Tag: truth and lies

Everybody Lies | Now What Are You Going to Do About It?

Everybody lies. Some lies are tiny. Some are catastrophic. Some are told to protect others. Some are told to protect ourselves. Some are told because we are afraid of losing love, losing status, losing control, losing security, or losing the carefully constructed image we want the world to believe about us. And every once in a while, someone lies to you that you never expected would.

That one lands differently. Not because the lie itself was necessarily devastating, but because it woke you up. It shook your assumptions. It cracked open your illusion that certain people are somehow above human weakness.

Recently, someone I had known and respected for years lied to me. Not a stranger. Not someone I expected it from. Someone I trusted. And for a brief moment, it threw me for a loop. Not because I do not understand human behavior. I have worked in counseling, coaching, consulting, and personal transformation for a very long time. I know people lie. I know it intellectually. I know it professionally. But sometimes we forget emotionally.

We create little islands of certainty around people we love, admire, or trust. We quietly place them into categories where we no longer expect ordinary human behavior from them. Then one lie reminds us that every single person on this earth is still wrestling with fear, identity, survival, insecurity, shame, ego, and the desperate need to feel safe. Including us. That realization can harden you. Or it can deepen you. That is the crossroads.

Every Lie Is an Opportunity

One of the most valuable tools I have ever developed in my work with people is the willingness to allow space for dishonesty without immediately punishing it. That surprises some people. They expect confrontation. Exposure. Correction. Consequences. But I learned something a long time ago: People often lie before they feel safe enough to tell the truth. Especially in the beginning of a coaching or counseling relationship.

If something does not feel right, sound right, or line up with the facts, I simply make note of it. I do not necessarily attack it immediately. I observe it. I hold awareness around it. I allow the story to breathe. Then something interesting happens.

Over time, the fabricated version becomes exhausting to maintain. The contradictions begin stacking up. The emotional energy required to maintain the false identity becomes heavier and heavier. People start tangling themselves in the barbed wire of their own stories. One lie requires another. Then another. Then another. And eventually, if enough trust and safety exist, many people come clean on their own. Not because they were forced into submission. But because they became exhausted from carrying the weight of separation between who they are and who they pretend to be.

That moment is sacred. Not humiliating. Sacred. Because when a human being finally feels safe enough to be honest, something profound happens inside them. Relief enters the room. Their nervous system softens. Their breathing changes. The armor begins to fall away. And for many people, that may be one of the first moments in their lives they have ever truly felt accepted while being fully seen.

That changes people.

We live in a culture obsessed with justice, exposure, consequences, outrage, and public destruction. Catch the liar. Expose the liar. Punish the liar. Destroy the liar. But very little attention is given to understanding why people lie in the first place.

Fear. Shame. Trauma. Survival. Rejection. Embarrassment. Insecurity. Childhood conditioning. Loss of identity. Fear of abandonment.

Most people do not wake up in the morning plotting evil. Most people are simply terrified of losing something they believe they need in order to survive emotionally. Now, that does not mean accountability disappears. Far from it. Truth matters. Boundaries matter. Integrity matters. But accountability without love often creates better liars instead of transformed people.

Fear-based correction teaches concealment. Love-based awareness teaches integration. That is a very different path.

I was fortunate to grow up around ideas like: “I’m okay, you’re okay.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “We are all doing the best we can with what we have.” Those ideas grounded me. Not because they excuse destructive behavior, but because they remind us that human beings are unfinished creatures trying to find their way through life while carrying invisible burdens.

When you approach people with compassion instead of immediate condemnation, something extraordinary becomes possible. Growth. Real growth. Not performative compliance. Not fear-driven obedience. Not temporary behavioral suppression. Actual transformation. And transformation almost never happens through humiliation. It happens through awareness. It happens when people discover truth inside themselves.

That is why I have never been overly interested in controlling clients through rigid systems, punishments, or demands. Yes, structure matters. Yes, accountability matters. But lasting change usually occurs when people arrive at their own realization.

When the light bulb turns on inside them. When they see themselves clearly for the first time. When they finally become tired of running from themselves. That moment cannot be forced. It can only be invited.

People sometimes ask me why I continue doing this work after all these years. The answer is simple. I live for the moment of epiphany. The moment a client suddenly sees the truth about themselves with complete clarity.

The moment the masks fall away. The moment they stop defending their pain and begin understanding it. The moment self-awareness replaces self-deception. That is the payoff for me. To sit in the room while another human being reconnects with themselves is one of the most sacred experiences I know. Not because I “fixed” them. I did not. They found themselves. I simply created enough safety, enough love, enough accountability, enough space, and enough patience for truth to emerge naturally. That is very different from forcing compliance.

So What Are You Going to Do About It?

When someone lies to you, you stand at a fork in the road. You can become cynical. Suspicious. Closed off. Controlling. Punitive. Emotionally armored. Or…

      • You can become wiser without becoming harder.
      • You can develop discernment without losing compassion.
      • You can learn to see human weakness without abandoning human love.

That is the challenge. Not to become naive. But not to become cold either. Because the truth is this:

Every single one of us has lied.
Every single one of us has hidden.
Every single one of us has protected an image.
Every single one of us has feared rejection.

And every single one of us longs to be loved beyond our imperfections. That realization changes the way you see people. Including yourself.

A Practical Guide:

Moving from Strict Accountability to Love-Based Growth

This does not mean becoming weak, passive, or enabling destructive behavior. It means learning how to create environments where transformation becomes possible.

    1. Separate the Person from the Behavior

A lie is behavior.
It is not the entirety of the person.

When you attack identity instead of addressing behavior, people become defensive instead of reflective.

Say:
“That story doesn’t seem consistent.”

Instead of:
“You’re a liar.”

One invites awareness.
The other invites war.

    1. Stay Calm When You Discover Dishonesty

Most people expect emotional punishment.

When you remain calm, observant, and grounded, it creates psychological space for truth to emerge later.

Overreaction often drives dishonesty deeper underground.

    1. Observe Patterns Instead of Isolated Incidents

One contradiction may be confusion.
Repeated contradictions reveal deeper issues.

Notice:

        • Emotional inconsistencies
        • Changing narratives
        • Avoidance patterns
        • Sudden defensiveness
        • Over-explaining
        • Excessive justifications

Observe without becoming consumed by suspicion.

    1. Build Safety Before Demanding Vulnerability

People rarely tell the truth where they feel emotionally unsafe.

If someone believes honesty will lead only to shame, rejection, ridicule, or abandonment, concealment becomes survival.

Safety does not eliminate accountability.
It makes accountability productive.

    1. Ask Questions Instead of Making Accusations

Questions open doors.

Accusations slam them shut.

Try:
“Help me understand something.”

Instead of:
“You’re obviously lying.”

Questions invite self-reflection.

    1. Allow Natural Consequences Without Cruelty

Compassion does not mean removing all consequences.

Trust may need rebuilding.
Boundaries may need strengthening.
Access may need limitation.

But consequences delivered without hatred create opportunity for maturity instead of retaliation.

    1. Recognize Your Own Capacity for Self-Deception

Humility changes everything.

When you understand your own imperfections, you stop approaching others from a throne of moral superiority.

That softens your delivery without weakening your standards.

    1. Leave Room for Redemption

Many people become trapped inside the identity others assign to them.

When you leave room for people to evolve, they sometimes rise into that opportunity.

Not always.

But far more often than cynicism would have you believe.

    1. Focus on Awakening, Not Winning

Winning arguments is easy.

Awakening consciousness is rare.

Ask yourself:
“Do I want revenge, or do I want healing?”

That question changes the entire interaction.

    1. Become the Kind of Person Safe Enough for Truth

This may be the most important step of all.

People tell the truth around people who can handle truth.

Can you?

Can you hear difficult things without collapsing, exploding, condemning, or retaliating?

Can you remain loving while still remaining discerning?

That is emotional maturity.

And that level of love changes lives.

Including your own.

 

Caution: Beware Social Media’s Misuse of Speculative History

In the hallowed halls of academia and scientific inquiry, a curious and intellectually invigorating exercise exists—speculative history. It is a game, a challenge, and sometimes a dance of daring imagination among historians, archaeologists, and researchers. The rules are simple: begin with a single, obscure data point—perhaps an overlooked inscription, an unusual artifact, or a linguistic anomaly—and weave a hypothetical historical narrative around it. The goal is not to deceive, but to exercise the creative muscles of historical reasoning. The fun lies in how convincingly one can connect the dots—however distant—and then defend the web of ideas before an equally rigorous and skeptical audience.

This intellectual sandbox, while entertaining, also serves a purpose: to broaden perspectives, challenge assumptions, and occasionally inspire new lines of legitimate research. The speculative exercise is self-aware. Everyone in the room knows the rules—that these narratives are not fact, but hypothetical constructions, clearly labeled and treated as such.

The Current Crisis: Social Media’s Uninformed Evangelists

Unfortunately, in today’s digital society, the lines between academic play and public consumption have dangerously blurred. What was once a contained exercise among scholars has now leaked into social media, stripped of context and critical disclaimer, and weaponized as “truth.”

A new wave of content creators—often without any academic credentials or understanding of historical methodology—have co-opted these imaginative constructs, presenting them not as what-ifs but as what-weres.

The motivation? Fame, influence, and profit. In the attention economy, clickbait thrives, and a sensational story about lost civilizations, hidden bloodlines, or ancient technologies is far more lucrative than a peer-reviewed journal article.

Responsible Speculative History vs. Misuse on Social Media

Category Responsible Speculative History (Academic) Misuse on Social Media (Clickbait Culture)
Purpose To explore alternate interpretations, inspire debate, and stretch thought To attract attention, drive engagement, or profit
Audience Understanding Assumes informed peers who know it’s speculative Targets general public who may not understand it’s hypothetical
Source Material Based on obscure, real, but often limited data; used transparently Often cherry-picked or taken out of context to support a bold claim
Presentation Style Clearly labeled as theory, possibility, or mental exercise Framed as hidden truth or suppressed fact
Peer Review and Critique Encouraged and expected Avoided or met with hostility
Tone and Language Cautious, probabilistic (“may suggest,” “possibly”) Absolute and alarmist (“they don’t want you to know,” “proven fact”)
Goal Intellectual curiosity Fame, income, or influence
Impact on Public Understanding Enhances appreciation for complexity and nuance Spreads misinformation and fosters distrust in experts

The consequences are troubling: misinformed followers, growing distrust of credible historical institutions, unnecessary social conflict, and the rise of conspiratorial echo chambers that feed on distorted histories. When audiences don’t understand the rules of speculative history, imagination becomes indoctrination.

Misinformation Is Not Harmless

While some might argue that these imaginative historical reinterpretations are simply entertainment, the damage goes deeper. Misinformed individuals vote, shape policy, and influence culture. When history becomes a choose-your-own-adventure game with no accountability, societal cohesion breaks down.

A public fed on fantasy loses touch with reality. When history is rewritten based on charisma rather than scholarship, we risk repeating the very mistakes it was meant to help us avoid.

How to Recognize Speculative History

To protect ourselves and others from falling prey to these charismatic yet misleading presentations, it’s important to learn the signs of speculative history misused as fact:

    1. Overreliance on a Single Data Point – Real historical claims are supported by multiple, corroborative sources. If an entire theory hinges on one ambiguous artifact or idea, it’s likely speculative.
    2. Lack of Scholarly Citations – Beware of content that offers no credible sources or only references fringe theorists. Peer-reviewed work and university-affiliated publications remain the gold standard.
    3. Use of Absolutist Language – Phrases like “This proves…” or “What they don’t want you to know…” are red flags. Responsible historians speak in probabilities, not certainties.
    4. Appeal to Suspicion – If the argument relies more on distrusting institutions than on providing hard evidence, it’s likely conspiratorial rather than historical.
    5. Absence of Critical Peer Debate – Academic speculative history is debated and often debunked within its community. Social media claims usually exist in isolation, echoing unchallenged among fans.

What You Can Do: Becoming a Digital Critical Thinker

    1. Ask the Source: Before sharing or believing a wild claim, ask: Where is this information from? Has it been verified by more than one credible source?
    2. Look for Context: Is this presentation marked as fiction, theory, or speculation? If not, why not? Who benefits from presenting it as fact?
    3. Use Academic Databases: Google Scholar, JSTOR, and university press articles can help you compare the speculative claim with established research.
    4. Challenge Respectfully: If you see someone spreading misinformation, ask thoughtful questions instead of attacking. “Interesting—do you know if any scholars support this theory?” is a good start.
    5. Follow Real Historians: There are many excellent historians and archaeologists online who do the work of debunking speculative claims. Support their voices.
    6. Avoid the Outrage Trap: Social media thrives on emotional response. If a historical claim is designed to make you angry, suspicious, or overly excited—pause. You might be the product, not the audience.

The Sacredness of Truth

Speculative history is not the enemy. In fact, when handled responsibly, it is a vital intellectual tool. It fosters curiosity, fuels new research directions, and opens us to creative interpretations of humanity’s vast past.

But just as a microscope can reveal wonders or be used to burn ants, speculative history misused on social media becomes a weapon against truth. In a world drowning in in misinformation, our job is not only to be curious but also to be discerning.

Let us keep the doors of imagination open—but never unguarded.

 

The Dark Side of Using Muscle Testing for Human Lie Detector

Muscle testing, also known as applied kinesiology, is a fascinating and, in many ways, revolutionary tool. Originally developed as a technique for assessing physical health, it has grown into a broader practice where people use it to determine truth or deception in various aspects of life. However, while muscle testing offers unique insights, it also reveals an unsettling reality about human interactions. When misused or over-relied upon, it can lead to disappointment, disillusionment, and even a deep sense of isolation.

Understanding Muscle Testing as a Lie Detector

Muscle testing works on the principle that the body responds differently to truth and falsehood, often tightening or loosening slightly depending on the integrity of the statement or subject in question. When properly applied, it can help determine whether a given piece of information resonates as “true” or “false” to the body’s inner wisdom. With minimal training and a focus on self-clearing for accuracy, anyone can learn to use muscle testing as a tool to reveal hidden aspects of their lives, particularly to discern truth from deception.

At first, the allure of muscle testing lies in its power to offer clarity. For many, the initial experience is thrilling and almost addictive. Television ads, news reports, political claims, and even close relationships can be put to the test. Each session feels like peeling back a layer of social veneer to reveal what’s really underneath.

The Disillusionment: Realizing the Scope of Deception

For those who begin using muscle testing as a universal lie detector, there often comes a sobering moment of revelation. After repeated testing, many discover a substantial amount of deception surrounds them. In my experience, I found that a staggering 96% of those tested proved to be deceptive to varying degrees after extensively muscle-testing people around me.

Even among the 4% who were honest, I found that honesty didn’t always equate to kindness or sensitivity. Of those who were truthful, 75% were blunt or even rude, and only a small fraction were gentle in their honesty. This experience can be disheartening, as it sheds light on the difficulty of finding authentic, compassionate communication.

I also noted a curious trend among the deceptive individuals: many were truthful only about 10% of the time. The rest of their statements were tinged with various forms of misrepresentation. This discovery leads to an inevitable question: If so many people around me are lying, what’s the point of testing?

Coping with the Dark Side of Truth

The process of uncovering widespread deception can be deeply unsettling, leaving some feeling detached and disillusioned. The initial thrill of knowing “the truth” can soon transform into a sense of betrayal. Realizing that even loved ones, mentors, or respected figures might be embellishing, withholding, or outright lying can be jarring. It’s a process that can feel lonely as if you are seeing behind a curtain that others are unaware of or don’t wish to acknowledge.

As I discovered, coming to terms with this reality often requires adopting a new perspective: respecting others’ rights to their version of truth—even if it includes deception. After all, in the United States, freedom of speech protects even the right to lie, to embellish, and to portray a version of reality that may be far from objective truth.

A Balanced Approach to Muscle Testing

After moving through the phases of excitement and disillusionment, many find a balanced way to use muscle testing in their lives. It’s common to become more selective about when and how to use it, focusing on practical applications rather than analyzing the statements of others. For instance, some may use it to test the efficacy or suitability of foods, supplements, or other health-related products rather than assessing people’s honesty.

This moderated approach allows the practitioner to respect others’ boundaries and refrain from wielding muscle testing as a judgmental tool. It becomes a method of self-care rather than a source of mistrust or alienation.

Embracing the Gray Areas of Truth

Ultimately, muscle testing as a lie detector highlights a profound truth about human interaction: honesty is complex, and people are complicated. Not everyone intentionally deceives, and many communicate in ways that, while not strictly true, may reflect their fears, hopes, or misunderstandings. Accepting these shades of gray can bring a sense of peace and acceptance to those who have ventured deeply into the practice.

Knowing how to access the truth at such an intimate level can be powerful, but it also carries a responsibility. It’s easy to get caught up in testing every statement, every relationship, and every interaction, only to find that perfect honesty is rare. Recognizing the right to privacy, subjectivity, and even embellishment allows the practitioner to navigate the world with compassion, reserving muscle testing for matters of personal significance rather than as a lens of judgment.

Muscle testing can provide valuable insights, but using it with tolerance, respect, balance, and an open heart is essential. Truth is a continuum, and while muscle testing may reveal facts, it cannot capture the complex layers of human expression, belief, and intent. By integrating this awareness, the practitioner can find a renewed sense of connection to themselves and others, understanding that truth exists in many forms—and each has its own place in the intricate matrix of life.

 

Honesty Dishonesty and Lies

Honesty means telling someone how you think or feel about something knowing that there may be at risk of disagreement from the recipient of your honest statement.

To the degree that you can be honest plays a big part in your ability to be trusted. While honesty can be a one-way street, alternatively “trust” is a two-way street. We are honest with someone, then step back to review how our honesty was received, responded to, or revered it was. Based on the results, we determine if someone can be trusted or not.

If we can be open and honest with others, we are promoting our trustworthiness. Over time we can gain people’s trust by representing ourselves as being honest. Vulnerability and honesty build trust.

Why would you lie?

  • Fear of hurting someone’s feelings
  • Fear of retribution or punishment
  • Fear of not being accepted
  • Fear of risking your reputation
  • To protect yourself
  • To protect someone else
  • To defend yourself or someone else
  • To bolster your image or the image of someone else to others or among the community
  • You want to present yourself as on par with someone else
  • You are communicating with someone with whom you have little or no respect
  • You want something from someone, but do not have anything of equal value to trade

And potentially a million other reasons why you might lie, though the reason you are most likely to lie is due to fear or some perceived threat. Fear can be disguised as many things, and hiding behind a shield of fear can prevent you from having all the best things this life has to offer.

You lie because lying is an effective tool that protects you from discomfort or pain.

There is a huge contrast between being honest (which makes you vulnerable) and lying (which protects you).

When you are dishonest, it implies that you cannot trust the person you are misrepresenting yourself to.

You are afraid they will misunderstand or hurt you. Alternatively, you may fear they will not like what you have to say or might get their feelings hurt by your being honest.

When you lie, there is the hopeful expectation that your deception will not come to light. But for most of us, lying comes with some form of guilt. A part of us desires to be open and honest in all things, so when we lie, we feel bad or at least, regret not feeling safe enough to tell the truth.

Often if you have negative habits or addictions, you are likely to lie to present others from seeing your weaker side.

It is exceedingly difficult to feel safe with someone who you cannot trust.

What about the lies you tell yourself?

  • What does your lying to yourself say about your relationship with yourself?
  • Do you trust yourself with your most intimate details?
  • How about when you think, say, or at out in some way that is not congruent with who you really are?
  • Do you lie to yourself to cover up or justify your indiscretions?
  • If you want to feel competent or confident, are you apt to lie to yourself to make yourself feel better?
  • Is it possible to be truly open and honest?

If you have lied about a thing in the past and felt uncomfortable for doing so, you will experience a great sense of relief from being able to tell the truth, to essentially “come clean.”

What Can You Do if You Catch Your Partner Lying?

Everyone lies. We do it for all kinds of reasons; to make life easier on us, on those we care about, on the behalf of someone else, to be polite, and to outright deceive and defraud on purpose. But what can you do if you catch your partner lying?

You love and trust your partner. Without trust, where is the love? When you catch your partner lying, you feel as though you’ve been stabbed in the back, punched in the gut, or so disrespected or disregarded that you don’t know if you can think straight. What can you do?

Nobody will deny you your right to feel bad about being lied to, that’s a given. We’ve all been in the same boat, for who of us has made it through life without being lied to of deceived. Sometimes people can be harmfully deceitful without saying a word, as is the case of lying by omission.

Yes, even not saying anything is in order to cover something up or avoid being truthfully honest (lying by omission) is a venial sin. It doesn’t mean you have to be rudely open and honest, just to tell the truth, and if you love someone, be honest lovingly. Tell the truth in a way that respects your partner. Be gentle and speak your truth with grace and love, even if it is difficult. Nobody expects you to be perfect.

If you’ve caught your partner lying, don’t sweep it under the carpet or try to gloss it over. Dishonesty in a relationship will cause your trust to rust, and leads to the erosion of your love, especially if you’re harboring the truth about your knowledge of the deceit or dishonesty and not saying anything about it (lying by omission). Even you are a guilty enabler by engaging in the dishonesty.

Get it out in the open. Relationships go through periods of varying levels of comfort and discomfort, it’s the nature of two people sharing one life. It is all part of the growth process. If there is no conflict, there can be no growth, which leaves you with stagnation. Where is the life in that? You might be able to get by, but you can forget thriving in a relationship which is a cesspool.

Grab your grown-up skivvies and get ready for some gentle conversation about your awareness that something’s not adding up. As in all difficult conversations, create a safe space to frame the conversation and avoid being accusatory. This is about creating an environment where its safe to be honest. Avoid jumping-in, interrupting, or otherwise preventing your partner from fully sharing. Take notes on paper, if you have to, but let them speak their truth in peace.

Let them say whatever it is, without interruption, or else he or she will get defensive, and the flow of open communication will stop if your partner feels like he or she needs to take the defensive position.

Once you’ve actively heard what your partner needs to say, and you’ve affirmed that you’ve understood the key points by paraphrasing them back to him or her, now your partner owes you the same respect to hear what you have to say about it.

Check with your heart and center yourself. Take a cleansing breath, then speak your heart in love. Again, be honest, but try to avoid being harsh. If your feelings have been hurt, say so, but try to use words that are not abrupt or frightening. Remember you are expressing how you feel, so start your sentences with “I,” or, “I feel like,” and avoid starting any statement with, “You.”
Trust your intuition. When you feel like something just isn’t right. In most cases, something isn’t right. If your partner gives a perfectly good explanation, and it doesn’t feel right, you probably know by experience that something has most always been amiss when you’ve had feelings, like that, in the past.

Deciding whether you can live with this or not is only something you must decide for yourself. Everybody’s different, and we all can tolerate different degrees of what our partners are allowed to do or not do within the confines of our relationships.

Even though magazines and tabloids will gibe you a list of do’s and don’ts in black and white, there really is no strict guideline for what is and is not acceptable in a successful relationship. Each couple must figure out for themselves what works for them.

Forgiveness in a loving relationship goes a long way. For the repeat offender, you might think about negotiating new paradigms for the expansion of your relationship, or if you are unable to come to a workable compromise, it might be time to look for a better match for your true love to emerge.

It’s your love life. It’s up to you.

Love, love, love. Love like it’s all that matters because it is. And if you dare, think about loving unconditionally.

I love you no matter what.

Exercise Caution When Using Muscle Testing as a Lie Detector

When I first encountered the concept of muscle testing as a lie detector, I was both fascinated and skeptical. The idea that I could use such a simple technique to cut through layers of deception in my life was tantalizing. With little training, anyone could learn this skill, provided they cleared themselves mentally and emotionally beforehand. So, I dove in.

At first, muscle testing felt like unveiling a superpower. I could test almost anything—advertisements, political speeches, news stories, even conversations with family, friends, and romantic interests. The results were astonishingly clear. I was on a mission to see what was true and what wasn’t, and I felt like a detective peeling back the layers of lies surrounding me.

The clarity was empowering until it wasn’t. After several months of testing everything in my life, a harsh reality set in. I started to realize that a surprising number of people around me—people I admired, trusted, and held in high regard—weren’t telling the truth. In fact, I found that 96% of the people I interacted with regularly were, at least occasionally, deceptive.

For the 4% who were honest with me, I quickly realized honesty doesn’t always come with kindness. About 75% of them were blunt or even rude when speaking the truth, with only a fraction being gentle or neutral. Of the majority who were deceptive, they seemed to mix a small percentage of truth (around 10%) with the rest being various forms of BS. After seeing this pattern repeat across countless interactions, I felt disillusioned.

I was living in a reality where the people I interacted with, day in and day out, were either masking the truth or delivering it in a way that felt harsh or inconsiderate. Eventually, the question that kept coming to mind was, What’s the point of muscle testing if everyone is full of it? It was exhausting to confront the inconsistencies, embellishments and outright lies at every turn.

It took me a while to process and accept this new understanding of the world around me. My initial fascination with muscle testing as a lie detector had soured into a disheartening awareness of the pervasiveness of deception. I reached a point where I simply accepted it as the norm—truth and deception were layered intricately into everyday life, and it seemed this wasn’t going to change.

These days, I’ve chosen a different path. I now reserve muscle testing for specific situations, mainly health-related decisions, like testing foods and supplements. I’m careful not to dig too deeply into others’ personal truths or embellishments. After all, we all have the right to our version of reality, even if it strays from the objective truth. In the U.S., freedom of speech protects the right to embellish or lie—it’s part of our First Amendment rights.

So don’t worry—I’ve found my balance again. I no longer need to test everyone around me. I trust in my own center, and unless a situation affects me directly and significantly, I refrain from using muscle testing in personal affairs. It’s a relief, really. Knowing the truth about everything may sound empowering, but it’s a heavy burden to carry. For now, I choose to let people be themselves, and I choose to muscle test only where it truly matters.