THE FOUR BASIC POSTULATES
If one were to inquire into the nature of the quality or ability that is closest to life itself one would eventually arrive at the subject of knowing. Life can know. All else is the subject of methods or systems of knowing.
The basic law, or agreement of this universe is that one will only know that which is brought into existence to be known. Thus, this universe sets a limitation upon knowing as only being possible for the class of things which are brought into existence to be known.
This law is peculiar to this universe. A being can only operate, i.e., * play games within this universe while in agreement with this law. Once he starts to know outside of this law he is operating outside the universe.
*i.e: Id est. Translates into, “that is to say..”
The action of bringing something into existence so that it can be known is called creation. Thus, in this universe knowing is limited to those things which have been created in the universe.
It should never be considered that knowing is by nature limited to those things which are created to be known. Life can know; it can know anything, whether it has been brought into existence to be known or not. In order to operate in this universe life considers, or agrees, that it will not-know until something is brought into existence to be known.
This limitation upon knowing is the basic law, and the only basic law, that governs this universe. Other universes can be constructed upon other basic laws, but they would all be some type of limitation of knowing, for while knowing is unlimited any type of universe or game is impossible. Bear the basic law of this universe in mind as you do the Practical Exercises, for all the games you have ever become trapped in in this universe have been based upon the basic law of the universe.
Purpose, Intention, Goal and Postulate can be regarded as synonyms. A game is a contest in conviction*.
*Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion
“A game is a contest of conviction” could also be written as, “A game is a contest of trying to convince the other of your postulate without being convinced of theirs”, a postulate being a causative consideration (You want to cause something). I convince you of my postulate that I am the better chess player by beating you in a game of chess. A woman convinces others she is the most attractive by winning a beauty contest, and so on. -Editor
Conviction, then, is an enforcement of knowingness.
(Could also be written, “Conviction is enforced knowing”. This writing style often uses the suffix -ness to turn verbs into nouns -editor)
Enforcement of knowingness is called importance.
Purposes are made more intense in order to make them more convincing. Thus, importance is the intensity of purpose; the degree of ‘mustness’ in that purpose. As the intensity, or importance, of a purpose approaches zero, so the purpose itself approaches zero. Importance bears the same relation to purpose as cattishness does to a cat: when all the cattishness has been removed the cat has gone too. Thus, to resolve a purpose in the mind it is only necessary to address the importance of this purpose; once this has been resolved the purpose itself will approach zero and finally vanish. This is the basis of all effective psychotherapy.
Significance is the consideration of both the nature of a purpose and its importance. So, significance too approaches zero as the intensity, or importance, of that purpose approaches zero. There can be no significance in the absence of importance. Thus, importance is the basis of all significance.