Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Top 10 Inimitable Traits of Hypocrites

Hypocrisy is a STATE of the HEART, which is expressed by DOUBLE-FACED ACTIONS.*
Actions are behaviours; behaviours are actions displayed by an individual in response to its environment or to a stimuli; ergo, whether good or bad, it is how you see a person act.
Let's try Wiki,  for simplicity: 
"Hypocrisy is the act of condemning another person for an act of which the critic is guilty"
Answer.com's Definition:
1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.2. An act or instance of such falseness.
Let's go to our list.
  1. They have a discrepancy with what they have in their heart and what is on their lips.  Their words/pronouncements and actions do not match.
  2. They hide the truth.  They are untruthful to themselves and to others.
  3. They create hostility and mischief by saying one thing to one person and another to another person, neither of them being the truth.
  4. When asked or confronted about their actions and that they may be causing hostility and chaos with other people, they say they are just trying to do good for other people.
  5. When they are asked to believe in something and have faith, they casually reply:  "Do I Look stupid?"
  6. They prefer to keep their eyes closed, ears deaf and heart locked than see the truth, the reality.  When they argue, they are unjust.
  7. They are without wisdom and understanding of reality.  They much prefer to live in a world of self-deception.
  8. They lie.  So, they are restless and without peace.
  9. They change with whoever they are with and try to please everyone.
  10. They like being lost and refuse guidance, deliberately staying away from the truth.
Are you a Hypocrite?  Are we all Hypocrites?  
Do you present yourself as honest, upright and moral to the degree that you are willing to put others down and critique them for not having the same values ... when in fact you are no where near what you pretend to be?
Are you arrogant at the very least and most likely a narcissist? 
Do you believe that you are smarter, more creative and completely superior to humanity as a whole?
Can honest people be Hypocritical at times?   But aren't all the hypocrites condemned and criticized?  
Given this paradox, don't you find it a tad hypocritical for any of us to consider ourselves  pure enough to judge someone else as a hypocrite?
Is it possible that there are NON-HYPOCRITES that have LESS INTEGRITY than certain types of hypocrites?  
In the Psychology of Hypocrisy, whilst we have a wealth of definitions from numerous sources, there has been no analysis of INTERNAL hypocrisy, that which lies within the self.
However, I chanced upon a journal that painstakingly evaluated and probed the Psychology of Hypocrisy.  I uncovered a quite interesting Matrix, understanding the whole abstract through The Matrix of Hypocrisy.

                  Hypocrisy Matrix*


                  Honest
                  Dishonest
                  External
                  Stated beliefs contradict actions. Stated beliefs are consistent with   Internal actual beliefs.
                  Stated beliefs contradict actions. Stated beliefs are NOT consistent with Internal actual beliefs.
                  Internal
                  Internal actual beliefs contradict actions. Internal actual beliefs, if stated, are stated honestly.
                  Internal actual beliefs contradict actions. Internal actual beliefs are NOT consistent with stated beliefs.


                  See here, this is the crux of the issue.
                  • Are we 100% certain of the things we believe in and can we really honestly say that everything we think, say and do are 100% consistent with our belief system?
                  • Can we honestly claim that 100% of the time, we are willing to sacrifice our needs and inherent desires to our belief, so we always make the right choices and act accordingly?
                  • Do we always try our best to conform our actions to our beliefs or do we justify our actions by conforming our belief system, because our beliefs are flawed to begin with?

                  Isn't it tragic that it is so easy for us to condemn and criticize imperfections of others, unless we truly believe we are perfect enough, albeit we are only using our own beliefs and our own situation as the standard?
                  Do you have enough faith in yourself that you know we are all hypocrites to a certain extent?
                  Of course, the challenge to humans to deal with hypocrisy will take a lifetime, or perhaps will never end.  

                  What's my take away?
                  • Maybe it is best not to condemn hypocrites but to recognize them and learn from their mistakes, not to judge them, but to judge myself.
                  • Having recognized my own hypocrisy, I should congratulate myself for now I know the virtue which I pretend to have but have not the courage to acquire and sustain with my actions.  I don't want to achieve perfection.  I just want to be better.
                  • I will learn to accept life's valuable lessons, even if the vessel of the message or the messenger is a hypocrite.  For the value of an idea has nothing to do whatsoever with the sincerity of the person expressing it.
                  • Even if I manage to get myself rid of all my hypocrisy, I will do everything humanly possible not to speak of people I dislike.  Because i have a bias and would tend to speak rather unfairly.
                  • I would rather be an honest hypocrite than lie about my imperfections, and make an honest effort towards the improvement of my limitations and shortcomings.

                   So, open your heart; look for the good, and welcome them into the fold, for whom among us is not a hypocrite? The story is told of a traveller who happened to meet Buddha. Never before had he seen someone radiating so much peace and compassion. Stunned, he asked, "What are you? Are you a heavenly being?" "No," replied Buddha. "Are you a holy man?" asked the traveller. "No," said Buddha. "Well, then," the traveler persisted, "are you an ordinary man?" "No," said Buddha. "What, then, are you?" asked the traveller. "Awake," replied Buddha.
                  Let’s lead our lives in such a fashion that if anyone ever asks us, "Are you a hypocrite?" we would be able to reply, "No, I’m awake." 
                  Awake.

                  Be the witness of your thoughts.
                  Buddha
                  *from the Quoran
                  *White paper of Lonnie Lee

                  7 comments:

                  1. This is a well thought ot post and a very interesting topic. i tink the reason why people are hypocrites and liars is becasuse of self interest and survival issues more than just being rat finks...but there are people who seem to think what most see as bad traits to be good. To me it seems a question of degree and awareness. although
                    individuals may benefit from hypocrisy and lying, the fact is they too might benefit even more from being themselves and being honest and that is where awareness comes in. Perhaps being honest and sincere all the time is the most selfish way to be AND the most generous. But I think you are correct, in the final analysis its about being open to new ideas, being mindful and awake, growing, and trying to become a better person.:)

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                  2. •I would rather be an honest hypocrite than lie about my imperfections, and make an honest effort towards the improvement of my limitations and shortcomings.

                    What a wonderful point. I think we all have hypocrasy in us. We just ourselves and us by slacker standards with the thought that we KNOW why we are doing it. But because we can;t see inside other's hearts sometimes we judge harshly. It is good to recognize. An ugly part of humanity to be sure. A very inspirational read PB.

                    How are you doing? I hope your heart is a little lighter today. Heartfelt internet hug!

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                  3. Fantastic points :)
                    Thanks for sharing - very inspirational.

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                  4. this was great :) so many times i can find hte hypocrite in me ... i think we all are ... we just need to work with it xo

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                  5. ~~We are all hypocites to an extent....but hopefully our awareness to change, become better, & not judge others is something we are working on, striving to transform.
                    For me, "I am still a work in progress."
                    Always, always evolving...Always learning.
                    Thanks for the class, Psycho Basher. You are a superb teacher. XXxx

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                  6. Thank you Rivercat. I agree, Honesty is a paradoxical trait.
                    Hello Jamie, much better now. The inital shock has worn out and I have picked myself up once again. Thanks sweetie.
                    Thank you RJ, glad you found it inspiring.
                    Hey A, we all are. We just need to grin and grow up sometimes.
                    Sweet Kim, thank you. We are both students of life.

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                  7. What a great read, some serious food for thought. I like the point you make about not wanting to achieve perfection-just be better. I agree, as much as we might all want to think we aren't a hypocrite, we all can be. It's just finding the ability to not judge others and learn from our mistakes to make a better us.

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                  Go ahead, will Blog for comments.