-The Right- Tenet 7

7. "Be who you are, not who people tell you that you are."

     Your sense of self is important, in fact, its more than likely one of the most important things any sentient creature can hold. It encompasses everything we've gone over up to this point. The stability, the defined properties of a willed creature. But its more than self image, more than who you are; Its how you think, what you do, and what you fail to do. It's in what you learn, and what you fail to learn; in why you love, and also why those that love you choose to do so. It contains every bit of value you have as an individual, as a member of a group, and as a member of a species. Everything you say about yourself, prove about yourself, and conversely all those things you fail to say and prove. Your sense of self is you; in all that information, interlinked and complex as any of the organic molecules that make up your physical form, more than any book could ever hold.

      This vast collection of information, this codex of self, along with awareness of our world in general [which many animals have]; it is what defines you as a living, breathing, entity, and more importantly transforms that living thing into a sapient, self aware, justified creature. One should exist that concept, and let it be the -only- concept. Other people can't tell you who and what you are; no one with any great deal of certainty will ever be able to define you any better than your own existence does. They can only experience and participate in it; don't waste those chances to express yourself and impact your surroundings. You, in your entirety, is the only “you” that can be, so don't try to conform yourself to any will but your own. That creative spark is the divine; or at least as close to this place's will to create and be that we may ever experience first hand.

      This doesn't mean to abandon all else, and pursue a life of hedonistic emotion, action and thought, since a complete self is only complete when it takes in, when it breathes, when it exists everything and everyone around it.

      So exist, exist to your fullest, exist for yourself, and for others; exist inside yourself and outside as well. But most importantly fulfill that purpose; existence for its own sake, growth for its own sake, being simply to be and let others be... is the thing we share with all others, the purest thing we can share in.

-The Right- Tenet 6

6. “Everything is in your point.”

    This is not about egotism, or a view of the universe centric to your own opinions. However “Everything is in your point”; that is to say, every action taken, every word spoken, should have a purpose. This particular axiom has to do with intension; people have the ability to define their concept of self, and other's concepts of them though their actions and words. The closer that your internal concept of self, and the concepts of you that those around you hold; the more completely and truthfully you have communicated your concept of self out into the external world. You tend to generate less logical paradoxes concerning your perceived method of thought, your words, and your actions within those around you.

    It's a matter of truth, by keeping everything you have power over in line with how you see yourself. It prevents you from betraying yourself, and betraying others; by putting effort into developing habits that remain in line with whom you truly see yourself as, you avoid the pitfall of hypocrisy and all the negatives that come with it. You find more peace of mind in your self, less insecurities, since you know who you are, the confusion over the mater [after you have actually determined it of course] is lifted. Others also will also be able to recognize you for whom you are with consistent projection of self image. Trust can also be more easily built and maintained when we aren't constantly putting up a smokescreen of deception to convince one another that we're someone that we are not.

    Like tenet 2, this is about the correlation of internal self, and the self as perceived by others. This time, instead of truthfulness being the focus, consistency is... Even if you're trusted, if people know you not to lie; this is only so useful in helping to project your true inner self unless that inner self is stable. People tend not to identify with people who change, at their core, constantly; even if they are truthful. The honest truth of the matter is that unless you maintain a sense of consistency in whom you think you are, and who you appear to be; then any given “you” tends not to stay around long enough for form lasting allegiances and relationships with others.

Up to this moment, most of the points I try to make have been concerning the importance of learning, growing, the way we are all interconnected in concept and emotion, and most importantly, the way these things affect our concept of self, and the concept of self that others hold for us. The fact that “Everything is in your point” is equally important; because none of what has come before has any importance unless you allow a concept of self to stabilize.

As living things, we exist in time as well as space, we have to be able to maintain the store of second hand information and direct experience we gather; and their effects on us as people. Consistency in time is key to this.

[Obviously not too the point of dysfunction though :p]

-The Right- Tenet 5

5. "People should see you as valuable."

    This means exactly what it seems too; people should see you as valuable, as necessary, an integral component to people's live... Essentially, they should notice if you're missing. This isn't, however, about ego; people should see you as necessary, because you should make yourself necessary. It isn't about amassing prestige or respect, or about expecting reciprocation for your efforts. A portion of every single person's concept of self is tied up in the way that others perceive them, since our consciousnesses aren't isolated; but instead subject to the affects of our environment, and our peers [not everyone is as malleable in this respect as other, obviously.] By doing our best, or failing to do so, we not only reinforce our own internal self image; but the external image of ourselves of any who happen to be observing.

    People have a choice as to how to express themselves obviously, they can choose to act on, or not to act on potential. They can choose to act, to act half-heartedly, or not to act at all. And they have the choice of creative action, destructive action... and anything in-between. Personally, I believe humanity should forge forward; continue to evolve, move towards some sense of unity; if for no other reason than for each individual to aid all of the others in realizing their full potential. You enact your will, constructively, on the outside world; as to reinforce your conception of self, and to express it outwardly for others to see, and form in the portions of their memories that are you.

    Obviously, constructive manifestation of one's self concept isn't the only option... but more often than not the consequences of less altruistic paths can be disastrous. Complete Metaphysical Solipsism in and of itself isn't harmful, but when the “existent mind” ceases to see the others within its illusion as parts of itself; and becomes careless in their care, or worse yet adversarial to them. Nothing but harm comes to both the world outside the self, if in fact it does exist; and the symbols and metaphors that are the world within the Solipsist themselves. If nothing else; wanton negativity, destruction, and painful emotion does great harm to the one who feels them.

    On the converse, destruction itself isn't the enemy either. There are times when its necessary; for defense of the self and others, or the destruction of the old for the erection of the new. It is intention that counts; when one makes themselves useful, they should do what they see as needing to be done. Not only to benefit others, but themselves as well. There is no such thing as a “selfless act”, at least not within “sane” people; however, there are acts which are less selfish, egalitarian, and even perhaps while not “absolutely selfless”, strongly selfless indeed. We are rewarded for our good actions, even if those rewards are nothing else than a sense of satisfaction, and reinforcement of our selves.

    The final thing that most people miss however... is that while helping others, and receiving the help of others does strengthen you. To squander than strength in self obsession often harms the recipient of that boon, while continue to aid others would allow them to continue growing and progressing. We do our best to grow, thrive, and move forward; even “selfless” acts allow us opportunities for self indulgence. The level of interconnectedness that our psyche's have, the level of dependence many of us have on one another; no act, no matter how selfless or selfish really leaves others unaffected... and by proxy, the self unaffected.

Help yourself, help others; help others by helping yourself, and in helping yourself, help those around you. After all, you can't aid others if you render yourself helpless; and if you allow your sense of self, and consequently other's perceptions of you to reach a critical point, you yourself move beyond help.

-The Right- Tenet 4

4. "Don't put too much stock into what people say, experience is the best teacher.”

    It's not to say there is no value to anyone's perspective than your own, in fact I am a huge supporter of “The Sciences” and all other forms of credible, transmitted wisdom. However the human capacity for language allows us to form an uncountable number of  thoughts, and express them as statements. For the most part aside from the wildly semantically indecipherable, we've all had this experience, the inability to express a thought with a satisfying level of clarity. Statements can also be context sensitive, or worst yet, completely subjective. Opinions are valid, but oftentimes only within the mind of their bearer, when called upon to justify them; it's likely we cannot at all. What passes for “wisdom", varies from one culture to the next, indeed from one -person- to the next.


    This must be accounted for.


    Instead, feel free to take the experience of others, along with their opinions, but always try to take into account how they relate to your current situation. Some of our greatest failing as a species, come from refusing to consider context while pouring over a piece of information we happen to revere. Although it should be a given, context is key, within the context of a statement lies all of its power... without its context statements are, often, quickly rendered meaningless... One should always consider the context with which a particular nugget of wisdom was formed.


    Take the experience of others; experience is just that, experience, so long as the source and information are reliable. Although people often take their opinions, dogmas, prejudices -way- too seriously, a tidbit of helpful information may be hidden within the semantic mire of any particular statement. But; always keep in mind what is best for you, those you concern yourself with, and the situation at hand. Many people will tell you to do something blindly, as divine providence, on their authority alone, or simply because they “say so”; without so much as a reason or explanation.


    The simple fact of the matter, is that human beings are opinionated... any living, thinking creature; with limited access to objective truth is... it's a simple fact of the matter. Our survival has always depended on taking the quickest route to an effective solution; and without the ability to see the whole picture, a good estimation is... good enough. This often causes people to offer help that helps them more than the person who's actually asking for the help; people almost always help themselves given the option, it's simply instinct. Obviously, if someone manages to offer a  bit of tested wisdom, and explain to you why they believe as they do; take that, learn from it, if it passes your own personal litmus test.


    However, if you take some “wisdom” into yourself, on blind faith or outside authority alone; you had best trust it's source an awful damn lot, or be prepared to be screwed, and face the consequences of your misplaced trust. Unfortunately, it's the way things are; the nature of our limited wisdom makes it so; and it happens a lot more than people realize. Both intentionally, or unintentionally; people seem to believe a lot of things they've likewise been taught, or told to believe, unconditionally.


    In the end, Dogma, Opinion, Bullshit, Superstition; they are worth no more than you allow them to be worth. Let your minds determine what is best for you; with a little bit of help from your heart, the things you know, and have come to see as true.

Ooops.

     Sorry about that folks, I didn't realize everyone was waiting for me to finish the whole thing to say a single word. You are all more than welcome to comment on any given tenet, without respect to the others...  I'm sorry I thought this was a given.
     I look forward to hearing your opinions... and obviously, we'll do a recap of the whole thing when its all done, and in context... but I like to think they stand fairly strongly on their own. I'll be releasing another one tonight by the way.
     Tenet 4,  "Don't put too much stock into what people say, experience is the best teacher."

-The Right- Tenet 3

3. "Don't think only of yourself, life isn't about you, its not about anyone, it's about us."

It might seem counter, at first inspection, to some of the things I've said so far; especially concerning one's sense of self, and self-worth. But in truth, your sense of self, how you relate to those around you, and how those around you relate to you; are bound together more strongly than most realize in normal people. Although we seek autonomy, no living creature is truly independent. All life depends, upon other life; whether it be symbiosis, parasitosis, or outright predation. Humanity is no different, and due to the complexity of our minds, and our ability to interrelate, exchange ideas and information, and raw, simple, emotion... We are all very much a part of each other.

        At the same time this, particular ideal, shouldn't be taken to the point where we weaken, destroy, and cripple ourselves for the greater good. We, as individuals, shouldn't be constrained for the sake of the masses... this isn't a call for free will, and selfishness however. A group functions best when all its parts realize their full potential; a single broken cog can stymie an entire machine. We should understand; and have concern and care for those around us, to see to better serving, protecting, and loving one another... we each need to realize our own individual strengths, and apply them in union.

        We are instinctively compelled to survive, to flourish, to try to wrest the power to live, from the world around us. Yet at the same time, a new set of instincts is evolving, driven by the growing communal consciousness [or as some may say the shrinking of the world.] It seems the best way to stay alive, for complex organisms such as ourselves, is altruism, though some might not agree. The balance is fine, you have to care for yourself before you can care for others; and often times one truly hasn't cared for themselves if they ignore this very same connection. Love of self, and love of those in the world is often interwoven.

        In short... “life isn't about you”, a life lived only for one's own purposes, for one's own sake... is an empty, heartless, and often passionless thing. Yet, at the same time “Life isn't about anyone”, or at least no one in particular, no single person or cause is of paramount importance. Rather, “it's about us”, all of us, each and every one... and we should never forget that.

Another Piece of music, marginally relevant to the topic at hand for you all to enjoy. :3

-The Right- Tenet 2

2. "Don't ever break your word, if you say something mean it; and if you say you're gonna do something do it."

This particular one isn't about pride, or stubbornness, or any kind of foolhardy strength; this concept is about -consistency.- The world is a confusing place, and the biological minds even more so; we function on a messy bowl of wet circuitry... There are very few things in this world that we have any control over them; so it makes sense that we should strive to place our emotions, thought, actions, and reactions in line. This makes things much simpler than they are most of the time.

However, this isn't as blind and blatant as one might imagine. Controlling your own emotions and thoughts, keeping your words and actions in line with them, allows you to place them all into relative perspective. As previously covered, we have twin "high order" impulses, called Empathy and Sympathy; these allows us to assess our thoughts and emotions. Drive ourselves towards the more constructive ones, and allow us to purge the harmful or dangerous ones. The goal isn't to lie in order to keep our entire manifestation in line, it's to make lying unnecessary.

With complete consistency and honesty come complete responsibility... your nature is yours to form. Simplify yourself; we are sentient creatures; we rule our thoughts, bodies, actions, and words. Never say something you don't intend to follow through on, try not to commit to actions you can't... and if you do, strive with all you have to do it anyway.

When it comes down to it, your feelings and thoughts, and the words and actions they bloom into are your only true lasting impression on this world. Everything fades with time, aside from memories reinforced and passed from one person to the other. Even genetics are susceptible to random mutation and breakdown, and the cross threading of information between two mates lead to imperfect replication.

The purest incarnation, or representation of yourself is always memetic. Even after you are gone, the memetic structure that you leave behind in this world remains; and dependent upon its strength and accuracy, carries everything that others knew to be you.

Obviously, actions and words laid in jest are immune to this; but care should be exercised to show when you are joking and aren't, and "jest" should never extend into the realm of immutable seriousness.

This is "White Light" by the amazing MC Xander

-The Right- Tenet 1

1. "If you know what the right thing to do is, for fuck's sake, do it."

There... is a part of us, "mind" and brain; that allows us to identify the needs of other with our own needs, and transgressions made against others with those made against ourselves. The ability to... cross reference external stimulus and reactions, to those other than yourself is called "Empathy"; and as with any skill it dulls with disuse, and fades entirely with time. While empathy's lesser sibling "Sympathy", can often make due, in the long run, and in all details it's not a suitable replacement; though it is better than nothing.

These twin impulses, empathy and sympathy, are what bind all higher order mammalian communities together; in conjunction with instinct of course, though the latter tends to be a negative correlation, emphasizing the survival of the individual. Obviously, the survival of the individual is important to the survival of the group as a whole; but as we advance, as we gain ground on the world around us, sometimes this instinctual impulse to survive can get in the way of actually advancing and surviving as a whole.

The point is, the ability to identify "right", and "wrong"... is an inherent trait, one common to both the faithful and the atheistic; It's a biological function that has served well in the past.

Develop your judgment and trust it, everyone has an inner "moral" compass, well, maybe not sociopaths; whatever the case follow that damn thing. Seek out the right thing to do, and do it; people often hesitate for whatever reason. Sometimes it's because what's really "right" conflicts with what they've been taught, sometimes it's because of a conflict with their sense of whom they should be, and sometimes its even because they're afraid of what other people will say or do. The truth is, none of that matters, the preacher and his books, the saint and his silver tongue, the guy across the road; none of them know any better what to do than you, they just think they do, and you should too.

 

The Seven Tenets of The Right

There will be a little bit of foul language from this point on out, till the completion of this topic at least.

Alright, here we go. I'm going to take you through the seven aspects of my...personal philosophy; as mentioned before, only shallowly at first. These are in order of conception and not importance, and indeed... many tenets feed into each other. Its very important to take this as a whole.

Also bear in mind that many of these can be taken at face value, but not completely; they deserve further analysis... [which we'll get to.]

• "If you know what the right thing to do is, for fuck's sake do it." 
• "Don't ever break your word, if you say something mean it; and if you say you're gonna do something do it." 
• "Don't think only of yourself; life isn't about you, it's not about anyone, it's about us." 
• "Don't put too much stock into what people say, experience is the best teacher." 
• "People should see you as valuable." 
• "Everything is in your point."
• "Be who you are, not who people tell you that you are."

The music for your enjoyment is "Strobe" by Deadmau5.

 

 

The Right -Preface-

Alright guys, first things first. To lay a foundation for the things I'm going to say, think, and put forth here; I'm first going to give an exposition of my personal philosophy... Rather, my idealized philosophy; as with any living creature, I'm often...incapable of living up to my own ideals, but I try my best.

I call this... "The Right", as in my person opinion its the only thing anyone has any right too, themselves. Next post later this week when I clear my head and formulate a slightly more coherent approach to this; I'll go over, in a very shallow manner of coarse, the basic tenants of my philosophy, afterward we'll go into further detail.

It has everything to do with a person's concept of self, and that concept's affect on the "outside" world.

For the time being, here's a nice piece of music I've found, it's by an artist called "Skrillex" or Sonny Moore. Very uplifting, and kind of fitting in my opinion :3