Can Honesty have Positive Effects on your Health

Recent news articles point out cases of lab-grown diamonds being sold to unsuspecting customers as the more expensive mined diamond. And that is cause for concern for the gem industry as well as for consumers.

Dishonesty never did anyone any lasting good. Perhaps many people would agree that the long-term loss of trust and credibility in business are not worth the short-term gains from fraudulent practices. But there's another factor to consider – your health

Yes, that's right. Honesty and sincerity are keys to good health according to the results of a new study. Conducted by Anita E. Kelley Ph.D. of the University of Notre Dame under her Science of Honesty project, the study identifies that telling the truth may actually improve your health.

Kelley's team divided 72 adults into two groups - a Sincerity group and a Control group - which were monitored over a period of five weeks. While the Control group had no specific instructions, the Sincerity group were told:

Throughout every day of the next 5 weeks, you must speak honestly, truthfully, and sincerely-not only about the big things, but also about the small things, such as why you were late. You must always mean what you say in situations where your statements are to be taken seriously, as opposed to when joking or obviously exaggerating. While you certainly can choose not to answer questions, you must always mean what you say.”

At the end of five weeks, members of the Sincerity group reported significantly less physical health complaints. So amazed was Kelley by the results that she too tried following the instructions. The impact, she writes in her blog Insight, is so compelling that she urges everyone to try it.

Reading about the study brought to mind a quote from one of my favourite authors, Mary Baker Eddy: "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness..."(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures). Honesty, to me, is aligning myself with Truth (God). And that gives me the spiritual power to discern between right and wrong and to make the right choices. But it also results in a sense of wellbeing and wholeness that removes weaknesses - both mental and physical.

The advantages of diamonds - indestructibility, portability, stability and encashability - apply to both lab grown as well as to mined diamonds. As I understand, the lab grown variety is an eco-friendly and ethically sourced solution to the problems associated with mined diamonds - one where the beauty and utility of the gemstone can be appreciated without environmental or human degradation.

So why not label them correctly, allowing them to be appreciated for their individual worth? Especially if doing so has the added advantage of positive effects on your health!

The author is a practitioner of Christian Science healing and writes about health and spirituality.