I’ve listed principles 4-10 on one page to avoid the tedium of asking the same set of questions for each individual principle. I hope you’ll take the time to deeply consider each of these items. I believe you’ll find they’re intrinsic to all of us and are all things we naturally desire. When we deal with others we have an unspoken expectation they will abide by these principles. When they don’t we have a righteous indignation toward them. Even worse, when we don’t abide by them we feel guilt and that indignation becomes focused on ourselves. We introduce a lot of self-destruction when this happens and yearn to return to a time before we let ourselves down. Obviously we can’t and so we create a whole host of problems for ourselves as a result.
Principle 4: Faithfulness
Faithful: 1 obs : full of faith 2: steadfast in affection or allegiance:LOYAL 3: firm in adherence to promises or observance of duty: CONSCIENTIOUS 4: given with strong assurance: BINDING 5: true to the facts, an original or a standard.
Principle 5: Justice
Justice: 1a: the maintenance or administration of what is just esp. by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments 2a: the quality of being just, impartial or fair 3: conformity to truth, fact or reason: CORRECTNESS
Principle 6: Way
Way: 3: a course (as a series of actions or sequence of events) leading in a direction or toward an objective.
We all want to discover our path to walk in life. We want to know where we’re going.
Principle 7: Truth
Truth: 2(a)1: the state of being the case: FACT (2): the body of real things, events and facts: ACUTALITY 3(a): the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality.
Principle 8: Holy/ Holiness
Holy: 1: exalted or worthy of devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness 3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity.
Yes, we all have a desire to be exalted in the eyes of our peers and society at large for our “goodness” and “righteousness”. This is a good and healthy desire unless it becomes corrupted, the same as any other virtue. It is this desire that drives us to crave a devotion to a deity outside of ourselves that will add context to and govern our lives and values and inform us how we fit in. There WILL be a deity in our lives. It’s only a question of which one.
Principle 9: Life
Life: 1a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body 4: spiritual existence transcending physical death 6: a way or manner of living.
We all want to have life and to have it to the full. We all have a desire for eternity. We wish to continue on beyond our physical existence and become transcendent in some form or other.
Principle 10: One
One: 1: being a single unit or thing 3b(1): constituting a unified entity of two or more components (2): being in agreement or union .
We all want to be one with ourselves. We’re all exhausted by the internal conflicts between our mind and emotions, our conscience and our body; there are too many internal conflicts to mention here. We all want to be at peace-with ourselves more than anything else.
All definitions from Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition.