Some Basic Principles of Life

a) Self-Created Significances

Everyone brings his or her own meaning to the abortion issue. A person who believes in Christian one-life-ism will see abortion very differently from someone who believes in reincarnation or atheism. This is because the meaning of any experience (including abortion) has much more to do with the person having the experience than it has to do with the external experience itself.

The meaning and significance of every experience is dependent upon 1) the physical experience itself, 2) the context (the setting, the circumstances) in which the experience is occurring, 3) the consequences (the ramifications, the future result) of the experience, and 4) the mind set, (the beliefs, attitudes, expectation) of the person having the experience.

An in depth discussion of "Arbitrary Significances” can be found in, An Interview with the Devil^® at:

Ref-55 Arbitrary Significances

And on our truth101 web site at:

<http://www.truth101.org/vs-ab-1-significances.html>

b) Selective Perception

People perceive, sense, and remember only a very small portion of the total sensory input to which they are exposed. The vast majority of every human experience goes by completely unnoticed. In addition, people intentionally focus on certain parts of their experiences and, intentionally or unconsciously, ignore other parts.

The end result is that, after a significant event occurs, humans are left with a grossly incomplete representation of the total experience. The memory of what occurred is often a very misleading representation of the actual experience.

An in depth discussion of “Selective Perception” can be found in, An Interview with the Devil^® at:

Ref-56 Selective Perception / Blind Men Peddling Elephants

And on our truth101 web site at:

<http://www.truth101.org/vs-ab-2-perception.html>

c) Mistakes, Errors and False Beliefs

No matter what topic we focus on, it’s impossible to know all there is to know about it. We could be missing a vital piece of information without even knowing that that piece is missing, and without that missing piece, we could be coming to some erroneous and very misleading conclusions.

Is it possible that you and I could be wrong about something right now? Is it possible that something we think of as definitely true is actually false, or vice versa? The answer to both questions is, "Yes, of course we could be wrong about something, right now." And if we were wrong, would we have any way to know that we were wrong? Again the answer is obvious, "No, we wouldn't."

Which leads us to the next question: "What's the probability of our being wrong about something, right now?" Who can answer that question with any degree of certainty? We could look into our past for some clues. If you look at history, you'll find that, collectively, humans have an incredibly long track record of being wrong about almost everything. And what about our personal lives? I can's speak for you, but in my life, I've been wrong too many times to even count.

So what do we do with this information? We could hold our conclusion as a theory and not as a carved-in-granite fact. We could say that the evidence tells us that ( ___our present conclusion___ ) is the most probable truth about (__the topic of discussion__) .

An in depth discussion of “Mistakes, Errors and False Beliefs” can be found in, An Interview with the Devil^® at:

Ref-24 The Universal Law of Allowing

Ref-56 Selective Perception / Blind Men Peddling Elephants

And on our truth101 web site at:

<http://www.truth101.org/vs-ab-3-errors.html>

d) The Relationship Between Church and State

We can’t separate church and state because we are, by our nature, spiritual beings, and our spiritual nature is a fundamental aspect of everything we do, including forming governments. Thus the real issue becomes how do we create governmental structures that honor, respect, and allow for:

freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

An in depth discussion of “The Relationship Between Church and State” can be found in, An Interview with the Devil^® at:

Ref-07, My Life Is an Active Prayer

Ref-23 The Relationship Between Church and State

Ref-24 The Universal Law of Allowing

And on This web site at:

<http://www.pro-truth.net/40-church-state.html>

e) An Analysis of the Religious Assumptions
Underlying Capital Punishment

Capital punishment is an easy area to see where the meaning and consequences of one's beliefs and one's actions are significantly different depending upon which of the three religious assumptions (Religious one-life-ism, atheism, and reincarnation) is the correct assumption.

When you look closely at this controversial issue, you find objective reality, pure fantasy, and personal religious beliefs are all scrambled together.

An in depth discussion of “The Assumptions Underlying Capital Punishment” can be found in: Abortion -- The Secret Religious War^® at:

Endnote # 13 An Analysis of the Religious Assumptions
Underlying Capital Punishment

And on our truth101 web site at:

<http://www.truth101.org/vs-capital-punishment.html>

g) Denial and Projection

You need to understand that when someone is being judgmental or expresses an emotion-laden opinion about you, they are actually talking about themselves, and not about you. The concept is called projection.

People tend to deny aspects of themselves and then look for and hate those same character traits in others. This concept, called projection, is clearly defined in a highly recommended book titled, “The Adjusted American” ^[1]* by Snell and Gail Putney. Here’s a paraphrase (one interpretation) of their description.

Scapegoat Scapegoat ...

When something goes wrong, there is the tendency to blame someone else, throw them out, and then declare the problem to be solved. It’s called “scapegoating” and it comes from an ancient Middle Eastern practice in which a ritual was conducted to cast all evil onto a goat and then drive the goat out of town.

The ritual is still alive and well, today. It has; however, changed form. Today, humans use each other for their scapegoats in this ritual. In psychological terms, the practice is called projection.

It stems from the findings that, “Men [and women] hate in others those things -- and only those things -- which they despise in themselves.” It stems from the tendency to disown aspects of one’s own personality. It’s a form of denial and self-deception.

"I would never do this or that, but look at that son of a bitch
over there being/doing all those bad things."

Projection is at the core of bigotry and prejudice. Bigots tend to lash out verbally and/or physically at their targets and then, to justify their own otherwise unacceptable talk or behavior, they claim themselves to be the victim of these evil people they hate. They then lash out verbally and/or physically at the so-called bad person. They commonly to get stuck in the negative and repetitive, destructive cycle which is required to justify their own behavior.

On the reverse side of projection, people tend to see in others, those desirable characteristics that they feel are lacking in themselves and then love and adore the other person.

The healthy approach to one’s own self-image is to acknowledge, in one’s self, the potential to be, do, and have all the characteristics and behaviors that one sees in others, regardless of how desirable or repugnant those attributes may be.

^[1]* Harper & Row, New York, NY, 1964

h) Reality Versus Beliefs About Reality

When focused on any aspect of life, it’s necessary to distinguish facts from fiction, truth from fairytales. This is particularly important in the abortion controversy. There are dozens of so-called facts that are nothing more that beliefs, speculation, and/or opinion.

An in-depth discussion of “The Distinctions Between Reality and One’s Beliefs About Reality” can be found in: Abortion -- The Secret Religious War^® at:

Ref-117 Separate Facts from Fiction

Ref-133p Reality Versus Beliefs About Reality

Ref-143b The Anti-abortionists Core Assumptions

Ref-126 The Whole Truth About Abortion in One Sentence

Ref-127 Where the Truth Lies

Ref-256 Facts and Assumptions Are Mutually Exclusive

And on this web site at:

Facts and Assumptions Are Mutually Exclusive

The Anti-abortionists Core Assumptions

An in depth study of these principles and additional related ideas can be found either elsewhere on this web sites, on one of our other web sites, and/or in one or more of the five books listed below:

AN INTERVIEW WITH "THE DEVIL^®– Exposing and Examining the Hidden and Previously Ignored Aspects of the Abortion Controversy.

ABORTION -- THE SECRET RELIGIOUS WAR ^®-- A View of Abortion Without the Illusions, the Unprovable Assumptions, or the Media Hype.

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT^® -- A Guidebook for Playing the Game of Life.

THE BOOK OF TIMELESS TRUTHS & WISDOM^® -- A Wholesome Way to Bring More Freedom, Joy, and Comfort into Your Life.

Pro-Choice Pro-Truth Pro-Life

The evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the only way to be pro-life is to be pro-choice.

Is Personal Success Coaching for You? Experience Timeless Truths & Wisdom

42 --- Some Basic Principles

http://www.pro-truth.net/42-basic-principles.html

...

A Brief Overview of the Entire Project