ABSTRACT
When Martha Key introduced herself as “a liar,” she sensed things about lying I had never considered. I had always thought lying was a simple matter of not telling the truth. But Martha Key instinctively knew lots more about it. She knew that a lot of lying involved liberal measures of self-deception, denial, and habitual lying to oneself. Even more important, lying to oneself or others avoids facing our human predicament as difficulties accumulate and escalate. Sooner or later, there comes a day of reckoning. At some level, she sensed what the Enneagram makes plain: by failing to address what troubles us most, we cease to evolve and grow as human beings. Not only do we evade the responsibility of making a relevant response; we miss out on the opportunities for spiritual encounter that may accompany such efforts.
