Excerpts from
Changing Your Stripes

Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor

What is TRUTH?
 by Dr Matt Moody 

It takes wisdom . . . to recognize wisdom
The music is nothing, if the audience is deaf!

The Nature of Truth? Within each epistemology for establishing truth there resides an implication of what "the nature of truth" might be. And in most cases, truth is conceived as a property of accurately stated words, or accurately conceived ideas that characterize world realities. As the word descriptions or ideas align with reality, they are said to correspond. Hence, one version of the "nature of Truth" is called the "Correspondence Theory of Truth."

But in assessing the overlap between "correct idea" and "reality," all ideas must necessarily take the form of word-symbols; thus, the correspondence between "correct statements" and "reality" IS where most all theories about "the nature of truth" end up — such is called "Propositional Truth."

Even the epistemology of Revelation tends to trap truth within the narrow confines of word-symbols. It's common for people to view "the words of the Bible" as the truth. When this notion is taken too literally, people unwittingly give priority to representations over referents; thus, ink symbols on paper are conceived as "truth" — instead of the referents/realities to which the symbols point.

Failure to distinguish between Representations versus Referents creates a huge problem: Books of "scripture" are printed in hundreds of languages and are subject to thousands of interpretations. To bypass the thorny problem of interpretation, one can enter into inquiries of "Truth" from an entirely different angle, beginning from a different question: Is the aim of sacred scripture to get the "idea" right, or is it ultimately about getting the "application" right? Isn't the highest aim and intention of Holy Writ to "live" the precepts?

As expressed in the words of Moses, "What doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to . . . walk in all his ways" (Deut. 10:12). Thus, the "nature of Truth" need not primarily reside in accurate words and ideas, but in "living" in alignment with the Word. This means that Truth may be conceived best as a Way of Being. The nature of Truth boils down to these two fundamental possibilities:

Truth as Essence:   Truth as Correct Representations; here, truth is a property of verbal and written language; hence, truth exists as essence within a metaphysical realm of immaterial Accurate Ideas.

Truth as Existence:   Truth as the Living Referent to which Correct Representations point; therefore, Truth is the living application of true principles with words bearing witness of Truth.

Correctly Conceiving Truth

Ultimately the question of truth is answered in alignment.
But what is being aligned? . . . Here are three possibilities:

1.   The accurate alignment of "Mind" with "Reality."
        This quest for truth strives to conceptually capture Reality with one's mind.

Truth is attained in the overlap between Mind and Reality; therefore, truth is assumed to exist in an abstract realm of correct and accurate Ideas. However, to examine the adequacy of those ideas, one needs to articulate them with words; which lead us to a 2nd Possibility:

2.   The accurate alignment of "Word" with "Reality."
        This quest for truth strives to descriptively capture the world with words.

Truth is attained in the overlap between Word and Reality; therefore, this type of Truth is assumed to reside in the abstract realm of symbolic representations. Truth is something that one "tells," and is a property of accurately stated words, . . . correct propositions. The efforts of Science largely revolve around empirically proving such propositions—correctly-stated words (hypotheses).

But both the accurate alignment of Mind & Reality and Word & Reality are inescapably beset with the nagging problem of perception. Happily, this 3rd Possibility entirely bypasses that problem:

3.   The sufficient alignment of one's Whole Way of Being — Ideas, Intents, Words,
        & Deeds — with the Way of Truth.

Here the alignment is not accurate, but sufficient. This means that human beings can express personality and creativity at the level of doings and details, but will always achieve harmony at the level of Motive and Emotion. Truth is manifest in our way of being with other things and beings. Truth is something that one Lives with all Heart, Might, Mind, Strength, and Soul.

In this way, Truth when correctly conceived bypasses the inherent problems with perception and interpretation. Instead of trying to accurately conceive reality, human beings strive to have harmony in reality. Further, one "knows" when "alignment" has occurred as the Spirit of God both guides and confirms "The Way of Truth" to one's soul. The Peace that flows freely . . . signifies harmony. Another word to describe "alignment" is obedience with a perfect heart.

(Changing Your Stripes, The Manual, page 8-7)

* * * * * * *

The journey to Being True will not happen by applying the techniques and skills taught by traditional Psychology; the prevailing paradigm of "It's-Not-Your-Fault Psychology" is fatally flawed from its foundations. This popular paradigm tends to deprive people of the very thing that is essential to Being True:

To fully and wholly accept Response-Ability for what comes out of you!

Owning your Response-Ability is a first step in Being True and increasing Character:

"The Greatest Prize
for Life's labors isn't
in material possessions
or impressive accomplishments,
but in the progress of personal character.
You labor for your own becoming, this is your richest reward.
Who You Become is your greatest possession,
make it your Masterpiece!"
(Changing Your Stripes, The Manual, page 3-78).

The book, "Changing Your Stripes" presents principles:
for getting out of the ditch in which you've been dumped (the difficulties of which you are a victim),
and for escaping the ditch in which you've jumped (the difficulties for which you volunteer).

"Mastering a challenging situation
is ultimately a matter of
mastering yourself!"
- Matt Moody 

"Changing Your Stripes," teaches you the principles that lead to lasting change,
making you a new kind of creature capable of communicating
with calm, even as storms of contention swirl.

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Changing Your Stripes

aSocial Psychologist & Personal Advisor