Do you have the answer to this puzzler?

You can’t fake it, but you can definitely hide it.

You can’t buy or sell it, but it never stops giving to those who have it.

You can’t see it, but everyone feels when it’s there.

Got your answer?

Most people chime in with answers like love, wisdom, and happiness. Others say integrity, compassion, character, honor, dignity, altruism, and a few more along these lines. So who is correct?

Well, all of them. This constellation of virtues points up the ineffable essence of inner beauty.

There’s been a lot of talk in the media about it lately. Maybe you've seen the TV program that entertains its audience by lampooning the visually stunning contestants for their apparent lack of "true" beauty. More and more, this type of beauty seems to be missing in action, and it’s all too easy to make sport of those who haven’t a clue.

So, what is inner beauty? Do you have it?

It seems that the path to inner beauty, if there is such a thing, leads directly to the core of the individual. Think of it as the intuitive "heart and soul" within you.

The ancient Greeks, big fans of all things beautiful, believed a person's soul resided in the heart muscle and their early anatomical scientists often dissected the organ searching for evidence. Today this age-old analogy offers us an inkling of the divine wisdom we harbor within us, even when unaware of its presence. We intuit that everyone is beautiful on the inside, yet finding it within ourselves can be challenging.

Can you remember meeting a person you thought was filled with inner beauty? What was it about them you recognized? This is a very significant question if you know the ancient philosophy that teaches a very profound axiom: we are not able to recognize in others that which we do not ourselves possess. At some level of being, you are no different than they are or you could not have recognized inner beauty in them. What you found so attractive about them is a relevant insight to your own inner beauty.

There is nothing more exciting or powerful than discovering this wonderful truth about yourself. Information like this will shatter the old self-image with its criticisms, aspersions and fears, while laying the groundwork for a new way to experience the world in which you live.

As your inner beauty blossoms, your life experiences change profoundly. Gone are the fear, shame, insecurity, and harsh judgments of the inner critic. What replaces such baser behaviors is the most wonderful and useful asset in the world - the power that comes with loving yourself unconditionally. You somehow feel magnetically attractive, observing your own inner light as it shines through and radiates out to the people you meet. You appear more beautiful on the outside, looking and feeling healthier, happier, more vibrant and alive with passion and vigor.

The reward of such awareness is more than you imagine. This is communion with the source of love and the integrity to meaningfully communicate it to the world around you. People recognize their own inner beauty in you, and that is a definition of true love: the recognition of oneself in another.

Free your inner beauty and you’ll find that things happen the way you would have them - from the most important virtue to the least significant event. You’ll become more loving and giving, healthy and fit, happy and brimming with self-confidence. You’ll create greater self-esteem, truly loving relationships, and a more harmonious environment in which to live.

This journey is like no other, an adventure that leads to the very heart of your being, where science and spirituality come together - deep inside your self. When you’re ready to claim your personal power and reap the many rewards of your true beauty, the inner path to love and abundance awaits you.