METTA'S GOLDEN RULES OF LIFE

Metta's Principles of Ethical, Rational and Civilised Human Behaviour for the Aquarian Age 

Formulated by Metta © 2010

1. Be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

2. Always try to empathise with other people, appreciate their point of view, and see things from their perspective as well as from your own.

3. Always try to imagine yourself as standing in other people's shoes and experiencing 

what it would be like to be in their situation.

4. Always try to avoid hostility and confrontation between yourself and others. 

5. Be diplomatic and always attempt to cultivate good and cordial relations at all times, withdrawing from other people's company only if they appear to be irrational and/or hostile.

6. Care about other people at all times, and try to understand and sympathise with their situation, circumstances or predicament, and try to assist them in any way you can.

7. Think before you act.  Always think very carefully, and in a multi-dimensional manner about any important undertaking, and before deciding on any course of action. 

8. Always try to see and to recognise the good side and the good points of other people, 

and always try to appreciate and appeal to that side of their nature and personality, 

and attempt to bring those qualities out of them, unless of course they are quite obviously either pathologically or incurably obnoxious or hostile. 

9. Conduct yourself with honour, integrity and self-respect.  Respect yourself and stand up for yourself in all situations.  Never allow yourself to be intimidated or bullied by others, ... avoiding this by always choosing a strategy of either retaliation or counter-intimidation, 

but not through appeasement, except in cases of extreme danger.  

10. Never make important or difficult decisions when you are upset, angry, 

tired, confused or inebriated.  

11. Be completely open-minded and receptive to other people's thoughts, opinions and ideas at all times, while of course, at the same time, also exercising similar amounts of cautious, intelligent discernment and circumspection. 

12. Never practise, or resort to obsequious sycophancy in any situation or circumstance, 

as this commonly practised mode of human behaviour is a demeaning, 

self-negating and repulsive character trait.  

13. Never try to appease an obvious aggressor, whether physical or psychological.  Always stand your ground and fight back, unless of course the situation demands otherwise, such as in cases where it appears hopeless or the opportunity to do so is unavailable, ... such situations call for a tactical retreat in accordance with the precepts of common sense and self-preservation. 

14. Always know when to stay, and when to leave.  In any given situation or circumstance 

it is of the utmost importance that you are able to make the correct decision of whether 

it is beneficial and desirable to remain. 

15. Do not be a parasite on this world.  Give more than you take, and bestow more than you receive upon humanity and this world.  Leave a legacy of good works and improvements for future generations.  Let your lifetime's goal be nothing less than to leave this world a better place than it was when you first entered it. 

16. Always attempt to add to the sum total of the happiness of the good and benign human beings of this world, while at the same time, opposing those who would perpetrate unethical, immoral or cruel acts of behaviour.  

17. Do not overestimate the importance and value of money and wealth, and do not place too much importance or emphasise on material objects.  Although both useful and desirable, always remember that the best things in life cannot actually be purchased with any amount of money.  

Things such as natural intelligence, a good character, an open mind, good looks, integrity, 

a clean conscience and naturally good health.

18. Do not be proud, conceited, boastful or egotistical.  It is correct behaviour to be factual, truthful, objective and informative to other people regarding your abilities and qualities, but never boast about them.

 19. Choose your friends, mentors, role-models and also your partner very carefully and wisely, 

for almost all human beings are potentially capable of leading you down the wrong paths in life, or even to complete personal disaster. 

20. Do not procreate children for the wrong reasons.  Think very carefully and wisely before making the highly consequential decision to make new human beings.  Never bring new human beings into existence for your own sake, but only for their sake.  Not to enhance or improve your own life or future, ... but only with their future in mind.  Remember, that when they become fully mature and independent adults, your children (if they are sufficiently intelligent and perceptive) may hold you to account for your decisions and actions with regard to the reasons, motives, agenda and circumstances of their conception and their birth.  

21. Do not allow yourself to become too decadent as a result of acquiring wealth, ... for wealth often leads to excessive decadence and more often than not, perverts the mind, deludes the senses, distorts one's values and can also undermine one's true character.  

22. Never react or respond to any new idea or intellectual proposition in a defensive, reactionary or narrow-minded manner, ... but rather with careful consideration and analysis. 

23. Always keep a rational, free-thinking and open mind in your head, ... and a gentle, civil and courteous tongue in your mouth. 

24. Learn to distinguish between good ideas and proposals from those that are bad, ... and also rational from irrational actions and decisions, and obviously choose only the former. 

25. If you do not already possess one, then it is important to develop, cultivate and maintain a strong or even voracious appetite for knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  Make every effort to acquire, amass and develop knowledge, information, experience and wisdom in considerable and approximately equal quantities.  These will constitute an invaluable storehouse of essential intellectual resources for use throughout your life. 

26. Constantly practise alternative thinking (especially the type that Metta teaches), for alternative thinking can often become the birthplace of the very best ideas, or even of genius.  

27. Practise original thinking, as if it were your true nature.  Think independently and originally at all times and in all situations.  If you merely copy, mimic or emulate the thinking of others, your mind will probably become nothing more than a repository of other people's reasoning, information and ideas, a mere neural photocopying machine, which will eventually find itself unable to produce original, truly independent, entirely new, and totally self-created thought.  

28. Beware of those in official, conventional authority, who claim to tell you the truth and explain the realities of life.  Do not necessarily believe everything that you are told or taught by people in authority.  Be cautious and sceptical of all official, orthodox authority figures and organisations who claim to possess superior knowledge or wisdom to you and everyone else. The postulations and narratives of authority figures should, at least initially, be treated with a certain degree of scepticism and circumspection.  From monarchs and majors to politicians and scientists, ... from technologists to school teachers, ... and yes, even your own parents, ... 

all orthodox, official or conventional authority figures and organisations must necessarily, 

at least initially, be looked upon and evaluated with both caution and prudence. 

29.  Be individualistic, independently minded and strong-willed.  Take charge of your own destiny, go your own way and create your own life for yourself.  Do not follow others blindly or obediently, because they themselves may be heading for the edge of a cliff.  Always remember that the majority are, in fact, very often wrong.  

30. Never allow any substance or activity to become your master, and never become a slave or an addict of any external force or influence.  Not alcohol, not sex, not gambling, nor any religion, political belief or anything else that exists within the human realm.  

Keep yourself inviolate and free from those things that would trap, ensnare, bind, 

fetter or enslave you.   

31. Practice open-mindedness at all times, as if it were a holy law.  Always maintain 

a wide-angled view of everything.  Never allow yourself to become 

small-, narrow-, or closed-minded.  Remain unbiased and unprejudiced at all times, 

unless logic dictates otherwise.  Free-thinking open-mindedness is the foundation stone 

of all rational objectivity and reasoning.  

32. Guard against engaging or indulging in the irrational and ultimately counter-productive practices of self-deception, self-delusion, and the sub-conscious but wilful denial of the true facts of reality.  These comforting and self-appeasing, but ultimately self-negating and often dangerous practices are unfortunately widespread, ubiquitous and even endemic within most human populations and lamentably form a fundamental part of normal, conventional human mentality, ... and all assist considerably to augment and perpetuate 

the often terrible human condition. 

33. Base all of your opinions, assessments and viewpoints on logic, reason and sound rational thought.  Be very cautious about allowing your instincts, emotions or irrational urges to make your decisions for you.  The one exception to this being only in cases of expressing kindness, compassion and altruistic love for your fellow human beings and animals. 

34.  Do not be cruel or unkind to other human beings, under any circumstances, because this action will almost certainly be paid back to you, in revenge, in the majority of cases.  

The instinct to inflict revenge is, sadly, a noticeable part of human nature.  If you hurt someone's feelings they will then only wish to do the same to you, ... and such an action can then also result in a subsequent chain reaction of anger and the consequent transfer of emotional pain to others.  What you do to others will sooner or later may also be done to you. 

35.  Practise moderation in (nearly) all things, ... and nearly all things should be practised in moderation.  There are some notable exceptions however, and it is also true that even moderation itself must also be practised in moderation, at least some of the time.  Self-control and temperance are both important factors for a happy and healthy life. Find the right balance in everything, and remember that the correct balance often varies slightly from one situation to another, and may also depend on the particular conditions and circumstances.  Use your intelligence, awareness and discernment to know when to tilt or modify this balance. 

36.  Do not waste your valuable and limited time by engaging in meaningless activities as, 

more often than not, engaging in meaningless activities is no better a use of your time than doing nothing at all. 

37.  Do not marry someone solely or largely on account of their attractive physical appearance and good looks, for when those good looks eventually fade and gradually disappear, 

then, in all probability, you may be left with nothing more than a person 

whom you may not really know, may not particularly like, and with whom you have nothing, 

or almost nothing in common. 

38. If you decide to procreate new human beings, then you must dutifully and exceptionally accept and fulfil your roles as both a teacher and a mentor to those children.  You must undertake this by teaching them the ways of righteousness, of morality, ethics, compassion, goodwill and good conduct, ... of honesty, integrity and fair play, ... and all of the other cherished, priceless values of civilised human conduct and behaviour.  You must also lead them by example, by demonstrating these qualities in and through yourself.  Carefully and gently instil within them the knowledge of the conduct and behaviour which is the internationally recognised hallmark of a truly civilised human being. 

39. Be wary of those academics and so-called intellectuals who love to boast about their academic careers and qualifications, and who flaunt their PhDs in people's faces, ... 

who love to hear the sound of their own voices and whose egos delight in being applauded by sycophantic audiences, who like to brag about their professions and careers and academic achievements to the great admiration of others, ... who claim to be authorities or indisputable experts in a particular subject or field of study, ... for the gaining of officially recognised academic qualifications is only an indication of established, mainstream information and knowledge received, remembered, rephrased, reiterated and reinterpreted by an individual, and does not necessarily, by any means, represent any manifestation of empirical proof of the possession of innate awareness and perception.  Neither it is an indication of either an open mind,  or the possession of intrinsic wisdom, ... 

and although there are many academics who are open-minded, eminent authorities and highly intelligent and perceptive people, 

there are also many, who are, most definitely not, but rather merely pretend to be.  

40. If you are a relatively poor person and have a difficult and arduous life, do not be angry, indignant or resentful of the rich and the wealthy simply because they have much more money and a far better life than you.  Do not hate those who have more money than you simply because they do, ... for it was not they who made you poor, ... it was not they who created you and brought you into your relatively miserable and arduous existence, ... who brought you into your current life of relative poverty, ... 

but your parents !  

It was certainly only your parents, and no one else, who are responsible and are to blame for your current state of existence as a relatively non-wealthy person 

who has to go to work almost every day and struggle to make a living, ... for it was they, ... 

and only they, who created you in that state. 

42. Do not create children if you have little or nothing to offer them.  If you are not wealthy enough to give any children that you produce a good upbringing and a truly good start in life, and provide them with all the necessary foundations for a secure and prosperous future, then do not create any children in the first instance.  

Do not make  new human beings if they are, almost certainly, only then going 

to have to struggle and suffer most of their lives, as you yourself have struggled and 

suffered for most of yours. 

Furthermore, if you are relatively poor, and therefore consider this world 

to be such a difficult, competitive and problematic place to exist within 

(which it undoubtedly is for the average human being) then why would you even consider bringing children into it, in the first place anyway ?  

Why bring yet more human beings into yet more lives of stress, worries, difficulties, problems and almost constant tasks and work as you yourself have experienced 

and are still experiencing ?  

Why simply create more slaves for your country's economy ?  

Why make this already overcrowded world even more overcrowded? 

Why create further burdens on this Planet's already dwindling resources and rapidly diminishing natural environments ? 

Why burden yourself with children for whom you do not realistically have adequate resources ? When the poor give birth to even more poor and poverty creates even more poverty, ... 

logic is transgressed.  

43. Avoid pride and pomposity.  No matter how successful or popular you become, never allow yourself to manifest conceit or arrogance, for these are amongst the very worst and undesirable of human character traits.  Always retain and practise humbleness and modesty 

in your character, for even the very greatest of people should always retain 

the modesty and humbleness of the very smallest and most insignificant 

in order to retain their basic, simple humanity. 

44. Do not be psychologically irresponsible or emotionally harmful or destructive by playing cruel or confusing mind games with other people as this will cause great distress to them.  

Do not go around hurting other people's feelings or intentionally playing with other people's emotions or breaking other people's hearts, ... for whatever reason.  

Do not make empty promises or give out false emotional signals.  

Tread carefully when communicating with other human beings and especially those with whom you are in a close relationship.  Hurting other people's feelings or emotions is cruel, irresponsible and unnecessary.  Also remember that what you do to others, in all likelihood and probability, one day, in some form or other will eventually also be done unto you.   

45. Treat your physical self with dignity and respect.  Do not defile, denigrate or display your body.  Remember that your body is a sacred vessel or temple that houses the sanctuary of your mind and the alter piece of your soul.  Treat it with the dignity, respect and honour that it deserves.  Neither pollute it, nor defile it, nor disrespect, nor put in on public display. 

46. Attempt to achieve a perfect balance and equilibrium in your nature and in your character between an innocent child-like simplicity, incorporating the sense of fun and play with that of maturity, responsibility and wisdom.  The former without the latter lacks purity of being, ... the latter without the former is naive and vulnerable. 

47. If you were unlucky enough to have been born to relatively poor parents, and are therefore, as a consequence, also relatively poor yourself, do not then spend almost your entire life desperately trying to become rich, as this endeavour will almost certainly end in failure and frustration, and ultimately a wasted life.  Instead attempt to create for yourself 

a relatively satisfying, interesting and fruitful life within the limitations 

of your material and financial means. 

48. If you are ever lucky enough to meet your perfect partner who then becomes 

the love of your life, then do not at any time or for any reason put this relationship in jeopardy.  Devote yourself to your loved one with all enthusiasm and conduct this in a spirit of joy and goodwill.  Never fail to give the utmost love and respect to your partner, and always be true and faithful, for if you lose them through neglect or unfaithfulness, it will in all probability 

be impossible to get them back.  Never put your career or profession before your relationship with your partner as this can often lead to separation and divorce due to neglect.  

Remember that it is better to live modestly but possessing true love and companionship 

than to live and die rich, lonely and alone. 

49. Never label yourself.  To label oneself is, in effect, to negate oneself.  To label oneself serves ultimately only to limit, categorize, stereotype and pigeon-hole oneself.  If you give yourself labels (unless they are many and wide-ranging) then you will always be known to, and by, others merely as those labels.  Atheist, theist, agnostic, humanist, liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, socialist, communist, left or right wing, black, white, coloured, homosexual, heterosexual, bi-sexual and, ... and all other defining human labels only serve as restrictive and confining psychological prisons.  Apart from descriptions and appellatives pertaining to ones profession, qualities or passions, the only label that any human being should carry is, ... Human Citizen of the World. 

50. Do not try to have everything in life (unless of course you are incredibly wealthy).  

Never try to "have it all".  This life view or philosophy is simply unrealistic for 99% of people. Attempting to achieve too many things in your life almost invariably results in spreading yourself and your resources far too thinly, and this will probably result in either none of your goals being done properly or to a high standard, or all of your ambitions resulting in chaos and failure.  You will also probably suffer and exhaust yourself in the process.  It is a far better strategy to choose just two or possibly three main ambitions or goals and concentrate on these alone.  Remember that the more things you try to achieve in your life, the less time, energy and resources you will have to devote to each one.  Attempting to "have it all" is usually a recipe for disaster for all but the most lucky, fortunate or gifted people.