A lot of people comment on my writing that I am so honest about myself. People find it inspirational, and I'm glad, that by making myself vulnerable I hope to make it a safe place for others to explore their own stories and feelings about themselves. Satya is behind ahimsa in the yamas. Don't lie, the commandment would be. Indeed, lying to oneself is the biggest obstacle. A lot of yoga is to directly inquire who we are and tell the truth about ourselves. There's a great children's story by Demi called The Empty Pot. I think the author got it from the Upanishads, which has a more grown up version, in which a man wants to get into a monastary, but the monk admitting says, "Tell me who you are. What family do you come from?" The man never knew his father, so he goes and asks his mother who is father was and she says, "I don't know who your father is because you were conceived when I was employed at three different households." The young man thinks about this for a while and then goes back to the monk. The monk asks, "So, who is your father?" and the man says, "I don't know who my father is, because my mother conceived me when she was employed by three different households." On this truth, the man was admitted to the monastary.When we lie to ourselves, we create fear. Fear of the truth and the fear of ourselves. The Buddha was tempted by fear under the Bodhi tree before enlightenment. He understood that there was nothing to fear, because everything was of himself, and there was nothing of himself to fear. Another story from India in Heinrich Zimmer's Philosophies of India, states that a prostitute tells her truth, and that the truth can make rivers move backwards. Indeed she knows who she is, admits the truth of it, and the rivers run backwards. So look deeply at yourself; pull out anything you're avoiding. Look at it closely and the truth will set you free.