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The ego has a penchant for lying. Choices made entirely out of ego are bound to be saturated with falsity and self-deception. The sociopath spends his time serving his ego, producing falsehood after falsehood. So does the narcissist, as does the psychopath and, to an extent, the neurotic. The sociopath and psychopath do the most damage. Not only are they thoroughly entrenched in their dedication to the ego and its lies, they have also embraced this as a way of practicing evil. The narcissist and your garden variety neurotic are addicted to the ways of the lying ego, but have not embraced evil. All forms of pathology cause the pathological person to suffer. The difference is that in the most serious and damaging forms of pathology the ill person chooses to cause others to suffer in hopes that he will relieve his own suffering. We all do this to some extent, but, let us say, we are not as "hard core" about it.

The question as to whether it is good to be honest at all times or not can better be considered with the question of mental health in mind. For example, depressed people do well to stop dwelling on the negative, however true the situation may seem, and rather look at the situation through rose-colored glasses. This is healthy. Conversely, to trust blindly is unhealthy because blind trust often causes pain. That said, faith and hope can be wonderful and powerful qualities to have. The more you consider what truth is and is not, the more you find that it is slippery.

Is it healthy to lie to oneself? It is obvious that at times lying to others can be the best, most helpful, most beneficial behavior. For example, we lie to children all the time. Some of those lies should be told. To not tell them and to instead tell "the truth" would be abusive. That said, can lying to oneself ever be a good thing? What does the fiction writer do but spend his days lying to himself? Ah, but this in the service of truth. And that is the answer. Many say that fiction is a pack of lies surrounding a core of truth. According to many, the world is an illusion. Granted, this belief has its roots primarily in Eastern religions. But nowadays it has become mainstream. If nothing else, it has the New Agers to support it as well. Though, the quantum physicists are no slouches, and they heartily adhere to this belief.

So let the world be an illusion, I say. And you can be an illusion in it: Be in the illusion, not of it. Be a spark. Be light. Be bright. Speak your truth, realizing that you

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