My religion:
 

   I know that the following four statements are imperfect and incomplete, and I know
that they potentially have variations and exceptions, for those are characteristics of
almost all verbal statements, but I have found that they tend to function well throughout
a broad range of circumstances, so I like to remember them, and sometimes I share them.

I am the only legitimate authority over my own life and myself.
I want to do what is most in my own enlightened self interest.
I intend to believe only what is true.
I perceive that the meaning of my life is a matter which I determine.

   They are brief, simple, easy to understand, and they are not infinite in number. For me
they work better than anything I have found in any of the world's other religions. They 
are pragmatically realistic, not based on superstitious imaginings.

   I once told myself that my primary duty is to survive, live well, and be happy. In my
experience it has usually turned out that when I have happiness, it is because my thoughts
and actions have been in harmony with one or more of those four ideas.

   There is a vast body of potential explanations and clarifications that could be expressed
regarding those four principles. Stating all of them is not consistent with my purpose.


Robert Hampton Burt
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