Truth
God, the First Cause, also is called "the ultimate truth". It is extremely important to understand what truth is. I am not referring to philosophical knowledge, I just define truth for my personal use and hope it makes you think about the matter.
When I say: "Rain is good" because my garden needs water, I am speaking the truth. When somebody else says: "Rain is bad" because it spoils his holiday, he is speaking the truth. Still, something cannot have two opposite qualities at the same time. To say: "Rain is good and bad" in my opinion is "illegal" thinking (the rules of thinking are transgressed).
In our daily life, in many cases the opposite of a statement is true in another context, on another level, from a different standpoint, from another perspective. My definition: Truth is the set of statements, that are valid - applicable - on a certain level, perspective. "That pastry is too sweet" can be true in Germany and false on our island; it often is true for my permanent beloved Dagmar and false for me. "Dualism is right" can be true from a limited perspective, but becomes more and more false, when seen from a higher level. In this world truth depends on the level, standpoint, perspective, of the speaker. That is always true, I think. And it is good and should be recognised. Nobody has the right answer for all situations.
Then, of course, on different standpoints, there can be (totally) different definitions of the object of a statement. The two sentences: "A tube of Aloe Vera is expensive" and "The Aloe Vera in our garden becomes to big", use the word Aloe Vera for different objects. Very often the difference in definition is small and not recognised and misunderstandings are the result. The sentence: "Signatures should not exceed 6 lines" means something quite different for an Internet user, than for the president of the board. For a RGB (red-green-blue) -programmer the word "red" has a totally different meaning then for a fashion designer.
It is a good training to check every time there is a difference of opinion or a misunderstanding, if the standpoints are identical and if the definitions are identical. It takes training to recognise different standpoints. Definitions vary with the standpoints. Standpoints often have a connection with aims, goals. A judgement always has, consciously or not, a goal, an objective, in mind. Good? Good for what? "The king is well protected by the tower" can easily lead to a misunderstanding in a discussion between a chess player and a general, but also in a chat with the hairdresser.
When we want to agree, we have to fix, consciously or not, the common definition of our standpoint and of the used words. Until then, a discussion on who is right, is senseless. A statement can be found seemingly correct from two different levels, with different definitions, without one being conscious of these facts. That happens more often than we normally think.
The higher the level is, the more there are "truths" that are valid on many levels. There is no universal truth in space/time. (But there are "universal rules for space/time".) I don't know, but it could well be, that a generally valid truth for a certain level can only be seen from a level higher. Analysing the truth of a statement can lead us to different opinions on the correct standpoint. When I say: "there is no good and bad", the answer of a schoolteacher could be: "You are right from your standpoint, but from my standpoint of daily praxis, there is good and bad." Somebody else could react with: "Your standpoint is not realistic at all... it is nonsense to take a standpoint outside of reality." The tourist says to the farmer: "I am glad for you that it rains, but you will understand, that it is bad from my point of view."
As long as we did not recognise the transcendent Truth, there is a "ladder of truths"..... The next rung is the most important one. But when we will have stepped over the highest rung, all truths in this world are equally true..... all rungs are equally important.
Climbing levels is nearing to God.
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