BOOK 1
CHAPTER ONE
-«Of Gods and Men»
This book is written in a new type of language.
Each word means exactly what it says.
Read at a steady comfortable pace and don’t stop to think.
-THE CURSE OF STUPIDITY
It’s not nice to call anyone «stupid,» but there are an awful lot of stupid people around.
A stupid person ir a man in a stupor. He doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t understand how his own actions and attitudes determine what happens to him. Obviously he can’t improve his performance, not as long as he believes his misfortunes are due to just plain «bad luck.»
Stupidity is often called, «the sin of intellectual pride.» It’s the curse of blindness which afllicts men and separates them from the Gods.
A stupid person believes he knows everything there is. This leaves him without incentive to learn anything new. Snap-judgments from an accurate basis for measuring the strength of a person’s incentive.
-WHERE DO YOU RANK?
Snap-judgments are first impressions based on observation of superficial behavior-patterns. These impressions are vague and can’t be logically defended. Later on they always prove correct.
There are a number of such patterns which make it possible to rank people in 5 distinct groups. They are graduated according to strength of incentive, or stupidity-in-reverse.
Occasionally people will move from one group to the other without shedding all their old habits. Most people who read this document will belong to Group 5.i.
The groups are:
- Lone Wolves,
- Drifters,
- Activists,
- The In-Crowd,
- The Gods.
-LONE WOLVES
are characterized by 6 behavior-patterns:
i) They’re unaware of the viciousness and cruelty of the world and not bothered by it.
ii)They’re unaware of the sufferings of others, and seem cold and unfeeling.
iii) They have no self-respect and lie a lot.
iv) They have no respect for others.
v) They can’t tune in.
vi) They’re lonely, insecure, anxious, but don’t admit it.
Lone Wolves seem shameless, insolent, cruel. Everything they say sounds negative. Some are definitely malicious. Others just stop anything good from happening.
Lone Wolves are forever busy «making the most of a bad situation,» and don’t have time to learn. They show little incentive to better themselves.
-DRIFTERS
Drifters are always vaguely dissatisfied but can’t suggest alternatives. They even sound dubious.
«How’d you like it here?»
«We-e-ell? . . . I dunno.»
If they happen to fall in whit Activists or members of the In-Crowd, that’s what they turn out yo be. If they meet up whit a God, they become Gods themselves.
Their incentive can be weak or strong.
-ACTIVISTS
show 3 distinct behavior patterns:
i) They’re very much aware of the viciousness of this world, and afraid of it.
ii) They think they’ve got the answer and spend their days and nights running after it.
iii) They don’t really tune in.
Activists comes in two sizes:
a) Junior Leaguers and Clubwomen who collect things (incl. dollars) and practice disciplines (incl. yoga) but never really do anything,
b) Utopians who join organizing committees and start their speeches, «Everybody’s gotta . . .» and «If everybody would please . . .»
They advocate transcending society but don’t know which way is up.
Activists are afraid to help individuals, preferring to sacrifice them to «the cause.»
They have little incentive and learn hard.
-THE IN-CROWD
These members of the transcendental jet-set show the same 3 patterns as activists, and then 4 more:
iv) They’re arrogant.
v) They’re smugly mysterious about their sources of information and never drop names.
vi) They’re hard to argue with because they’re always half-right.
vii) They refuse to get involved in community affairs and talk of «getting out of here.»
In People are bad listeners. Whatever you tell them, they’ll tell you they’ve known it all along. «Doesn’t
everybody?» They also consider themselves too enlightened for good manners, like getting up when a lady comes in, being on time, or calling to say they can’t make it.
In-People are bright, beautiful, talented, full of fantastic schemes to «turn on the world.» But they never seem to get off the ground. Their hold on reality is weak.
So is their incentive.
-COMMENTARY
Junior Leaguers seem «rangy.» Club Ladies are «maternal.» Left-wing utopians look somehow misshapen and hairy. Compared to In-People they’re like caterpillars and pupae to butterflies. Their style of life is similarly different.
Both groups are highly enlightened and have learned to eliminate emotional conflict. Their inner peace however is an illusion, depending as it does on personal non-involvment. They want to save humanity but never remember they’re part of it.
Years go by before they make any headway. These two stages are sort of a half-way house.
ANALOGY:
A party of explorers is already in sight of the peak when a storm strikes. Rather than turn back they take shelter in a near-by cabin which is warm, comfortable and well-stocked. There they settle down to wait for conditions to change. They
never do.
Finally a passing native informs them there’s always a storm about the peak.
-THE GODS
There are some people whose senses are totally attuned to the basic relationships of the universe. They recognise the recurring patterns and understand the laws of give-and-take which shape our existence. These people seem able to influence reality in a fashion incomprehensible to ordinary mortals. Either they have a special pipeline to the management or they really know what’s really going on. They are called Gods.
A God is a God in the full sense of the word. Some are born with the knowledge of who they are. Others pick it up along the way. It gives them the power to shape and change their lives and those of others.
The power surrounds them with an unmistakable air of self-confidence and authority. It hovers over them like a cloud. Gods are attractive, healthy, vital, putting out vast amounts of energy over long periods.
Then why do some Gods seem dishonest and capricious? Why do they disappoint us by not living up to their promise? Why do they so often seem truly wicked?
There are 2 kinds of Gods, i) Sleeping ones, and ii) Conscious Ones.
-SLEEPING GODS
Sleeping Gods know they have special powers and can do things other people can’t. But they’ve never quite been able to figure out just what it is they do or how they do it. Nor can they prove any thing, not even to themselves. And they’ve never been able to talk to anybody about it; they don’t want to look ridiculous or be taken for insane.
Sleeping Gods seem pursued by more than their share of «bad luck». Just when things are going well they lose control over the forces they’ve released and get wiped out. Or else, driven up the wall by frustration, they unleash a blast and destroy all around them.
Sleeping Gods are obstinate stubborn stone-heads. They’re afraid that if they said «yes» it would be too much trouble. They’d have to change their whole way of life. In the end they might not be good enough anyway. Rather than risk that, they attack those who try to advise and angrily spurn the helping hand.
Yet it takes but the snap of a finger to waken them.
-CONSCIOUS GODS
A God takes his first step toward consciousness when he acknowledges what he is. A surge of clean pure energy sweeps through him. Shutters and locks pop open all around and everything he’s ever learned or experienced starts falling together in his head.
There’s a strange soaring breathlessness as he feels himself approaching a state of wide-open sensation. He begins to absorb information as fast as it’s being presented. Old concepts turn upside-down. Thought-constructs, flawed visions of reality, drop like scales from his eyes and he begins to understand the wherefore and what-next
of everything.
(Consciously he «forgets» these insights, storing them in his «memory banks» where they’re «at his fingertips» in time of need.)
From here it’s only a short step to realizing the full meaning of his existence.
-THE AWAKENING
A God becomes fully conscious when he recognises the following description:
i) He is instinctively gentle in speech and bearing and never abusive.
ii) He speaks the truth and it’s hard to deceive him for long.
iii) All his actions are based on love for his fellow beings, and he works harder than anyone else.
iv) He endures great suffering for his ideals and pursues them with intense devotion.
v) He gives liberally and doesn’t expect a return.
A God has the strongest incentive, the greatest urgency, the shortest road.
When a God becomes fully awake he looks up into the eyes of his teacher, and they smile at each other like joyous lovers.
AT THIS POINT
it is suggested that the reader pause for 5 minutes before going on.
…..
CHAPTER TWO
-«Operating Principles»
There is a tribe of people in this world who are characterized by 5 distinct patterns of behavior:
i) When you ask them what time it is, the answer seems to depend on whether they had a good breakfast.
ii) They can’t make rational decisions or follow them through.
iii) They can’t obey instructions without continuous reminders
iv) You never know when they’ll decide to ignore even the most elementary safety precautions.
v) They think only of themselves and display atrocious manners.
Such people are called children. They own the world.
Children are children, that is to say, unreliable and should not be given responsibilities, or duties, beyond their infant strength. It is the foremost duty of a God to protect himself and them against misuse of power.
-SAFEGUARDS
Children hate to feel afraid. They’re not tough enough to handle the sensation fear and don’t know what to do about it. Luckily the feeling soon ebbs away, but they panic if whatever scared them once comes back and threatens to scare them again.
Panic is an even worse sensation. It makes them feel physically ugly. They lash out wildly, blindly. The resulting damage is usually disastrous to all.
Feeling «guilty as hell,» the children now revenge themselves viciously on the devil who spooked» and provoked them, who made them «look bad.»
To avoid this and similar misfortunes every awakening God is URGENTLY REQUESTED to adopt certain protective patterns of behavior, as given below.
Each pattern is characteristic of a specific person who’ll be familiar to the God and reader. Each will be identified by an easy-to-remember tagline:
- GOD IS A MOTHER!
- SH, NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN!
- KEEP SILENT, KEEP MOVING!
-GOD IS A MOTHER!
A God stands in the same relationship to the community as a mother to her children.
It is the duty of a mother to feed and protect the child, to teach and correct it until it’s old enough to fend for itself. She gives whatever is needed; love, respect, guidance.
The child must be reminded to give whatever it can.
GOD IS A MOTHER!
Now it can happen that a child gets out of line and endangers itself and the community. In that case it’s also the duty of the mother to whack it back into line. To do so she may have to use force, just enough to accomplish the job, no more, also no less. She doesn’t sit in judgement, she doesn’t punish. She uses force only to protect the children and the community.
GOD IS A MOTHER!
-SH-SH, NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN !
A child is by definition incapable of understanding the ways of Gods and adults.
It is simply too immature – structurally emotionally and intellectually, – to grasp the implication of what it sees and hears or the motives and purpose behind the action. Misunderstanding opens the way to confusion and hostility.
DON’T SPOOK THE CHILDREN !
God-business is conducted only with other Gods and never in front of the children.
Gods at work and play simply give off too much energy to be comfortably handled by an immature organism. The impact registers as «psychic shock.» Irreparable damage is done when children are exposed to «shocking behavior». Scandal and public exposure stigmatize the God who forgets himself.
SH-SH, NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN:
-KEEP SILENT, KEEP MOVING!
A God is an INDIAN SCOUT, moving through hostile territory. He blends quietly with the under-brush and doesn’t stay too long in any one place. He doesn’t attract attention by making loud mouthnoises or building bonfires. He knows the natives regard any disturbance with suspicion. It’s his duty to avoid confrontation.
DON’T SPOOK THE LOCALS!
An Indian scout doesn’t volunteer information if he’s captured.
If he loses his way he keeps going until he runs across a familiar landmark.
If he makes a mistake he covers his tracks and gets out of range.
KEEP SILENT, KEEP MOVING!
-PROTECTIVE PATTERNS
A protective pattern like the 3 preceding must snap into action instantaneously, automatically, «instinctively.» A pattern is interiorized in 3 steps:
- Read the description, taking each word to mean precisely what it says.
- Now interpret the concept in the widest possible sense, (including slang, professional jargon and personal usage.)
- Search for and find the memory of an actual occurence and match it with the description.
The flash which now occurs means that the pattern has been dropped from consciousness into subconscious storage where it requires less attention. The resulting surplus of energy is liberated and experienced by the organism as a «charge.»
The process is also fail-safe. The orininal pattern snaps back into consciousness whenever the desired result fails to show. This allows the God to spot where he slipped and correct himself. (Every beginner in the God-game is allowed to slip once or twice.)
The following 3 behavior-patterns protect the God against himself.
-GOD IS A MOTHER! (Variation)
If a child strays into danger, the fault is the mother’s. She was negligent, somewhere along the line. If she feels like punishing, she’d best start with herself.
When a mother has to resort to force it’s the same as making a public confession of negligence. This hurts her more than it does the child, which is just as it should be.
A child turns malicious when it’s been confused, either by insufficient information or deliberately, as a cover-up. -There is no more stinking crime for a God than to deliberately confuse a child. The damage done exceeds all calculation, and whoever did it deserves all he gets.
GOD IS A MOTHER!
Occasionally a God has to step in and correct someone else’s child. In that case he has every right to be sore at the other mother.
GOD IS A MOTHER!
-SH-SH, NOT IN FRONT oF THE CHILDREN! (Variation)
There may come times when a God is forced to give a public demonstration of his prowess. In that case he should pretend it was just a lucky hit or better yet split.
The most effective cover for a God is that of a lead-singer or movie-actor. He plays a role to increase his effectiveness, and to distract the eye of the audience from the real work. The dramatization also lets you get away with a lot more than you could in real life. Everybody knows it’s just an act.
SH SH, NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN!
-KEEP SILENT, KEEP MOVING! (Variation)
A God is an EXPERT.
If he slips, he doesn’t stop and loudly wonder why and wherefore and who’s to blame. He doesn’t want to disillusion those who think he knows what he’s doing.
It would also confuse those who don’t know why he stopped.
DON’T RUB YOUR MISTAKES IN OTHER PEOPLES’ NOSES!
Paderewski was the most brilliant pianist of his day. Nobody, no matter how hard they practiced could rip off such flawless runs and cadenzas.
Then, so the story goes, they perfected the phonograph and recorded him. On play-back they discovered that the old expert hit clinker after clinker.
KEEP SILENT, KEEP MOVING!
CHAPTER THREE
-«Friends and Lovers’
No man enters a relationship except on purpose. The question is always, «How do I best stay alive
and happy?»
The answer is eternally the same. «No matter how hard you work to better yourself, you can’t possibly be happy while the people around you are down. It’s plain common sense then to start out with making others happy.» Now you can relax.
Obviously this way of life isn’t for everybody or there wouldn’t be quite so many frustrated people around.
Given the basic purpose, any behavior which prevents us from living up to our full potential is stupid, and inefficient.
-YOU AND I
When one person finds another whose behavior pattern and purpose mesh smoothly with his own he usually enters into a relationship with them.
For practical purposes there are only two persons in the universe,
MYSELF and EVERYBODY ELSE,
and only one stable relationship,
MOTHER-AND-CHILD
There are also 4 variations or special cases, each structured around a particular phase of a mother’s relations with her child:
- Teacher Student
- Master Servant
- Lover Loved One,
- Sun Planet.
-RESPECT
Unstable relationships can be fun but are tricky and get tiresome after a while. A God has to be efficient. He is a very busy man, so he pays careful attention to his relations with others, particularly children.
He chooses the variation (for example, teacher-student) and picks the role (either student or teacher) which achieves his purpose with least effort. When neccessary he switches both roles and relationships. The effectiveness of his per formance depends on his ability to tune in to the needs and feelings of the other person, and cater to them.
The process can be conscious, as when he shows deliberate concern for the other’s wellbeing. Then it is called «respect,» (from the Latin, respicere, «to turn to look back at.»)
A God also subconsciously «picks up on» the others vibrations.» He experiences their feelings in himself. To know how they feel he need only look back at his own sensations. He need only respect himself.
«Good manners» are a sign of self-respect. At high intensity the process is called «love.»
-AESTHETICS
My own feelings provide the only truly reliable source of information about your state of existence. When we are linked by love, whatever you feel I feel it too. If you feel good, so do I. If you’re unhappy, I feel guilty. (This unpleasant sensation persists until I move to help you.)
Conversely, if you do something that makes you beautiful, I feel happy. If you do something that makes you feel ugly, I suffer and don’t know why.
Our purpose in life is happiness. Happiness is a sign that we have found our most effective level of existence and so assure the race of its best chance for survival.
We can best achieve this purpose by making others happy. We depend on our sense of aethetics to warn us when we’re doing something wrong and to let us know when we’re doing the right thing.
Things that make others feel bad or good are
traditionally called:
- Bad Deeds
- Good Deeds
-BAD DEEDS
There are 7 specific ways to make yourself and others miserable:
i) If you do something you don’t like to do,
ii) If you insist on feeling sorry for yourself because people are unfair to you,
iii) If you insist on doubting your strength and cleverness, your chances for ever being happy, because it’s all just too too much for you,
iv) f you insist on feeling worthless, useless, and can’t decide what to do about it,
v) If you insist on punishing yourself for some crime which you vaguely remember having been told you’ve committed,
vi) If you insist on having to learn your lessons the hard way,
vii) If you insist on wallowing while you try to figure it out,
I will suffer.
I love you and am linked and tuned-in to you with everyone of my senses, and I feel everything you feel.
-COMMENTARY
Why are you punishing me?
Have I done anything to you, hurt you?
I thought we agreed we loved each other.
Strange kind of love!
How can you possibly love me if I’m so wicked that you have to punish me like this? Or do you love me in spite of myself?
No?
What kind of person is it then who deliberately senselessly, repeatedly hurts another? He is either very stupid or he’s so out of touch with his own feelings that he can’t tell the difference between «good» and «evil.»
A God knows one from the other.
-GOOD DEEDS
Now even if all this is fantasy and love does not work as described, here’s a simple suggestion for the next time you feel down.
«Do a good deed,» (preferably daily, just like any other good scout!)
A good deed is technically defined as being one from which you yourself do not derive any benefit.
A good deed is one which helps some other person or makes them happy. Perhaps it’s a total stranger or someone you love. The important thing is that you don’t expect to benefit in any way, – no plaque on the wall, no thanks, not even a gold star.
It’s easy to find such a deed. You have to not look and be quick on your toes which has the hard effect of centering all your attention in the now. Then you find it, and enjoy a glow of success. Then you do it.
The result is totally predictably, reliably the same, any time you try. You feel so good!
-OPERATING RULES
If you’re ever unsure about whether you’re doing
the right thing, here are 3 rules which will resolve
your doubt:
- A good deed makes you feel good.
A bad deed makes you feel bad.
RULE: If it makes you FEEL good, DO IT!
If it makes you FEEL bad, STOP immediately!
- You are right in everything you affirm.
You are wrong in everything you deny.
RULE: If it FEELS right to you, GO AHEAD!
If it FEELS wrong, or even merely
uncomfortable, CHANGE YOUR MIND!
- If you’re still confused or have conflicting feelings about anything, such as what you’ve just read,
RULE: SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP until you get in touch with yourself!
END OF BOOK 1