A vegan found himself one day
On an island far away.
How? Nobody can explain,
I’m sure it won’t occur again.
He looked around and saw, oh wow!
With him was a big fat sow.
Now he knew this was a trap,
Just some stupid non-vegan crap.
Even though she was so big,
He was supposed to eat the pig.
He noticed that she was well-fed,
So make friends with her instead.
He built a shelter, though quite crude
While she made sure they both had food.
He even taught her how to play
games like chess to pass the day
Is that a wild exaggeration?
No crazier than the situation!

Introduction

Veganism is not simply a diet. It encompasses a set of ethical principles that seek to reduce harm and exploitation of animals and promote sustainability. Unfortunately for us vegans, many non-vegans don’t seem to be aware of this fact. You may find yourself facing questions from non-vegans that range from genuine curiosity to downright absurdity.

Questions posed out of curiosity are like gold. They offer you an opportunity to educate people and further the cause of veganism. Unfortunately, such golden questions are by no means the only ones we face. If only all questions posed to vegans were intelligent (and respectful…

But I have a question of my own: how is it that we poor vegans keep getting stuck on islands? It seems like a huge coincidence to me… and on top of that, we always seem to have a pig with us too? Is there some kind of cheap holiday package for vegans that I don’t know about? If there is, please let me know about it. If it is cheap enough, I might just take my chances…

We vegans are often painted as unrealistic sentimentalists or even portrayed as fanatics. This form of stigma perpetuates negative stereotypes and contributes to the marginalization of vegans within society. Similarly, online comments in digital media and certain interviewers on TV (ahem, Piers) have shown aggression toward vegans. We would do well to equip ourselves with the right attitude as well as some intelligent answers.

Non-vegans seem to feel threatened by us. Are they concerned we will convert them to veganism? (oh the horror!) Or recruit them into some secret doomsday cult? Do they feel guilty? (they damn well should!). Whatever the reason, some of them get uncomfortable around vegans. This spurs them on to ask questions that are an obvious but clumsy ploy to try to make us look stupid. These questions often seem to have no connection at all to reality, but then I suppose that is to be expected.

A common misconception is that all vegans are extreme fanatics and unrealistic sentimentalists. This thoughtless stereotype undermines the genuine reasons behind our ethical choices. More significantly, it fails to acknowledge the extreme cruelty and environmental impact of animal agriculture. To dismantle these misconceptions, it is crucial for us as vegans to approach such interactions with patience, understanding, and humor. If we don’t, we will soon feel stressed out by the mere fact that we have chosen to be vegan.

How to React to Non-vegan Ridiculousness

There is a nasty tendency amongst non-vegans to come up with theoretical scenarios to test your resolve as a vegan. One of the most common (and ridiculous) ones is: “What would you do if you were stuck on a desert island with a pig?” If you haven’t been asked it yet, be prepared. It is coming! Even vegetarians are not immune to this one.

It makes a difference who is asking, so I suggest you ought to have a selection of possible responses ready. The answers below are divided up according to the kind of approach you might want to take.

1. Quick Shutdowns: You might choose to shut the discussion down without delay. Irony, sarcasm, or derision work well for that purpose. Probably not a good approach if it’s your boss asking…or maybe it is. I leave that to you to decide.
2. Get Real Short-circuit the looming discussion by simply bringing them back to reality. After all, you are NOT on a desert island and there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that you ever will be… and there is no pig in your vicinity either. 
3. Turn the Tables. Ask THEM what THEY would do and play through the scenario with them to highlight just how ridiculous it is.

What to say when asked about being stuck on an island with a pig:

Quick Shutdowns (Take your pick)

Irony:

Example: Wow, what a clever question. I’ve never heard that before.

Sarcasm:

Example: Really? Do you want to go there?

Derision:

Example: Hahahahaha! (Just laugh)

Get real: (There are plenty of possibilities here)

• You are obviously looking for a particular answer. What answer would you like me to give you and why?
• You are aware that is never going to happen, right?
• I really don’t know. I guess I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it.
• Why are you asking me a hypothetical question that has no relevance at all in modern life?
• Have you ever heard of someone who was cast away on a remote island with a pig … and survived until they were rescued by killing it and eating its flesh?

Turn the Tables: If you prefer to take the conversation further and highlight the idiocy, you can turn the tables on them, something like this:

What would YOU do if it were YOU on the island with a pig?
(Possible answer: “Kill the pig and eat it”)

How would you kill it?
(Possible answers: “Slit its throat with a sharpened stone”) (or: “Hit it over the head with a big rock while it’s asleep”)

Pigs have a far more developed survival mechanism than you do. It will no doubt hear you coming and be on guard. If you get too close, or if you wound it, it will attack you. You do NOT want to be attacked by a frightened or angry pig. It will charge at you, knock you down and tear open your abdomen. Even baby pigs have that instinct. See the video below.

You will probably die of your wounds and it will feast on you instead. Even if you get away with a slight injury, that could prove fatal. Pigs have never been taught to clean their teeth and since you will have no medical supplies, your wounds will go septic. You will most likely succumb to blood poisoning and/or gangrene. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? All for the sake of some pork?

(Possible response: “It isn’t a wild pig”)

Oh? So then it must have arrived with you. In what form of transport would you be traveling with a pig?
(Possible answer: “A plane that crashed”)

They don’t carry pigs on planes so that’s impossible. It must have been there already, so it can’t be tame. Even if it once was tame, it will have gone feral.

(Or: “A shipwreck”)
You would have been traveling on a yacht, or a passenger ship. Since neither is used to transport pigs, it must have been on the island already. That means it is wild or has gone feral, so it is just as likely to kill you as you are to kill it.

But for the sake of argument, let’s assume you did end up on an island along with a pig and that you somehow succeeded in killing it without injury to yourself. How long would it take for its flesh to go putrid in the tropical heat? Recommendations are that meat should not be left unrefrigerated for more than an hour when the temperature is around 40 deg C. Some strains of e-coli can double in number every 4 minutes at such temperatures.

(Possible response: “I would cook it”.)

Oh, so you would cook it? That will make it last longer, but how much longer? Cooked meat should not be left out for more than 2 hours at 40 deg C. How much meat can you eat before it becomes toxic? Would you be able to resist the hunger cravings telling you to eat some more of it after a day or two? God knows what bugs will be multiplying in your gut. You could soon be seriously ill from listeriosis, or gastroenteritis. With no medication available, you would die very quickly, possibly from something as simple as dehydration.

But, once more, for the sake of argument, let’s say you survived the gastrointestinal pitfalls. You have to ask yourself whether eating it had any significant positive effect on your ability to survive until rescued or whether getting sick from eating it was more of a hindrance than a help.

What would I do?

I would tame it as soon as possible. That pig is your greatest asset on the island. It has an acute sense of smell which it will use to find food you would never even suspect was there. All you have to do is follow it and see what it eats. It can show you what plants are good to eat and it can find edibles underground, while you can climb trees to get fruit. You would make a great team.

The second greatest challenge you will face alone on a remote island is loneliness. (see how Tom Hanks [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hanks] made himself a companion by painting a face on a ball and calling it Wilson in the movie Cast Away [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_Away]). Since a pig is even more intelligent than a dog, in addition to helping you find food, it would make a marvelous companion for you. Ok, it can’t play chess, but it would certainly be better than having no company at all.

We all want to find love; in fact you could say we are in love with love. Without love, we are little more than empty vessels. Our problem is that we don’t fully understand what love is, let alone how it works. We seek it outside of ourselves in the form of interpersonal relationships and romantic love. Romantic love can be addictive, but it is not pure love, it is a veritable cocktail of emotions. It can have any combination of the following:- love, lust, attachment, nervous excitement, jealousy and co-dependency. It may also be further affected by a number of personal issues, including control issues, mistrust, abusive behavior, deception and so forth. The end-result is that we experience love as a curious mixture of joy, frustration, excitement, confusion and suffering.

Romantic Love Ends In Pain

Romantic love is doomed from the start. It is doomed to end in pain. At best, it can last only until one partner dies, leaving the other grief-stricken. In the majority of cases, it is much more short-lived than that; furthermore, its ending usually proves to be a deeply painful experience for one or both parties. Getting married is no cure-all. Just look at the proportion of divorces compared to the number of lifelong marriages. There are those who have lost faith in marriage altogether. They prefer to content themselves with affairs, yet affairs have even less permanence than marriages. You are free to pin all your hopes on human love, but be prepared for a bumpy ride.

Real Love Does Exist

The (very) good news is that there is an absolutely pure and permanent form of Love available to you. You may call it Real Love, True Love, Higher Love, Spiritual Love, Soul Love, Universal Love, Divine Love or whatever takes your fancy. Once you experience it, there is no going back. It is so far superior to human love, there is just no comparison. In fact, the part of human love that we find so irresistible, is the aspect of Higher Love which shines dimly through it. Unfortunately, other thoughts, feelings and agendas get in the way and make it merely a poor reflection of Divine Love.

Paramhanse Yogananda writes:- The greatest romance you can have is the romance with God. Human love goes away in a little while, but your romance with God is eternal. 
http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/spiritual.aspx?id=4111

To Love Or To Be Loved?

The first myth you need to release is that you need an intimate relationship with some or other particular special someone (soul mate) in order to experience true love. An even more insidious and disempowering belief is that you have to be loved by someone before you can experience true love. Love is something that you feel within yourself. It does not require reciprocity in order to exist. It is entirely possible (and not uncommon) to be adored by someone, but unless you love them, it remains an empty and unsatisfactory experience.

If you could feel even a particle of divine love, so great would be your joy—so overpowering—you could not contain it – Paramhansa Yogananda http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/spiritual.aspx?id=4111

You Are Already Truly Loved

No matter who you are or what your circumstances, you are not merely connected to True Love, your very existence depends upon it. It is omnipresent. You cannot find any place where it is absent; in fact, the creation itself is manifested via True Love. From this, you can conclude that I am referring to something far greater than romantic love. I am in fact referring to Divine Love. “That is all well and good” I hear you say, “but how does that help me find true love?” Let’s see if I can help you by getting more practical about it.

We live that we may learn to love; we love that we may learn to live. No other lesson is required of man. From The Book of Mirdad, by Mikhail Naimy

If True Love is Everywhere, Why Don’t I Experience It?

If, as just stated, Love is omnipresent, why don’t we all experience it all the time? The answer lies with the nature of our minds. Has your mind ever stopped thinking? There are people who are afraid they will die if they stop thinking. Your mind is always busy talking, shouting, singing, crying, worrying, criticizing, complaining, fearing, craving, worrying, distracting itself, suffering and all the other things it does throughout your life. It believes it is in sole charge of your life and tries its level best to direct every aspect of it. It is never still long enough for you to experience your True Self and the Love that is with you at all times.

Where Can I Find True Love?

True Love is always right there, within you. It has a deep, intimate relationship with you, but until you awaken, it remains a one-sided relationship. It is so close to you that you look right past it. You are too busy looking outside for love while it lies within you all the time. It is always waiting for you, but you remain too busy with other things. Fortunately, it is infinitely patient.

How Hard Is It To Access Higher Love? How Long Will It Take?

The difficulty and time it takes, will depend on many factors. For some, Higher Love is fairly easy to access. These people seem to have a head start. Love is a part of their make-up and with only a little effort they can rekindle their relationship with Higher Love. It is not an accident of birth though. These people have fewer hangups and barriers in place between themselves and Truth. For others, it can be years away, decades away, or even most of a lifetime away. There are a great many factors that can influence your outcome. Some are within your control and some not. A major factor is how hungry you are for it and another, how consistently you work at unlocking it.

How Can You Contact Real Love?

So, how can you go about making contact with Real Love in your life? There are two main aspects you need to focus upon:-

1) A Spiritual Practice

You need to adopt a consistent, effective daily spiritual practice. There are many practices you could use to try to achieve this, but the two which are most effective are meditation and heartfelt prayer. We all come from different religious backgrounds, so naturally, different things will appeal to us in this sphere of life. I have no intention of trying to steer you towards a particular path or organization. It is better that you conduct your own search. Put aside prejudice and follow your heart, but be sensible about it. Whatever you decide upon, you should be absolutely certain it is a) the Truth, to the best of your understanding; b) it fills you with Joy, always and c) it does not take away your free choice.

The greatest love you can experience is in communion with God in meditation. The love between the soul and Spirit is the perfect love, the love you are all seeking. When you meditate, love grows.Paramhansa Yogananda http://www.yogananda-srf.org/tmp/spiritual.aspx?id=4111

Warning! There are many mistakes you can make on a spiritual path. A common error is to believe that once you have found your spiritual path everything else is automatically taken care of. This is a trap that anyone can easily fall into (I fell into it myself – for far too long). “Surrender” is a very seductive concept, but it does not mean what most people want it to mean. “Leaving everything in the hands of the Divine” may sound like a very spiritual thing to do, but if it is nothing more than abdicating your responsibilities, it will most certainly slow you down. It will impact negatively on your nearest and dearest and tragically, it will postpone your date with Divine Love.

Important Advice

The best advice I can give you, is “use your common sense at all times”. Don’t allow yourself to be seduced by ideas and concepts that provide you with emotional excitement in the short term, but are ultimately not in your best interests. Don’t allow your mind to trick you by giving skewed interpretations to sayings and texts either. There is no free ride – and if you think you have found a path that absolves you of all responsibility, you may waste a great deal of time as a result. Worse still, your attitude and behavior could cause pain to those closest to you.

Should I Shout It From The Rooftops?

When you find your Truth, it will seem so obviously true that you will most likely be keen to tell all and sundry about it. Don’t be surprised if your nearest and dearestg don’t react with the kind of enthusiasm you expect. Your path and your time may have arrived, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to your friends and family. Everyone has their own path – and their own time too. You have something in your life that is precious beyond measure, but to try share it with someone who isn’t receptive is an unpleasant experience. You may even feel that you have somehow disrespected or cheapened it by talking to someone who doesnt respect it as you do..

Practice Discernment

Certainly, it would be very selfish to refuse to share your Truth with a sincere seeker of Truth, but it is better to let others draw it out of you than to push it upon them. Rather wait until you are asked, and even when asked, you need to distinguish between those with a deep desire for Truth and those who are merely curious. Your faith is far too precious to be the subject of mere curiosity or a topic of polite conversation.

No Doctrine Can Guarantee Your Success

The fact that you have found your Path is wonderful indeed, but that alone is insufficient to bring you spiritual success. You need to practice what your Path preaches at a bare minimum, but even with the best of intentions and the most dedicated practice, you will not manifest True Love in your life without taking further steps. In fact, when you dedicate yourself to personal growth, you can access True Spiritual Love without ever following a formal Path, philosophy or religion. By the same token, one immersed in doctrine but unwilling to grow can pass their whole life without ever so much as getting a glimpse of Divine Love.

So How Can You Manifest True Love?

To manifest Real, True Love in your life, simply remove the barriers you have unwittingly created. Another way of putting this, is that you need to release all of the habitual thoughts, beliefs and emotions that drag you down. Your vibrational frequency needs to rise. The clearer you are, the more it can rise. The more it rises, the more you will experience Divine Love.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
~Rumi

What Is Vibrational Frequency?

If vibrational frequency is an unfamiliar concept to you, then think of it like this. Everything you think about affects how you feel. The emotions you feel have various effects on you. They may be uplifting, neutral or depressing. To understand it better, contemplate on the following two lists of words. Think about them and see how each makes you feel. List 1:-Hopelessness, fear, depression, anger, grief, blame, doubt, confusion, greed, shame. Now contemplate on list 2:- Joy, forgiveness, clarity, Peace, gratitude, confidence, healing, compassion, Wisdom, Love. Which set brings you closer to Love and which takes you further away? Some will say that emotions are merely reactions and they have no control over them. That is only one part of a bigger picture.

How Do You Habitually Make Yourself Feel?

The difference in how you feel when you think about those two lists should be fairly noticeable. Those things that uplift you raise your vinrational frequency and those that make you feel unhappy, tense or fearful lower it. So ask yourself “What do I mostly think about? What do I talk about, read about, listen to, watch? How do these habitual behaviors make me feel? Do they uplift me and fill me with Love, Joy, confidence and optimism? Or do they drag me down and fill me with unhappiness, self-doubt, frustration and pessimism?” You uplift yourself or drag yourself down purely by the things you focus upon. The good news is that you can change your entire experience of life by simply changing what you focus upon.

Breaking A Negative Loop

It can happen, particularly when you are upset, that you find yourself caught up in thoughts and feelings which seem to take over your thinking. They just run through your mind over and over, like a computer with faulty code trapped in a loop. When that happens to you, you need to take a step back and come to an understanding of what lies behind this pattern. (there is always a reason) If you cannot get out of the loop by yourself, you could definitely benefit from working with someone who is an experienced expert in the process (Ahem! Someone like me.)

The Real Reason Is Seldom What It Looks Like

There usually is some obvious outer cause for your upset, but what is going on is deeper than that. What it boils down to is that you are reacting to circumstances strongly and in an unhelpful manner. Each time you encounter a similar situation, you probably react the same way. When you feel helpless to react any other way, that is a sure sign that you are “running a program”.

What Does “Running a Program” Mean?

This is a pattern that YOU have established, for a particular reason. You yourself will have unwittingly installed that program in your own mind, probably many years ago. When you are able to understand the reason you are reacting that way, you can stop “running that program”. You will then be free to choose to act or not to act, instead of blindly reacting. You can still react if you want to, but you will likely react in a more constructive way. The point is that you will then have the opportunity to make a choice, instead of merely reacting unconsciously.

Repeating Patterns of Suffering

When you have a pattern that keeps repeating itself, you may feel very frustrated, sometimes even desperate. Believe it or not, a repeating pattern it is actually a good thing. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow. It is a result of your Higher Self trying to bring something to your attention; something that your mind doesn’t want to accept. When you take a step back and properly examine it, you will no doubt uncover an unhelpful belief that you have adopted (probably when you were too young to know better). To break the pattern, you must a) recognize that the belief you hold is faulty, unhelpful and untrue, then b) simply replace it with the truth.

Understanding Changes Everything

The good news is that examining an unhelpful belief and seeing it for what it is, brings with it a deeper understanding of yourself. More importantly, it also opens the way for you to adopt a truthful, more constructive belief. When you see your faulty belief for what it is, you are free to replace it with the truth. This simple process can profoundly change your entire experience of life for the better.

Why I Want To Help You Find Real Love

I have dedicated over 50 years of my life to my own personal search for True Love. The outcome has been a deep and compassionate understanding of the human condition. I have learned an enormous amount about how to support and facilitate growth. I have accumulated a great deal of wisdom and understanding, plus numerous tools and techniques capable of creating powerful “Aha! moments” in your life. Now it is my turn to pass on these benefits to others. It is my mission to help people understand and practice this process. This simple, gentle, yet extremely powerful process will align you with Truth and this will allow you to make dramatic strides forward in life.

What Can You expect To Get Out Of It?

What I truly love is seeing my clients achieve deeply meaningful results in their own lives. My clients are the legacy I leave behind when I depart this life. Interestingly, the results manifest on many different levels. At the lowest levels, you will likely experience a calmer, clearer, lighter, more focused life. At the highest levels, you can experience indescribable Joy as the Higher Love flows abundantly through your life, inspiring you and activating your life purpose. All along the way, you will experience personal growth. Personal growth is essential at every step, since it facilitates closer contact with the Soul, or Higher Self and through Soul, to Divine Love.

What Is It Like To Have Divine Love in Your Life?

There are no words to describe the experience of Divine Love and even if there were, nobody would try to describe it. It is something far too precious to speak of. Those who have it are silent. They would sooner face suffering than cheapen It with words and they would sooner die than lose It. The sparkle in their eyes tells the whole story. No amount of money, success or power can buy that sparkle. Wouldn’t you also love to have that kind of magic in your life and that priceless sparkle in your eyes? You can, if it is important enough to you.

Are You Feeling It?

If this information resonates with you, then you and I are on the same page. We are kindred spirits, for whom Love is the greatest gift of all. I would love to have a meaningful conversation with you. If you feel drawn to speak to me, don’t hesitate; don’t procrastinate; don’t sleep on it. Importantly, don’t debate it with your partner or your friends. It is too deep and too personal for anyone else to understand.

What Next?

If you have read this far, it is pretty safe to conclude that you are feeling a certain magnetic pull. That is your guidance speaking. It speaks through your heart. Listen to what your heart is telling you and act before your mind overrules your guidance (in case you haven’t noticed, that is what it always tries to do).

Take Action Now – Click here to find out more.

First things first. If you are not entirely ecstatic about how your life is working, your first sensible move is to admit to yourself that things are not the way you want them to be. This is one of the most common hurdles that a great many people fail to cross. Fear of change may be standing in your way and preventing you from thinking about your problems. Admit that you are unhappy with the way things are and you will likely experience an immediate sense of relief.

Two Ways To Overcome Your Fear of Change

Once you admit that you are unhappy about something, that leaves you with two possible choices. Both involve overcoming your fear of change: 1) You can accept things as they are and look for ways to change your attitude to make the best of it (internal change), or 2) you can decide that you need to change something about your circumstances (external change). Sometimes it is enough to just change your attitude, but sometimes more is needed. There is a somewhat hackneyed saying, attributed to Albert Einstein, that “the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results”. There is thus a lot to be said in favour of choice number two.

Giving In To Fear Of Change Leads To Depression

Depression has reached epidemic proportions in our society. Ask anyone who is depressed about what is new in their lives and their answer will usually be “nothing”. Thus, one of the common factors in depression is getting stuck in a rut for far too long. However, it is not advisable to change just for the sake of change; that is not likely to cure your depression. There is a wrong way to change and a right way to do it. The right way is to find your life purpose and step into it. That is a sure-fire way to eliminate depression from your life.

Fear = Disempowerment. Excitement = Empowerment

You will most likely feel some resistance to changing. That is your inbuilt fear of change holding you back. It is quite normal. We all experience a certain amount of fear of change; it is linked to our survival instinct. Our mind exaggerates the possible dangers associated with doing something new or different in order to keep us in our comfort zone, (even if our current circumstances are far from safe). This is a reaction you will always have to face when contemplating change. How you deal with it will largely determine the quality of your life. You can interpret it as fear and this will disempower you – or you can interpret it as excitement and that will empower you.

Take a Moment To Think It Through

There is a simple way you can minimise your fear of change. All you need to do is sit down with a pen and paper and make two lists. One will be the advantages and drawbacks of not changing and the other will be the advantages and drawbacks of changing. This will give you a much clearer idea of which course of action is the more advantageous. That kind of clarity will make it much easier for you to move forward with your life in a constructive way. You may decide to change your circumstances, or merely to change your approach. Either choice will result in a better quality of life for you.

Take The Leap – The Best Way to Overcome Your Fear of Change

Change can be challenging, particularly if you are contemplating a major change, but once you have completed the above simple exercise, you will have a much better grasp of the “big picture”  In addition, you will also have some useful ammunition at your disposal to assist you in overcoming your resistance. If that is still not sufficient to motivate you, then consider this: when people on their deathbed are asked what they regret the most about the life they are about to leave, their answer is almost invariably the same. They do not regret the things they did nearly as much the things they failed to do.

Wisdom Comes Through Experience

Wisdom comes from experience. You cannot gain experience if you always stay in your comfort zone. You will only gain experience from new things, so be prepared to boldly go where you have never gone before. It takes a bit of courage to try something new, but once you commit to it, it is usually far less difficult than you expected (and far more rewarding). The more you practice overcoming your fear of change, the easier it becomes. You will soon find that you welcome change – and live a more interesting, rewarding and varied life as a result.

What Is Integrity?

Integrity may sound like an old fashioned term, but it is as relevant today as it ever was. Integrity basically means abiding by core values of honesty and uprightness. To put it in simple terms, a person of integrity will always keep the promises they make. They will rather tell the truth and face the consequences then try to slide out of an awkward situation.

Living in Integrity

When you live in integrity, life becomes so much simpler. You never have to try to remember what you said to somebody, because you will have always told the truth. The benefits of this are twofold:

1) the person you are talking to perceives that you are trustworthy.

2) It removes an enormous burden of tension from your shoulders and brings with it a feeling of freedom that would otherwise not be possible.

Living in integrity makes trust a reality in your life. You are able to trust yourself and this rubs off on others. You will find that others instinctively trust you and are much more inclined to be honest with you too.

How We Got Out of Integrity

Human beings learn from a young age that it is not difficult to mislead others. If you watch babies, you will soon see how they learn to get attention by crying when there is not actually anything wrong. We probably did the same and from that moment on, we knew that we could use verbal communication to mask our true intentions.

Telling Lies Starts Young

I don’t know about you, but at school, I learned to come up with many creative reasons for not doing my homework. Telling lies became a habit for me, just as it did for many of my friends. What about you? Were you always completely honest with your teachers? What about with your parents? Most kids develop all sorts of ways of trying to outwit their parents. “Can I go and play next door? I’ve finished my homework already” Another common trick is giving food you don’t like to the dog and pretending that you ate it.

Manipulation

Manipulation is extremely commonplace in today’s society. It is considered normal to reward some behaviours and punish others. That is a common way of training children; but it continues into many other areas of life. When you consider that it is a covert method of controlling the behaviour of others, you must agree that it is a form of manipulation. In relationships, some people give others “bad vibes” for not doing what they want. They will often be extremely nice when they get their own way. Some use anger to try to control others. If you have ever seen a toddler having a tantrum, you will know where that behaviour got its start.

Downright Dishonesty

Of course, lack of integrity can take many other forms, including some very obvious ones, such as lying, cheating, embezzling or scamming. All criminal activities are inherently dishonest and therefore lack integrity. These are some of the more obvious ways in which we (and others) behave outside of integrity. There are many more, but since we are not conducting a case study here, this list is ought to suffice.

The Real Value of Integrity

There is another, more subtle side to this and it is of immense value. When we are not embodied in a physical body (in other words, when we are in the realm of spirit), it is patently obvious what anyone thinks or intends. We are all totally transparent to one-another in that environment. We live in truth and have no desire for deception or manipulation. Any form of deception would be unimaginable, because it would go against the spirit of Love. It would also not be possible, because we all live in Truth in that realm. Were it possible though, it would instantly misalign us with Spirit and we would be out of that space instantly. 

As Above, So Below

The same is the case here in the physical world, except here, we aren’t aware of it. When we deceive, we go against the Spirit of Love and we misalign ourselves with Spirit. It is an expensive error, because it is by aligning with Truth that we align ourselves with and establish our connection with Spirit.

Spiritual Blindness

When we enter a physical body, we give up the ability to see spiritually. We can no longer see who and what we are, nor who and what others are. When are all equally blinded, it becomes an easy matter to mislead and deceive each other. Unfortunately for us, the more we go down that path, the more we cut ourselves off from Truth. Truth is an aspect of Divinity and hence of spirit, so we unwittingly cut ourselves off from the Divine and from our own spirit or soul.

Re-establishing Our Connection

In order for us to re-establish our Spiritual connection it is necessary for us to embrace truth/Truth once more. This means that living in integrity is a non-negotiable. For many people, this can prove a challenge. Old habits sometimes die hard; however, the advantages far outweigh the inconveniences.

Some Challenges Along The Way

Some of the challenges you could face will be in redefining those relationships where dishonesty and manipulation are currently rife. Other people may not wish to change how they interact with you and they may feel challenged by your honesty. I invite you to be the bigger person. Have some compassion for those who don’t yet understand what you know. Keep your focus on the big picture as far as humanly possible and for goodness sake, never use truth as a weapon to hurt another.

Selective Honesty

You may well come across people who are basically honest most of the time, yet resort to dishonesty in certain areas of their lives. They may be as honest as the day is long most of the time, but somehow they have justified using dishonest communication in a particular area of life. This is not unusual at all. Many people learn to compartmentalize their lives into different categories. Each area of life can then have its own set of rules and its own habitual behaviour.

Trust

Trust is wonderful and in fact, is an essential quality for us to develop, (more on that subject later). It is an excellent habit to approach people from a default attitude of trust rather than of mistrust, but we need to learn to trust our instincts too. On a more down-to-Earth level, we should employ our plain, everyday common sense. “If something looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk, there is not much chance that it is anything other than a skunk”.

It’s An Individual Journey

Please bear in mind that aligning with Truth is an individual journey. It will unfold differently for each of us. It may take some people longer and others shorter, but in all cases, it will not happen overnight. Be prepared for it. Having to relearn how to interact honestly with the world will take both time and effort, but it is most certainly a worthwhile undertaking. The benefits are (quite literally) out of this world.

Your Own Dishonest Tactics

One of the biggest hurdles you will face, is recognising your own dishonest tactics. It is entirely possible to think you are living honestly for years and then, as if out of the blue, discover another little dishonest trick that you have been using all along. Habits are so much a part of our behaviour that we tend to take them as normal. We don’t even think to question them most of the time. Don’t be discouraged if this happens to you. You should expect it to. The main thing is that you are sincere in your intention and your attempt to be truthful.

Don’t Delay Your Journey

Do not allow the possibility of challenges to put you off. You should not allow anything to delay or prevent you from starting down this track. It is far too important to let minor details get in the way. Every day you delay is another day lost. Aren’t you tired of living in the half-light, tangled in confusion?

The Benefits Kick In Straight Away

You will definitely feel the benefits of honesty and truthfulness right from the start. The relief of stepping out of the tangled web of lies is palpable. For that alone it would be worth the effort, but that is only the first of many benefits you will experience. As you practice living in truth, you will find yourself much more deeply in touch with your higher self/spirit/soul. The more you step out of the way and allow it to shine through, the more profoundly you will feel connected. Your higher self is your connection to Love, Joy, Peace, Wisdom and Healing. You will experience these qualitites as a part of your everyday experience..

Connection

“What does it mean to “feel more connected?” That is not so easy to answer in a way that everone will understand. Human language has not developed in a way that can easily convey such concepts. It will largely be an unknown quantity until you experience it for yourself. But you are no doubt curious, so let me try to explain. Do bear in mind that your experiences may differ in some respects.

Connection With What?

You could start to feel a connection with people on a level you have not known before. You could feel an indescribable oneness with animals, or trees, or with all living things. Some say they feel “connected to the Universe”; some say “connected to life”; some, “connected to Spirit” or to “Divinity”. Because of the inherent limitations of language, the description will vary far more than the actual experience.

Wisdom and Inspiration

You may find yourself spontaneously saying surprisingly wise things. Not clever, not intelligent, not intellectual, but actually, truly wise. This is the innate wisdom of your Higher self. You may experience flashes of inspiration and creativity. If you would like to have access to the innate wisdom of your Higher Self, you must be in integrity.

Guidance

The same is true if you want to receive guidance. Be aware though, that guidance is not a frivolous thing. You can only expect answers when you ask straight from the heart. Mere curiosity doesn’t cut it in most cases, I’m afraid. And please don’t expect decisions to be made for you. That will not happen.

Lightness, Peace, Joy, Love etc

These and many more beautiful qualities will spring forth spontaneously in your life as you progress on your path. All of these amazing experiences come your way absolutely naturally and spontaneously. It all begins with aligning with Truth and that comes from living in integrity.

One of the great challenges of being human is that life has so many different aspects that require our attention. It is important that we not only attend to them, but attend to them in a sensible order. For instance, our most basic need is the need for security. If that need is not met, it will generally swamp all other needs. It is difficult to feel loving all the time when you are drowning in debt. How can you find peace of mind when you are constantly worried about where your next dollar is coming from? You need to feel certain that you will be able to meet your financial commitments comfortably – and this applies doubly so when you have others dependent upon you for their security.

If you are already financially well set and feel ready to carry on with other aspects of improving your life, then please carry on to my next article by clicking here (link). If not, please read on:-

Business is moving Online

In addition to health challenges, 2020 has brought with it a great many financial challenges. Most brick and mortar businesses have taken a huge knock. People have spent a great deal of time stuck at home and consequently, more and more of them are buying on the internet. So, if more people are spending more money on the internet, who are they buying from? In order for them to get what they want, there must also be people selling them goods or services on the internet, not so? Perhaps you too have bought more on the internet. So, instead of only spending money on the internet, why not reverse the outflow and start making money on the internet instead? It is not difficult. Anyone can do it with a little know-how.

Get With The Trend

Even if you are involved in a successful business which doesn’t depend upon the internet, you would be well advised to take heed of the way in which large tracts of business are moving online. Whether you are self-employed, a contract worker or an employee, you would be wise to establish an alternative source of income. If you are close to retirement age, or already retired, this applies to you even more urgently. Many pensioners are finding, to their dismay, that their pensions and investments are not providing them with the comfortable lifestyle they had hoped for.

Is the Internet Safe?

There are those who will tell you to beware of the internet. I prefer to say “be aware on the internet”. There is no doubt there are plenty of people on the internet trying to make a fast buck, but that is the case in the “real world” too. There are also honest people with good intentions on the internet. You will recognise them because they are doing their best to provide a useful service and help others. In fact, being of service and providing outstanding value are the very best ways to consistently make good money on the internet. You need to learn how to do that too. People with integrity who provide outstanding value will always prevail in the long run.

How Can You Tell Who Is Honest?

So you may be wondering how to tell who is honest and who is a scam artist. It is not as difficult as you may think. The scam artist will always make claims that sound too good to be true (and they invariably are). They will tout shortcuts and try to hard-sell you on ways to make a quick buck. Some of those ways may work for a while, but someone, somewhere, is getting hurt by them and most likely, Google, Facebook, Youtube and the like will catch them out and ban them – plus all who employ that method. The honest person will always tell you that if you want to succeed, there is some work to be done. That might not be what you want to hear, but I can promise you, it is what you need to hear.

Isn’t Internet Marketing Complicated?

One of the great challenges facing those who are preparing to embark on an internet business, is making sense of all the information out there. You will read about SEO, driving traffic, ranking, blogging, vlogging, video marketing, using social media, email marketing, product launches, joint ventures, squeeze pages, webinars, podcasts, funnels, up-sells, down-sells and many more such concepts. You don’t need to understand it all to begin. All you need is a straightforward system that actually works, predictably and consistently.

But What Will I Sell?

There are people on the internet who are interested in and buying products to do with anything you can possibly imagine and then a whole lot more. You can sell products in whatever niche you feel drawn to. It can be something you are passionately interested in, or it can be something you are curious about. It can even be something you know little or nothing about. One of the great advantages of selling on the internet is that you don’t have to be a world-renowned expert in a subject to be successful. You don’t even have to create any products or write any copy unless that’s what you want to do. There is an abundance of ready made products just waiting for someone like you to market them.

Can You Do It By Yourself?

I do not doubt that given enough time, patience and effort, you could find ways to make money online. There are a great many useful free tools available online, but I can tell you, from bitter experience, that you will waste a great deal of time trying to figure it all out. “How does it all fit together? What do you need to start off with? What tools do you need to do that?” It can be very confusing, especially when so many people tell you so many different things.

Why Reinvent The Wheel?

Why go through all the pain and hassle? There are people out there who have done it all before and are willing to teach you how to consistently make a LOT more than mere coffee money, and you can be up and running in only a few weeks. So, ask yourself “How much is my time worth? Does it make any sense for me to waste months or even years trying to figure out how to make a few measly dollars when I could be making anything from 10x to 100x that amount in a fraction of the time?”

Make Up Your Own Mind

If, after that brief bit of self-examination you still feel that you want to do it all by yourself, then go to it and I wish you the best of luck, but if you want my advice, I can tell you without any shadow of doubt that you would be much better served with an experienced teacher. You need someone who is:-

a) Honest

b) An excellent teacher

c) An already highly successful internet marketer

When you find such a person, be willing to LEARN FROM THEM! Fortunately I have come across just such a person. I suggest that you watch this video (link here) and make up your own mind about his system.

My Experience, For What It’s Worth

After many years of struggling on my own, trying lots of things and getting more and more confused, I have subscribed to his course. It has made a world of difference to me. His teaching is so well presented that I have now grasped the “big picture” . It all makes sense to me at last. I have no hesitation in giving my personal recommendation that you work with him too, but naturally, you need to do what is right for you and to do that, you need more information, so I strongly suggest you watch this video (link). It will provide you with a great deal of useful information, whether you go with his course or not. (Click here to go there).