Terry Goodkind, the author of the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth, created these 10 philosophical-ish rules. They make interesting reading (source: Wikipedia):
First Rule: People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.
Second Rule: The greatest harm can result from the best intentions. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, forethought, and understanding the First Rule. Even then, that is not always enough.
Third Rule: Passion rules reason.
Fourth Rule: There is power in sincere forgiveness, the power to heal. In forgiveness you grant, but more so, in forgiveness you receive.
Fifth Rule: Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie.
Sixth Rule: Let reason be your sovereign. Reason is a choice. Wishes and whims are not facts, nor are they a means to discovering them.
Seventh Rule: Life is the future, not the past. Only the future holds life. To live in the past is to embrace what is dead. To live life to its fullest, each day must be created anew.
Eight Rule: Deserve victory. Be justified in your convictions. Be completely committed. Earn what you want and need.
Ninth Rule: A contradiction cannot exist in reality. Not in part, nor in whole. To believe in a contradiction is to abdicate your belief in the existence of the world around you and the nature of the things in it, to instead embrace any random impulse that strikes your fancy--to imagine something is real simply because you wish it were.
Tenth Rule: Willfully turning aside from the truth is treason to one's self. To seek the truth, it's a matter of simple, rational, self interest to always keep reality in view.
It shouldn't be too hard to Catholicise the above rules and make it your own, though guidance from priests and the Holy Spirit is recommended.
First Rule: People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.
Second Rule: The greatest harm can result from the best intentions. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, forethought, and understanding the First Rule. Even then, that is not always enough.
Third Rule: Passion rules reason.
Fourth Rule: There is power in sincere forgiveness, the power to heal. In forgiveness you grant, but more so, in forgiveness you receive.
Fifth Rule: Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie.
Sixth Rule: Let reason be your sovereign. Reason is a choice. Wishes and whims are not facts, nor are they a means to discovering them.
Seventh Rule: Life is the future, not the past. Only the future holds life. To live in the past is to embrace what is dead. To live life to its fullest, each day must be created anew.
Eight Rule: Deserve victory. Be justified in your convictions. Be completely committed. Earn what you want and need.
Ninth Rule: A contradiction cannot exist in reality. Not in part, nor in whole. To believe in a contradiction is to abdicate your belief in the existence of the world around you and the nature of the things in it, to instead embrace any random impulse that strikes your fancy--to imagine something is real simply because you wish it were.
Tenth Rule: Willfully turning aside from the truth is treason to one's self. To seek the truth, it's a matter of simple, rational, self interest to always keep reality in view.
It shouldn't be too hard to Catholicise the above rules and make it your own, though guidance from priests and the Holy Spirit is recommended.
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