Last night, I saw a
powerful new movie called The Insider. It's about a
man who risked everything to tell the truth because he knew it was
the right thing to do. If you want a refreshing lesson on
why being true to our nature is important, please see this movie!
How often are you faced with the option of speaking your Truth or
backing down and "being a nice person?" When you see
this movie, you'll think twice about the next time you're in a
situation that requires you to do the right thing. Not the popular
thing, not the easy way out, but having integrity within yourself
and honoring this value.
Integrity can mean many things, but at its root, Integrity means
the quality of being complete or unbroken - wholeness. The
power of this movie is that the central character is forced to
make a decision -- a difficult decision that could break anyone, to
sign a confidentiality agreement that states he will not divulge
any information to anyone about his work at Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Company. One of many companies that have been
contributing to hundreds of thousands of people dying from lung
cancer and related illness each year! (This is a TRUE story.)
The main character, Wiegand, is forced to struggle between telling
the truth -- a truth that could save thousands of lives -- or
remaining quiet. If he remains quiet, thousands WILL
die.
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If he tells the truth, he risks being imprisoned for
breaking the confidentiality agreement (which is enforceable by
law), losing his severance package and benefits (the golden
handcuff) and unexpectedly, his marriage.
In this apparent no-win scenario, he decides to honor his
integrity and tell the truth -- no matter what the consequences
are. He sees that remaining quiet would not only break his
own integrity, but add to the already long list of atrocities put
on the American public by the tobacco industry.
What difference does this make to Me, Paul?
Many people go
through their daily lives and are faced with honoring themselves
or someone else they think rules their lives. When given this
choice, ask yourself "What's the right thing to do in this
situation?" The thing that when you go to sleep at night you
can say to yourself "I did the right thing."
There's an old quotation that Abraham Maslow taught Wayne Dyer and
it says: "Learn to be free of the good opinion of
others."
Let's take this lesson one step further: Learn to be free of
the good opinion of your own ego.
I have a question.
Are you willing to
listen to your Heart and intuition and be true to yourself, even
when it hurts? Are you willing to do the unpopular thing
especially when it's needed? Do you now work for a company that
routinely rapes the land with pollution, or for a drug company
that uses animals for testing and even worse uses humans as guinea
pigs? Does this sound too opinionated? Only to those unwilling to
really look at what is needed to honor our Earth, our children,
ourselves.
Have you ever considered the consequences of your decisions?
Do
you purchase toxic products from companies like Monsanto (maker of
Nutrasweet - a known toxic compound that slowly poisons the body --
who are now trying to "bioengineer" crops such as corn,
soybeans, etc. that create dangerous side effects)? Do you
smoke? Do you allow your children to watch violence on TV
thinking "Oh, they'll get over it?"
Every seed we sow grows, so we need to be aware -- fully conscious
of what we are planting in our own minds and the minds of those
who you influence.
What can I do today to have more integrity?
Sit for a moment,
and ask yourself:
Why am I here?
What am I here to do?
How can I best use my creative talents and speak my Truth?
How can I honor my intuition - my Heart - and honor this sacred
Earth I live on -- to help protect it for my children?
As you go about your daily life, listen to your Heart, remember
that integrity means the state of being complete, connected to
your own self. What can you do as you are reading this, that will
honor your own integrity?
Ask yourself: What do I need to be truthful about that will honor
myself and free up energy within me?
Listen and trust. . . .
The rest is but mere details. . . .
May the warm sun of your imagination flow easily, effortlessly as
you make your Dreams real. . . .
Paul Bauer is the creator of
Dream-Minder, software that "Frees Your Mind and Lifts Your
Spirit."
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