On truth and lies

1. A lie repeated often enough begins to sound like the truth

2. Every time we lie it becomes easier to lie the next time

3. Lying needs maintenance. We have to remember whom we lied to.

4. If we tell different lies to different people on the same subject, we will need an extraordinary memory

5. Lying soon becomes second nature and part of one’s character

6. With repeated lying we lose credibility and trust

7. Lying could bring short-term gain, but a long-term loss

8. We soon begin to lie to ourselves

9. We also begin to believe our lies

10. We begin to lie with a straight face

11. We end up not being able to distinguish between lies and the truth

12. Lying becomes enjoyable and normal after a time

13. Taking people for a ride by lying feels good and exhilarating

14. The voice of conscience packs up and dies. The inner guidance mechanism is laid to rest.

15. Most people lie to escape painful consequences. It invariably ends in more serious consequences in the long run

16. Lying weakens us to face the truth. Escaping by lying feels easier.

17. Guilt gradually disappears. So does shame.

18. Guilt goes underground. Suppressed guilt is a hidden bomb. It can cause damage from within.

19. Along with guilt, shame also gets suppressed and goes underground

20. Fear of being found out is not scary anymore. We will tell another lie if found out and questioned. Lies will pile one on top of another.

21. Lying doesn’t feel wrong anymore

22. The mind starts conjuring up justifications for lying

23. Constant lying can lead to cheating for gain, betrayal, and other related vices

24. Lying can become addictive. Even if you could tell the truth, you won’t be able to.

25. Lying changes who you are, your identity

26. People begin to avoid liars. They feel uncomfortable in their presence

27. Nobody believes liars anymore or begin to cross-check everything they say

28. People start talking behind our backs about our lying habits. Word gets around

29. Nobody will do business with or lend money to a liar. Both need trust.

30. People may stop helping liars

31. Lying destroys intimate relationships which are based primarily on trust. It is very painful to live with a fabricator of lies.

32. In a married relationship the partner of a liar will not feel safe and secure which in turn will cause extreme distress.

33. Even if a person who lies reforms, people will not believe him. Lying creates lifelong distrust

34. Lying crystallizes and hardens the mind until a point of no return is reached

35. Liars cannot have an authentic relationship with anyone

36. The mind graduates to fabricating imaginary lies. It is no longer lying about something that happened but also events that never happened

37. Hiding the truth appears like a minor vice compared to lying, though both are the same

38. Lying is permissible in extreme circumstances like saving a life. Here the consequences of not lying could be a matter of life and death

39. Mothers lie about their pain so that their children do not see their suffering.

40. Sometimes a doctor may need to lie or give false hopes, so as not to panic a patient.

41. Lying can ease the pain of truth that hurts

42. We are all living a lie when it comes to our identities, of who we think we are

43. In a way, all opinions and judgments are partial truths. They are subjective

44. What may be true for you may not be so for others. Their life situation may be different.

45. History books are not always factual. Intellectual dishonesty is common among historians.

46. Politicians who make tall promises lie all the time knowing full well that they will not keep their promises. Unfortunately, they get away with it.

47. The human mind believes lies easily. It is part of the mind’s programming for survival.

48. People who never lie develop great inner power

49. Our bodies never lie, our minds do

50. Living in denial is a form of lying to ourselves.

51. A liar will not seek the company of honest people as it will awaken guilt

52. Lying, at the extreme, can become pathological.

53. A stage will come when we can’t give up lying. It has a powerful hold over us. It overpowers us. At this stage, we will need professional help

54. Lies keep us in bondage. The truth sets us free. But what is true? How do we distinguish between lies and truth?

55. What is true in one context may not be so in another context. Truth is contextual. So are lies.

56. The earth is flat and is the center of the universe, man was created by God, was the truth for many centuries until science called the bluff. Yet many did not like this truth and were uncomfortable with it. Truth need not be comforting.

57. Newspapers publish lies to serve their own ends. We have no way of discovering whether what they publish is the truth. Lies sell.

58. Advertising is also full of lies packaged as the truth. Celebrities who endorse products they don’t use are also part of the lying industry. We believe them at our peril

59. Every religion proclaims that only their path leads to salvation. Obviously, all of them cannot be true

60. To be able to distinguish between what is true and what is false requires the help of a wise and mature person. Alternatively, we learn by trial and error, which can sometimes prove costly.

61. To be able not to lie we must value our conscience highly. Conscience has to be made precious. Preserving conscience at any cost must be our motto. If we have to undergo pain to sustain conscience, so be it.

62. When we lose our conscience, we have lost that which is closest to what we can call divine. Conscience is not the voice of the mind. It comes from a higher source and has to be nourished. It is needed for cooperative living. The mind can kill the conscience.

63. A person who loses his conscience has broken the social contract and does not follow the rules of society, which is to be truthful.

64. The mind of a liar is self-centered. It is about benefiting himself more than his fellow beings

65. A truthful person respects the social contract and honors the unwritten codes applicable to living in society.

66. When we like someone and are attached to them, we will tend to believe their lies.

67. When we dislike someone, we will tend to disbelieve even the truths that they utter.

68. When we are strongly identified with an ideology, we will tend to perceive life through the lens of that ideology which will distort the truth

69. The truth about the origin of the universe, about reincarnation and afterlife, about moral causes and effects, about karma, is hidden from us. The mind then spins stories about such subjects which it then believes to be true.

70. To live an authentic life we must not believe everything that our mind tells us.