people and situations that could potentially lead to moments full of connection and joy, at worst, leaving you in isolation and misery.
Beautifully said and shared Lee. There are so many facades we can hold – dishonest ones – often dependent upon what we feel we have to live up to. Honesty, realness and truth drops the walls… We need be no more than we, simply, are, and we can allow others ‘in’, rather than keep them at bay, as you say.
That is the beauty of honesty: it starts and ends with ourselves and how open we are to being honest about ourselves with others. Opening up with others and dropping the facades starts with being honest with ourselves that we have them in the first place.
Just as it’s great to exercise breaking down walls.. it is the only way to know why they were built in the first place.
Agreed Naren. All of this stems from our relationship with self: our depth of acceptance of who we are, and our willing nurturing of those aspects we have hidden away – that we no longer remain ‘walled’, whether to ourselves or all those around us.
Ah, yes Abby. The amazing process of self-knowledge and realisation that can occur in such deconstruction… Absolutely 🙂
I agree Lee, we trap ourselves behind walls of protection, only to realise that it is in fact us that have imprisoned ourselves. Vulnerability, tenderness, delicateness and openness frees us.
Love your comment Lee. Yes I have kept others at arms length and imprisoned myself – often quite undetectably so or rather in a socially normal way. How many are truly with each other? Yet honesty breaks these walls down. Am so inspired to keep on observing myself and being open and honest. It’s a constant openness we are to be.
Honesty frees us to be who we truly are, lets others in and allows them to be more fully themselves.
I know when I am being deeply honest I am being responsible and as a result do not impose my ‘issue’ or ‘dilema’ onto another.
Love this Abby, being deeply honest is a responsibility. When we to express truth without emotion it is more likely to be received by another.
This is what I am going to do today – “letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again”. Check.
Honesty in expression is incredibly powerful and very much underestimated.
Thank you Matthew and why would we not at least try and be honest, at least with ourselves first? Could it be as it was for me that to be honest I have to face all my lies? To live a lie really hurts, and when I started to see the only way to truly evolve was to eliminate all the lies I was living, my life actually changed for the better.
That is so true Greg, honesty with ourselves has to be the first step, as facing the truth of ourselves is not always easy.
Ouch. Greg so true. We avoid facing our lies that we express to others but mostly ourselves.
Being honest is the start to evolving.
Thank you Rosemary and Kathryn, absolutely, truth or at least being honest is the key to not feeling the hurt (“ouch”) of not bringing the tender loving being we are to every situation.
Matthew, I hadn’t realise its power until quite recently, it literally transformed my life.
I agree Matthew. An honest conversation is SO different to one where both parties are trying to hide things or not talk about how they are really feeling.
….and this is when evolution takes place.
I love honesty, it takes away complexity and leaves simplicity, what’s there not to love about it when you choosing a life of evolution.
Honesty can be pretty funny in situations too.. a bit of an icebreaker.
Absolutely Abby, I have a friend who can’t help herself but be honest, it’s an incredibly joyful, hilarious quality she holds that breaks the ice on many occasion.
Well said Abby, it is interesting that to state the obvious, that nobody wants to name, can be really funny. Young children do it all the time.
Absolutely Abby – especially where everyone is hell-bent on perfectionism and holding back on the realness of a situation and/or the demands of a task at hand… 🙂
It’s True!! It’s a Joy to read this, because it’s so True. I relate honesty to the seriousness I can feel. Where if I am being really honest and observing a lot of situations… We’re very busy with pretending rather than being honest. To Joyfully share that is usually a ‘relief’ for everyone (except the 1 or 2 who might not want to be exposed). Being afraid of rejection has had me in its grip for a very long time, joining seriousness, rather than being with my own Joy. Thank you for this insight Abby. Very revealing and inspiring.
So true Abby – nothing like a dose of realness.
And there is nothing like the raw honesty that children can bring. They can be so straight up and honest if they can feel that we are not going to shut them down. It is interesting to consider that we are constantly choosing how honest others are going to be with us too. If we are open the truth will come, if not, we are pushing it and others away.
So true kimweston2. If we are not being honest we bring complexity and complication into our lives so as to not feel the dishonesty we are living in.
Spot on Lee, create a mess on top of a mess then it’s easy not see how the mess started, we are very crafty sometimes.
Absolutely; once a lie, doesn’t matter how small, is accepted, more lies often need to get built on and around it, starting a slippery slope into complexity and confusion and pretence.
Yes , one complication and catastrophe after another, and then we have to make more drama to cover it up, and so on…. but we can stop this vicious cycle and start being loving, gentle with ourselves – and honest.
For me it is like pouring concrete in my body when lies kick in. It is not worth it to go there.
That’s the beauty of being honest, it keeps it simple with no complexity. The body feels lighter and joyful in expressing honestly.
Yes Kim, honesty keeps everything simple as there is nothing to hide. It also allows others to share of themselves more deeply as well so it is a gift that keeps on giving.
I like that Anne, ‘a gift that keeps on giving’. It certainly is, it’s a gift that brings expansion, love and evolution.
Honesty keeps everything simple, there is nothing to hide.
It is real medicine for moments when you feel lonely. Once you express honestly and show a deeper level of yourself, the veil of illusionary separation vanishes.
It certainly does kimweston2, honesty ‘takes away complexity and leaves simplicity,’ and opens up a whole new way of being that frees us to be ourselves and as you say supports our evolution
I just happen to open up this website and see the 900+ comments on this outstanding blog. Easy to have a high volume of comments when the subject is real and much needed right now. That’s my take anyway.
Well done Michael Kremer for giving up a simple word as a title then keeping it super short (which we all love these days with our busy lives) and then giving us something to ponder on so to speak. It really is time to get real and without honesty we will never get to the Truth. I love the fact that when we are honest things just feel easier and flowing.
I am big into Truth and I know many find this scary but it works and it is how I choose to live. Life in dishonesty is unthinkable and not on my radar – thanks to Serge Benhayon and his teachings.
I love this blog too Bina, it is so simple, delicate, honest, open and full of wisdom. It is a blog that is extremely relatable and I deeply appreciate that it offers us an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with honesty.
It’s a beautiful blog that allows us to reflect on our relationship with honesty. It it is supporting us in our lives.
And Bina your honesty right here in this comment is simple, spacious and clear. A great example of how honesty works and unites people. I love it. 🙂
I agree Bina’s writing is very clear with no frills.
I agree Bina, Life in dishonesty is unthinkable and living with truth at the forefront does make life much more simple as life should be.
Indeed. With this simplicity it is felt that life is meant to be like that. Living a truthful life makes you feel in harmony with something much bigger than our busy day-to-day lives – as important as our daily chores may be.
Yes, without the tension of dishonesty that our bodies have to hold life is naturally simple and spacious.
And so it has made sense that all we do is avoiding honesty, as this honesty leads us to the neverending way – which is coming back to our Soul and responsibility.
Keeping truth at the forefront of our minds is the only way to deepen the joy in our lives.
Absolutely Bina, the total is now over 1000 and from the love and wisdom that is felt in these simple words I fully appreciate the power of true expression.
Love that you’re ‘big into truth’ Bina. Truth is what keeps us on the path of returning to who we truly are. I know I can be a bit wayward and find being exposed a little confronting but actually, to have people who love others so much that they are willing to point any deviations out is true love. They see that any wayward paths means not only does someone get to miss out on themselves but we all do.
Bina blogs and comments are always simple and clear, no different to truth.
I love your honesty Karin I too can be a bit wayward at times and appreciate being confronted even though it can be confronting it is the only way to grow and evolve.
Great take on it Bina, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Michael has certainly presented us with a real and much needed blog. A beautiful reminder to get real and honest which in turn will lead us to the truth.
We are lost without honesty and as you say Bina without honesty we would never get to truth or love.
Gorgeous Bina. Thanks for saying it like it is. Life in dishonesty is unthinkable.
“… when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points….” Taking that step to show one’s vulnerable side seems such a leap into the dark, yet the irony is that once we do we are actually stepping into the light. This blog inspires one to take that step and to keeping walking that path.
Living a lie leads to exhaustion and everything that is not expressed from our essences is a lie. I know when I am connected and present with myself I feel amazing vibrant and full of energy yet still on many occasions I self-sabotage by choosing to allow a distraction of an energy push my buttons and take me away from me.
I love the absolute simplicity of this blog Michael and the depth of beauty shared. Thank you for the inspiration.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.” I do know the feeling too Michael the power of honesty and vulnerability bring to me. A so wonderful and in a way natural way of being that is interested in other people only and has not any need to convince or change people in there way of being. There is just a inner joy that communicates with the inner joy of the other. Nothing else is needed, it is only that true connection from one to another.
Beautiful Michael… Yes at first absolute honesty with ourselves or another, especially if it brings up hurts and/or causes a reaction, may not feel so good or seem so beautiful but I’ve found what unfolds thereafter can be very healing and powerful hence deepening the relationship with self and/or the other person. Honesty can be the most beautiful blessing… just like the flower.
Hi Rob, yes, it is like the flower that just is as it is and not hides anything as there is nothing to hide behind but instead has and is showing everything it is to the world.
I agree Rob, I feel that everything is laid for us to heal and in being honest we are on this path, when we choose not to be we are effectively saying no to the possibilities and opportunities that are presented by avoidance.
Michael, I agree – nature is a wonderful and constant reflection for us.
Yesterday I felt the consistency of and commitment to honesty – the flower does not stop being that which it is or take time out to pause for any reason it reflects the same quality all of the time.
I agree, nature can be such am amazing reflection. There are so many lessons we can learn if we take the time to take notice of the nature of nature!
Yes Rebecca, nature offers an endless reflection of our divinity 24/7! the only thing required is for us to stop and reconnect and it is all there for us.
Absolutely Rebecca – nature constantly communicates to us – as do our own bodies as part of it.
I have felt very delicate and vulnerable through being honest, and empowered, and within this experience I have also found deep connection and self appreciation. No longer am I limited by the trap of self protection and defending my hurts. Honesty lets the air in and frees us from the suffocation of attempting to control everything.
So beautifully said Samantha. “No longer am I limited by the trap of self protection and defending my hurts.” I am still working on this, but my protection is slowly dropping away, bit by bit.
So lovely Samantha – honesty does let the air in and allows a sense of spaciousness within and between us.
This has also been my experience, it such a gorgeous feeling to be honest, it is freeing “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” I have been deeply healed by being honest about what comes up for me, what I appreciate in others and how I feel. It does build trust, in myself, knowing that I am strong and steady, and in others knowing that they can trust that I will express the truth as much as my lived quality will allow.
Still exploring what honesty actually means and the one thing that truly stands out is that honesty is being in a place where we can discern the energy we are choosing. This means a connection with my body and the capacity to observe and not absorb everything felt. But also, to then choose the power to say yes, this is the quality I am choosing and I do know it, healing or harming, even if I have pretended I don’t know, or have been caught in thinking it a more complicated issue than the capacity to feel the energy being chosen. It is actually just a simple choice to say, I do know and am actually taking responsibility for that knowing.
‘honesty is being in a place where we can discern the energy we are choosing’. And what supports the shift from dishonesty to honesty is when we surrender, when we give up the constant fight and protection we have been choosing. Then the understanding comes of why we chose the old energy, which provides space to then choose the energy that deeply supports us to evolve.
Honesty allows us to drop all our protection and allow vulnerability. This feels expansive in the body and makes way for truth to be connected to.
It is important that we register what we feel within ourselves as for calling out the dishonesty in others I am well experienced with this and found sometimes it isn’t helpful so I don’t believe there is a one size fit all for this approach. There is no point calling out another’s dishonesty if you are not being loving yourself as this offers no support.
When people are honest the world becomes a much safer place.
Honesty is Power in Action and it inspires and invites others to open up and express with honesty too.
I agree it is powerful, we are brought up to ‘show our best side’ and so we hang on to the veneer and will chose not to be honest if it may break it or essentially expose the illusions we live in. Honesty, speaking our truth, is freeing it breaks consciousness and allows us to begin to make choices that are more loving and for the All, not the Self. We can set ourselves free from the tightrope which many of us attempt to live on, a true flow to life can evolve and true freedom and joy can be expressed.
Very inspiring to see and feel people being vulnerable and open.
If we are honest we don’t have to pretend, play a role or deny we allow ourselves to express what is there to be expressed without questioning it. This gives us permission to connect on a deeper level with ourselves and others.
Living with honesty in every moment is a breath of fresh air and makes way for truth in expression, movement and thought. Living with honesty also allows an ease and flow in the body, to not have to protect or harden from hurt or sadness based on expectations and holding onto things being a certain way.
Honesty always without fail silently communicates clearly our next step and all the choices available to us that may not have been visible until we got honest with ourselves.
I appreciate what you write here, it is a confirmation of something I have observed and experienced, life has opened up and the clarity that I can feel for the next steps is much more vibrant, clear, strong and steady through becoming more honest. The procrastination, hesitation, insecurity, confusion is lessening and I can feel the next step to take with more confidence, an innate knowing and natural timing.
It feels to me Samantha, that honesty with ourselves opens the inner doorways, that we ourselves had locked. And with the opening comes the understanding and acceptance of where we have been which provides the crystal clear clarity of our next steps.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This sentence stands out for me. Trust is for me the foundation for almost everything in life. When I have trust in myself or into my body, I will open up to other people and the world. Then I don’t have to look for recognition any more, just to be myself is enough.
When I am honest in all that I am and be there is a flow that requires no thought or tweaking, it just is. It allows for a consistent expression for the world to see me and allows them to trust what it is that they see and feel.
I am aware of the tension and exhaustion which comes from not being honest. It is exhausting to attempt to fit in with others, to deny how we feel and to hang on to what we ‘think’ we want life to look like. Practising and living with more honesty and expressing ourselves changes this and as you say “there is a flow that requires no thought or tweaking”, and so there is a greater sense of clarity, vitality and feeling true freedom. This builds and offers a powerful reflection and trust is felt by others. Trust can change lives I know that I have been deeply inspired by people around me who have been willing to be honest about how they feel and I have regained trust in myself, life and humanity through this gift of inspiration.
I have also simply regained trust in my and our divinity through people being consistently honest. This is the power of truth shared with love.
Absolutely marvellous reflection Michael and a beautiful analogy you have used. Love it.
Just as it is common to give flowers to other people, rather than ourselves, it seems it’s also typical to think of honesty as the way we are with others. But what your words show Michael is that all honesty fundamentally starts and ends with me. The question is, just how honest are we truly willing to be?
I have to say that I enjoy being honest with myself, I may not like some of the things that I tell myself and find them quite outrageous or ridiculous, but if I don’t say it, I just leave it buried somewhere in my body.
‘The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.”’ I find honesty breaks right through the irresponsible and immature behaviours we endorse. For me the key is feeling why I use such behaviours and being honest about that.
Honesty is like a good old friend. Even if you haven’t talked to him for a very long time, the moment you turn to him, he is right there to support.
Michael you have hit the spot again with your sharing on honesty. To allow that vulnerability and strength to show by being open and truly honest, is beautiful and simple as you say.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” What is so beautiful about this is that others are then inspired to be the same. So often when we interact we meet a wall of protection that’s hiding old hurts – even though we can feel that is not who the person is. We all crave honesty and open connection with others, and so when one person opens up and is vulnerable we then perceive it’s ok, it’s ‘safe’ to do the same.
Honesty, there is so little in the world we live in today. Yet when we come across its reflection we cannot help but recognise it for its simplicity and depth. There is freedom and lightness of being when we are truly, deeply honest we ourselves.
True understanding and not going into sympathy supports the humbling experience of honesty.
I’ve come accross this blog quite a few times and each time I felt some reaction when reading “Just yesterday I discovered that the English name for a flower that in Germany is called “Mondviole” is honesty.”. Up until today I’ve chosen to deny what went on. Today I saw myself going into this (old) pattern and choosing to be honest;-) with myself and feel what’s going on.
What I actually feel is that mondviole is pretty close to the Dutch word (mondviool). This is reflecting to me how fragile and delicate honesty actually is. What a wonderful gift it is to ourselves that we’ve got Honesty and that we’re able to be honest. In Honesty lies enormous Power to undo all the layers of untruths that are inside of us.
All my life I’ve been very honest, but have never appreciated that. I wrapped it of as being ‘normal’, rather than feeling the Beauty and Openness that come with it. Honesty in itself is a beautiful way of Appreciating ourselves. It takes away the tension of ‘keeping the lie running’.
Thank you deeply Michael. This blog to me is so simple and supporting me re-connecting to both Nature as well as the Appreciation of my own Honesty.
You are wonderfully honest Floris and you comment here displays this very beautifully.
Thank you Matthew. It is lovely and confirming to be truly met. Which I feel is the case when I let your words Truly in. An appreciation worth letting in – rather than rub it off with a standard ‘thank you’, without feeling.
This is the second blog I have read of yours this morning Michael and I thank you for them, bringing me a clarity which I felt I had misplaced but was simply not being honest! ‘If I am honest I create the basis for trust in myself’ thank you for sharing truth.
As I have been more and more open to the fact that although I would have considered myself honest there are still areas where dishonesty tries to creep in. To me honesty relates directly to freedom, not hiding anything and presenting everything exactly as it is, the dishonesty is imprisoning by its nature.
I agree with you Martin, ‘I have found honesty to be much like a muscle, which we learn to build and develop’, I am working on being honest, allowing myself to be true and simply say what is going on for me and what I am feeling without holding back, for me it takes practice as for so long I have not been honest, but I can feel that being honest is becoming easier and more natural to me again like it was when I was a child.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” Beautiful Michael so lovely so true I love it. Honesty is one of the most powerful things in our lives and leads us on the path of expanding evolving love.
Honesty is one of the most powerful things in our lives and leads us on the path of expanding evolving love. Yes indeed tricianicholson, honesty brings us back and keeps it super simple.
Michael, this is another lovely blog of yours showing how nature confirms our values. You said that this flower is ‘intensely fragrant’ and honesty also delights the senses because, like a fragrance, it is easily transmitted through the air, as is dishonesty – and we can certainly ‘smell a rat’ if someone is not being honest.
I love this, it’s true, our senses confirm what we feel. Dishonesty and lies can be seen too, through our eyes, through our body language, there are so many signs we are given and that we give out. However for the most part we choose not to acknowledge or recognise them, wherein also lies the dishonesty.
“The beauty of a changing life, of eyes lighting up, letting true joy, love and stillness shine out into the world again.” Is there anything more beautiful than that? – Watching someone go from being depressed, given up on life, angry etc. to being who they truly are through being honest and truthful is one of the most magnificent things that there is.
Elizabeth I love your comment on the wonder of watching someone who has given up on life bloom again through ” honesty and truth.” Like a flower after rain! As you say a magnificent thing to witness.
Imagine how much more simple life would be if we were all consistently honest.. Corruption wouldn’t be able to permeate into society as much as it has.
It would be beautiful Abby!
Yes Abby, a world that is fuelled by honesty would indeed be a different place, a place where there would be no hiding and no comfort.
This would be a beautiful world Abby. We are showing that this is possible.
I agree Abby, it is incredibly amazing what one little thing can do to our entire world. If we all committed to being even just more honest on a daily basis there would occur a huge change in this world.
My own lived experience is where honesty resides, and this in expression is truth.
Honesty is huge for me, in the sense that I’m still learning about the depths of it. I think I’ve always seen it as nominating something that has happened or is negative. My understanding now is that it is about the present moment and how I am feeling. Being honest with myself is where it begins, always.
That’s beautifull Jenny, what you shared made me see that I still had a belief that honesty is about sharing the negative that is going on or calling out what is not true but you have reminded me here is that also with honesty we can appreciate ourselves and others and where we are at in life as well 💕
‘My understanding now is that it is about the present moment and how I am feeling. Being honest with myself is where it begins, always.’ I like this dear Jenny, beautifully said, ‘being honest with myself is where it begins, always’.
When we are not being honest we are continuing a lie that stops us from being All of who we Are. So why is that we keep wanting to hide behind dishonesty so we don’t shine bright with All our Beauty?
Could it be that we fear jealousy and attacks from others? Or is it the cosy comfort of my own 4 walls that make me forget the world’s dis-ease and make me forget the need to shine in all my beauty?
Good call on both points Felix and I feel that Michael has given the answer to this in his blog in that we would not fear attack if we were able to allow ourselves to be as delicate and open as that flower and we would find it easier to come out of hiding and shine in all our glory.
My understanding and my relationship with Honesty has changed. Once it used to be about admitting to what I have done wrong. These days it tends to be more about being humble and seeing what still needs to be worked on.
That is inspiring Shami, and really shifts the emphasis for me. We must not be content with just owning up to the wrongs we have done to ourselves and others, (which can lead to beating ourselves up), but feel a deeper level of the arrogance that entails, making the “me” all important whereas having a wider view brings us to a realisation of our connection and inter relationship with everyone, and an awareness of our own fragility that we have been hiding — hence the wrong doing. Being honest about our fragility and owning that and then seeing how we do a very good job covering it up reveals how we can see what still needs to be worked on.
Thank-you for bringing us to the truth and beauty of our fragility Joan. In honouring our own fragility, we are offered a deep opportunity for self-understanding, and understanding of others – dropping the judgement, blame and recrimination that can so hamper our own healing.
That is such a wonderful comment Shami and so inspiring. Thank you for not holding back your new experiences with honesty.
My relationship with honesty has changed too. I know when I reach a point of honesty because I feel more settled in my body.
Me too Shami. I used to view it as not lying, yet now it is a responsibility to be all of me in every moment.
Beautiful Shami, this is a great way at looking at honesty. In looking gently at what we are working on is a loving way to be with ourselves.
Humility is a great marker for us all, isn’t it Shami. For if we are not truly humble, ‘odds on’ that we are masking something we do not want exposed with a dishonest facade.
When there’s no honesty, complexity fights to outsmart each other. This can happen within ourselves, or between people, and both feel just as heavy and nauseating.
So true, the complexity within ourselves that is felt when we are not being honest with ourselves. This is very exposing.
It is exposing when we struggle to reconcile our behaviours.. because we are actually the masters of them. So yeah, not having clarity on certain matters is a sure sign of dishonesty.
You bring up a good aspect, to look at the compexity we often allow which is disturbing, but often we call it intelligence, instead of holding things simple. Without honesty there cannot be simplicity.
Very true Fumiyo, when we don’t allow honesty as a living foundation we open the doors to complexity which presents itself in many stories upon stories we create.
Outsmarting each other is like two narrow streams of personal opinions, arguments doing battle without ever taking into account the bigger picture.
I see this lots Fumiyo where knowledge is used to fight one another, where complexity is used to baffle and bewilder. When we live with honesty from our inner heart there is only simplicity.
Powerfully said and exposed Fumiyo and Chris. Complexity and knowledge being used to ‘fight’, ‘baffle’ and ‘bewilder’ – my, how deeply harmful the strategies we use for self-protection can be.
Dishonesty crumbles the foundation of trust and without trust we build a wall of protection in place of trust.
I have been reading this blog so many times and it really is helping me go deeper with honesty, and what I have found so far is that honesty makes me humble, and more understanding, or at least more willing to be understanding, offering me a step towards a spherical view of what is. And it connects me back to stillness – from which I can make the next move.
There is always another level of honesty to go to, deeper and deeper until the arrogance that was once there is knocked out of us and we become humble yet powerful. My understanding of myself has allowed me to have more of an understanding of others, and the more honesty I have with myself the more understanding I have of why I do things, so on to a winner here on the journey back home to myself.
So honest Sandra; and the realisations of our arrogance seem to come in bursts that expose how much protection we are still investing in. I find it extremely joyful when suddenly another layer is peeled off and the truth is exposed. Today I found something coming out of my mouth without thought, and it was “I want everything to be right for me”! This led to many other ideals, which, unless they are felt and cleared are going to stand in the way of feeling my true humbleness. Amazing on going work and evolution.
I love what you’ve shared here Fumiyo. Honesty offers an ‘arrest’ to a momentum we may have been in, a stop, and thereby an opportunity to truly view a situation without our own personal investment in what it (and ‘we’) needs to be in the way. Allowing the deepening in oneself, clarity becomes available when we are ready.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” In the past I really struggled to be honest with myself because I didn’t feel safe. Just hearing the words delicate and vulnerable my walls of protection extended and thickened and I would shut down in fear that if I felt vulnerable or delicate I would be too weak to protect myself. As I have learnt to love myself, trust in myself and others has naturally developed as I open up and express more of me and allow humanity in I can now feel safe in the amazing power and strength that comes from feeling delicate and vulnerable.
Margaret you make a good point here that “In the past I really struggled to be honest with myself because I didn’t feel safe.” We may judge people as being dishonest but if we can extend our understanding we might see that underneath is a lack of trust where they don’t feel safe enough to expose themselves. By not judging them and holding them in love we can support them without sympathy to love themselves enough to open up.
I agree Sandra understanding is key here we never really know what people have been through in this life time or what they have brought through to resolve and the impress their behaviours in life. I have found taking responsibility for my choices and resolving my hurts without judging myself supports me to love myself enough to open up and be honest.
Great point Sandra, most people are not willing to let themselves be exposed due to not feeling safe. When we can give others the opportunity to open up and hold them without judgement then they feel supported and can start to look honestly at the way things really are.
What you’ve shared here Margaret is so important for all to hear (would make a great blog in itself). I have come to learn – and am still learning – about the true strength in being delicate and vulnerable, in letting people in to ‘all of me’, and dropping the walls of protection, however solidly constructed, or subtle they may be.
The thing is, as we know, the walls we have put up, also prevent our love from shining and expressing ‘out’ – and everyone is left the lesser as a result.
Every step towards embracing our true, delicate and precious natures, is one to celebrate, and celebrate deeply.
I have at times felt the true strength of being delicate and vulnerable, as it dissolves my hurts away and I feel my heart open to let people in and I express and radiate the love that I truly am.
Wow beautiful Margaret, expressed from your amazing power and strength. From reading your comment what comes to me is that honesty leads to trust, trust leads to surrender and surrender leads to healing and allows our essence to shine.
Beautifully said chanly8 “honesty leads to trust, trust leads to surrender and surrender leads to healing and allows our essence to shine.” it is that simple.
Honesty is a movement (pun intended) that changes the direction of protection back to realness, and from there the deepest beauty and power is realized.
I agree Adele, and as such it is equally a powerfull tool to heal ones hurts.
I agree Ladies, this is a huge realisation. Once our hurt is realised and felt our movements are what consolidate us healing our hurts.
Beautifully point Adele. I love your sharing that honesty is a movement.
That’s beautiful Adele. I realise that what I have been doing in a certain situation was to not be honest with my body and go into hardness which led to protecting myself instead of being honest and remaining open, which would allow myself and the other to feel love, and as love cuts through any kind of nonsense that would certainly have been the more responsible thing to do instead of following old patterns of behaviour. But old patterns are there to break and with this realisation I can come back to my own power and stop playing the blame game. From now on, more movements towards love, which is inside me anyway to it makes sense to let it out!
Your sharing makes absolute sense Sandra. Staying open is the key, and it can be a deeply revealing process, can’t it – where we can sense the protective mechanisms that may want to ‘rear up’… Yet if we remain open, there is no need for these. We can allow ourselves to honestly feel what is going on, and thereby to heal any hurts from our past that may be triggered in the present. A great ‘bonus’ for all concerned, without doubt.
Awesome Sandra. I too love that honesty does not allow the ‘blaming game’ to start. It cannot exist when honesty is live and expressed. Honesty supports us to take responsibility for our choices.
Great, Adele! To feel honesty as a movement lights up my body and I can feel when I move in it or disconnected from it. It’s a deepening movement. What has been honest one year ago is not honest anymore today.
Great point Felix. There is no ‘end point’. Our levels of honesty ever-deepen and evolve with us, and this is how it naturally should be when we are committed to being all that we truly are.
Yes honesty is a movement that can be always deepening and adjusting as we move forward. Thank you Adele.
Whereas protection leads to all sorts of complications and is the antithesis of realness and simplicity.
Arh.. so protection is a movement too.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person will bring the most amazing simplicity.” I can really relate to this line the feeling I have when I have been holding back and then actually sit with someone and trust myself enough to openly and honestly speak about what has been triggering me owning my stuff reflects a foundation of trust and honesty that supports others to feel safe to feel the same and from this place of truth our underlying hurts can be released and the truth of our essence felt.
Honesty does indeed engender simplicity and a beautiful openness; and there is also the willingness to be vulnerable, regardless of the presumed outcome.
Beautifully written Gabrielle.
Thanks Gabriele – a great awareness for the day and life – honesty brings simplicity. So if things are feeling complicated or difficult where am I not being totally honest with myself?
It is the expectation of certain outcomes that keeps us away from allowing life to unfold in a true way. This has certainly been true for me in the past, but I am very quickly learning that having expectations never works as they are generally based on my own needs, ideals and beliefs, and if we let go and trust, life can flow in a more simple and true way than any expectation we can ever have which only comes from our mind.
Yes Gabriele and the natural vulnerability offers much expansion for others to also share with complete honesty too.
This is beautiful Gabriele. When we are willing to be vulnerable, the outcomes no longer become an issue because we are accepting that what we are feeling is the truth, which then allows the space for a healing to take place.
Absolutely Gabriele. I love the simplicity and lack of complication that comes with honesty.
Thanks Gabriele, these words are inspired. To me what you have expressed in this way brings a greater awareness and opens us to love, a love, which is allowing others to just be and find there own path of returning to god.
Beautiful Gabriele, I feel this when I choose honesty. Your comment resonates and gently reminds me to make this a more consistent choice.
The price of the game Ariana, is exhaustion, feeling drained, anxiousness and disappointment. Continuing to play the game of dishonesty with ourselves is like a daily round of Russian roulette, self sabotage in the extreme, it doesn’t make sense does it when we could all be living amazingly joyous lives if we get honest and start to live our lives honouring who we truly are. I have called out this dishonest behaviour in myself many times lately as stuff has come up, it feels uncomfortable but I would rather spend a few painful weeks dealing with it than many more years or even lifetimes not living the true me.
So true Ariana…we do know – we hold the lie because when we are exposed for being a fool our lack of responsibility is also exposed, and we don’t want to feel the consequences of our irresponsibility.
Absolutely simple is honesty. I have found that when I have just been simply honest with myself the big issues that I have created are in truth not so big, yet very simple.
I have found this too Heidi once you can see and accept an issue it loses much of its hold.
Whereas protection leads to all sorts of complications and is the antithesis of realness and simplicity.
Yes Heidi I agree honesty is simple it starts with ourselves if we can’t be honest with anyone else.
This is a great insight Heidi, and a great reminder that if something feels complex then its probably not honest. Honesty may not feel like the easiest way forward and may be very exposing. Honesty is the way to true healing.
Hear, hear Heidi. It’s about our willingness to drop the constructions we have made around what hasn’t been true… Honesty allows for the deconstruction to begin, doesn’t it – that the simple truth may be revealed, a truth that we did always know, which was ever-awaiting our reconnection to it, once we got out of our own way…
Brilliant, very true Heidi. I have fallen for this trick I’ve created many times. What I realise is that our thoughts can easily lead us to be dishonest but when we listen to our body it allows us to feel what choices are true and loving. We can feel when we are being dishonest. If we only rely on our thoughts they create a much bigger and complex scenario to distract us from seeing the simplicity and support of honesty.
This is important Margaret as it is dealing with our hurts as these without question stand in the way of fully claiming and living our essence each and everyday.
When we connect with our true self, our essence, we feel truth and from this place the willingness to feel vulnerable offers us a choice to surrender to the truth and release the picture created by our ideals, beliefs and expectations fed by our hurts. Only then can we feel the simple clear truth.
So true, we hold on to these hurts and defend a position rather than openly and honestly feeling the truth of the situation.
You don’t beat around the bush Ariana – this explains why honesty is a process of deepening because we get so caught up living lives disconnected from our inner feelings (our truth) that we have to untangle ourselves one lie at a time.
So true Ariana. The first aspect of honesty is being honest with ourselves. As I bring more honesty I am uncovering layers of dishonesty within myself, these are exposed through a commitment to bringing honesty to every aspect of my life.
As our truth is revealed, so too is our beauty.
Honesty is the fundamental steps to having a relationship with truth… for how can there be truth without first being honest?
A person choosing to be dishonest cannot know truth in their body or appreciate the magnitude of this of living… truth-fully.
Thank you Michael for another awesome blog, honesty has allowed me to let go of the images I have held in many different aspects of my life, it has not been an easy task but once I’ve chosen it that has allowed me to connect deeply to the tenderness and delicacy within me.
And that’s the strength that comes from honesty… right Brendan? What you’ve uncovered is so true and feels very empowering indeed. If we hold onto reactions and let what ever is unsaid fester away inside then the force to stay in protection we need to say yes too seems far greater than the delicacy on offer with honesty. So dis-empowering and complicated!
Very insight-full comment Brendan, when I react to a situation I feel powerless and like an energy and or emotion has taken me over, in that moment I am no longer honest to the other person, I feel weak and will say anything and even lie, to try to not expose that feeling of weakness, but underneath I feel very disempowered as I have allowed myself to loose connection to myself and my body. I have found one of the best ways to come back to myself in these situations is to stop the conversation and take time to connect back to my body, by walking and feeling my body as I walk.
‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.’
This makes sense… it’s when we choose to be dishonest with ourself or others that the complication comes in. The stories, protections and coverups all to avoid feeling or saying what is needed.
I love the words that are going together here – honesty = simplicity, strength, beauty and vulnerability. How beautiful! I’m sold! Honestly, why would we choose dishonesty over such gorgeous outcomes when being honest?
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” Being honest about what we feel and how our bodies feel, builds an appreciation and deep self acceptance of ourselves, from this we can start to build self love by caring for the tender and vulnerable beings we all are. The more this foundation is built the more we can trust and feel safe to open and let other people in.
I love the delicateness and tenderness in this blog. Imagine these qualities coupled with the true strength that they offer replacing the current walls of pretence, protection and holding back throughout society.
I agree Golnaz, the protection, walls and boundaryies we construct between one another, in a false attempt to make ourselves feel strong and safe, are actually making us weaker and less powerful as humanity. Because they keep us in separation, working and choosing to see only what is going on in our life, rather than the power and strength, that come about when we unite as one humanity and work together doing what is needed for the whole.
Yes Golnaz and Thomas it’s a complete trick – to believe that the protection keeps us strong and safe – whereas instead it stops us from enjoying the beauty of our selves and each other.
Yes a direct result of our spiritual pride completely running the show trying to prove itself, but in truth, it is a failure from the beginning. The only thing that will heal is if the walls are pulled down, down to the very last brick.
I just observed that the flower honesty doesn’t disappear during the winter season. Its leaves stay green and visible throughout the year. Honesty makes me visible.
I had a beautifully confirming moment of the power of honesty recently when I visited my dentist. I almost forgot about my appointment and had to jump in the shower and rush out the door to get there. My hair was wet and I didn’t have time to clean my teeth. So when I got there I just blurted out, “I almost forgot about my appointment, so I’ve come with wet hair and didn’t even have time to clean my teeth”. The dentist was so chirpy, he said, “don’t worry that’s what we are here for”. Then that honest moment led to another one when he asked me how my teeth were going, and I confessed to not being as vigilant as I could have been with flossing and so had some blood. Something in the past I would never admit to. The rest of the appointment was the dentist saying, “ Saturday’s are so much better you have lots of time and the phones not ringing all the time”. It was probably the most enjoyable visit to the dentist I have ever had and when I look back, it was the real honesty that I shared with absolutely no hint of judgement on myself for the things I was confessing to. This opened everyone up to being more themselves and definitely more joyful.
Lovely Michael – nature is a great reminder that there is so much more to life that what is often lived.
Beautiful Michael the simplicity and beauty of honesty and all the clarity it brings never ceases to amaze me. It is truly life changing in every aspect imaginable thank you for sharing this with so much love.
Exposing our vulnerable, tender selves in the beginning can feel daunting and rather raw, but with practice one feels the immense power and strength, as there is no role to play, rather an allowing of simply being ourselves, without having to walk around protected and fearful of being hurt.
So very true Thomas, I love what you share here.
“ If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.”
This is a beautiful statement Michael, when a person is honest firstly with themselves, the people around them get to trust that, and they know exactly where they stand, it takes the guessing where the other person is at out of the equation, and builds a platform or foundation where each person can let going of the polite behaviours and be real and truthful.
This sentence rang out to me too this morning Thomas. It goes to show that honesty and being honest is something that is nourishing in all directions.
Absolutely Rosanna, being honest is nourishment for our bodies, it eliminates the tension and stress that is created by living our whole life in a false way, a lie that we all subscribe to and conform to. The illusion we all know is not true but have decided it’s better not to be honest and ‘rock the boat’, by saying things honestly to one another. The expansion and joy and freedom one feels in their body when we are honest is amazing and huge, and this feeling expands greatly again when we start expressing the truth.
Now that’s a great example of how medicine doesn’t just come from a bottle but from our own choices.
You’ve nailed it Brendan, when we invest in a way of being or a life that has its foundation in dishonesty, it’s very difficult to be honest, as it appears we have much to lose, in fact the opposite is true we have much to gain.
I agree Katie, when we are honest and tell another exactly what we see and feel about the other, without fear of their reaction, it holds them in equal-ness, and creates unity and demonstrates true love and care for them and humanity.
And when we hold back this level of honesty with each other, we experience the opposite of these things, and it in fact creates separation rather than unity.
Wonderful expressed Thomas. That is the prerequisite to meet another person – to be honest and not hold back, what we feel and express this honestly.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself…”. this was key for me Michael as being honest developed trust within myself and trusting the reflection of what honesty offered.
‘Sometimes there may also be struggles at first, that on the surface do not feel so very beautiful, but in the end they are just the masking of the full beauty that is to peel away underneath.’ This is very true and perhaps one reason we choose not to be honest is to try to avoid the struggles.
It is ironic that we don’t want to be honest as try to avoid the struggles, but it is actually dis-honesty that creates struggle. Honesty frees us in helping us to face things we have not wanted to see, look at or deal with.
I’ve never come across a flower called dishonesty… It is most unnatural to live anything other than our truth.
Dishonesty is the underpinning fabric of our society. We blame our governments for being dishonest and we wag our fingers at thief’s but we are all embroiled in a massive cover up. Each and every one of us is equally to blame for living a life of dishonesty. It is our breath in and our breath out until it is not.
Great point Alexis “Dishonesty is the underpinning fabric of our society”. This explains the state of our societies today.
The whole of nature reflects the truth, it is simply not possible for nature to lie.
So lovely to experience how we are all of the same beautiful essence when the outer masks are dropped.
‘ If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.’- So true. I have found this recently to be the case within my own family, and at work.
“What a marvellous reflection nature can be…”, Michael what a beautiful sentiment and a very timely blog for me to read. I have played this game, and to my dismay up until very recently continued to do so…“I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” But what I do appreciate is that everything that I am not has come to the fore for me to look at, and it’s time to stop playing the game and take responsibility and claim myself and my own honesty, and further take inspiration from knowing that to be honest with ourselves is oh so powerful.
And by reflection powerful to feel!
Through honesty we can arrive at truth.
So true, first we have to get honest with ourselves and then we have to share that honesty with others then we’re on to a winner. Honesty is part of a big bunch of keys which include surrender, responsibility, appreciation and trust. Mine are rattling in my pocket quite nicely I just have to remember to take them out and unlock my potential!
I completely agree Mary.
I love how you describe honesty – ‘the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.’
How long and hard we pursue freedom and space, climbing mountains or flying across the globe. Yet what you illustrate Michael is how all of this actually lives in, one moment of us simply being honest. Wow, all that tension and struggle and fight just to keep maintaining the lies, they are actually what we long to be free from.
The flower is the same as its name and the effect it has… how a small simple thing can have such a large effect on so many.
Michael, you write so beautifully, tenderly and openly… you are the future of men in this world. Living and breathing the beauty you know to be true, real and almighty.
I agree Rachael, Michael has such a tender way of writing it melts my heart. The future of men in this world has begun to take shape and Michael is at the forefront of a new way of living built on allowing their sensitivity and delicateness to shine through and of course, honesty.
I’m always very stuck until I can be honest with myself.
Simple but very true Shelley, mountains move when we are honest with ourselves.
That’s so true ‘ mountains move when we are honest with ourselves’ mountains that we construct that are just illusions in the mind, until we choose to get real and be honest and they disappear. We are just creating more layers of avoidance to protect our hurts from being exposed, all the time creating more deception and lies. It’s no way to live avoiding truth as the truth will always be revealed in the end and felt and carried in our bodies.
My son was reading out questions to me the other day from his phone. One of the questions was ‘would you lose the ability to lie for 11 million dollars?’, I said ‘yes it would be like getting paid for being me’, but over 50% of people said ‘no, they would rather the ability to lie than 11 million dollars, which goes to show how much we rely on lying as a part of our lives and how intent we are on hiding things.
WOW! I’m a little shocked by the majority of votes on that question Alexis… and I loved your response ‘yes it would be like getting paid for being me’.. GOLD!
We are not born with the ability to lie, as many mothers I know say how honest their children are and how they cannot keep anything a secret! So why do we learn it or acquire the want to lie? What are we hiding?
Great questions to ponder Rachael.
The openness and vulnerability of honesty moves through the fear of being exposed very quickly, making a nonsense for me of all the time I have spent ‘protecting’ myself. The instant I pass beyond the fear the openness and vulnerability are strengths, uniting me, unhampered, with the rest of the world.
I have discovered that fear is simply the thought of relinquishing what I have deemed a protection of my hurts. This is where the vulnerability comes into play and as you describe Matilda I have found when honesty is given, a strength and a delicacy connects me more deeply.
Rosannabianchini fear has been a destabilising factor for me not wanting to offend, be thought of as too direct, so I have held back which of course held me in a pattern of ideal and beliefs around what I could say and do, I made it so complicated. When truth became my way, all the mental anguish disappears and the flow of conversation is true connection when we ‘cut to the heart of the matter’ and ‘ stop skirting around the truth.’
“Honesty is very very difficult…but only if one does not want to be honest!”
I keep coming back to your comment Brendan as it doesn’t sit well with me. clearly there is some dis-honesty within me to feel into.
I love how you write Michael and I can honestly say developing a relationship with honesty in my life has and continues to support me to create true intimate relationships with others. Today in a conversation bringing honesty and not wavering from it allowed this relationship to go to an even deeper level. I love how bringing this quality to our lives supports us so much.
I am experiencing relationship in a whole new way, now with honesty it has taken the connection to whole new level and the true support it offers is evolutionary for all, even with the discomfort it brings at times, the healing and deepening is worth every squirming moment.
Now ain’t that the truth!
Your words have really struck a cord in me Katie “honesty is a quality that reflects a deep care and love for people.” Of course, this makes total sense but being a ‘natural sympathiser’ I would often confuse softening the truth as part of deep care and love.
I can relate to wanting to ‘soften’ the truth, Tamara. Then I realised that by holding back, I was also judging the other person in feeling that they couldn’t ‘handle’ the whole truth. That’s not my decision to make and as long as I’m delivering the truth, with love, I know it will be received that way.
Nothing is a coincidence, we constellate to come together for a reason and I now understand that it’s my responsibility to always speak my truth, if I don’t, I’m putting the brakes on, not only for me, but for everyone else.
‘ softening the truth ‘ has been sold to us as a caring, loving thing to do but it is not truth and one day we will eventually have to ‘face the facts’ as they say and come to the face the truth. We are only delaying feeling the truth but our body is feeling and carrying the burdens … until such time as it or we choose to clear it.
Michael I love how you connect nature and honesty “When looking at its flowers, the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.”
I just loved reading your beautiful, delicate and open blog, Michael. There is a simplicity you bring with your writing that I find deeply engaging, thank you. I love the way you honour the reflections that nature offers us.
There is the anxious me (or not me) that likes to lament and hide away as you say Micheal and also the ‘on the attack to defend’ me that seeks to pick holes in others actions, also to not take responsibility. A talent to play it both ways but without any honesty.
Nature is totally honest; its purpose is to express fully and never does it not – what a teacher and reflection.
Well said Bernadette.
And nature is readily available for each and everyone of us equally 24/7 – no-one is ever excluded by nature – we do that to ourselves!
We absolutely exclude ourselves when we choose to act for self and not for the all Tamara. Our education system is one obvious arena that perpetuates this and we can loose connection with our true nature.
Nature never has a reason to lie, we on the other hand seem to make it our nature to lie.
This is gorgeous Bernadette, thank you.
Beautifully said Bernadette, it is a 24/7 reflection for us all to pay attention and bring more honesty in our lives, awesome!
‘ What a marvellous reflection nature can be.’ Absolutely Michael, a never-ending source of instant reflection. Such a gift.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” Honesty is gateway to openness and vulnerability. With that vulnerability comes intimacy.
It sure does Donna, and when we are truly intimate with another we feel the connection we have always craved. And intimacy is not being sexual with another rather it is being fully open with them not holding anything back.
Yes I agree James, we all crave intimacy yet for so many of us we don’t know how to get there. Honesty is such a simple step that can open us up to each other. When we are honest a wall of protection comes down and an allowing of us to truly be open with another.
It sure does Donna, and the more honest we become the more of the wall comes down. Only when we are fully open and not holding onto any hurts, that cause us to keep guarded, can we be truly intimate with another.
This is beautiful, Donna, love what you have added here.
It can be a struggle for men to be honest. There is an ‘I’m ok’ line that is used way too often, but really they are saying ‘no, I’m actually not ok’. We are very good at squashing those feelings until they are not even felt and trick ourselves that they don’t even exist, but they are there, just waiting to come out. There is real freedom in being honest and well worth letting a few out of the bag.
I love what you’ve shared here Matthew. I can feel that when I ask someone dear to me how he’s feeling, I can feel the barrier there, of him not wanting to feel how he is, so the words that come out are not true, they’re not coming from a place of connection. Is the secret key, appreciation? To allow him to feel it’s safe to be vulnerable and to allow honesty?
What a beautiful – and honest – comment Matthew. I can certainly relate to your description about Men. There’s still way to often that we choose to please others or control others by not expressing what we want or what’s going on inside. Where do you go as a woman when a men doesn’t share what’s going on. It’s very hard. And the one we’re hurting the most is ourselves. And to offset that we’re doing EVERYTHING to prove that we’re not sensitive. As Matthew describes, to the point that we pretend (and often are very convinced) that we do not feel as men. But boy oh boy (pun intended) do we feel. We’re super tender, loving and caring as Men. It’s worth it to let the hardness go and share that tenderness, love and care. But to do so, we’ve got to start with being honest!
Well said Floris, for men to share deeply about what is going on and expose the rawness and vulnerability that is in all of us, takes courage as we are deeply conditioned and fed with pictures of what a man is, the false belief that we have to ‘do it all ourselves’, alone or ‘suffer in silence’. My experience is that when I show my vulnerable tenderness to other men it mostly makes them very uncomfortable initially, and they often try to alleviate that by using humor. But over time they see that it’s safe to expose their tenderness.
I agree Thomas. We are so often pretending that we are ourselves. To be honest we’re actually convinced that the one we put out there is the one we are. We’re very strongly identified with our doing and our thinking. Where at the same time, we’re supersensitive when it comes to being Loved. We know exactly when somebody’s honest. We might not act on it, but deep inside we know. How amazing would it be if we would allow ourselves to be loved and supported and in turn learn how to truly Love each other and Women. Rather than the act of performing. Which in Truth leads us and the world around us nowhere. But I’m also honest, I understand it, but still find it often enough difficult to stay with myself in the middle of so much turbulence.
I’ve done the “I’m ok” line many times in the past, but could never quite perfect burying it completely, my face always gave it away but I would still defend that I was ok. It really isn’t fair to anyone when we do this, but it is crazy that the image of being a man is so distorted by the unspoken ideals that we live with. Without doubt Alison appreciation is a way to weaken the knots on the straight jacket that we have put around ourselves that allows us to open up. Like you said Floris, there are mountains of tenderness waiting to be unleashed.
Thank you Matthew and Floris, for your insight. Yes, the tenderness in men is SO apparent, but there can be such a reluctance for it to be claimed for the enormously beautiful quality that it is. However, I haven’t exactly been quick to do this for myself either 🙂
I agree Matthew, and know many men who squash their feelings in this way and don’t always express what’s really going on for them. I think us women could stop judging them so much and support them to trust that expressing will not result in the end of the world, and that they don’t have to be ‘tough guy’ all the time.
The powerful reflection in flowers provided to remind us all what we are capable of.
Is it honest, if I observe someone else not being honest and don’t call it out?
Hi Felix, when I read your question, my feeling, in this instance is, to not say something is more about holding back your expression. To call it out directly seems quite judgmental, however, you could come from the perspective of, ‘to me, this feels like xyz’ – then you are sharing how you’re feeling in response to what the other person said, inviting them to be honest. To call it out directly may shut the other person down, to invite them to look at what they’re doing, allowing them the space to reflect and choose honesty for themselves, seems more loving. However, it’s hard to really answer not knowing the specifics of the situation.
Understanding, love and a supportive safe environment has been what holds me in a space that supports me to be able to feel the underlying hurts that lead to dis-honesty freeing me to feel my delicate vulnerable self in the love that I am as l claim the true power of honesty.
For me, it feels like it would be dishonouring what you feel and see. Perhaps it is no coincidence that ‘honour’ and ‘honest’ are quite similar words in English.
Great question. I would say it depends on the relationship we have with the person. Because we can observe dishonesty and note what is going on, silently calling it out, sometimes don’t necessarily need to voice it but be aware of it.
For me Felix – it depends on the situation. Sometimes it is important to allow another person to come to their own truth. In other words, we are more helpful to give another person time and space instead of telling them, what the truth is.
I agree Katie.
“allowing myself to feel and show all the beauty and wisdom that is there deep inside of me, just waiting to be shown again.” I also find I play games with playing smaller and more scatty than I actually am, it is like I am uncomfortable with the level of wisdom I can connect to – as everyone can – mainly in part because I have bought into an idea of wise men and women being a certain way and living a certain life, rather than the simplicity of being myself and that allowing a natural connection with divinity and wisdom that just flows.
Yep, me too Vanessa – I still haven’t been able to fully connect to the fact that simply being me is enough. However, the truth is I am still attached to a level of comfort which comes from playing small. It feels crazy when you say it!
Tamara, Vanessa, Margret, I can say the same that – I still haven’t been able to fully connect to the fact that simply being me is enough. I observe myself making choices to actively counter feeling great…counter my power…to keep myself small and lesser. It does feel crazy when it is said.
I can relate to what you are saying here Vanessa about with playing small. This is something I do feeling fearful of my true power. It is time for me to be honest and claim all that I am and share the wisdom that is there to be expressed through me. It is dis-honest and irresponsible of me to hold back what is there to be shared with humanity.
It’s an interesting point you have raised Vanessa, have we subscribed to a picture or idea of how wise people are supposed to look? And with that belief, negated and not trusted the immense wisdom we all have within?
We can be so fooled by pictures but always and only if we ‘need’ something from them.
Yes Vanessa – it is so important to let go of all beliefs and ideas about wise people. As you say, we just have to connect to our heart and introduce simplicity in our life.
“Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.” I love how we all have a way of relating to honesty. Honesty for me is a confirmation of trust (of myself and others)…in that sense, it would also represent connection.
For me honesty is foundational, like the earth and from it comes the flower and delicacy of scent and beauty. Without honesty we have no truth and without this we are blind.
We have as a society settled for less, by allowing dishonesty to become our normal, without honesty we cannot arrive at the truth of all things, and without truth and harmony, brotherhood on earth are not possible.
Yes, honesty is simply a foundation on which so much more can grow. The stronger this foundation the more it can sustain. Truth and unity are two of the ‘fruits’.
Beautiful Matilda, ‘honesty is simply a foundation on which so much more can grow.’ I have found this recently by being honest in my relationships and not holding back and not trying to sound ‘nice’ or changing what Im feeling i m realising that actually being honest and expressing the truth of what im feeling is really simple and feels amazing and is really supportive and evolving for my relationships.
Absolutely Matilda, the stronger the foundation of our honesty the more truth, harmony and unity as a humanity is possible, with out honesty we will always have conflict and separation from one another.
Honesty in expression of all forms leaves me in a beautiful and expanding lightness.
I love short blogs and so BIG thank you Michael for this one. Honesty feels like fresh air to me in our world. For me honesty is the first door and this will take us to the next door which is deep honesty. It is only here that we can finally get to Truth so honesty is like the bridge.
If we start with a dose of honesty and stop lying about this or that or squirming about what we know we have done or not done then its a great start. We are on our way to Truth and for me Truth is Love and Love is GOD. The End.
Correct, fresh air and full stop the end. It is part of the everything that is LOVE.
‘The end’ indeed Bina. It is such a protective response to lie about an issue and I know this all too well. The hiding has for me in the past been due to traumatic experiences I have held in my body. These must be rooted out simply by understanding truly that everything is energy and because of it. We always have a choice… what freedom this brings…
Beautiful comment Bina “For me honesty is the first door and this will take us to the next door which is deep honesty. It is only here that we can finally get to Truth so honesty is like the bridge.” One unified truth will guide humanity back to true love and evolution.
Yes a great point made about the significance of deepening ones honesty leading the way to what we all crave most.. absolute truth.
The ripple effects of a committed relationship with honesty. Thank you, Bina. Honesty to Love – and the always opportunity to expand ourselves more and more into it.
Brilliant Bina, “If we start with a dose of honesty…We are on our way to Truth and for me Truth is Love and Love is GOD. The End. It couldn’t be expressed more succinctly than that!
Great point Bina, the first step towards truth starts with honesty, and the starts with being honest with our selves, listening to the messages we get loud and clear from our bodies and hearts and taking note of them to our selves at first then opening that up to others.
I love what you call out here Bina, that there is honesty and deep honesty and if we stay with this and not go into reaction of what we have or have not done, we commit to living that more fully in our lives, we are indeed on the way to Truth.
I like your comment Bina, indeed honesty is the door through which I find God within me.
Well said Bina – honesty is the first step and from there we can grow to truth. Truth will change our life completely. All this pretending what we are and what we are not is over.
“ I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.“ This brings for me a new perspective to allow myself to be vulnerable. Thank you Michael.
It does the same for me too..
Yes vulnerability and honesty go hand in hand – exposing the all so true foundations can be established.
I agree Bernadette, we all are very vulnerable, tender and precious and to expose this and by being honest is very power-full, to drop the game we have as a humanity subscribed to playing many different false roles, and be honest has an immense power and glory.
Thank you for selecting this point, Janina … ‘“ I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.’ ….. this is very powerful. Not to see our seemingly weak points as a reason to feel less. I love this. We all have different strengths and to claim ourselves for who we are, knowing where we need some support, invites others to offer that support. We are showing vulnerability from a point of strength, not weakness.
That’s a very good point Alison, if we show our weaknesses and vulnerability, in a way that does not make us less, other people have the possibility of helping or assisting us, it’s strange how we feel we need to hide and cover up our weaknesses, and we have made our weak points something bad or to be ashamed of, rather than confirming our strengths and accepting that there are things we need help with.
What I have noticed about allowing myself to be more honest with others is allowing my vulnerable side to be shown, but in this there is, of course, a more open exchange that can be beautifully supportive. I notice that when I am in protection and wanting to defend, or hide, a barrier is placed between me and another inviting another to go into reaction to bounce off my own. Staying open and vulnerable allows for honesty and truth to come to the fore and supports everyone equally.
To blossom in full as does the honesty flower can give a lot of trust and inspiration for others to do the same, flower in full and be ourselves.
I agree Lieke there is so much to be inspired by and to inspire when we live this way.
It is awesome Lieke, the reflection we give others when we blossom in full. It just takes one and suddenly other people see that it is ok and normal, that we do have to put on a mask and play a game to fit in.
I so agree, Lieke, as with the beautiful scent from the honesty flower, when we allow ourselves to ‘blossom in full’ we are inviting others to do the same, reassuring them that there is nothing to fear, rather the contrary, there is so much to gain and enjoy.
It is amazing the ripple effect how suddenly then others around us say it is ok to shine, in fact it is amazing to shine! Just like Serge Benhayon has done for so many people, we can now also do the same for others by simply being ourselves and ‘blossoming in full’!
Very true James and eventually Truth with be the new and accepted norm.
I am looking forward to that day! The more we stand up for truth and accept nothing less than love and truth the more truth will abound.
Yes James, and isn’t it interesting that we have to put on a mask and play a game as you say to fit into the world? It says a lot about how the world currently is. Beautiful to know though that we have created this world and the more we live without our masks and blossom the more normal this will be again.
And normal it will be. I await the day that is abnormal for a tender sweet young boy to grow up to be a tough macho man. When this day comes I will know we are well on our way to returning back to our loving divine ways.
I agree James, it is super inspiring when we see another, claiming and walking, as their authentic self, not apologizing for their amazingness or holding back, showing us that this is possible to step out of the game of being less that most people have subscribed to.
It is awesome Thomas and the more of us that are doing this the more other people are given the opportunity to do the same. The is and will one day return to being the normal way of being – let’s make this day sooner rather than later.
I love what you have shared ,Lieke. I am challenged at times to flower in full but when I do I know I am amazing and I can feel it.
Well said Lieke, I have found when those around me have the courage to be honest or to accept mistakes, it gives me the reflection that its okay to do so
How wrong have we gotten it for ages? Making ourselves tough, through fear, putting up guards and not letting people in, when all it takes to really not be afraid is by opening up, being honest and showing our vulnerability .
Yes this is all it takes, but in all honesty this can be quite difficult if we have created the amour over years and all that toughness is still in our bodies. We can say we want to let go of the toughness and open up, but ultimately it is our bodies that needs to do this. We can’t just decide this from our minds. It is a very real and tangible ‘letting go’ that needs to happen in the body. Sometimes there are issues that need addressing for this to be possible.
With such sweetness you have opened up a big conversation, Michael, and in so doing, with this quality, made it accessible and approachable for all. Thank you. I am understanding more and more that by rolling over and showing my underbelly (the fragile, delicate part of me), my fears no longer have a grip over me because I am no longer trying to hide anything or put on an act for the world. This is a huge and life changing shift.
To me honesty is the factor that unites us all as honesty for me takes away the protection I used to carry that withheld me from letting people in and to truly connect with them, with their essence – while that is all that we are so desperately looking for – to be truly met in our essence, to be seen for who we are. I have found that this can only be there if I live in honesty with myself as that opens me up and lowers the protection I have built and makes me feel that I am equal to all others and all united in our life on earth and even beyond.
Good point Nico, we can only be honest with others if we are first honest with ourselves. It is impossible for it to be otherwise.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity. “, I can completely resonate with that, I had an experience at work with a staff member and as soon as I had an honest and open conversation everything changed.
Amita I love hearing things like this as its the same for me, if I was to look back over the past few years its been when I express honestly about a tricky topic with someone or a group of people that things change and what was once a big issue, is no longer.
Honesty really sets us free from all that we are not.
Simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity, what a beautiful description of honesty Michael. It is wonderful to read the reflection you see in nature. We are surrounded by so much support if we just connect and truly look at what is offered to see. I agree: ‘What a marvelous reflection nature can be.”
Being honest is like being prepared to truly claim all that we are. For example….. Our bodies align us with our connection to God, the truth and our power. Are we honest about this?
Being honest can be challenging at times because it then requires a willingness to admit that we have been hurting therefore hiding and avoiding the truth for so long.
We are ALL responsible for being deeply honest and it all starts with our commitment to life and love.
I know that when I can feel someone being honest it inspires me to also open up… this is truly inspirational. 🙂
Being honest with myself awakens every cell in my body. I feel expanded and light and it’s almost like I can see more clearly.
Honesty is the bridge back to being truth full.
Michael I feel the delicate quality of the flower in your writing also. You describe beautifully the sweet perfume of moments where we allow our vulnerability and honestly express our truth, with nothing to hide. There is incredible power in that. Thank you for the reminder to drop my protective layers and be vulnerable again.
I have allowed myself to sometimes be small and less, this is when I am not fully comfortable being me. When I bring some honesty there may also be an anticipation of judgment and investment in people accepting me and my choices. In these situations I can shrink back and think there is something wrong with me, but acceptance and appreciation of who I am seems like the antidote to this.
Reading this again reminds me of how hardened I can be in my day to day. So many protections, pretending I have it together and keeping people away. When I have allowed the delicateness and vulnerability it is a welcome relief and I can feel my true beauty that is always waiting there to be connected to.
Annie that ‘hardened’ way of being that you describe has become people’s default setting. It’s no wonder that we have the enormous problems that we do, when the vast majority of people are operating from behind a protective shell.
A lovely reminder Annie that our innate beauty can never be destroyed, it is always there to be revealed and enjoyed at any time.
Yes, there is such a tension that comes with not being honest. For me at present, I feel I am dealing with a backlog of what I haven’t been honest about and there is a huge level of discomfort in it and an adjustment to being honest and dealing with my attachments to outcomes. But that is wading through the mud so to speak and I will come out of it, yet the tension from not being honest will forever remain until we make the choice to bring more honesty.
I love this blog because the topic of honesty, whilst so simple, has such profound effect in its application and is so fresh in its utterance. It literally is the portal to changing the world. When we can get to honesty we can get to truth and a way of living that allows for self loving choices to be made. When more and more of us choose this more and more of us are able to let go and trust again and begin to get honest also which has an exponential effect. Super, super blog Michael!
Beautifully said Michelle. I can feel the surrender and appreciation of the harmony that honesty and truth brings when we choose this in every possible moment.
If I was honest right now I just want to be me. No extravagant comment but to feel from my body how honestly I feel. I feel agitated when I have an image bearing itself down on me that this is what I should be doing. Honesty brings awareness and I’m learning just how simple it can be by staying in the moment and being honest.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity”. I agree it is a wonderment in itself by expressing your feelings. Its senseless but uses all your senses at once. It supports that while there may be an awkwardness, there is absolute greatness to what is what. It holds you to your path of truth – “Honesty is your best medicine”.
Love what you said here Rik. “..while there may be an awkwardness, there is absolute greatness” in expressing our feelings. Thank you.
Dear Michael,
I am reading your beautiful article again tonight and this sentence is standing out to me.
“Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen”.
That honesty is never the first thing to be seen, wow, as I have considered this I can feel that when honesty has been presented to me, at times I have not wanted to see the truth of it and have literally hardened myself against it, so literally not seeing it in the fullness, openess and surrender that honesty can actually trigger in my body, when it is accepted. I now have a much greater understanding of why honesty is never the first thing to be seen, and how it is that this happens in our world today.
Lovely re-read Michael, what stood out for me is how vulnerable we feel when we are being honest and realise that we are being irresponsible with our choices, but underneath we also know that there is another layer of beautiful and depth to be felt.
It is a lovely read, I am too amazed how vulnerable we feel when we are honest.
“I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.” This is such an important point. It is often out of fear, of reactions of others sometimes, that people tend to lie. You have exposed that there need be no fear, and therefore only an open, sharing, honesty.
Michael, your blog is so healing and to feel your delicateness and vulnerability in it is very powerful.
Thank you.
Michael, yet again you have captured with such sensitivity and grace the value of being honest both with ourselves and others. When someone shares from their innermost with honesty and love the world expands and one can feel the privilege of a truly intimate moment.
Very beautifully expressed Susan. Honesty and being real does allow us to expand and enjoy intimacy/true connection with ourselves and other people.
“Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen” Considering human nature it is bizarre that we fight being honest and choose to not see it immediately. We allow dishonesty to be the mainstay, only to come to honesty as a second resort when being dishonest creates such an unsettling in our bodies that the only option is to then seek truth.
So true Rachel. It’s only when the dis-honesty begins to prickle in every part of our bodies and we find ourselves in a ‘pickle’ that we choose to ‘come clean’ with honesty. No wonder all the world has trust issues.
The cloak of dishonesty, like a prison, makes us feel small and insignificant. When we finally remove it, let it drop to the floor, and reveal all aspects of ourselves, including our vulnerability we find freedom and strength.
Michael, this is a great article, I have been reflecting on when I’m honest and when I have gone into my head to say what i think is right or what I think will sound better, this always feels false and so Im learning to express exactly what it is I feel.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” This state is very beautiful to be in.
“I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” Definitely a clever trick Michael – there is nothing to fear in honesty, it always leads to a more loving space.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up”- I too have found this Michael. The more I can be honest, without judgement or critique of others, the more space is created for others to ponder upon what is said, and then respond accordingly if they so choose..
Honesty unlocks so much in the body and I find when I am being completely honest I feel a deep humbleness that floods my body.
I like that Robyn – a deep humbleness that floods my body – it describes the feeling perfectly when the mind lets go and surrenders to the honesty that is naturally held in the body.
Very true, hartanne60. Well said. Thank you.
Love what you have shared here, Michael. Thank you.
Honesty is one of my favourite things. I have had a long relationship with it and it just keeps getting stronger and stronger.
The reflection of honesty is profound.
True honesty lives not in revealing our ‘darkest secrets’, but returning to the ‘home truths’ that we are naturally beautiful and as amazing as the flower you describe Michael. When we connect to this place – the bits that don’t belong fall off like bugs on our petals.
Today I learned that honesty is being how I feel and expressing it and not trying to be anything else. Simple! Thank you Michael, for linking it to this small, fragrant, delicate flower, a beautiful image as a reminder to carry with me, No pretensions, no trying to fulfill other people’s expectations, no ideals, or any of those complicated ways of surviving. Just being how and who I am.
Lovely sharing Joan. Not trying to be anything else.. simply being me. No pretence or expectations or pictures of how it needs to be – wow, I’m imagining my life without all of these.
I am feeling it is so beautiful Annie, after years of trying to match myself to everyone else. It means letting go of so much that I thought was for my own well-being! Now, discovering that tender, delicate flower inside me, I feel I am being shown the simplicity that can be my life. Why do I need anything else? Certainly I am finding that my age old anxiety is gradually releasing, so my body is saying “Thank you for listening to me!”
Honesty can help to take us out of the struggle we live with in life.
Yes it can as it welcomes deeper acceptance.
“What a marvellous reflection nature can be.” What marvellous reflections your blogs can be Michael! Their simplicity and beauty really offer so much to ponder on and this one about honesty is no different. I am learning to become more honest with myself. I realise just how much I choose to avoid this as I have also used the trick that I am a victim of the roughness of the world and used it as avoidance for not being responsible. The image of the honesty flower brings much delicateness and sweetness to being honest itself and melts away harshness or self-critique.
The image of the honesty flower brings much delicateness and sweetness to being honest itself and melts away harshness or self-critique.; this is lovely Rachael – we can so often go in to being judgmental and then the harshness and critique you mention when in truth the quality of honesty is an openness, acceptance and understanding.
I love that image too Rachel. I also love what Michael shares about the vulnerability that comes with being honest as it cuts through the protection we have created that allows us to get to truth which is empowering.
“I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.” This quote really resonated with me Michael and demonstrates the true power of honesty. So often, particularly for men, there is either this show of perfection associated with competition or a diminishing of oneself to hide, neither of which is true. Honesty allows us to show all of our strengths and weaknesses and vulnerabilities and to be alright with this. There is nothing to protect and therefore nothing to fear. A beautiful way to live life.
The coupling of delicacy and strength is indeed majestic, add to that clarity and simplicity, and tell me, is this not the makings of the power of true expression?
Gorgeous Giselle, I totally agree.
Lately I have been finding that I am not as honest in some situations as in others, a telling sign I have some sort of attachment to an outcome. This does not feel comfortable in my body and really does hold back any opportunity for clear and open communication and the possibility of a different way forward for those concerned.
however in finding it, the honesty proves ever present to be returned to 🙂
Awesome sharing Julie and I can relate to this. I also notice that with certain people my level of honesty is different which tells me that I still have an investment in the relationship, or like you say, an attachment to outcome. With new people, I sometimes find it easier to be completely honest than with people I have known for a very long time…
I too find this Julie and Mariette, this is actually something that I am pondering on tonight in relation to a relationship I have where I am not being fully honest. As I surrender to my body, I get a sense that it is because I am defending my choices with this person, that my attachment is to defending and covering up a level of not good enough in myself that I have not wanted to expose, and to step fully into the next level of responsibility for myself that is being called for. That this has nothing to do with the other person is stilling me greatly,
wow, I love your sharing, you bring it to a next level. I am going to ponder what you share but yes, when I think of the people I am not completely honest with, it has to do with defending as I feel some reactions/judgements. But it is for me to claim and take responsibility for how I live and the choices that I make and then be honest about it. Then what the other person thinks of it that is not up to me, but up to them. So for me it also has to do with being liked..
Me too Mariette, the need to be liked has greatly influenced how honest I am. But why do we need to be liked? This is where the layers of not being enough come into play for me. As the more I discard them the less needing to be liked influences my choices. This is an on going unfoldment for me, one of relearning to live from my fullness and not influenced by my doubts about trusting the divinity I am, and what I can bring forward when I surrender to my essence, in full connection with God.
That is so interesting what you share Mariette and I can relate to this myself. It is as if there is a picture of we are/I am supposed to be, like holding on to an old way, and even though I have changed/grown, the relationship still holds and old momentum where I can fall back into. With new people this is not the case, they meet me where I am at now.
Mariette…thanks for your sharing I realise through your comment why I have often chosen to not be honest with myself and that is because I live with defense as I react to life and make critical judgment on myself. By letting the self-critique go I can see that becoming honest will be easy as the defense I have created will melt away and I can hold myself with love as I look to the truth of any situation.
Yes, and what is there to defend, when we really think of it, as truth and love don’t need defence.
Great comment Julie thankyou. I find also when there is something going on that I allow and it feels uncomfortable, and I do not bring honesty to it then I’m invested. I’m willing to let it slide because I’m invested in the outcome being a certain way. It’s very much about “self” because without the honesty no one learns anything or evolves.
I love what you share Julie and it is relevant for me also. Having an attachment to an outcome is a big hindrance to honesty.
I agree Michael honesty keeps you rooted with yourself and positively holds you to account. It is the basis of simplicity and a true foundation.
I love this Rik,
That honesty “is the basis of simplicity and true foundation.” When I feel with the openess of being honest with myself, it stops me in my tracks, and always brings a deep stillness to my body. Definitely a true foundation
A beautiful reflection of the magic offered by nature Michael. These gifts are around us all the time…if we are open to seeing them and honouring the gold that is presented.
So true, Paula. Nature offers us so much… all the time.
I love how the reflection of nature and the name of a simple flower has brought through such a depth and expansion of feeling and open discussion. What joy to make the connection between a flower and what it symbolises for us as a humanity!
I love how nature is such a loving teacher for us, always reflecting what we need at the time.
Me too Anne! It’s a great support being open to the reflections offered through nature.
I have always thought myself to be an honest person but recently I have discovered a new layer to this – honesty with myself and honesty in expression in my relationships. In this regard I have not been such an honest person. I thought I was honest because I do not lie, but holding back my truth is not truth. I am discovering the lightness I feel when I do express truth – truth with myself and truth in how I am feeling. Part of this process is not worrying about how I will be received. It does not matter how others react or respond as it is my truth.
I too have always thought of myself as an honest person, I don’t lie and I conduct myself with the utmost integrity. I have found however, as I have explored honesty, there is a depth of honesty that I have held back with myself. A level that I am not quite willing to go to yet. My more recent realization is that if there is a depth of honesty that I haven’t been willing to go to with myself, then there is a greater depth that I can also go to with others.
Nikki this has been my experience also. I used pride myself on my qualities but on further inspection I found that I was not as honest as I thought, especially with things that hurt and especially in speaking up about them. This I held back on because I was fearful of others’ reactions, preferring instead to be liked than in supporting the truth to be vocalised. However on the occasions where I do speak up I am finding that my relationship with myself is becoming lighter too as there is no stagnant build up in my body of things left unsaid.
What this brings up for me is that we place importance on our relationships with others over the relationship we have with ourselves. I too have held back preferring to be liked. But what am I leaving to be liked? It is not the real me, just a version I am presenting.
Exactly Nikki – well put. I can’t be presenting the real me, just a watered down version if I am not prepared to be myself in full – so really what am I asking others to like? As you say the relationship we have with ourselves is the most important one.
Beautiful Michelle.
Ah Nikki, last year, I too discovered an extra layer of feelings, very close to my skin that I had not been honest about. These feelings were the most intimate and potentially exposing. Its funny, I had sort of been aware of them, out of the corner of my eye but suddenly I was seeing them with both eyes. I became honest about their existence and then took the next step of expressing them to others and it is these things that were in hiding, so very close to me, that have been the most transformational and freeing to expose.
Nikki, what you are sharing here feels so light and reminds me of being a child where being honest was natural, not holding back was natural. I am finding my way back to this lightness of expression.
Without honesty we are but living a lie.
and living a lie is no true way to live!
Being honest brings simplicity, I know the times I have not been totally honest with myself my life becomes more complicated as I don’t want to see why I am being dishonest.
Absolutely Alison – I can feel and have experienced what you express here. The simplicity of being honest starts from within and the acceptance of what we know to be true.
You are right Alison. When I am not straight up or try to cover things up complication then has the nasty habit of rearing its head. It is only when I am forced to come clean do things start to feel differently. Much simpler to be honest in the first place and deal with the discomfort of what I am feeling in the moment than have it drag on and feel heavy with it, in addition to the extra contraction because I knew I wasn’t quite being honest about things!
Absolutely true Alison. Complication is a great indicator that I am avoiding being honest with myself in some way.
I also find that the re-sensitisation of myself when I am honest allows me to feel far more of my natural delicacy and therefore changes how I work, move, eat ie it starts to guide me to live in a more self honouring way.
Yes Rosanna, being more honest allows for more delicacy. And when we feel our innate delicateness, we cannot be anything other than more honouring of our bodies and our true beauty, and what a joy this is not only for oursleves but for all those around to see and feel.
The knock on effect of making self loving choices is huge! What you share here is awesome Rosanna, because the first self loving thing any of us can do is to be honest about what we are feeling and why. After this has been nominated there is more space left in the body to be who we truly are and so it becomes much more natural to want to move and be in a way that honours this. The subtleties of this can not be under estimated and have to be tried to be truly understood.
I love that michelle819: “the first self loving thing any of us can do is to be honest about what we are feeling and why. After this has been nominated there is more space left in the body to be who we truly are” – Honesty making space for more of our true selves.
‘A clever trick I have exposed by being honest with myself and allowing myself to feel and show all the beauty and wisdom that is there deep inside of me, just waiting to be shown again.’ – When there is a willingness to be honest, it not only opens up for true healing to take place but it also allows people around us to feel that it is safe to be honest and how liberating it is to relate to people without the armour and protection.
Eva, yes when we are willing to be honest we let go the protection we often keep and can more truly connection with people, they get to see us and we get to see them, no masks, and so much simpler.
So true Eva. People respond to honesty and openness, it is so freeing.
If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up. This sentence beautifully illustrates the simplicity and power of honesty in reflection.
Absolutely rosemarydunstan. In my experience, the honesty that I have with myself is reflected to others and creates a platform based in honesty supporting all to share in this honesty. When I am not in this honesty I don’t offer the same reflection and those around me are not supported in this depth of honesty.
Yes rosemarydunstan, honesty creates the basis of trust in self, a trust that then allows others to be open also. It is so much easier to be honest when it is being reflected to you by another. I’m allowing myself to feel the depth of this wisdom, thank you.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself,…this says everything and is so beautiful to read and share with you and relate to Michael. You have a wonderful openness in your writing that is clear simple and absolute love for everyone to feel.
Beautiful in showing how vulnerability can actually be very powerful.
Absolutely Vicky. Vulnerability can be such a strength, I am still working on not trying to protect the vulnerability but being able to be open and honest about this. When I do allow the vulnerability it is so powerful and feels lovely in my body to allow this and allow others to see and feel this vulnerability.
Yes Lee, I wonder the same thing. Reading this article brought back to me how lovely it feels to be vulnerable, but also the barrier I put up to ‘protect’ me from the imagined dire consequences of being vulnerable … it makes no sense really.
So true Lee, vulnerability is such a strength.
How come we know so well to run away from vulnerability?
It makes the world so tender and allows the most beautiful angles of connection.
Yes why is it that we run away from the very qualities that support us to be more intimate and connected with each other? What are we afraid of?
Good question Felix. We seem to have many ways of reinterpreting everything. We have made vulnerability weak and yet this is actually a strength and has the power to shift mountains.
Michael, what a simple, gorgeous blog, and how healing to feel and read it. I feel that delicacy and vulnerability you speak of when we are truly honest and yes it takes us out of blaming the world, and being a victim and calls us to the responsibility of who we are and that no matter what that first step is honesty, allowing ourselves to connect to and feel the truth of who we really are.
I love this monicag2. The first step is always honesty, from this basis we need have no fear or protection and the vulnerability that can be felt is a blessing.
Beautifully captured Ariana, blame and responsibility cannot exist together, and the first (blame) is very much a game and one that goes nowhere, no matter what solace it seems to bring, it’s just not true, and we are continually asked to look at our part, to take responsibility. Responsibility is the way of growth, of evolution, of greater awareness and love; it can often feel and be challenging (mainly as we’re not always used to it), yet the more we step into it, the more we open ourselves up to the joy we really are.
That is what I have been feeling recently that our responsibility is to feel the amazing beings we all are, to actually allow ourselves to feel that fully in our bodies, from there we are felt by others and therein lies the responsibility to be consistent in feeling amazing, to be dedicated to loving choices as the next time the person sees you will you feel the same amazing and inspire them or will they feel a drop and start to not trust what they felt the first time. We have a massive responsibility and what a joy this could be if we just accepted it is OUR role, not the guy next door, or xyz who are so much more this, that and the other thing than we perceive ourselves to be, if we accept we are the one what a joy that will be for all.
Yes, honesty leads us to self responsibility, we can no longer blame others for the consequences of way we choose live. This most beautifully puts the ball back in our court – the power to change is within us.
Yes Ariana, the blame game is total avoidance and is exhausting and draining to play, because it has to keep up a false facade.
You have beautifully describe honesty in this blog Michael, I can feel its power and delicateness. Honesty seems to melt away fear and allows a deeper level of love. It is an essential part of building a strong foundation for all relationships.
Chan I also find that I need to be honest in how I see life. I often observe things that don’t feel right in my community or in the world and it’s important for me to honestly allow myself to feel what I know to be true.
“when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.” Can you imagine if this was understood in work places? We put in so much effort to try to be something and to protect ourselves from scrutiny by taking care not to show anyone that we have weak points. What a relief it would be to drop all this and simply allow our full selves to be seen.
Me too Michael, ‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.’ My body feels at ease, there is no hardness, just a gorgeous feeling of being me and expressing what is true without any trying to make it sound a certain way, it feels gorgeous in the body, nowadays it is clear to me by how my body feels – tense or relaxed, when I’m being honest and when I’m not.
Great honest and beautiful blog Michael. It is so great that you mentioned about not being hard on ourselves or not to see ourselves as less when honesty exposes the truth. It is a bit of a trap that I still struggle with I must admit that when I bring more honesty to something and feel the lack of love in some aspect of my life, rather than go wow that’s great to know and now I can change it, I sometimes tend to be a bit hard on myself. It feels like just like this flower you speak of, lightness or delicateness (as you mentioned) are very important components to honesty that support us to avoid this trap.
Honesty is such an important foundation of trust. Trust simply cannot be there without honesty. And if we do not trust others we can never be fully open to them or connected with them.
Andrew, if we are not honest can we truly trust ourselves either?
Great point you make here Michael that although honesty can be uncomfortable and a bit ugly at times when it exposes the things we do and say that are not so loving, it does stop the incessant impossible game we are playing to try and hide our weaknesses (which are usually on full display anyway!).
Love the reflection of nature and the honesty in your reflection Michael. So inspiring.
To show our vulnerable side is one that seems so foreign to most and rather difficult as you don’t want to show your supposed ‘weak’ side. But as you say Michael there is nothing what so ever weak about being vulnerable only a true sense of power and strength in such a delicate and fragile way that it is very beautiful to be and share with others. Having to put on that you have ‘everything sorted’ and ‘in control’ requires so much effort and force that you are completely drained by putting on such an act. It is time to be who we truly are and allow ourselves to feel all of us.
Opening up to being vulnerable and transarent rather than controlling everything is something I am slowly learning to have more of in my life. Putting on the “you have ‘everything sorted’ and ‘in control’” seems to be championed through society however I am finding that I am the most intimate and present with others when that control is dropped and I choose to flow with honesty instead.
Michael yesterday I was able to get honest about how I was invested in a doing something that I claim I ‘don’t want to do’ and yet when I got really honest about it, I could feel that there was a part of me that actually did want to do that behaviour for the identification that it brings. I do feel that certain things don’t reveal themselves in one go, that I get a bit of a glimpse of them and that glimpse deepens until I am finally able to do a complete 360 around it.
It is easy to think of honesty as just about telling the truth, about not telling lies. But this only touches the surface about what honesty truly entails. Every human being is dishonest to some extent, and it is our dishonesty that allows us to fall for the many illusions that life sells us and ultimately deny the fact of our own divine origins.
So well said Adam. Most people react to being considered dishonest but the fact of the matter is that at some level almost everyone is dishonest in the sense that there are areas in our lives that we like to turn a blind eye too because it does not suit us to see all that is there to be seen.
In the flower of honesty lies the seed of truth.
“In the flower of honesty lies the seed of truth”, beautiful Victoria.
May the flower of honesty always bloom.
This is so beautiful and so simple, incredibly relatable.
Michael what I love about your blog is the claiming of power in its true sense, power being something we connect to when we choose to connect to our soul, accessed through our choice to surrender and let go and be honest. The world has a twisted view of what power is; it has nothing to do with force, a competitive win over another or anything like that. It is our ability to access God through the vehicle of our own body.
Spot on Katerina claiming our true power comes with honesty: ‘It is our ability to access God through the vehicle of our own body.’
What sometimes passes for honesty is just the tip of an iceberg of hurts. What your words here Michael show us is that when we connect to our delicacy and strength first, the truth can come that lets us flower.
I like this Joseph. Honesty is not just about exposing what we are not, but also about claiming the truth of who we really are.
Joseph and Andrew, I love the distinction you bring here that honesty is not just about identifying and exposing our hurts, but claiming the truth of who we really are. Beautiful I will take this into my day and life, thank you.
Nature is a forever reflection. Having the awareness to see the beauty in these reflections is the key to our connection with all.
It is just amazing how we have completely got the wrong end of the stick for ever thinking vulnerability and delicateness are weak, and been missing out on the true power they are.
Yes, and for thinking that protection, going hard in our bodies and our thoughts, protects us when all it does is locks us away from ourselves and others.
True Fumio, and the great news is that we can turn it around any moment – if we so choose.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” I have the same feeling in my body when I am honest and can address something from this stand point. There is a tangible change where I feel re-sensitized instead of numbed to what it was that I had not before wanted to be honest about.
Nicely said Rosanna. That’s exactly how it feels for me as well. Re-sensitised instead of de-sensitised.
We really need to appreciate vulnerability and sensitivity – and know that it is not hyper-sensitivity, which is something else again. Vulnerability and sensitivity feel connected to our true power, what we can sense and feel and read and allow. Hypersensitivity feels like an over-stimulation, a chaotic, overwhelming reaction to being in the world.
Yes that’s a great definition between the two, I also find that this re-sensitisation allows me to feel way more of my natural delicacy and therefore changes how I work, move, eat ie it starts to guide me to live in a more self honouring way.
I agree Michael, nature truly is a marvellous reflection for us when we are open to what it’s revealing to us in every moment and love the way this tiny flower has reflected to you your own beautiful level of honesty.
Honesty can be so simple, if we allow it to be.
Honesty is scary too for a lot of people. If we get honest we have to be willing to let go of all manner of comforts. Even if those comforts were never really comfortable, they are familiar and we are often more afraid of the unknown than of the familiar discomforts we live in. We also have to admit we were wrong, or selfish or unloving in some way and that is an even bigger determent to honesty than comfort.
I agree, wholeheartedly, it is not something that we like to do as a human race really. It does make us get really honest about how much time has been wasted, and how much we have been using distractions like tv and sports, and cars and money and family to sooth our hurts and fill our lives with comfort and comfortable ‘things’ to stop us feeling the responsibility each of us has in the bigger picture.
Isn’t it a tad weird Natasha that almost an entire species, e.g.: the human race would found their existence on dishonesty. There is no other species on Earth that does this. Honesty is the cornerstone to our evolution and before it gets worse than the terrible state we are already descending in to, we would be well advised to embrace honesty as our way.
Hi Jeanette,
This is a pivotal response for me to read at this time. I have been absolutely 100% scared of being honest because of how I thought people would treat me and look at me. Silly it might sound but I have been crippled by the feelings of not being supported if I was truly honest. This is crazy as we have a world set up on support, even the dole payment system is there so people are supported, every angle there is some support available it’s just understanding to know and read it as the support it is.
Wow, Natasha, have felt the same way, and I think what you feel is very common, yet it is a back to front thing to feel unsafe to be honest. It should be the exact opposite! Perhaps if we all stopped taking everything personally and stopped reacting to each other we would create the space for more honest communication.
Honesty is the first step to change. We have to get real about what is and what is not truly supporting us before we can initiate change. What Serge Benhayon has brought to me and my life are the same qualities of your Mondviole flower Micahel – simplicity. delicacy, clarity and power – all by supporting me to get honest.
And the same for me too. Bringing honesty to my life, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, has been one of the cornerstones of the true and lasting change I have been able to implement.
I find when I share honestly with people about my own experiences, including to clients, it is so refreshing for them as they can relate to me and trust me. I am doing this a bit more and can keep working on this too. I’m aware of the thoughts to leave out a certain detail “because then they will know this about me” and I can’t keep the mask on. It is great to surrender to just letting the mask go a little more.
Hi Annie, although I agree with what you are saying I also feel that there is more to add. I have always been a very ‘honest’ and open person and willing to put myself out there so to speak. This is a great quality on one level but one another there is actually a hiding in it. How you might ask? Firstly I realised there is a big difference between honesty and truth. For example it may not be true or right to share certain details about yourself with some people as it may not support where they are at in their lives. The Benhayon family has inspired me greatly as they don’t share everything with everyone, as it would not support everyone to hear those details yet but you always feel them speak truth and always feel like you can share everything with them.
A gracious point Sarah…I have felt this with the Benhayon family too.
And yes, there is a great difference between honesty and truth…that would be a very interesting blog Sarah!
I have spent a lot of time trying to keep a certain front with people, to seem perfect, like I have it all together. In my own experience I love being with people that are just being real and can relate so much more easily to someone that is honest about their imperfections. This theme has been highlighted for me recently and again in this blog. Thank you Michael for your beautiful writing.
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.’ This is true for me also, something I would not have understood without the presentations of Serge Benhayon.
Honesty is so beautiful. While reading this blog I got a sense of what honesty is and it feels to me like a deep surrendering to what is true or at least what I experience to be true. This lets hardness slip away and also the pride and arrogance. I love that when I am honest I feel open and at ease with myself, especially after having fought the truth I felt and then in the end choose to be honest.
Without honesty we ensure a path that voids responsibility, yet with it our unfolding is magnificent!
Beautiful to read you feel no fear in sharing your vulnerability.
This is incredibly powerful and healing for everyone who meets all of you Michael and a beautiful reflection for us all, thank you.
Indeed Sandra, it is telling isn’t it, that we see it as something rare to be able to be honest and show our vulnerability, which is a natural part of our true nature.
What a wonder God’s beauty is. It’s there to be seen – and it doesn’t impose, we are free to walk past it without aligning or responding, the consequence then is that we lose truth first, further down the road honesty.
To allow the space for ourselves to read the reflection nature continually offers us, is the mark of steps wisely taken. Thank you for leading the way with this Michael.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” I really felt this recently when I felt something come up for me and didn’t open up, get honest in a group as my own fear of how confronting and uncomfortable it could be, got in the way. It felt horrible in my body, the resistance and fight, tension was nasty to feel and was also felt by those around me too. What we think, caps us instead of just trusting the process as the body reveals them. Not being honest then complicates the situation too for it is still to be discussed. I know though it will come back around as I had to feel this first to stop choosing this pattern of behaviour. If I’d chosen to open up I know it would have been a huge healing for everyone and me, so simple to go with what the body calls for in each moment. Feeling this, was a great marker of what not to do and as it hurt me so much. I know what I want to feel from now on however confronting it is, as I know what I don’t want to feel!
Our body’s are such a strong marker of truth if only we choose to listen to them. As you share Candida, sometimes we have to feel the uncomfortableness and or hurt so we know what is more important in our lives.
I have done this too Mariette. We can get so caught up in our own little world – our fears and resistances, and forget the bigger picture…that sharing how we are truly feeling, what is going on for us, could be the best gift someone else needs to hear at that time. We get caught in the complexity rather than allowing the simplicity to be and the magic to happen.
“Simplicity, delicacy and strength” I love how you have used these qualities to expand the definition of honesty. I can relate to them so well. And funny enough it flows in that order for me too. In order to deepen my honesty I need to call on simplicity to start the process, dropping of the complications that are there to control and protect. This brings a greater level of openness where I feel deeply delicate, perhaps fragile and far more sensitive and aware of myself and the world. And the lingering result after that is a greater connection which has power and strength. I loved reading the blog and appreciating the moment offered to stop and see the beauty of this process.
Our relationship with honesty can be like a tug of war, especially when we let the mind jump in and try to create an image of ourselves to put out to others, yet the power comes with the openness and vulnerability. It’s like the body doesn’t have to protect itself anymore… True freedom.
‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable’. I have not before heard anyone describe honesty in this way Michael but it is very true. This is how I feel when I am being completely honest and open, it is so refreshing, so lovely and yet completely vulnerable and delicate. Thank you.
I agree Anna. This line stood out for me too. It is very inspiring to hear these words.
It is a cycle. When I feel delicate and vulnerable I feel my truth.
I was like this flower yesterday at work, and the most beautiful conversation with three colleagues took place, where we eventually all were like flowers, opening up and honestly sharing how we feel and what is going on for us. It feels so important that we allow ourselves time for this, to just share and connect. Before we know it, work takes over and we leave at the end of the day without true connection.
Absolutely Mariette…workplaces can be full of many people, all absorbed in their own little world, not connected to each other, and who leave at the end of the day as disillusioned as when they started. However, when there is time made to share and connect, the energy shifts – and then to bring honesty in as well is when true connection really begins, and in the end people leave inspired and more joyful…because truth and connection with others is what we all crave.
Yes well said, we all crave connection, intimacy and truth, also those that say they don’t …maybe they crave it even more…( :
Michael, I love the way you view life, through your eyes there is magic all around and it is beautiful how gracefully you share this with us all through your writing.
Yes Kate I agree, Michael inspires us to see beauty and magic everywhere.
Being honest is not only empowering but also something from which we can grow. It is through this way of living that we can open to being all that we are just as the flower so beautifully demonstrates to us all.
I could read this every day – a great remonder also that honesty is the path to truth.
Love the light in your expression Michael and the reflections you offer through nature.
Yes, the connections with nature are perfect. Through this we are reminded that God is everywhere by reflection.
Beautifully said Michael Kremer…again. There is wisdom within us all equally, patiently awaiting us and our choice to cease our denial of who we are – and just be honest with ourselves. Nature can be a wonderful reflection and so can someone who has made this choice – as you have Michael – thank you.
Today vulnerability = weakness
Humanity has been living with such hardness & protection that we are blinded to the true strength in vulnerability, for it is a bridge to our soul, a return to the tenderness we all long for.
Spot on Lucindag, in today’s world being honest and vulnerable has been twisted into being a weakness rather than a strength. It has become the norm to live in hardness and protection from the world, to hide our true selves, to put up a facade, to live a false image. But thankfully with what Michael presents here, we get to be reminded that honesty, openness and vulnerability are actually our way to re-connect back to ourselves and others – it is the bridge you talk about, the bridge back to our soul, to our tenderness.
Beautifully expressed Lucindag. And in they knowing and understanding we have a responsibility to reflect the true power of vulnerability so that the world can see that there is absolutely nothing weak about it. It is a gateway back to our true selves.
To be able to let go of the old and ingrained belief that “vulnerability = weakness”, offers us the opportunity to make amazing changes in the way we live as a result of releasing the many forms of protection we have created, but no longer need.
Michael being honest about who we are and our lives is one of the greatest responsibilities we have. Only with honesty can we offer ourselves fully and clearly to humanity
Beautifully said, kehinde2012 and Ariana.
Michael, this is a very beautiful description of honesty, ‘the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.’ I had never quite seen it like this before, but i can feel that when I am honest and im simply saying what is true then it is incredibly simple, clear and empowering, it is when I feel the truth, go into my head and try and water down the truth and try and make it sound ‘nicer’ to get less reaction that this becomes very complicated and hard work.
Michael being honest about who we are,our feelings and vulnerable self releases fear and opens us up to experience life in ways we could never have imagined
Well said, when we let ourselves be really honest we lift away confirmations of fear held in our bodies. After expressing honestly about something I always feel lighter…imagine if we all expressed honestly all of the time how much lighter the world would be!
Yes Katerina, feeling lighter is definitely a consequence of honesty and with it we become bringers of light.
Great observation Katerina, honesty definitely makes us feel so much lighter in our body. The world would feel amazing to live in with more people being honest and open.
Thank you Michael for the delicate and gentle way you reflect life to us. I have learnt over the past few years that without honesty we can not get to truth and without truth nothing in life changes.
Alison I agree “without honesty we cannot get to truth, without truth nothing in life changes” when we start to be honest with ourselves that’s when we can start to feel truth, and more and gets revealed.
Well said Alisonmoir, and if we are honest with ourselves we are therefore able to be honest with others. This brings trust in our relationships and trust bridges people together.
Being honest is like slowly releasing the valve on a pressure cooker and creates a space where we can be willing to see and feel the truth of any situation.
Love it! “(on) honesty the most amazing changes can blossom” – and agree from own experiences. 🙂
Michael, it is gorgeous to feel a man writing in this way. Your vulnerability and delicate nature comes through your writing and through your honesty. Vulnerability is indeed a strength.
Michael I enjoyed reading your blog on honesty. I liked where you said, ‘When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.’ These are feelings I have not been very comfortable with in the past, but you go on to say how there is a power in allowing ourselves to go there, and I am discovering that power too.
It is sad that we have spent so much time building barriers between one another to the point that when we connect to innate qualities like delicacy and vulnerability they can seem unfamiliar.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” Michael this line is galactic – because it unravels the power of reflection and the fact of energy. These are the ingredients for true change.
Superbly said lucindag
They sure are Lucinda, the more we can trust ourselves and others the more loving and open our relationships with each other will become.
Thank you, lucindag, for flagging this amazing sentence. So true, how can we ever trust ourselves, and each other, when we are being dishonest? I feel like I have just found the key to my persistent lack of trust, and it is embarrassingly simple.
I agree – thank you for flagging this sentence. I had bypassed it when reading the blog but here I read it and connected with it and wow it is powerful. We all have great power and as Fumiyo says – it is embarrassingly simple!
Yes, pure science.
It is amazing when we let our guards down what can take place, having a hard shield around us so to not be hurt by another, the world or even ourselves does not work and I know it does not as I tried this for years and years and became an expert at it, all it does is keep people out and stop you from getting to know yourself on a very deep level. So articles such are these are very needed.
‘all it does is keep people out and stop you from getting to know yourself on a very deep level.’ and we have many ways of doing this and avoiding exactly that, which is daft, because only by getting to know ourselves at a deep level can we know the Truth of who are are and all that is.
I love what you share Amina and the way you have expressed this. When we put up our shields we stay in separation from our innermost.
Thank you Lucinda for reflecting this, as you say the line is ‘galactic’. Michael has very simply expressed the subtle power and nature of honesty and the ripple effect it has on us and those we’re in relationship with.
Great comment Lucindag. When I am honest I have amazing realisations, clarity, understanding and openness to accept truth.
Thanks for your comment Chan, there is a movement and magic to life when we open up to honesty. When we allow the dishonesty to fester there is a static and “stuckness” that makes life feel heavy and the body can feel lethargic.
Michael this is just stunning, I love your writing and your reflections on life… thank you.
I agree Jenny, it is simple but very impactful.
Same here Jenny the reflections bring a far greater depth to life and are a joy to read.
I do also Jenny, there’s such a simplicity and beauty in what Michael shares, it reminds me that life is simple and in every moment there is a reflection for us to remind us of that.
Yes, l’ve started to become more aware of the reflections offered by aspects of nature and it is quite astounding how frequent and communicative it is. A whole new world opens up… and the feeling is then of being part of something so profoundly ordered and encompassing, it is breathtaking.
I concur Jenny, Michael’s reflections are beautifully simple and a delicious read and in it we are re-reminded of the truth and responsibility that life is all about.
Yes Joshua, and it is exquisite to be reminded with such grace and love…
I fully agree, your writing Michael is exquisite. Delicateness, wisdom and power is what I’ve felt in every blog you’ve written.
And this in itself is worthy of note, felt by a woman, in the expression of a man. What a delightful revolution we are part of here…
I never really appreciated and realized indeed how much simplicity honesty does bring to life. I love this realisation, with those 2 qualities being so vital for a healthy and joyful society – thank you Michael for writing this blog
I really enjoyed reading your blog Michael and reflection around honesty. I totally cherish that quality within me and in others, and have realised lately that there is probably no end to the depth of its expression.
Your words remind me Michael that if we are honest about our true nature, we will see past the apparent issues, struggles and lies to cherish the warmth we are within and the love we all can be. Your honesty is beautiful and has inspired me.
Reading this feels very inspiring “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful. I have come to experience, when I show all of me, including my vulnerable side, I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points. I do not see myself as small and less.” Thank you for sharing yourself Michael.
I love how you point out that vulnerability is a great solidness we can trust. ‘I do not have fear, because I do not hide and do not try to protect my seemingly weak points.’ When we choose to be vulnerable we have chosen to see all there is to see and stand with ourselves. Gone is the anxiety of being found out. Present is our acceptance of who we are.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” I know in my heart that this is true but still find it so difficult to do – a work in progress.
Michael this is one that needs to be on every households fridge door – “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” – this is our normal, we just have to go through the uncomfortableness of the dishonesty that we have chosen to live in and realise that it is not us and that we are learning. Allowing the delicateness and vulnerability is something we need to embrace, not fight.
‘Allowing the delicateness and vulnerability is something we need to embrace, not fight.’ So true Natalie.
well said Natalie: “this is our normal, we just have to go through the uncomfortableness of the dishonesty” We have created a way of being with each other that is imprisoning and it is challenging and uncomfortable to break free of the comforts of this prison but once we are out it is easy to see how simple and beautiful it truly is to be this open and transparent.
I love this blog Michael – it is written with such an exquisitely delicate strength.
I really love this simple blog about a huge subject, Michael.
For me, being honest used to feel like having to ‘come clean’ with all my mistakes and bad choices. There was fear of rejection there – that if I was truly honest, the real me would not be acceptable. After many years of falling for this false trap, I’m realizing that the real Me is quite beautiful and tender, even with mistakes I make along the way.
It is true what you say Michael, in honesty there is vulnerability that is actually quite powerful.
Beautiful sharing Michael, I too love the reflections that nature brings every single day… so many, if we just take the time to stop and appreciate them all.
Honesty is an incredible tool that opens many doors, and creates much space in places that was once filled with fear.
I love that you have got all of this out of a flower, nature is an incredible reflection.
To be honest raises me. Without it I drop. Expressing honesty is like giving water to a plant. It can then do what it is there to do: Express more of it’s beauty every day.
We are here to be reflected that we are divine and everything around us beautifully offers us this reflection, and what are we doing?….. Choosing not to see it and reflect back to the Universe our unloving choices.
Gorgeously expressed Michael, you have taken my knowing and understanding of honesty to another level and reveal the fact that honesty is such a powerful quality to live and bring into our lives.
Not to hide the points that are otherwise judged as weak, is vulnerability. It goes hand in hand with honesty and paves the way to be truthful in the world.
I get what you say here Felix, we judge ourselves and then feel we cannot show who we truly are because we hold that as flawed. And we all join this way of being perpetuating images and pictures of how we should be and then feeling we don’t really live up to it. How different it would be if we all became simply honest about what we feel and what is happening for us.
‘What a marvellous reflection nature can be.’ Hear, hear Michael.
Michael what you have shared has touched me deeply feeling the power and value of honesty. So simple, and we all have this within us that can be lived.
Honesty = Simplicity
This is delicately and powerfully beautiful. Honesty is the way to take us to our inner qualities, an opening to our power, clarity and beauty. Sometimes it is very uncomfortable in getting to the honesty as we disarm that which protects us from our perceived weaknesses. Honesty cuts through that like a fresh sword of love, opening us up to being very real.
I love reading your blogs Michael, this is yet another of your master pieces where you express so beautifully on the subject of honesty. Our vulnerability when we are honest is indeed powerful.
Beautiful. Roll on when all the world chooses to do this Sue.
Michael you have expressed honesty in such detail that you have brought more of its beauty and virtues to life for me. I loved the feeling of being strong when we are completely honest as we have nothing to hide, no parts of ourselves to protect. This then allows us to feel whole and complete, to trust ourselves and for others to trust us too.
Yes I agree Fiona, so beautifully expressed Michael. You truly know honesty and the power and space it provides when we choose to use it.
Yes being honest is powerful, in that moment of honesty I feel so supported within, a feel real and definitely crystal clear and powerful…it creates a sense of space that was before filled with tension, protection that is a weight.
To let go of the pictures and roles and beliefs of how we should be and become really honest about what we feel and our choices is in fact liberating and as you say Michael a certain way back to simplicity.
Honesty is definitely the way to allow change to occur in our lives and bring more freedom to be our true selves. Whilst we cling to a false idea and protect it, we are stuck at that point. It is like a road block or detour that does not allow you to expand further until that part of the road is cleared.
Beautiful picture for how dishonesty creates complications and complexity whereby we consider ourselves to be active and making progress but actually are caught in a labyrinth of detours.
Honesty is fundamental to trust and trust is fundamental to relationships and relationships are fundamental to life. So to have this conversation about honesty is vital.
Certainly a lot exposed in that sentence Lucy!
Honesty brings realness, being real allows to truly meet another and have relationships that can be trusted, confirming who we are in life and with life.
I love this blog Michael, you lay out the beautiful simplicity of honesty and how powerful that is.
I experience honesty at times as painful, quite similar to removing a plaster. First it hurts but then fresh air can touch the skin – and one can breathe freely again.
Yes Alex, at times getting to honesty can be very painful, and as the honesty is expressed it connects me back to a sense of being real, definitely ‘fresh air’ and ‘..one can breathe freely again.’
I can relate to that too Alex and Karoline, I love how you have described it. The pain felt doesn’t need to linger and with the greater honesty we can enjoy being more connected, more real and breathing deeper..
Yes Alex and the pain of being honest exposes our previous ill choices – very uncomfortable for a while and once accepted, very liberating – as you say – “one can breathe freely again”.
Exposing the stranglehold of our own choices and the unwillingness to reflect, question and discern them, thus holding on to what is familiar but not necessarily true and loving. Probably it is mostly our pride that feels hurt and not the wound we try to protect.
Honesty relieves one from pretending; that´s very liberating.
I find your comment alone liberating Alex!
Honesty thereby saves a lot of energy, each day anew. It is a powerful step out of exhaustion or burnout.
Great point felixschumacher8… that is a connection few make. Honesty is great medicine in that case!
Yes Felix, how draining is it to live with situations that feel so draining or harmful, yet through politeness we allow them to go on? It’s a big game of collective pretending. Holding back the truth that is there to be said also take a lot of energy and exhausts the body.
We would be lost without nature providing us with the reflection of all that is inside rather than what we choose to express which is something less than magnificent.
“Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” true Michael. Honesty about a situation brings clarity, and the simplicity of truth. For me, honesty is a must. It is a fundamental ground on which truth can stand on. And as you said, that, is beautiful.
there is indeed a vulnerability with honesty and at times it can be done with a confessional tone…but when delivered simple, it leaves very little room for reactions and plenty of room for truth.
That’s so true Joel. The delivery, and the confidence in which the honesty is expressed will often influence the reaction, or lack there of.
All we need to do, is keep things simple!
I love how you expressed honesty Joel- coming from a vulnerability, and “at times it can be done with a confessional tone…but when delivered simple, it leaves very little room for reactions and plenty of room for truth.” This feels true..
In the past I often feared being honest or speaking from how I felt for fear of repercussions or reactions from others, but I am learning that my covering up what needs to be said allows for more inner turmoil to fester- guilt, self loathing, low self worth, resentment, anger, rage etc. Whereas if we speak openly and honestly there is a freedom and expansiveness within our body.
Well expressed lorettarapp about the horrors of holding back from expressing with honesty. It does fester and is so harming to ourselves and others. Not a pretty picture for sure.
“covering up what needs to be said allows for more inner turmoil to fester- guilt, self loathing, low self worth, resentment, anger, rage etc”.
And when delivered, there often seems more acceptance than the other version of beating around the bush and avoiding the honesty. I know which one I always prefer.
Yes, honesty frees us from illusion.
I love knowing that there is a flower with the name of honesty. I looked at images of this flower online and saw that the seedpods are stunningly beautiful in their own right too, almost like tiny transparent panes of glass. Very fitting that a plant with the name of honesty would be transparent!
Love it Leonne and so confirming of the magic of God that this flower would be transparent. I am learning that honesty is a quality to embrace and live as it leaves no space for hurts, doubt or confusion.
Aren’t they fabulous?
The transparency reminds me of the simplicity of not hiding. Sometimes I feel as if hiding would protect me from something. It’s not true, hiding is complicated, energy consuming and an utter illusion. Honesty brings clarity.
Very true Felix. Hiding takes a lot of effort and it actually makes me feel fearful. I remember I used to hate playing hide and seek for exactly this reason. When we allow ourselves to be seen in full we have nothing to fear.
It makes me think of another flower that I was shown that was called yesterday, today and tomorrow which is beautiful because of all the different colours as each flower lasts for three days representing yesterday, today and tomorrow.
It starts as purple on day 1, then lavender on day 2 and white on day 3.
I always loved that plant but never understood the full story behind the name. It goes to show that we all naturally understand the magic of God.
Thank you Leonne – your comment inspired me to have a look for myself at this beautiful flower. A flower I have seen often and loved, but had no idea what it was called! Yes, I agree – the seeds pods are like ‘tiny transparent panes of glass’. Nature has a sense of humour too!
How gorgeous that there is a plant that reflects what honesty is and it’s outcome “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity”.
Absolutely Jennifer, although when I think about it, I’m not sure we could find a plant that didn’t reflect honesty. Nature certainly has the truth down pat!
How true Elodie there is nothing dishonest about nature. Always there and always reflecting what we need to know and understand, without attachment and emotion.
Honesty is a most incredible tool – it creates space and the freedom to be and move.
There is a spaciousness that comes with honesty that really supports me to accept what I am feeling.
Yes Gabrielle, I totally agree. For me, by allowing the space of honesty supports me to let go of my contractions.
When I am not being honest, my body is so tense and when I am being honest there is no tension. It’s interesting with this clear indicator of the effect of honesty on our body, that most of us struggle with being honest both to ourselves and others.
So true Jennifer. If I reach for something that is not good for me, my body goes tense (sometimes ever so slightly) but it tenses. Our bodies are geared for honesty – it is their preferred mechanism.
It would then mean that many are living with a level of tension in their body because of a choice to not be honest in every aspect.
Yes Jennifer – How amazing our ready made ‘honesty detectors’ (our body) are and once we start listening to the signals we know if we are being honest or dishonest with ourselves. Wow! What a wonderful way to deepen our understanding of how we live in every moment of our day. I certainly know this tense feeling or sometimes a flash of uncomfortable heat making me squirm is my dishonesty being flagged for me to make a different choice.
This is such a great comment Jennifer that makes it so very practical (body connection) for us to develop more awareness and honesty around our relationship with honesty (with ourselves and others) as well as understand that not being honest is not great medicine.
Absolutely Alexandra – the consequence of this dishonesty is devastating – a giant cap on humanities evolution.
Jennifer I can relate to what you have shared in your comment. To have such a clear marker is the best ever as there is no way to ignore this – of course only if you are honest – hahaha.
For me honesty about how I am living is enabling me to take away the shame, because when I make choices that do not serve, then I know it’s not my soul speaking, but another energy that I have called in. It enables me to track back to where I decided on which energy to align with, i.e. where I separated, and that can be anything that takes me away from my body – needing a response from another, getting busy or eating to numb what I am feeling, or simply the way I got out of bed in the morning.
That is an awesome way of looking at things Carmel. This way self judgement does not come into the picture when we get honest with ourselves.
Honesty brings a very balancing quality into our lives, an acceptance. From honesty I have learned that freedom comes when I let go of judging myself and others.
Yes Abby, letting go judgment for ourselves and others is an essential part of getting to honesty. Without acceptance of ourselves and others, in all our imperfections, we will not go to deeper honesty.
Well said Abby. You could argue that we can reject our honesty after we’ve nominated something, but actually true honesty is not a confession and consists of the nominating AND the acceptance of the situation. When we react to the truth this is not honesty.
In letting go of judgement there is an opening of our hearts to our connectedness with each other. It is an ‘aha’ moment of monumental proportions.
Another beautiful and tender blog for you Michael, and the stillness and beauty that is found in nature is just what I felt as read this.
This is such a beautiful sharing on honesty and something we do all crave underneath thank you i love it so much. It is true the enormous strength and power that honesty brings along with vulnerability and love is simply amazing thank you Michael.
We can see there are no negatives in honesty if we are willing to let go the chains of comfort and come out of hiding.
Very true Jane, it is our comfort that holds us back from claiming the true responsibility that honesty brings.
So true Jade. Comfort is the antithesis of responsibility whilst honesty stands alongside it.
Beautifully said Jane, we hold onto comfort and yet it is the most uncomfortable place to be.
This is so true kimweston2 – we stay with what is familiar to us. Yet in this familiarity lies comfort and stagnation.
Well said Jane – it all comes down to us making the choice to stop hiding behind the false idea of comfort which we know all along only keeps us from being totally honest.
Great point Jane.
Indeed
That is so brilliantly put – the chains of comfort. So true, dishonesty always have some tendrils attached to it.
From honesty we can no longer hide from responsibility.
Brilliant Jane. And we are willing to ignore honesty to pursue an image we wish a situation would be.
Great comment Melinda – we put our blinkers on in a bid to control the situation, narrowing the field to suit our needs.
Michael I keep discovering the power of being honest with myself and the way that feels in my body. The tension melts away and as you say “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.”
Everything that is needed to be shared, felt and lived is found in nature. Thank you for sharing this blog Michael about how a flower can be a reflection of what truth is. It resonates deeply with me, and confirms that the more we are aware of our surroundings, the more we can simply be who we are, no lies, no smoke and mirrors, just delicate honesty.
Beautifully expressed Hannah – ‘just delicate honesty’.
Yes, the answers to everything are all around us, we just need to be open to reading what is being delivered.
Absolutely Kate – Although sometimes we just see what we want to see, we have a choice at each moment to be aware of what is around us, and this will always change and deepen depending on how open we are.
You have a lovely way of communicating, Michael, with great simple wisdom. When you write, “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up” this is so true. Though can be somewhat scary to do at times it is so empowering.
Michael, since reading your blog I have been very aware of whether I am being honest or not, this has been interesting to notice and i have found that having this awareness has allowed me to be more honest which feels gorgeous, I can feel that there is no need to try and make things look a certain way and that its perfectly fine just to speak the truth and not try and change/adapt it.
Rebecca, I like what you share, honesty is such a gift we can give ourselves and also something we can easily fool ourselves into believing we are being when the truth maybe that this is not always so. Yet I suppose we always know it in our bodies, it is just whether we want to play the fool or listen to our own reactions and be honest.
I love this Michael – and this is one of the sentences that were standing out for me – ‘Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.’ It is amazing what a difference this little word ‘honesty’ can make in life, and how actually it goes hand in hand with being willing to take responsibility.
Yes Eva I agree, and I loved the marriage of the words honesty with beauty… it is so true. Beauty comes from within, we all know that, but to identify what it actually is, we find far more elusive. Without honesty, we are not presenting who we really are, and hence there is no true beauty in that.
“If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” This is a fantastically powerful statement. Simple and truthful. Trust, truth and honesty start with us trusting ourselves.
Yes I loved it too Naren, setting out so simply the way it works. Whatever we want from others and from life, BE it ourselves first, and it can’t help but deliver.
Beautifully put, Jenny. It is all right here, right now within us.
The power of reflection; its ability to pull one another to greater truth and hence responsibility.
And in responsibility lies trust.
Agree Naren. We often think trust is only about others, but do we trust ourselves?
It is key, Debra. The question that then comes to mind is, how can we not trust ourselves? We are the only person we have any kind of control over. We make our own choices, and yet I am very familiar with the feeling of not being able to trust myself to make choices that are in my own best interest. Maybe it is an illusion to say we cannot trust ourselves, and in fact we are simply trying to deflect the responsibility we have in making the choices that have landed us where we are.
I so much enjoy reading your analogies Michael.
Yes, they are so simple and joyful. Expressing the truth and beauty that nature reflects back to us.
Moving honouring ourselves.
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” I completely agree honesty is definitely all the above, when there is honesty it us truly felt, when we hold ourself in honesty it us very clearly felt when another does not. Lately I have been able to very quickly connect and feel when people are lying or hiding the truth. As the depth of my honesty grows the clearer for me to feel.
‘The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” A clever trick I have exposed by being honest with myself and allowing myself to feel and show all the beauty and wisdom that is there deep inside of me, just waiting to be shown again.’ – what a beautiful, honest sharing in the sense that a) I do personally relate to this and b) there’s no coincidence that you’re sharing this example in regards to honesty as I know many people choosing anxiety to not shine the enormous light they are. The thing that I’d like to add is the fact that a very simple ‘excuse’ is than to blame other for making the choice of being anxious. Thank you Michael for your Honesty.
Reading this Michael opened me up to more of the simple messages and ways of nature. Most when looking at these flowers would brush of their connection with ‘honesty’ perhaps even getting confused about how they fit the definition of honesty. It is truly all about feeling, being open and simply observing in the joy of what nature has on offer for us to learn from.
Michael I love the way you bring the reflection that nature offers us into your blogs. Nature is simplistic, it does not complicate things with dishonesty like we do in the human kingdom, we can learn a lot from observing nature and all the messages it is offering us.
A powerful moment of let go and let’s go.
Nothing is left behind unsaid, separating. Everything goes on the table as an offer.
Honesty is a movement in surrendering mood.
Once again Michael a very beautiful sharing, the more I am honest with myself and others the more I wonder why I have opted so often in the past for a nicer version of honest, which is not even in the same ball park as honest.
I’m finding more and more the reflection nature can bring but realise also that what I read into with what I see, needs a lot more fine tuning.
I’m totally with you on that, kevmchardy. I too have gone for being nice instead of being honest many, many times. Tiptoeing around what I might think will be a reaction from them, or that they might not like me if I tell them the truth. It is a tactic that does not serve anyone.
Well said Kevin, in our resistance to the divine reflection that is offered to us by nature, we often dismiss the truth that is offered to us. I love the fine tuning into the true reflection of nature, it shows the absoluteness and grandness we are from and how far we have removed ourselves from it.
Nature do not fight. They have no agenda. They simply present and represent what is. Our body is just the same, but we keep pounding and ramming it down with what is not, because somewhere deep down we do know that simplicity and honesty will expose the biggest lie that we have turned a blind eye to.
Love what you are sharing here Fumiyo, the constant fighting and struggling that we are calling life is the absolute opposite to who we truly are and what nature is reflecting us back. We just have to surrender to our divinity and nature is supporting us by reflecting us our grandness.
Michael you wrote: “Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.” That is exactly what I love on being honest it stops all complication and all the running around and trying to hide what ever is to hide. With honesty there is stillness again and with that a possibility for a new truer foundation.
So true Ester. Honesty brings such a strength with it.
Choosing honesty means to stop running from truth. And then there is just one more step to take from honesty towards truth.
Alex that is a wise comment – so let us take the next step towards truth as it is such a simple and sexy thing to do.
well said Esther, honesty clears all that we have built in forms of defence and complication and offers a new foundation of simplicity and openness.
Being honest offers spaciousness in my body, exposing the dishonesty and lies that I previously chose not to be aware let alone admit to. I have often found it confronting to be honest because of how the other might react as well as my own self-doubt, and I can see how that in itself is a part of the package of lies that I have brought into my being. It appears to be deep-rooted, but lies are lies, and they would not have place unless I keep feeding them.
What I am finding is that honesty can be subjective, depending on where I am standing it offers different perspective, and I can see the dishonesty and lies in what I previously claimed as my honesty. Yet it is with our constant attempts at being honest that we would find a way to the truth.
Humanity’s standards for honesty are not very high. Yet, most people would call themselves so.There is a comfort zone around lies that for some strange reason is not called dishonesty.
The honesty plant grows in my English garden and it is visited for its nectar by early spring butterflies that are the symbol of harmony. When I am honest with myself I can feel harmony in my body as I appreciate the truth.
Love that Mary ” when I am honest with myself I can feel harmony in my body as I appreciate the truth”, yes it does feel amazing in our body.
Gorgeous Mary !
Mary, super beautiful.
Stunning Mary. Nature’s reflections offers us such truth and honesty effortlessly. Thank you.
A simple very profoundly beautiful blog Michael. You have a gift for seeing the beauty, simplicity and divinity in the smallest of details and this tells me of the vastness of your awareness and connection to the grandness of the all. Thank you for another fabulous and divinely written sharing.
Thank you Michael for a beautiful sharing on the power of honesty, a gateway of truly sharing, “If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.”
One of the keys to allowing ourselves to be honest is to not judge. Judgment kills the ability to be honest.
Absolutely Elizabeth. Judgement of others and judgement of self.
As you say Michael, honesty is not something that shows off but when it is present it has a wonderful outplay in all that it presents. Being honest with oneself takes away any investment we may have in any outcome or in protecting ourselves but instead gives the possibility to others to be the same and in that connection and relationship we can come to a closer understanding to one another and find a way that is true for all of us. Honesty indeed feels delicate, vulnerable and powerful to me too and in that it is a major ingredient in uniting people.
I really connected to your way of seeing truth in nature, always available to us yet so often overlooked and taken for granted. The more I take the time to be in and with the natural world around me, the more I realise how truly blessed I am and that I am always being looked after. Mother Nature is there lovingly reflecting her beauty, wisdom and strength at every turn and I agree, at times it’s not always smooth sailing when we live from that source of knowing….honesty in particular, seems to have become rarer as humanity tries to cover up its dishonest way of living with materialistic values and short term ‘successes’ over the Love we naturally are anyway. Being honest is a great place to start in rebuilding a way of life that is actually worth having.
“Like the wonder of this small intensely fragrant flower, honesty for me first and foremost is beauty.” The beauty of honesty is that it allows us to be open and delicate like a flower and a perfect reflection for all to admire.
Yes I agree it brings a fragility to situations but not a weak fragility and vulnerability; one that has a strength with it.
That was gorgeous to read kelly.
Sometimes, when something I do or feel has been called out, I am so quick to deny or defend it, out of habit, that I have not given myself the space for honesty. This is something I need to be aware of when it happens, and trust that making myself vulnerable is true strength and that not having that tension in my body will be a blessing. Trusting that I am supported to live this way is the key.
Honesty always comes from the body, hence when we claim and trust it (letting go of the ‘fight’) we instantly connect more deeply with ourselves.
So true Amanda. I remember doing something in full view of a room full of people I was doing a demonstration to a while back. One of the members said something about using a stick instead of my finger in a pot of cream for health and safety reasons and before I had even realised anything had come out of my mouth I had denied it. Reflecting on how I could have possibly denied it I realised I was clearly so ashamed I hadn’t thought of it myself my automatic response was to deny it rather be ok about having made a mistake. The shame of lying was awful but the pain of what I felt then and afterwards was an absolute blessing because ever since then I have been aware of how we can think we are honest yet until it is something that is lived as normal in the body as Abby has said below, and not seen as being a bad thing, it will jump out to protect us from being exposed and vulnerable. I am reminded of a Sunlight Ink book ‘Woops is my favourite word’!
Yes what a wonderful reflection nature can be, thank you for this inspiring and beautiful blog Michael.
I love the link you made between the flower and honesty;
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me”.
It is such a fabulous reflection. Everything about nature is reflecting something to us . . . For example take an animal, they eat when they are hungry, they move when they need to and they sleep when they need to. They do not continue running if they are tired, stay awake when they need to sleep, overeat and continue to eat when they are full or put crazy substances into their body. But humans do – we could learn much from the simplicity of nature.
Thank you Michael for yet again sharing with us your joy and love of nature and all that it reflects.
Thank you Michael for your sharing. “If I am honest I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves” . Love this and the flower, I have heard of but will look for it again for inspiration for honesty!
Thank you for highlighting that line Roslyn. Being honest does ring a tune in others.
Yes thank you for highlighting this line, it is inspirational to see another person make honesty a basis for trust. In a world that reflects the opposit as real we would do well to see that the importance of reflecting this to children, who are naturally honest. So much of the push back from teenagers is against the lack of honesty from so many, if not all, they see around them.
Michael, your blogs always invite me stop and fully appreciate the absolute simplicity of the Magic of God that surrounds us always. Thank you for another gem from Heaven, another offering of love.
Honesty is the path back to Truth, a quality of the Soul that forever resides deep within our hearts. Without honesty, there can be no truth and where there is no truth, there is only ever a lie in its place.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable” – this is so true Michael and very relatable. We can get so nervous about being honest and hold back, though when what we say is said in the truth of who we are, in honouring of the receiver through the way we communicate, there is nothing more beautiful to feel inside than the opening spaciousness that expressing this way truly brings – to oneself, and the other. It supports open trust, and in this, expressing can be deepened towards truth.
Michael what a beautiful description of nature and how it communicates and reflects to us the essence of us, our surroundings, our universe. I could almost smell the flower you mention, its fragile honesty and in this its strength from its definite scent.
It’s amazing how much we yearn for freedom and ease in our life, yet what I have found is that this freedom comes when I am honest just as you describe Michael. Being honest seems like the last thing we want to do, but what you illustrate here is how naturally it helps us become clear. Thank you and go on to bloom.
Yes love that Joseph, honesty does clear and I also see it just as you describe, this ‘bloom’, or ‘blooming’ of flowers that open up to display the wondrous beauty of their radiance, colour and scent. Makes me think when we talk about “someone blooming’ – that it is a body that is honest and fully on show i.e. no longer in hiding.
Yes Joseph and Zofia, yet what you talk about is the ease of being ourselves, naturally we bloom, we glow and it is lying and dishonesty that means we look anything less than the amazing bundle of deliciousness we were born to be. Honesty clears us back to who we are and takes away the layers we added on to cover that up.
Honesty can be difficult because it affects our pride. With truth it can be even worse as our pride has nowhere to go. If we can deal with our pride we are quite formidable.
So true Christoph! My pride can be still hooked by my self investments and illusionary beliefs that somehow I am nothing without them, becoming blind to the truth that first calls on honesty.
“When we are honest, it’s all over…’ a friend said this to me recently and your sharing also reflects this Michael. There is nothing to hold on to once we are honest. In fact we can go deeper then, to truth!
Yes Bernadette, how true is that! – “When we are honest, it’s all over…’ yes, such a stopping point, where if we remain open as its receiver, there is indeed no where to go [other than deeper], and it is completely game over when Truth is arrived.
The completeness in this truth is just so powerful – my body totally surrenders!
Michael, how beautiful and what a great carving out of what honesty truly is. Your line ‘If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up’ showed me the sound basis for honesty in my life and how life is so much simpler with it. Thank you.
“What a marvellous reflection nature can be.” Nature is simple divine and is reflecting us everything we need to learn to get back to divinity ourselves.
One of the things that we can appreciate about honesty is it brings us true connection. Unless there is honesty between people what are we connecting to? Is it the niceness, politeness and masks, or is the real person good enough, warts and all being totally honest? I’m not sure why honesty has fallen out of fashion so to speak, but it’s actually a gift we can give to each other. Here’s to authenticity!
Perhaps honesty has fallen out of fashion because we don’t like hearing the truth of where we are at, we like to live the illusion that life is all okay. Meanwhile illness and disease continues to rise very clearly telling us all is not okay.
So true, a most precious gift, but let’s make it normal, champion the routine, ‘normalness’ of honesty!
Michael another beautiful reflection from your love and observation of nature. From your reflection it has opened up a deeper transparency to my relationship with ‘ honesty’.
Michael having read several of your articles now I have come to realise that the essence that you reflect feels the same as the essence of nature. I have no words to say how that feels.
This is a really gorgeous observation Alexis. Michael’s appreciation for nature and the world around him is very tender and sweet. I love the way he reminds us all that every living thing offers us a reflection that can guide us home.
I confirm that; Michael´s expression has the same flavour like the nature he is reading.
Thank you Michael, this line was highlighted for me “Like honesty this flower is never the first thing to be seen: it is rather small, the flowers are not big and showy, but it is always present by its wonderful smell.” Honesty is rarely flashy or showy, in fact it’s quite humble, and like this small flower if we were to stop and appreciate it we can discover something that is truly beautiful, in a world of superficiality and masks.
“On this open basis of honesty the most amazing changes can blossom”. It can be so surprising what comes after honesty. I experienced that I never can tell how things will unfold, that there is no place for control or for expectations and that mostly the effect of honesty is more connection and more intimacy and from there anything is possible.
I like the link you make between honesty and vulnerability. Seems most of us are petrified of being vulnerable and protect it at almost any cost. The irony is that honesty makes you invulnerable, as there’s nothing to protect because it’s all out there, through your honesty. So no need for all that protection and all that effort that goes into it.
There is nothing to protect, that is so true. Just before I felt to point out a few things to a friend and thought I would be squirming and feeling very uncomfortable, but practice makes perfect and once I had opened my mouth it all came very easily and lovingly; and the space that was created and how it felt in the house afterwards were well worth it.
Well said Cathy. I appreciated this point too, for me honesty is simply admitting the truth that we can all feel. It is so much easier than the games we play when we choose dishonesty.
Very true Cathy, it is such a trick. The more open and vulnerable and I am, the more life opens up to me.
How crazy is that Cathy? ‘Honesty makes you vulnerable’? I reckon it makes us feel vulnerable because it is not valued and not normal. But that is upside down surely?! Surely we should feel vulnerable lying, being dishonest because we know we have done something that is not honest, true, kind, right. Surely this should hurt our body? I have found that it does actually hurt my body I just found ways to tell myself it didn’t, to override it. The body is, by nature, like the flower, it is honest and can be nothing else, therefore the dishonesty poisons it till we have a calamity that brings us back to honesty.
I love this ‘…it is rather small, the flowers are not big and showy, but it is always present by its wonderful smell.’ a great refection of the knowing we have when honest y is either present or absent, but not by any dramatic events, just the sense of how things feel.
Yes I loved that too. I equally felt that honesty isn’t persuasive, it just is there as an absolute truth. You can either notice it and make it something you value, or not, either way it is there for the moment you do.
Nature just is – a flower just is and asks nothing of us but offers the pure essence of all it is – Honestly. What would it be like to move through our day offering this reflection to all? Pretty amazing and something that we can all choose.
The human body is a product of nature, no matter how we may live with it, treat it, expect of it, the base materials of our physical frame are natural. Therefore just by being in this body you have an opportunity to be honest.
Michael your connection with nature and it’s messages is really something very special indeed, as is your ability to convey the depth of your wisdom to others.
For me being honest means being willing to see ALL that is there transparently so, without judgement. Although sometimes it can feel a bit ‘uncomfortable’ being honest from experience I feel far better once I have done this. It is beautifull that this is reflected back to us in nature.
Michael, I love this sharing on honesty – who knew it meant so much more than just ‘telling the truth’.
Honesty is the gateway to truth. It is the path that will lead us to live together openly and harmoniously, without protection. When we are honest with ourselves we can be honest with others offering the quality of love and truth to be explored together. Through honesty we build trust and this is what our society is in dire need of today as it seems to me that our world is fuelled by a lack of trust coming from a lack of honesty and therefore avoiding the truth at all costs, and the greatest cost being that we then are not living our true selves.
Wow, Carola, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you for expressing it this clear and simple.
Yes Carola, our world is crying out for our honesty.. with ourselves and with each other, it is our gateway to truth and a true way of living. Building trust again with each other is key, we are so powerful when we work together.
Beautifully captured Carola. We cannot underestimate what trust has the potential to restore in relationships.
Boom Carola and well worth repeating “Through honesty we build trust and this is what our society is in dire need of today as it seems to me that our world is fuelled by a lack of trust coming from a lack of honesty and therefore avoiding the truth at all costs, and the greatest cost being that we then are not living our true selves.” What a headline this would make, that is if someone was willing to publish it, every politician and leader of our communities need to read what you have written.
Carole absolutely beautifully and simply expressed, the world is crying out for honesty to bring truth to it,
Absolutely, the lack of honesty builds the lack of trust. How can we have made it normal to not trust our politicians and journalists? If we are being honest then we have to include a rising mis-trust of research that is supposed to be a solid confirmation of truth and yet it is paid for by corporations in order to ensure it gives the answers which suit the agenda it is trying to ensure is fed to the public!!! That boggles me. What hope do we have for honesty to be a valued commodity in this world when lying and suitable truths have a far higher value because it increases our financial gain?
Absolutely Agree Michael, Nature is a great reflection. Honesty is great, because we don’t have to be anything, we can just see where we are at with something.
What a letting go that is Harrison. All pretence dropped.
it really is an amazing letting go. Trying to be something we are not is exhausting. Dropping all the pretence and being honest about what we really feel and where we are at creates enormous space within and without, it is so so freeing.
Yes, the space to accept ourselves for who we are and where we are at without trying to live up to an ideal or judge ourselves for what we are not.
I read your words Alex and feel the enormity of what we do to ourselves in that judgement and in the way we lay waste to ourselves to support ideals that are made of nothing but fairy dust – a bad dream made real by our disempowerment to it.
Yes Rachel…..and when all the pretence is dropped, the tension holding hard in various parts of the body is replaced with a sense of spaciousness and joy.
Spaciousness. What an alien concept in a world designed to make us hunker down in rigidity to survive it. Yet spaciousness is more than possible when we stand tall in the essence of who we are. Look into a baby’s eyes, touch their warm, tender skin and you are looking at spaciousness and joy.
That have not learned to judge and loathe themselves yet.
Absolutely Michael, nature offers us amazing reflections when we choose to see them. Honesty is a gift that we can give ourselves and all around us. As you say, it can be uncomfortable at times, particularly initially, but truth and honesty build a foundation on which we can go forth in the world being our true selves.
and those foundations are essential for all relationships.
Honesty keeps life simple. So much energy is used trying to cover the truth.
Yes I agree Victoria, well said. I can see now how much energy we can use to try and cover up what we are feeling or what we know to be true when we don’t accept it or accept what to do with it.
So true Victoria, so much energy is used to cover up the truth. We use so much energy trying to cover up and not feel the truth that it is no wonder the world is currently experiencing an exhaustion epidemic.
Yes it makes sense , if we are continuously living against our natural rhythm and not expressing the love we are… we are exhausting ourselves.
So true Victoria, and this is because it takes far more energy to resist the love that we innately are, than to be it, live it and express it. The problem here being that a loveless way of living is far more common in our modern world and indeed the accepted ‘norm’, when in-truth there is nothing normal about living less than the everything (love) that we are. As a humanity we need to get very honest that what we live and the way that we live it is nowhere near the magnificence of what and who we truly are.
Well said Liane, for without this level of honesty we remain in the many dilemas we accept as ‘normal’.
I agree, we live a very poor carbon copy of our true selves and are also totally identified with this falsity.
Yes Liane, I can feel a great deal of sadness will come with that realisation. It is really hard to be honest about the fact that we have chosen to accept a ‘norm’ that means we deny all the love that we are.
Absolutely Liane, we do need to get very honest as we on the whole are suffering deeply and living a shadow of the magnificence of who we truly are and the love that we can be living.
Michael, I too know and love the flower honesty for its delicacy and fragrance. And when I brought honesty to my own life I grew to understand and love it, and found it has delicacy and fragrance all of its own.
Great point Victoria! It is far more draining and exhausting to cover up or resist truth, than it is to speak and express it…
So true Victoria. When I am holding onto something and unwilling to explore it, my body feels tense and it is exhausting. When I allow myself to feel and admit what is going on it is like a huge sigh in my body, creating ease, space and a feeling of contentedness. This happens even when the thing I am being honest about is not so pretty to look at.
A great relatable example Fiona, with honestly we can unlock so much of the tension we carry in our bodies creating space for harmony to return.
Honesty is something that is craved everywhere, although not everyone likes it when it’s delivered. I definitely agree with you Michael – the more I am honest with myself and others, the simpler life is and the more absolute I feel within myself.
So true Helen, honesty “is craved everywhere.” If I share something honestly about how I truly feel, people often reply “I’m so glad you said that, it’s exactly how I feel, I thought I was the only one.”
True Melinda and Helen – most people do crave honesty, and the more honest we can be with ourselves the more honest we can be with others. We have a misconception that being nice is loving yet this does nothing to evolve another, it takes a great amount of love to be prepared to tell someone the truth.
It is lovely that you have shared this Melinda. I have also notice this happens when I share how I feel. Being honest gives other people permission to drop the guard and be honest too.
Yes Helen I have found the same to be true. We cannot be honest with others if we’re not honest with ourselves. Being honest with self and others brings a simplicity to life which I’m appreciating every day.
Honesty brings simplicity for sure, yet many crave honesty but they cannot handle it when delivered.
Helen l love what you have expressed.
For me, honesty is paramount in all relationships, especially the one with ourself. How can we evolve without it?
Yes, Helen. The body craves honesty, as it knows it to the core.
Very true Helen, and Melinda makes a good point too, we often look for someone else to be honest first, which is bananas!
I have found when I am honest about myself, that people love it. I feel them surrender and not feel so on guard. They can feel I have nothing to hide and am willing to be vulnerable with them. For this reason alone, it is worth being honest, to allow another person to feel safe and that they can trust another person.
I like that Helen. Life is simpler with honesty and leaves you feeling absolute. You realise there is nothing in our false dishonest reality that has any lure like the pull to be true and loyal to love.
Yes Helen, developing a relationship with honesty allows us to develop a relationship with truth. A relationship with truth brings an unequaled absoluteness and simplicity to our lives.
…aware yes… but thinking on some level we are fooling everyone because people do not call out the dishonesty when they feel it… and so we just add to a deceptive world that only suffers from the lack of truth… craving to hear it but not prepared to speak it for fear of wanting to deal with the reactions of those that prefer to live in the pretense.
Yes Michael, nature’s reflections continue to inspire me each and every day. There is so much wisdom being consistently communicated to us. I am very appreciative of the love that is expressed through natures way.
Yes indeed the reflections the nature offers us are truly wondrous Michael. You have a beautiful way of connecting to the magic of nature and sharing your wisdom with us. Honesty, for me it is all that you have shared. It is an acceptance of feeling that we are love, which allows us to surrender to being that love and knowing that nothing can compare to this love. It is a choice to remain in connection to ourselves wherever we are and with this we then share the truth. This is our strength, the power of love, being who we are and all the qualities that are of love and sharing this with all.
I agree Carola, we have much to share with the world and much to deepen for ourselves, the more we develop this in ourselves by our commitment to our own connection and understanding the more the world benefits from this and the more we know where and what is needed in each moment. This is a totally different way of life than the one I was living before Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon’s teachings and presentations.
When we are not living the full beauty and truth we are we are in fact living a lie. I have been taking a deeper look at honesty lately and it is very revealing. Like the flower there are layers of unfolding. Being willing to be honest allows a transparency that naturally exposes areas of dishonesty, even the subtlest ones.
I love what you have share here Victoria about how being honest invites a transparency, which in turn reveals that at the core of our being we are all love, a love that we are all born with, to live together.
Now that’s honest Victoria “when we are not living the full beauty and truth we are in fact living a lie” – anything less than who we truly are, is living a lie…something for me to sit with.
Could it be any simpler or clearer or more transparent than that? “When we are not living the full beauty and truth we are we are in fact living a lie.”
…and the illusion being that we think we are getting away with it when it is only a matter of time before all the lies we live find their way back to the surface from under the carpet along with their repercussions to remind us to embrace the truth as the only way to live.
“the first thing that comes to my mind is simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity – and that is what honesty is about for me.” That is so beautiful, Michael, I love how you express this, using the little flower, ‘honesty’ as a symbol. When we are honest with ourselves and with others, what a difference there is in everything that we do and say, there is such simplicity, everything is clear to us and to others where applicable. If we are dishonest, then the complications appear, and we wonder why that happens. Having simplicity, then there is a beautiful clarity to all that we need to look at. When we are dealing with issues in our lives, unless we are honest especially with ourselves, how will we have the clarity that is needed to solve and dissolve those issues? Honesty is vital to healing for ourselves.
Honesty is great medicine, for ourselves and others.
Simply and true Michelle, is in fact universal medicine.
This is a great point Michael . . .’The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” ‘. . . . as we love to use victim-hood as an excuse to step back from being all that we are. In fact victim-hood is a great scapegoat as it allows us to blame everything or everyone for our shortcomings so that we never have to be honest with what is really happening for us.
I agree Michael – being honest is the foundation for creating trust in ourselves. A truly wonderful gift to give ourselves – and from here blossoming to full potential is a delight for all. I’ve even heard it mention on that there is a natural perfume that can be sensed when people are truly in their moment of fully claimed blooming appreciation.
Nature has a way of showing us what we are ready to see and Michael your blog is a perfect example – thank you.
Like the flower, we grow and evolve through honesty.
Beautifully said Donna and so true. As if through that honesty we discover the joy of being true to ourselves.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” – and this openness and vulnerability gives another person the opportunity to do the same or they can react from their own hurts and keep their protection up. The choice then is theirs – you’ve already made yours.
It is so true Sandra. When we choose to be open and honest with ourselves and with others we are reflecting the light of truth of which they too are from and can then choose for themselves.
Powerful line Sandra “The choice then is theirs – you’ve already made yours.”
Honesty empowers.
I agree Jeanette, a very powerful line from Sandra.
“When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable. Not only is this delicacy a wonderful beauty in itself, but the vulnerability I show is in fact incredibly powerful.”
If we own and express our feelings and the source of our behaviours from the outset, it brings clarity and intimacy to relationship, rather than having to wade around in mud until the moment of understanding is found. It does require a dropping of any pride and allowing the qualities of delicacy and vulnerability to be our expression. This level of responsibility is powerful because it means we can get on with living rather than holding back our divine capacity.
It is essential to be honest with others about what is seen and felt but sometimes things don’t need to be said or can wait until the opportunity opens for it to be shared.
Hi emmadanchin I agree. No need to verbalise everything. True expression can be knowing when not to open your mouth. Honesty to me is not blurting out everything I see or feel it is more about being me without a front, without a protection. It is not presenting a lie; but simply being me in full without adhering to any ideal of how I think I should act or what I think I should say or not say.
My experience too Kathleen, the more I surrender to my body the simpler this is becoming. As I can clearly feel when I need to speak and when I don’t.
That’s great Leigh as this takes the pressure off our relationships. We can so easily back someone into a corner by telling them how things should be when all we really have to do is show them by being that ourselves which in my experience changes everything. We are after all talking to ourselves when we are going for another.
I agree Emma, learning true discernment in this exact arena is a continuing process for me. Being able to connect to and honestly feel another is supporting me to offer what is needed. Nothing more or nothing less.
Honesty certainly does bring simplicity and strength. When I am honest with myself, the next choice is very clear. As opposed to resisting my awareness and then creating all manner of complication to hide what I had felt, only to suffer the results of the disconnection to such a degree that I eventually come back to the honesty I felt in the first place. It is MUCH simpler to commit to honesty as a way of living.
So true Ariana, and often being nice and smiling through our teeth when we really do not feel to falls into this category . . . as a result our bodies pay with the stress of being other than we what we feel at the time.
The seemingly modest flower ‘honesty’ with its fragile little flower petals grows seeds that you wouldn’t expect. They are huge fruits and there’s so many of them, until they burst and spread. Like with honesty, if we allow.
Without honesty I feel like a fake flower, standing hard and stiff without a realness. Flowers don’t hide away but blossom when needed and they close and rest at the end of the day… there is so much we can learn from nature. Honesty, like a flower, expresses it self in full and you get to see what is truly going on.
“Without honesty I feel like a fake flower, standing hard and stiff without a realness.” Aimee this is exactly how I feel whenever I choose to turn my back on honesty. And I love the fact that with honesty you get to know what is going on. Ideally we need a one unified truth, however honesty allows us to keep unfolding to that truth. Without the honesty in relationships we end up stumbling along in blindness.
Honesty brings simplicity, strength, delicacy and responsibility. As I read this blog thoughts came in of not being honest or that somehow I am a lesser person for not being honest – but what are our pictures of being honest? For me it used to be about admitting everything that was wrong about me. This is now changing to be about being with my body and to the best of my ability communicating what I am feeling with bias or judgement. A work in progress but one that feels less suffocating than the need to be constantly bringing out my dirty laundry!
Dear Leigh Matson,
This is very familiar to me. The thing is “bringing out our dirty laundry” never brought simplicity to my life. A very telling factor in how honesty has been misconstrued in our world. Speaking from the honesty of the body is entirely different, and whilst it can seem difficult at first (my experience) it brings forward so much that needs to be discussed and a simplicity becomes evident during this process.
So true Leigh.
All we ever focus on then is how there is seemingly dirty laundry everywhere but thats because we keep producing it and focusing on it! I am still navigating my way and building the relationship with my body and it’s honesty. What I am finding is that the more appreciation I express the stronger this connection becomes. I am more willing to listen to the body because it does not naturally want to focus on everything that is wrong but the mind will always try to scramble to find something wrong. Everything and anything just don’t focus on the fact that there’s nothing wrong, only truth below the eyebrows.
Absolutely well said Ariana, not only has it effect on our minds, but our whole body. When truth is denied, not further pure flow can continue through our bodies. We can choose to be more honest and expose whatever we have hidden for so long. As you say, it is worth it by the quality of clarity is all that makes us truly move forward in life.
Yet simplicity might seem only a small factor in life, it is actually from absolute grand and big importance. It is not small. We are coming from being at times very dishonest and protective of our choices.. Simplicity then is: to unravel the dishonesty in mankind, is to become honest again and hold not back on it. This is key to unravel all the hurts and protections we might have used in life to survive, whilst in fact they were never truly supporting us to be who we are.
“I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.” This is a well needed “ouch”.
Another beautiful and powerful article Michael Kremer inspired by the amazing reflections nature consistently brings to us. Thank you!
I too have observed that being honest and open with others, and sharing our vulnerability with them, can allow people to feel more at ease with themselves, which then allows them to let their guard down and be part of that openness.
Yes this is so Eleanor. When we are open people can feel it. And the more honest we are with others the more honest they can be with us. It shows how we are always measuring each other and it just takes one to stop the measuring game and be real from the start for everyone to relax and be themselves.
I love reading about all the observation and reflections that you get from nature Michael. Thank you for sharing this magic of God that you see in the world.
‘The strength that comes from this is such a different reflection to the world than the small anxious version of me that said to the world “I am a victim, come and bully me, because then I can lament and hide away from all I do not want to take responsibility for.”’ Gosh I can relate to that small anxious version that you describe. And I can also see now that going in to the small anxious way is just a game of playing small and not living up to the potential that I truly have so not to take on the responsibility that comes with living in my glory. Bit of a cop out really!!
I recently learnt in biology class about how a plant has to continuously transpire water up to the leaves in order to prevent wilting, because the water is then released out through the leaves as vapour. Honesty works the same way – we must be consistently honest with ourselves, and express this all the time with/to everyone else. It’s that simple.
A great reflection with honesty Susie – as with the leaves, so with honesty, consistently having to be expressed for us to evolve and nurture ourselves at a deeper level.
Beautifully said Susie. As is learned by nature and brought to us through the simplicity of a plant, we are forever able to be honest with ourselves to make sure we grow, just like the plant who transpires water to prevent wilting.. We can so prevent our roots from disregard and pain. Thank you Susie for this brilliant example.
Well said Danna, and in order to continuously respire and prevent wilting we need to let the water/honesty out and express it. It is a two part commitment – without being honest with ourselves we cannot express honesty with others, but if we are not honest with others then issues bottle up and stop the flow.
Well said Susie, only issues can bottle up if we do not express.
Love that little analogy Susie W, thanks!
What a great teacher Nature is. Our awareness and observation of it gifts us with more awareness and more to observe and feel .
Well said Susie, only issues can bottle up if we do not express.
I love what you share here Michael about being honest with yourself first then allows you to trust yourself and what you are feeling and the way in which this flows onto others.
Dear Michael,
I am beginning to feel the power in honesty, and it is exactly as you share. “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” It is taking some getting used to, the feeling of uncomfortableness that honesty brings, at first, but I am beginning to love the beauty that honesty is bringing into my life.
I agree Leigh, many of us say we withhold our honesty for fear of hurting another. I feel this is irresponsible and ends up doing more damage in the long run. It also shows arrogance as we sympathise with another, thinking they will not be able to handle our honesty.
Irene that’s very direct and your honesty is cutting the illusions of thinking we are being nice and considerate, not wanting to hurt another’s feelings. Yes arrogance is also a good call as it means we are judging another in not being able to handle the truth.
It is a very clever trick you have exposed in yourself, Michael, and is one that is common in so many of us, myself being one of them. Thank you for sharing the exposure so beautifully.
I love honesty – it makes me want to dance – I would much rather someone / people were honest than be nice to me and for that matter themselves. If we only knew ( which we do) truly how powerful honesty is in our body. When we lie our whole body is contracted, condensed and tense, basically shutting down our light, by simply being honest we create more space in our body – which offers us the opportunity to feel truth and expand.
I completely agree Gyl, I MUCH prefer honesty over “niceness” or any other form of dishonesty any day. I also completely agree that honesty prepares the ground for truth, expansion and a re-connection to our essence where we find everything we have ever truly wanted and already are!!!
There is nothing worse than niceness to cover deception. It is an enormous disservice to both the receiver and themselves as we are left to navigate the way forward based on a false foundation… adding to the seemingly perpetual mess of a world not prepared to get honest about the mess it is truly in.
Yes Gyl so true, honesty does create a space in the body where the light can shine through and we can reconnect to the truth we are. Beautifully said.
Honesty leaves clarity and openness. Dishonesty closes doors.
And we lose ourselves in the illusion of our own lies.
Honesty is one of my favourite qualities I especially love how it can cut through any falsnes or pretending that is at play – it’s much harder to wear a mask when your honest enough to know you are wearing one.
True true.
I am always fascinated by the relief that comes with honesty, even if there is a reaction at first, it is always a blessing that people seem to be craving in such a seemingly dishonest world. … and what is possible when people realise they can drop their protection for a moment and be truly honest, not needing to hold up their illusions or masks in that moment, is deeply beautiful.
I love the fact that these two words go naturally hand in hand “delicacy and strength”. There is absolute divine power and strength in delicacy and fragility.
I love your wordplay with the words delicacy, strength and fragility in such a delicate and powerful way.
I believe being honest is the fundamental basic of responsibility, and yes Michael I think nature has a magical way of showing us what we need to know.
Absolutely Joe, we have a fundamental responsibility to be honest… and work together with that, rather than waste our time navigating our way through any presented illusion. In this way we can grow from the lessons that develop and expose what needs to be addressed.
The world could do with more honesty and less glamour.
Indeed but what I feel is important to be accessed is the timing of our honesty, as I have recently discovered, if there is not the care in the timing then what are we being honest for, relief or evolution?
Agree Sarah, there is a difference between honesty and dumping our emotions onto others. Honesty is honesty, timing has nothing to do with it.
I agree that there is a difference between honesty and dumping your emotions on people but to me timing is a huge part of honesty.
An example of this is:
I can have the most important thing to tell one of my kids and it can be true and honest and even clear, if I then deliver that honesty at a time that does not support them to be able to actually hear it, then it doesn’t matter how honest I am being as I have not taken it to the next level of care. So yes there is honesty but it is not evolutionary as I have been self focused in my timing and not all encompassing of how and when I deliver it.
Sarah, I suspect – and correct me if I am wrong – what you are referring to is the difference between being honest because it feels good to be “honest”, and the honesty of being devoted to being willing to look at what is truly going on. For example, if feels good to say how you honestly feel about someone or something. You feel angry, and so you express it. And yes, we tend to call that being honest. But is it? Yes, you may think you are being “honest” about how you feel, but are you getting honest with why you feel that way? For that is fundamentally different. “I feel angry because that person hurt me. Actually, I am not really angry, just hurt. I don’t like feeling hurt and fragile, which is why I actually got angry instead. The truth is, I am more fragile to abuse than I like to admit. It really hurts.” Now that is getting more honest with what is truly going on.
The point is if we were truly honest about how we felt, and why we felt the way we do, there would be less reaction in the world. And it is our reaction to life that ultimately supports the very world we react to.
Awesome point Sarah.
Glad you were ready for it! Timing is key…hehehe
Haha it’s absolutely everything, and can be within every single moment if we hold our strength and power!
Honesty in an exchange, a friendship or relationship builds bridges and supports us to claim who we are, it is something that allows us to trust others. How beautiful you have found it reflected in a flower in nature and from that has come this sharing of something we all value in our lives with others.
Thank you Michael this inspires me to be more aware and careful with my honesty in every moment; a fine tuning of every moment.
Honesty is a most amazing thing, it is indeed not always comfortable to be in, but it gives a joy and strength that is unmeasurable. It is so amazing that true nature we get this reflection of the beautiful flower called honesty. I feel being honest always gives us the opportunity to discard that what is not us, and give us the opportunity to shine our beauty.
It is easy to identify… with its large heart shaped leaves.
I fully agree what a marvellous reflection nature is and can be when we truly observe and Michael you are a master in observing what nature has to say.
And I love what you bring here ‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity.’ I wonder do I truly embrace being totally honest? I know I am making big steps in being honest and telling the truth but while reading your words I could feel there is more to open up to and to be in the simplicity consistently.
The same for me Annelies, I too feel the pull in Michael’s writting to deepen my consistency and commitment to giving voice to the honesty I have already felt.
Yes Annelies I have felt a tension come over my body as I read Michaels words… I know I am holding back honesty. I also asked myself the question ‘do I truly embrace honesty or am I still worried about upsetting another, still not willing to say what I feel?’
I know how simple life can be so why am I choosing to complicate in this area and what am I hiding? I will be pondering this deeply as Michael has touched me with his willingness to be honest, open in establish trust for himself and others which opens up the relationship. I value this reflection as a moment to get to honesty.
Thank you for sharing Michael, I love how nature can reflect to us so many amazing qualities that we equally hold within ourselves, yet often forget about or do not give them the time they deserve.
Yes thank you Michael. It just shows how much we can feel from reflections in our life.
Indeed James, truth is all around us if we are but open to seeing it.
I could not agree more Kate, it is us who put the blinkers on, truth is always there to be seen and felt.
Michael, another beautiful reflection you have given us from nature and how our own nature of honesty shines and inspires all who are in contact with us, simple, thank you.
This is lovely Michael.
In New Zealand we also have a plant called honesty and its beauty lies not in its fragrance because this particular plant’s flowers don’t really have one, but in its amazing seed pods. They are flat and oval in shape, very light in weight and they become more and more transparent as they age so that you can see the seeds inside. They are very delicate but immensely strong, very beautiful.
When I am honest I am transparent, all of me, my innermost can be seen and felt. The seeds offering more honesty, openness, delicacy, and strength. Nature reflecting beauty in every moment, the beauty that is within us all.
Jeanette,
I love this sentence in your comment. “When I am honest I am transparent, all of me, my innermost can be seen and felt.”
I agree Leigh, this feels wonderful. No masks. Just us.
Yes very beautiful Jeanette – the transparency that others feel and see when we are honest.
I can see how some do not like to be this vulnerable and fragile at times in expressing truth, myself included, but how needed it is to support ourselves and those we are with for true evolution.
I love that too Doug, honesty is to be transparent. And if we have no need to hide anything it gives us the space to discover who we truly are.
Hi Jeanette and Michael, you are both sharing beautiful examples of how nature is constantly reflecting to us aspects of ourselves.
What an awesome reflection on honesty – I love the idea of transparency in honesty as in the process we are very open to another and can be felt. Nature is a patient but honest teacher.
I love the magic of God that it is always there and can so easily be felt and seen particularly in nature when we open up to it. As we choose to connect deeper with our inner most, we see the outer world reflecting to us all the lessons that we are ready for.
That’s a lovely analogy that this plant and the seed pods hold for us Jeanette “When I am honest I am transparent, all of me, my innermost can be seen and felt”. It’s a beautiful reminder for us to cherish the fragility we feel as within that there is found the potential of growth.
Thanks Michael and Jeanette, I can honestly say it was absolutely delightful to read about those two beautiful flowers this morning. There is so much we can learn from the magic of nature – I also just heard this AMAZING free audio about penguins: http://www.unimedliving.com/voice/audio-of-the-month/the-ultimate-commitment-to-life.html
Stunning Jeanette. Transparent and open we are when we start with honesty. We allow ourselves to be seen and in my experience it is in the long run appreciated.
That’s beautiful Jeannette! Sometimes we can get lost in the beauty of nature, forgetting that it is there, as you say, as a reflection of all that we are.
Thank you for this link Nicola,
I went and listened to it, and wow, it really rose my own level of commitment. It can be easy to drop the ball so to speak when things get tough. But this is something that penguins NEVER do.
They are entirely committed to life and living and care of their young.
I too have learned that “When I am totally honest and open, I feel very delicate and vulnerable.” But unlike in the past when I would have considered being vulnerable or delicate a weakness, I now can feel they have a strength, so these days when I express with honesty it comes with this strength, not the fear of upsetting the recipient that it used to. And I now know that others can feel this strength that carries the honesty, and even though it may often be hard to hear, its message cannot be denied.
I am still learning to surrender and feel my delicate and vulnerable self, and the more I do the most I feel the power of it and the strength that it brings. It is not what society deem as strong and so of course we naturally resist it in the thinking that it is not right.
‘simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity’ – a dictionary definition Michael of what honesty incorporates. The one that jumps out for me though is strength. Being completely honest, whether it’s about ourselves, or about how we feel about someone else is always felt as an enormous rock, and it’s possible to build anything on that rock… relationships, communities and societies.
Well said and equally when we are dishonest with ourselves and others, we still build but the cracks start to show and if there are too many holes, the building will begin to crumble.
We carry that dishonesty with us in our day, and it definitely creates a wobble in the foundation of everything that we do.
Yes, we do carry them with us in our day, that’s why it doesn’t make sense to hide our dishonesty, as it is impossible to ever truly escape it, as deep down we always know the truth.
True Simon, honestly provides the most solid foundation from which to develop ourselves and our relationships with everyone.
Thank you Michael. I love how well you have captured the essence of honesty. When we are honest it feels like a breath of fresh air or as you describe a beautiful fragrant flower. Honesty can bring us to a point of truth.
I agree honesty feels like a breath of fresh air and can bring us to a point of truth. It is like the door to truth that we are either willing to open or not.
I agree Esther and this feels so lovely..”If I am honest, I create the basis for trust in myself and this reflects to others, allowing them to trust themselves, trust me and open up.” Honesty is about more than just me.
‘honesty feels like a breath of fresh air and can bring us to a point of truth. It is like the door to truth that we are either willing to open or not.’ Beautifully expressed Esther Andras.
So gorgeous Esther, a breath of glorious fresh and ever sweet air, that gives us another re-look at what’s truly there to see.
It really does Elizabeth, when we meet people who are honest and being themselves they feel just like breaths of fresh air.
People do feel like a breath of fresh air when they are being honest, I am often deeply touched by other people’s honesty when they open up to share surprisingly intimate things or concerns. It is so true Irena that ‘honesty is about more than just me’. I find the more honest I become the more intimate are my communications with others allowing them to also open up and it is a beautiful experience. A bit like being a bumble bee sharing the pollen on that Honesty flower of Michael’s. The outcome is we all realize we have the same feelings and we feel our equalness/oneness.
This is a beautiful blog Michael, thankyou.
Thank you Michael and Elizabeth, truth to me is a part of love, to claim the truth of who we are as a Son of God, will bring a “simplicity, delicacy and strength combined with absolute clarity” and this is pure gold!
For more about truth go to;
http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/Unimedpedia-Truth.html
Yes Elizabeth, honesty is like a breath of fresh air – it is real, it is beautiful and incredibly simple and, as you so aptly put it “Honesty can bring us to a point of truth”.
‘Honesty can bring us to a point of truth.’ – yep, Elizabeth. This is honesty’s purpose, to reach at truth is when you don’t have to mention the heavenly fragrance anymore, because you are it, you live in it and you express nothing but it.
I agree Elizabeth. Honesty does feel like a breath of fresh air, and is so simple when we choose it. We can put so much in the way to not be honest which can be so harming to everyone as it means we just end up playing games with each other.
Thank you for highlighting this Elizabeth, as for me there is a big difference between honesty and truth that is often looked over.
True Sarah, honesty is a stepping stone on the path to truth.
Wise words my friend…
The wisdom of experience my friend 😉
Yes indeed my friend, a wisdom and experience that we all hold inside us somewhere, if we are still enough to allow the access.
Absolutely agree on both accounts Sarah, that we each hold that wisdom and experience within us equally, and that there is no great search or journey or series of tests we must pass to access it – surrendering to stillness is the key.
So very true Hannah. It’s funny really because we are taught that we have to ‘make something of ourselves’ but never that to simply appreciate ourselves, if we do, we will then discover that we are already made and there is nothing to do but reconnect to our own amazingness!!
Love that Sarah, we are indeed “already made” and there can be a bit of an “ouch” when we finally clock this because we have to feel all the time, effort and angst that went into “making something of ourselves” was not needed.
Exactly and to avoid the “ouch” and feel this discomfort of it, we often just try to keep running but in the end it always catches up with us. The funny part is, it’s not that bad if you just allow yourself to feel it.
Absolutely Sarah, our idea of it is often so much worse than the reality.
Absolutely Hannah, I am slowly learning this in my daily life.
It is not the speed of our learning that is important, but our commitment to continue to grow and develop 🙂
A wise and timely message, as sometimes I can get caught in the time paradigm and I can use it as a way of being destructive, instead of focusing on my commitment to growth and self development.
Yes Sarah, when we change our relationship with time, it changes everything.
This is true as time is a science we are still yet to fully understand.
I know a super cool guy who seems to have a pretty good grip on the whole science of time though – he even wrote a book about it… “Time, Space and All of us” – you should check it out: https://www.universalmedicine.com.au/node/409
Funny you mention that as I just started reading “Time, Space and All of us” yesterday then today I woke to this great recommendation from you!! I have obviously only just started the book but so far it’s amazing, gold on every page.
Awesome Sarah, we are definitely on the same page 🙂 I also found this article on a health and well-being site that is totally on point – http://www.unimedliving.com/serge-benhayon/the-presenter/time-and-our-perception-of-it.html
Thanks for the hot tip, great article, I will be sharing this with others. This is one of many awesome things to read on http://www.unimedliving.com as it really does have heaps to offer the world.
True Sarah, it’s unlike any other health and wellbeing website I’ve come across.
That’s because Universal Medicine is leading the way globally in true health and well-being.
I agree Elizabeth, all too often I have worried, stressed myself and felt unease at what I might say in this or that situation leaving me full of anxiety and uncertainty and yet all that is ever needed is the truth, just to be honest and this takes all of the unsteadiness away.
I recognize this, aminatumi, all the concerns coming from my head and making my body feel anxious and not up for the task ahead, whereas my body knows exactly what to say and how spacious honesty is and one step deeper, the truth, feels.
“When we are honest it feels like a breath of fresh air or as you describe a beautiful fragrant flower.” Such an apt way of describing honesty, Elizabeth, I love it.
With the gentle opening of petals comes the fragrance of Truth.
Michael, this is a very beautiful article, this feels really true ‘Being totally honest regardless of how confronting this may be for me or another person, will bring the most amazing simplicity’, I find this very supportive as at the moment I am working on being honest, I can feel in the past I have not wanted to upset anyone and so have not said anything that may cause a reaction in another, this doesn’t feel good in my body whereas when I am honest I feel amazing, so to read this article is very confirming and supportive, thank you.
I too, Rebecca have always avoided upsetting others by not expressing how I feel about something that may have upset me. I have always avoided bringing up reactions in people. But I have now started to express honestly to others, so long as I do it lovingly, then it is not my problem if they react. Since I have started to do this, I find that I no longer waste my energy in my own reactions and no longer does resentment simmer in my own body. If we do not express lovingly, but honestly, then we can cause much harm to ourselves in holding back from expressing.
I do feel the key here is love, expressing in a loving way to call out those things we do not feel are right or true in how we or others are behaving.. With no judgment just an offering to be shown something that could and can be quite healing for all involved. One, for the person expressing and two for the person hearing it.
Much of what you have written resonates with me too Rebecca – not wanting to rock the boat or say something that might upset another – all done with the underlying need for recognition of being a nice person. But would I rather be seen as nice than be honest? I feel the answer is a no-brainer, of course I want to be honest, but am I honest? No, not all the time. So wanting something and being something are opposite ends of the spectrum although wanting something can also inspire us to make changes to become it. So, I’m off to practice being honest all the time, not just when it makes me look good.
Great comment Rebecca. Ultimately, holding back being honest or expressing our feelings because we are concerned it could be confronting for others is an illusion because by the expression of honesty everyone is allowed the space to feel. As you mentioned, honesty is wonderful for the body, and it is our body so we should be honest and feel wonderful all the time, why not?
Absolutely harryjwhite. When we hold back honesty, not only does it harm us but it also does not allow others to feel this honesty and work through their own process with it. Therefore it also ultimately harms others when we hold back honesty.
Honesty does feel amazing Rebecca and I love Michael’s realization about the simplicity that honesty brings. I know for me that at times honesty has felt confronting but the clarity and simplicity is well worth any discomfort experienced in the process.
I’ve held back a lot too Rebecca, for fear of upsetting others but I have found that the holding back actually causes much more harm – both to myself and my relationship with the other person than I imagined speaking up honestly would. When I am honest, not only does it feel much lighter and freer in my own body, but others often appreciate the honesty and do not react in the way I thought they would.
Very true Hannah, holding back you is the ‘pits’. We all have a unique expression and what has held me back from expressing this is the lack of appreciation for my qualities. When you start to claim your qualities you realise the vast array of qualities you actually have – they come to you when you commit to you and who you are. It is a part of living to value and appreciate what you bring. I was brought up to be recognised for what I did not value myself and feel it in my body. There is a contrast in difference one is real and truth, and one is fake and endlessly looking outside of yourself.
Yes Rik, unfortunately it is the norm to value ourselves based on what we do, rather than who we are and the quality that we naturally bring to the world. But just because it is the norm, it does not make it right or true and thankfully there are many people now cottoning on to the fact that there is another way of being outside these accepted norms.
Michael, honesty is indeed very simple, but yet very, very powerful… For me, it’s been the first step in healing many of my hurts, and in learning to truly trust not only myself, but others. In being honest, it’s also enabled me to take responsibility for my choices and has provided the opportunity to make many more new ones!
When we are honest we are polishing the diamond of who we truly are.
Beautifully said Irena – thank you. Honesty allows us to access the diamond and naturally it shines when we do. When we choose not to, we cover it with more layers of lies.
Beautiful Irena. I am working polishing this diamond!!
Love it Irena – and to live anything less is to be sold a fake.
Oh wow Irena, that is exactly it!
Beautifully said Michael and Angela. Honesty is indeed a simple and very practical step in bringing us back to our essence of Truth, Love, Joy, Harmony and Stillness.
I agree Angela, honesty is very powerful. It seems that the person that is most difficult to be honest with is ourselves. I know that I have created many little tricks to prevent myself from seeing the truth of situations at times. I am uncovering these trick by trick and bringing honesty to each situation. This allows me to see the truth of why I react in certain ways at times.
Absolutely, the tricks and the images that we put on ourselves undermine us and lace us with untruths about ourselves and the world.