Flattery

Do you flatter people in order to manipulate them?

Think very deeply about this and see if this is a pattern in your life. Yes, you may be polite -- and that's great. Politeness is a state of open acceptance; when we're natural, we're polite. When we're unnatural, we aren't.

But are you using flattery in order to avoid being honest? Do you cross the line between "telling truth attractively" and, well, deceit?

Remember: though you may certainly deceive many people, and you may be quite effective in doing this, you cannot deceive yourself.

Your inner witness is silent -- but watchful. It's not condemning you, making you feel guilty or shameful.

It's simply watching. And if you are flattering people in order to get something from them -- when it isn't an authentic, spontaneous expression of your true feeling -- then you're on the wrong path.