-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