my faith and beliefs are placed in the understanding of life and the universe.
all life and everything in the universe work together as a system,
my "religion" is based in developing the knowledge to understand that system.

my understanding of life gives me the ability to be successful in life.
understanding the laws & rules makes its easier to develop strategies to be 
successful when existing within those laws and rules. an example is understanding 
what you are and where you have been helps me to understand why you do and 
what you will do.

my faith and beliefs make me successful in life.
i believe in utilizing the full potential of ones' self,
the success and development of Man the species,
and proper maintenance of the universe.
  

i believe in the womans right to choose abortion (i am pro-choice).
i believe in divorce.
i believe in living together before marriage.
i believe in a person's right to choose to die (suicide).
i believe in masturbation / oral sex as an alternative to intercourse.
i believe in birth control.
i believe in the use (but not abuse) of illegal drugs.
i believe in capital punishment.

i do not believe in any kind of conscious god.
i do not believe in war.

sometimes i feel i have complete freedom.
sometimes i feel i have the power to accomplish or get anything i want. 

Lieing was forbidden.

Ultimate and unquestioned respect for adults was instilled in me very early in my life.

I was taught that my teachers and principal were there to help me, not hold me back.
I was taught not to fear police, doctors or hospitals.
I was taught no prejudices or told I had any natural enemies.
I was taught how to properly introduce and present myself in public at a very early age.
I learned how to talk to the grocer, gas attendant and even strangers.
Proper grammar/pronunciation was strictly enforced.
I was exposed to things, places and situations that were very different from me.

This developed into the ability to function in public
with almost complete confidence and minimal fear.

My parents not only instructed me in these things,
they were a perfect example to follow, imitate.

They stood behind me as I learned to function as a human being.

They supported me with a good mixture of positive and negative reinforcements
and were always fair and very judicial.

As I got older they allowed me to be me.
They supported me even when they didn't totally agree with my actions or lifestyle.

the instant when 
it was determined who my parents were gonna be
was the luckiest day of my life