Basisophy
Glossary
The words Basisophy uses, in plain English. Some are old words used in a particular way; a few are new.
- Basisophy
- The worldview behind Baseline Your Life. From the Greek básis, which means both "a base" and "a step": a philosophy built one step at a time, with peace as the goal.
- Basisophist
- Someone who lives by Basisophy, or is trying to. The adjective is Basisophic.
- Baselining
- Taking stock of where you stand in each of the four realms, so you can see your next step. To baseline your life is to start from what is true about you today, not from where you wish you were.
- The Steps
- The ten chapters of the book. Chapter one has one premise, chapter two has two, and so on, each building on the last.
- Paradox
- Two statements that seem to contradict each other and are both true. The first premise of Basisophy: existence is relative, and that is a paradox.
- Paradoxity
- The state of living with paradox. It lives in the subconscious, in your gut, where sensation and perception run together.
- The Dynamics
- The two seemingly opposing states of existence: Plato's forms (the parts exist because of the whole) and Aristotle's instances (the whole exists because of the parts). Neither explains us alone; together they do.
- Sensation
- What you feel before you think: the raw input of the senses. It rules early life and the body.
- Perception
- What your mind makes of things: naming, comparing, imagining yourself across time. It rules the mind.
- Sensception
- Damian's word for the overlap of sensation and perception, the thing we call "a gut feeling". It can warn you about a bad vibe in a room, or invent one when anxiety runs away with you.
- The four realms
- Body, heart, mind and soul: the four parts of existence, in the order we grow into them. Each runs on its own mix of sensation and perception.
- Soul
- In Basisophy, not an eternal or religious self. It is the totality of your life and the legacy you leave.
- Peace, passion, power and prosperity
- The four rewards, one for each realm. Peace for the body, passion for the heart, power for the mind and prosperity for the soul. Peace comes first, always.
- Circles of influence
- The groups that shape us, from the inside out: family, village, province, nation and the globe.
- The middle
- Where Basisophy says to stand. Good things can turn bad and bad things can turn good at the extremes, so the best place to live is the middle, between them.
- The eight octants
- Eight broad ways of meeting the world, and the eight types the test can give you: Childish, Reckless, Strengthened, Deplorable, Prudent, Weakened, Admirable and Exemplary. We all start as Childish; nobody has to stay there.
- Childish
- Where every one of us begins: afraid, chaotic, sure of ourselves and focused on our own needs. No insult intended; it is simply the starting point.
- Reckless
- Fear has gone, but purpose has not arrived yet. Bold, and not yet thinking about who else gets hurt.
- Strengthened
- Fearless and disciplined, self-sufficient, and still mostly looking out for number one.
- Deplorable
- Back to fear, but with a firm grip: trying to control the people and things around you for your own ends.
- Prudent
- Cautious, and cautious for others too. Open, fair and always watching the horizon.
- Weakened
- Caring about everyone else while feeling unable to steer your own life.
- Admirable
- Fearless and generous, open to others and quick to help, though not always steady.
- Exemplary
- Where we would all like to end up: at peace with pain, in control, open-minded and generous.
- I am the problem
- The single principle the nine principles boil down to. Not guilt: responsibility. If I am the problem, I am also where the solution starts.