The word honesty comes from the Latin word honestus, honos, both modifications of the ancient Latin word honor (honour), hence the original meaning “of persons holding an honorable position, respectable.”

In English, there are a range of meanings and attributes associated with the word honesty, namely:

•Sincere, truthful, candid- that will not lie, cheat or steal (1400)

•Of actions, feelings, etc: fair straightforward: free from fraud (1400’s)

•Decent in appearance; comely, neat, tidy (1566)

•Of a thing: genuine (1598)

•Ingenuous; open; frank (1634)

•Of persons of good moral character, virtuous, upright (1702)

•Honorable, creditable (1720)

 
  While the origin of honesty (along with the word honor) come from a background more to do with position, than character, there are a range of key qualities that have grown with the word. We can essentially summarize the most important of these as definitions that define “clarity of signal/image” namely “truthful, sincere, open, frank.

Inner clarity of signal enables us to be in touch with what our body and our mind is telling us. Without internal clarity of signal it is difficult to keep track and be aligned.

Remarkably, we understand the nature of a clear signal when considering the importance of television or mobile phone reception, but spend little time considering the same concept within ourselves.

The second key quality of honesty relates to the concept of being neat and tidy. This may appear to be in conflict with the behaviour and teachings of many wise and holy gurus and mystics over the ages who promoted the wearing of rags.

The point to honesty is that dress reflect our inner mind- While we will discuss it in more detail later in this book, it is worth considering that either extreme- extreme rags and extreme wealth are both two sides of the coin.

 
  Finding answers  
 

The most profound act is to do what is right when you believe no one is watching.-(Frank O’Collins)

 
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