Phase 10
A Growth of Being… Truth, Lies and Transformation
Phase 10 of our ongoing study series is focused on lying. We are attempting to see and understand the obvious, subtle and hidden ways we 'avoid truth'. We don't just lie with words, and we don't just lie to others. In a way, all of our inner and outer manifestations contain some element of lying, just as they reveal some element of truth. Sorting through this complex web is challenging, but this is the challenge we have taken up. A preliminary list of aims is given below.
Aims for Phase 10:
Understanding all aspects of lying
Mechanical or unconscious
All types and forms of lying
The costs and presumed benefits of lying
Playing a role (positive lying)
Creative imagination (creative lying)
Understanding what it takes to connect with truth
Courage
Conscience
Being
Objective knowledge
External support and guidance
Making the shift on all levels
Personality
Essence
Being and Will
The original invitation to Phase 10 is given below...
A Growth of Being…
Truth, Lies and Transformation
Most of us have some understanding of what it means to transform and grow our being, not just change our personality and habits. One part of our lives where this distinction is especially important is in the area of truth and lies. We can instantly see the ‘truth’ of our situation, that we would be totally transformed if we didn’t lie; and if we could face the truth of our lies, we would be totally transformed.
Lies come in all shapes, sizes and forms. But one thing they almost always have in common is this: We prefer the lie because we don’t have the being to face the truth. Even if it’s clear that personality ‘knows’ the truth, and can even clearly state the truth, we often end up ‘living-the-lie’ because we don’t have the inner strength to do otherwise.
We all ‘know’ that real spiritual development requires an ever deeper connection with reality, with truth. There is great joy in deepening this connection, but at the same time it can and will reveal a darker side to our nature. It hurts to see this dark side, and it more than hurts to transform this darkness. It’s easier to lie. But then transformation stops.
A first step toward reviving the process of transformation is to face the truth about our lies. Perhaps we don’t have the level of being needed to fully live the truth, but that doesn’t mean that we need to live comfortably with the lies. Through studying how we lie and working with others to see how we all lie, we can shine a light on the extraordinarily complex range of moment by moment manifested and unmanifested untruths in all of us. A small sample of what we are talking about would include:
Lying by omission
Lying be telling the truth
Lying through body postures, facial gestures and tension
Lying through ‘fabricating’ new motives for our past actions
Attaching fabricated motives to the actions of others
Selective hearing
Selective recall (e.g. cherrypicking the ‘facts’)
Buffers
‘Believing’ that we can’t do something, when in fact we can.
‘Believing’ that we can do something, when in fact we can’t.
Believing that if we have a word for something, we understand what we’re talking about.
The egoic belief that we exist
Emotional blackmail
Manipulation (e.g. using our true needs to control and manipulate others)
Collusion with others (group lying)
Self calming
Being ‘sincere’
Conscious and unconscious lying
Attached is a collection of quotes on lying that give additional hints for productive approaches to this study.
For over three years now we have maintained an online group study which has focused on many different Work ideas. For Phase 10 we will be looking at this all important but often neglected area of lying. If this area of study is of interest to you, you may be interested in joining us for a series of online meetings lasting for 12 weeks from October 2nd to December 18th starting at 2:00pm New York time (9:00pm Israel time where I’m currently located) on Tuesdays. Each session will last approximately two hours. The fee for participating in this study group is $240 for the three month period. This fee helps cover our costs for web sites, conferencing systems, etc.
We use the Webex conferencing software which gives us access to full voice, video and chat along with an interactive white board, browser and application sharing, recording capabilities and more. We have been using this environment for over three years now and have found it to be an effective means of communicating.
With phase 10 we are looking to significantly improve on the ‘inner’ form of our activities through better presentations, more varied exercises both in and between meetings, a wider range of resources, greater clarity with respect to our overall aim and week to week tasks leading toward that aim, more input and ‘original thinking’ on the part of participants, and in many other areas.
Let me know if this is of interest to you or if you have further questions about this process. Also, let me know if you wish to participate, but can’t because of the schedule or cost. We may be able to work something out.
Thanks,
John Hutcherson
john@jrhmail.com