| Rationalizations............35 | |
| take the form of doubts. These are all rationalizations but, being inexperienced in differentiating and in pulling | 17 THE CALL -- DAILY REVIEW |
| lower self, because you want to believe these rationalizations; it is so much easier to do so | 17 THE CALL -- DAILY REVIEW |
| convinced of your good motives because of the rationalizations you have concocted for yourself. But when you | 40 MORE ON IMAGE-FINDING: A SUMMARY |
| to face yourself manifested in finding excuses and rationalizations for not going on such a path, in | 47 THE WALL WITHIN |
| create new concepts within your emotional self. Whatever rationalizations you use to explain your inferiority feelings, they | 50 THE VICIOUS CIRCLE |
| still be present. The danger is that your rationalizations -- the way you may succeed in justifying | 51 IMPORTANCE OF FORMING INDEPENDENT OPINIONS |
| explain your inferiority feelings are but symptoms and rationalizations. To the extent you feel insecure and inferior | 53 SELF-LOVE |
| or covered up with worthy motives and plausible rationalizations. The subtler the form of manifestation, the more | 57 THE MASS IMAGE OF SELF-IMPORTANCE |
| are, the more they can be used as rationalizations. That does not mean that one should never | 59 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| and for which you often find such poor rationalizations. When a person near you does not agree | 60 THE ABYSS OF ILLUSION -- FREEDOM AND SELF-RESPONSIBILITY |
| could be amiss with yourself, even though your rationalizations were most convincing and true. The more often | 62 MAN AND WOMAN |
| you well know, the latter always serve as rationalizations for the former. The realization that you cannot | 64 OUTER WILL AND INNER WILL -- MISCONCEPTION ABOUT SELFISHNESS |
| for which you sometimes find outer reasons and rationalizations. This very conflict is the underlying reality of | 64 OUTER WILL AND INNER WILL -- MISCONCEPTION ABOUT SELFISHNESS |
| the sometimes valid aspects which may still be rationalizations for the inner betrayal you commit all over | 66 SHAME OF THE HIGHER SELF |
| serve to open your eyes to your own rationalizations. It must be said, however, that turning away | 76 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (Compiled from Private Sessions and Earlier Lectures) |
| against this path is always busy finding believable rationalizations. The more believable they are, the better they | 76 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (Compiled from Private Sessions and Earlier Lectures) |
| and elusive, however, and so covered up by rationalizations, that it takes a very painstaking, focused look | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| of your resistance, no matter what the outer rationalizations are. To find that the resistance exists is | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| one of the many other possible excuses or rationalizations. As to the value of this particular rationalization | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| preposterous this attitude is. Your conscious or unconscious rationalizations in still denying the awareness and expression of | 89 EMOTIONAL GROWTH AND ITS FUNCTION |
| to self-awareness. Find your willingness to recognize your rationalizations that keep you from truth and reality within | 106 SADNESS VERSUS DEPRESSION -- RELATIONSHIP |
| else seems more important. Beware of the easy rationalizations, for they are most dangerous. Preposterous rationalizations -- | 114 STRUGGLE: HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY |
| easy rationalizations, for they are most dangerous. Preposterous rationalizations -- which exist even in the sanest people | 114 STRUGGLE: HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY |
| the truth to penetrate. But the seemingly valid rationalizations pose the real dangers: they require sincere effort | 114 STRUGGLE: HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY |
| much appearances may lend a hand for such rationalizations. By the same token, the growing selfhood of | 120 THE INDIVIDUAL AND HUMANITY |
| information about your innermost self, unadorned by superimposed rationalizations. In this way you will find your demands | 122 SELF-FULFILLMENT THROUGH SELF-REALIZATION AS MAN OR WOMAN |
| context, concerned with uncovering blind reflexes. All subterfuges, rationalizations, explanations, justifications, self-deceptions, serving to deny automatism, must | 127 EVOLUTION'S FOUR STAGES: AUTOMATIC REFLEXES, AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING |
| disharmony? Or are you quick to glibly furnish rationalizations for your disharmony? Or do you actually admit | 139 DEADENING OF THE LIVE CENTER THROUGH MISINTERPRETATION OF REALITY |
| assertive in overcoming resistance, in disclosing excuses and rationalizations, and when to step aside in a more | 158 THE EGO'S COOPERATION WITH OR OBSTRUCTION OF THE REAL SELF |
| mechanism in you that, regardless of your conscious rationalizations and self-deceptions, knows with an inner wisdom exactly | 170 FEAR OF BLISS VERSUS LONGING FOR IT -- THE ENERGY CENTERS |
| emotional intensity -- explanations which can be called rationalizations. Sometimes both inner and outer changes and crises | 183 THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF CRISIS |
| it by busying yourself with your explanations, justifications, rationalizations -- and even with your acute self-blame which | 185 MUTUALITY: A COSMIC PRINCIPLE AND LAW |
| and appropriate dispositions, they play right into the rationalizations of those who are lazy and cheat, making | 242 THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS |
| was always opposed by reasonings that were always rationalizations. Each phase was of course also old, because | 246 TRADITION: ITS DIVINE AND DISTORTED ASPECTS |
| may then be ascribed to different causes. Such rationalizations only maintain the illusory picture of life and | 250 INNER AWARENESS OF GRACE -- EXPOSING THE DEFICIT |
| Rationalize.................37 | |
| to admit that this is selfishness, begins to rationalize the selfish desire and fool himself or herself | 14 THE HIGHER SELF, THE LOWER SELF, AND THE MASK |
| self is harmful. They misuse this truth to rationalize their wrong attitude. An unproductive and weakening kind | 33 OCCUPATION WITH SELF -- RIGHT AND WRONG FAITH |
| and emotional reactions followed. One can then always rationalize one's dislike. If there was no particular incident | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| use the idea of desirelessness and renunciation to rationalize away your inner fears of life, of love | 39 IMAGE-FINDING |
| Couldn't it be shyness too? ANSWER: You can rationalize and cover up your feelings with many explanations | 42 CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS -- OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY |
| They use all kinds of pretexts, which they rationalize, when in reality they simply do not want | 43 THREE BASIC PERSONALITY TYPES: REASON, WILL, EMOTION |
| and reactions. These you can often explain and rationalize, and therefore you believe that you know yourself | 47 THE WALL WITHIN |
| to gain admiration. The other alternative is to rationalize, justify, and self-righteously explain harboring such evil or | 47 THE WALL WITHIN |
| is possible to use a spiritual truth to rationalize the weakness and sickness of the soul. QUESTION | 54 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| of success in a particular field. You may rationalize it by blaming a truly stringent actual situation | 95 SELF-ALIENATION AND THE WAY BACK TO THE REAL SELF |
| disguised, making it more and more difficult to rationalize. This can lead to a turning point, provided | 124 THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNCONSCIOUS |
| of your personality, the more you try to rationalize and explain such blind reactions, to make yourself | 127 EVOLUTION'S FOUR STAGES: AUTOMATIC REFLEXES, AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING |
| shift and displace its effects on others, to rationalize and concentrate on that which is not vital | 133 LOVE: NOT A COMMANDMENT, BUT SPONTANEOUS SOUL MOVEMENT OF THE INNER SELF |
| a great amount of pain, then try to rationalize and explain them away. Even currently fashionable psychological | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| by impulses and drives they can very glibly rationalize but whose real nature they fail to understand | 142 THE LONGING FOR AND THE FEAR OF HAPPINESS -- THE FEAR OF RELEASING THE LITTLE EGO |
| known in indirect ways, which you continue to rationalize. As long as fear of self exists, freedom | 155 FEAR OF SELF -- GIVING AND RECEIVING |
| fuzzily aware of some disturbance, which you quickly rationalize or find some convincing explanations for -- whatever | 162 THREE LEVELS OF REALITY FOR INNER GUIDANCE |
| you are doing and why. You will then rationalize them or you will turn the destructiveness upon | 169 THE MASCULINE AND FEMININE PRINCIPLES IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS |
| is the healthy version of self-assertion and thus rationalize it, you create another layer of falsehood. If | 170 FEAR OF BLISS VERSUS LONGING FOR IT -- THE ENERGY CENTERS |
| view to your rights. No childish greed must rationalize your self-centeredness. You must see and overcome both | 172 THE LIFE ENERGY CENTERS |
| occurrences, which seemingly affect all people indiscriminately, to rationalize away true self-responsibility, self-determination, and positive involvement with | 181 THE MEANING OF THE HUMAN STRUGGLE |
| of hopelessness. It is not too difficult to rationalize a case and produce a blaming accusation. One | 192 REAL AND FALSE NEEDS |
| If the adult intelligence is used merely to rationalize the painful confusion, to build defensive cases, to | 198 TRANSITION TO POSITIVE INTENTIONALITY |
| others. It is always relatively easy to deny, rationalize, distort, conceal, or use half-truths to justify this | 202 PSYCHIC INTERACTION OF NEGATIVITY |
| of the inner, divine consciousness, and decides to rationalize and follow the line of least resistance, the | 216 CONNECTION BETWEEN THE INCARNATORY PROCESS AND THE LIFE TASK |
| so -- when you no longer justify and rationalize and see without any embellishment those aspects of | 221 FAITH AND DOUBT IN TRUTH OR DISTORTION |
| with this attitude rather than gloss over it, rationalize it away, or make yourself oblivious to its | 222 TRANSFORMATION OF THE LOWER SELF |
| questioning it, when you are still tempted to rationalize it and do nothing to challenge its will | 222 TRANSFORMATION OF THE LOWER SELF |
| it is, and the more you deny and rationalize its true significance, the greater an upheaval it | 223 THE ERA OF THE NEW AGE AND NEW CONSCIOUSNESS |
| Religionists often distort reality in that way and rationalize their narrow attitude by using religious doctrines. Or | 234 PERFECTION, IMMORTALITY, OMNIPOTENCE |
| fear of self. You are very quick to rationalize these fears away. Thus you lose contact with | 238 THE PULSE OF LIFE ON ALL LEVELS OF MANIFESTATION |
| only when you no longer excuse, hide, deny, rationalize, project, and hate others in order not to | 240 ASPECTS OF THE ANATOMY OF LOVE: SELF-LOVE, STRUCTURE, FREEDOM |
| your inertia, and, even more important, how you rationalize it in order to indulge in it. When | 244 BE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD -- THE EVIL OF INERTIA |
| muddled and disconnected in your very attempt to rationalize your rebellion against something new, when you endeavor | 246 TRADITION: ITS DIVINE AND DISTORTED ASPECTS |
| may not be conscious of, that you may rationalize and justify -- you build on deficit. Building | 250 INNER AWARENESS OF GRACE -- EXPOSING THE DEFICIT |
| Not ever. Sometimes an excuse is used to rationalize keeping secrets: If I reveal myself, I will | 252 PRIVACY AND SECRECY |
| a false self into the world? Do not rationalize such projections by pretending to preserve your privacy | 252 PRIVACY AND SECRECY |
| Rationalized................29 | |
| factor of all. So far you have always rationalized the conflicting or fighting part. You were so | 27 ESCAPE POSSIBLE ALSO ON THE PATH |
| the right and wise thing was overpowered. You rationalized this defeat with all sorts of other explanations | 27 ESCAPE POSSIBLE ALSO ON THE PATH |
| complexes, no matter how well they may be rationalized. Therefore, you can only respect yourself if you | 33 OCCUPATION WITH SELF -- RIGHT AND WRONG FAITH |
| no matter how much you may have consciously rationalized them. All the doubt and mistrust you have | 41 IMAGES: THE DAMAGE THEY DO |
| the life experience, but the fearful renunciation is rationalized as a sacrifice. To anyone who would come | 44 THE FORCES OF LOVE, EROS, AND SEX |
| trend is so hidden, so well camouflaged and rationalized. The only way you can find this tendency | 71 REALITY AND ILLUSION CONCENTRATION EXERCISES |
| with the disciples. This basic fear is often rationalized by acceptable explanations. The teacher may excuse this | 82 THE CONQUEST OF DUALITY SYMBOLIZED IN THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS |
| to recognize this dishonesty is comparatively easy when rationalized by conscientiousness, honorable standards and goals, and a | 83 THE IDEALIZED SELF-IMAGE |
| of your nature. Moreover, they can often be rationalized away by seemingly real needs. Last, but not | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| sometimes not even outwardly right and cannot be rationalized as being up to the spiritual standards one | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| and negative emotions. But whenever it can be rationalized and justified, reason holds on to the superimposed | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| greatest hurdles to be overcome. It can be rationalized in many ways, but whatever the conscious reason | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| lonely in other areas. This is too often rationalized by saying, Because I have this great fulfillment | 116 REACHING THE SPIRITUAL CENTER-STRUGGLE BETWEEN LOWER SELF AND SUPERIMPOSED CONSCIENCE |
| into their surroundings. It is all so easily rationalized, covered up, explained away. But if you can | 122 SELF-FULFILLMENT THROUGH SELF-REALIZATION AS MAN OR WOMAN |
| lose the spark of interest. This, too, is rationalized by claiming it to be an inevitable law | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| you lonely. The loneliness may be denied or rationalized; other circumstances may be blamed. In reality, it | 145 RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF LIFE |
| general complaint against life. This, too, may be rationalized. It is part of your pathwork to discover | 155 FEAR OF SELF -- GIVING AND RECEIVING |
| unconscious, fearful, life-refusing part dictates. This is then rationalized and explained away. Even when one pays allegiance | 158 THE EGO'S COOPERATION WITH OR OBSTRUCTION OF THE REAL SELF |
| most poisonous when it is still unconscious and rationalized. Therefore I say to all of you, my | 160 CONCILIATION OF THE INNER SPLIT |
| you are extremely vulnerable -- which might be rationalized by a prideful claim of being sensitive. But | 188 AFFECTING AND BEING AFFECTED |
| very obscure way, which can easily be hidden, rationalized, denied, or explained away and the emphasis shifted | 192 REAL AND FALSE NEEDS |
| is vague. The reaction is not conceptualized, but rationalized away, so that you never follow through with | 192 REAL AND FALSE NEEDS |
| the tricks of the ego are acted out, rationalized, denied, perpetuated and nurtured -- as is usually | 199 THE MEANING OF THE EGO AND ITS TRANSCENDENCE |
| always produces guilt which is then dismissed and rationalized as coming from a puritanical and unenlightened attitude | 207 THE SPIRITUAL SYMBOLISM AND SIGNIFICANCE OF SEXUALITY |
| feelings may be subtle and well concealed or rationalized, so that some degree of self-discernment is necessary | 208 THE INNATE HUMAN CAPACITY TO CREATE |
| bad, or vice versa. Each wrong is easily rationalized by the use of the distorted form of | 225 EVOLUTIONARY STAGES OF INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS |
| turned away with resistance and rebellion -- always rationalized, of course. When the body was included into | 246 TRADITION: ITS DIVINE AND DISTORTED ASPECTS |
| others. Such thoughts may well be camouflaged and rationalized away. However, thoughts of maligning and unwarranted suspicion | 252 PRIVACY AND SECRECY |
| over. The manifestation of this delusion can be rationalized -- hence denied. Whenever you are unsure and | 256 INNER SPACE, FOCUSED EMPTINESS |