Innate Values and Acquired Values When we look at ourselves from outside we can only see the surface of what we have become. We can't see or perhaps cannot even imagine the inner core, which, like in the example of the coconut, is the only part that really can sustain and nourish us. The shell serves as a protection but we certainly can't consume (eat) it. The core consists of inner or innate qualities(IQ's) such as peace, love, power, truth, happiness and so on. The shell is the ego which consists of aspects we have acquiredthrough the course of our lives such as experiences, abilities, memories, learning, habits and beliefs – in short, all that is implicit (implied) when we say: 'I am so-and-so, from such-and-such an organization'. While we are limited to these acquired aspects, our true qualities remain inaccessible. Through deep reflection and meditation we can break the shell and activate our inner qualities from which our values are born.