Lies, lies and more lies – these have been a great feature of campaigning in the US elections and in the run-up to the Brexit referendum in the UK earlier this year. Deception and divisiveness seemed to have ruled the day. The fact is, deceit has always been part of human affairs, sadly, but this year the spotlight on it has been particularly bright, and some of the shadows appear very dark. The consequences have yet to unfold, as they always must.

Although these have been enormous untruths, they can only subsist while there is a collective consciousness that supports them.

Most of us at one time or another have hidden the truth to some degree, albeit on a much smaller scale. We all have responsibility to speak and act with complete integrity. But what if we don’t?

Pork pies and polygraphs

When we tell an untruth, there is a physiological effect. Mr John Augustus Larson was a medical student at the University of California back in 1921 and invented the modern polygraph or lie detector. The basis of the machine is that telling porky-pies has a direct effect on the physiology. Blood pressure, pulse, respiration and skin conductivity can all give the game away. Lying is more than a mere mental process. The body is affected, too.

Lies and consciousness

Lying isn’t natural. Our natural state of consciousness is honest and open. There is nothing to hide or hide from because pure consciousness sees everything as a reflection of itself. There is no “other”. But as we don’t have that pure perception yet, we feel a need to protect ourselves and our interests. When we lie or distort the truth, it stems from that ignorance.

Telling a deliberate untruth is uncomfortable (although repetition is said to make it easier) because we know it is wrong. There is a conflict inside us. In effect, we deny who we are. Knowing A to be true, we deliver B. Like a naughty child ignoring its parent calling to it, we turn a deaf ear to our inner voice.

Truth or lies which is better for health and wellbeing?

The key here is energy. As the mind thinks, energy follows. Positive thoughts tend to increase vitality and increase wellbeing, and so on. If the mind is tense, our energy is constricted; if it is relaxed, the body and its energy system tend to relax also.

A lie is negative in nature. It creates a distorted pattern in our consciousness and consequently in our energy. The body responds as being stressed – the polygraph shows this. Our sense of wellbeing takes a downward or inward turn.

So does telling fibs make you ill?

Every day, we do things which have a positive effect on our energy and some that are negative. Being untruthful, which can take many guises, is largely an internal matter because it is generated in the mind. There may be external effects through what we say or write, which we will have to put right with other people, but first we have to be honest with ourselves.

Unless and until we resolve that, negative energy patterns will continue. They may not make us ill but we will not have a completely happy heart. To live as complete human beings, our hearts need to be open and full. The world will be a much better place for it. And maybe healthier, too.

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Mental karma is explained more in the book The Art of Not Doing: How to Achieve Inner Peace and a Clear Mind which is available in print edition and as an ebook.

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