The Way of Integrity: Finding the path to your true self

Your true nature loves things for their capacity to bring genuine delight, right here, right now. It loves romps, friends, skin contact, sunlight, water, laughter, the smell of trees, the delicious stillness

Our sense of purposelessness doesn’t disappear in the face of culturally defined achievements.

Edgar loved literature, not running a magazine. Chloe loved being out in the woods alone, not sitting around indoors with other people.

Neediness, panic, depression. Welcome to a few of the emotional states that may jump you as you wander through the dark wood of error.

never experiencing the joyful ease that comes with full integrity.

“There’s no there there. I thought there was a position in the world that would make me feel good, but I got to that position and didn’t find anything that made me happy. It all seemed pointless.”

Our culture defines “success” as rising through bureaucracies,

From childhood, often without even noticing it, we learn exactly how to win approval and belonging in our particular cultural context. We act bubbly, quiet, or brave to please our families. We immediately begin to like whatever our friends say they like. We throw ourselves into schoolwork, babysitting, family feuds—whatever we believe will assure o

Emotionally, we feel grumpy, sad, or numb. Physically, our immune systems and muscles weaken; we might get sick, and even if we don’t, our energy flattens. Mentally, we lose focus and clarity. That’s how it feels to be out of integrity.