How the people around us help or hinder our spiritual journey and our responses.

[Dragonsend]

It difficult when someone lies to us because we should be able to see through those lies. I don't think we should build walls but we should weigh what people say to us carefully.

[ShailaSheshadri]

Excellent question. The people around us, our parents, friends, and family influence our development and responses. If we feel we are cheated and made to lie, it will certainly suppress our feelings. But, with all these, if a person has a strong will for his own opinions, he will not be carried away by others' influences.

[Rosebella]

Yes, it does affect you. I have found these lies may lead you down a road you weren't meant to go. It may led to self deception. The interactions with those around us are important, so if they are tainted by lies they will affect consciously and unconsciously.

[Julie Petitbon]

I think allowing someone to lie can effect your spiritual growth. Part of growing spirituality is seeking truth, and to condone a lie contradicts that. However, if you are aware of the lie, you can choose how to react to it. People, society, religion - everything has a part in who we are and how we change and grow, but we have a say in how much.

[Miercoles]

Certainly having negative people around you can hinder your spiritual growth. They can become anchors who weigh you down and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Some people can fight against it and win, even if those people are still there. Most of us have to get away from those toxic people so that our light can shine.

[Brandy C]

I think we do get influenced by the behavior of the people around us. In the end however, it is up to us to decide how we let others affect our search for truth.

I completely agree! Our behavior is influenced by people around us and often times we don't realize it. Some will say ”how can that be”? I'm a perfect example! For 15 years I was married to the father of my oldest 3 boys. He was a very negative person and always thought he was right. No matter what happened it was always someone else’s fault. After 15 horrific years, I finally got the courage to leave. After everything was final and I refused to suffer from any more emotional abuse, I realized how different I was. While I was with him I had become negative and cynical. Always looking on the negative side of things. After I was once again positive and full of life. Although I wasn't like him, his behavior affected me and I didn't even realize it.

[Mailis]

If someone close to you lies to you, then it does change you and can make you doubt your ability to make correct judgments about people. But in the end, you have to learn from it and intentionally move on. Don't allow things to just happen to you, make them happen yourself. And spiritual growth, mental growth, maybe hardships and doubt are part of it, to make us reach for that next level.

[Dragonsend]

Allowing someone to lie to me hindered my spiritual journey because when the lie was realized, I lost any foundation I had to stand on. The person who lied to me was so important to me, and helped shape who I thought I was, that when I found out how many lies I had swallowed, I no longer trusted my picture of my identity and it caused me to question everything. It was not a fun journey back to what truth was. God helped me. People who would tell me the truth helped. I am learning more and more every day, that God will give me the answers I need. This book was so helpful with so many things.

Good luck to you. Surrounding yourself with honest people is a good way to help yourself, and your absolutely correct to say that God can help. He will always be your best friend through everything.

[Dragonsend]

I have been in an interesting situation. I have had to deal with a group of people talk about how honest they are yet they never correct the problem. If your completely honest then you admit, with a remorseful heart, your problems. I have had to distance myself from this group of people because they could never admit. However , luckily they helped my faith in God, family, and true friends stronger.

[brown09]

As someone who has experienced what he experienced in my own family, I feel as though he definitely experienced stasis due to his parents. Parents aren't perfect, but sometimes they're all we've got (especially during the formative years).

[Quickstudy]

I believe that your spiritual journey can be hindered by people around you. Believing in anything, you want others to accept, share in, and validate what you believe in. If the ones you love don't believe in what you do, your left feeling alone, outcasted, and questioning yourself and beliefs.

[Melchi Asuma]

Parents are actually and truthfully very influential to a child's development, even spiritually. I do believe that in Richard's case, his hinderered him for a bit.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Anyone can be fooled at any point of his/her spiritual journey. Getting out of such things quickly and without being harmed is part and parcel of a spiritual journey

[Jlbaird85]

Interesting question. I echo some of the things that have already been said on this thread. I think other people influence us for sure, but we are ultimately responsible for our choices. I find the phrase "allowing him to lie" interesting. Because people around us lie all the time, but it doesn't have to compromise our moral integrity.

[Mouricia Allen]

I think his parents were honest with their answers, and I liked how they responded. I do however feel like sometimes we take things to heart. Things we can't control and shouldn't try to control. That lie however really did destroy him more than I would have liked.