The word integrity is derived from the word integer, which means a thing that is complete in itself. In other words, undivided, whole, and unbroken. It is good to understand this connection with the quality of integrity, because we often confuse another linked quality, ‘honesty’, with integrity. Honesty is not the same as integrity. True integrity is a quality that is rarely found in our world today, but it is both deeply admired and also deeply desired.
One with true integrity is trusted and respected because their words and actions are aligned. In other words, they follow through on what they say and intend, and their thought processes must be the basis for this alignment. Who among us does not wish to be aligned in this way? Some of us have integrity in some parts of our lives. For example, we may have a strong integrity at work, be trusted and relied upon and work with honesty too; we will not lie or cheat or bribe or deceive, and yet, in our personal lives, what we think is not what we say, and even further from what we do.
So, the question is why can we not operate in a fully integrated way in all parts of our lives? The reason is that we have pockets of emptiness inside and we are not able to constantly give, because we are needy and so we take from others. Relationships that begin with this inner neediness will be difficult, even if the desire is to be helpful and a support for goodness, we will not be always able to do that.
Integrity is a part of spiritual awareness. The first awareness to be cultivated is that of understanding that as a soul, a spiritual being, I was once completely full and content. As time and lives have passed by, this powerful state is lost. Relationships that have been take/take have broken the heart into pieces. The heart retains the pain, and the negative memories are stored away. In this state we feel vulnerable. We see our imperfections and do not wish others to see them. So, we try to look different on the outside to hide what we are feeling and thinking on the inside. Therefore, there is an absence of true integrity. Until the heart is healed and becomes integral again, true integrity is impossible.
Through taking time each day to meditate, contemplate and be alone with the self, there can be a complete acceptance of the self. Spiritual integrity is returning to the original self, full of peace, love and joy. Everything I need on the outside is there within me. The original self is undivided. Integrity is being completely aware of how I would be inside when I have returned to that wholeness, completed and healed. This takes time to accomplish. It is a spiritual journey, for which meditation is essential. Those on that journey are walking from a fragmented self, towards that undivided state where true integrity is manifest in all aspects of life.
Sona Bahri is a qualified translator/interpreter, working for many multinational organisations. She is based in Abu Dhabi and runs the Inner Space Meditation Centre.
