The definitions provided within the Destiny glossary of terms are contextually selected from the available primary and sub-definitions within the American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition, which was copyright 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Where appropriate definitions were not found within that dictionary edition, I have provided the contextual term definition with direct reference to Destiny. Term accuracy was cross-checked with the Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary; copyright 1983, Merriam-Webster, Inc., and the most appropriate definitions were taken from that reference in a few instances, e.g., entelechy. Complete accuracy was my goal; however, I may have made one or more errors or omissions. No one owns the definitions of words or word usage, but it is proper to respect the reference providers by general attribution. It is also practical to be as explicit as possible in the use and in the provided definitions of the terms, for the benefit of the reader.

ABSTRACT - To consider something apart from application to or association with a particular instance.

ADAMANT - Impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason; stubbornly unyielding.

ADDICTION - Compulsive physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance or event.

ADJUSTMENT DISORDER - To fail to achieve a psychological balance in one's life with regard to one's own needs and the needs of others constitutes an adjustment disorder.

AESTHETICS - The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and expression of beauty, as in the fine arts.

AFTERLIFE - A life believed to follow death.

AGENDA - A list or program of things to be done.

AGNOSTIC - One who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists.

ALTRUISM - Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.

AMNESIA - Partial or total loss of memory, usually resulting from shock, psychological disturbance, brain injury, or illness. In Destiny, the amnesia of business people is intentional, not organic.

AMOK - In or into a jumbled or confused state. In Destiny, amok means without reasonable control.

AMORPHOUS - Lacking definite form. Between fluid and solid. Subject to change shape.

ANARCHY - Absence of any form of political authority. Political disorder and confusion. Absence of any cohesive principle, such as a common standard or purpose.

ANCILLARY - Auxiliary; helping.

APATHY - Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.

APTITUDE - An inherent ability, as for learning; a talent.

ASSAULT - The act or an instance of threatening or injuring another.

ASSUMPTION - Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof; a supposition. Presumption; arrogance.

ATHEIST - One that disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

AUDACITY - Bold or insolent heedlessness of restraints, like ignorance, as used in Destiny.

AXIOM - A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument.

BALD - Undisguised; blunt.

BANDWIDTH - The full, complete knowledge of a subject or subjects, as used in Destiny.

BELIEF - Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality or validity of something without the necessity of proof.

BIMODAL - Having two distinct statistical modes. In Destiny, two distinct financial populations.

BINARY STARS - A stellar system consisting of two stars orbiting about a common center of mass and often appearing as a single visual or telescopic object.

BIT PLAYER - A person with a very small part in the drama of life, as used in Destiny.

BLASPHEMY - An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct, like God.

BLATANT - Totally or offensively conspicuous or obtrusive.

BOOK OF LIFE - As used within Destiny, our collective assumptions of what to expect from life and what we are to do during our lives.

BOOT-STRAP - To initiate, promote and develop by use of one's own initiative and work without reliance on outside help.

BUNK - Empty talk; nonsense.

BURGEONING - Used in Destiny to mean rapidly reproducing, as in population.

CAPITALISM - An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.

CARNIVOROUS - Flesh eating or predatory.

CATACLYSMIC - A violent upheaval that brings about a fundamental change. In Destiny, replace violent with overwhelming.

CAVEAT - A condition of qualification with a warning or clarification.

CHAOS - A condition of great disorder or confusion.

CHECKS AND BALANCES - Implemented activities as a defense or safeguard from abuse (Destiny).

CHRONOLOGY - The arrangement of events in time.

CLASS STRUGGLE - The survival activities of groups of people that share social or economic traits, against groups with other social or economic traits (Destiny).

CLASSICAL - Standard and authoritative rather than new or experimental.

CLERGY - The body of people ordained for religious service.

CLOSED-LOOP - A system that is characterized by repetitive, cyclic activities, lacking the inherent ability to grow or evolve modified behavior (Destiny).

COGNITION - The mental process or faculty of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.

COMMUNISM - A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people.

CONDITION - A mode or state of being.

CONFLUENCE - A gathering, flowing, or meeting together at one juncture or point.

CONSENSUS - An opinion or position reached by a group as a whole or by majority will.

CONSTITUENCY - The body of voters represented by an elected legislator or official.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - In Destiny, the business review and action process by which methods are changed regularly, each time better financial results are perceived, believed and forecasted to result from a change.

CONTINUUM - A continuous extent, succession, or whole, no part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts except by arbitrary division.

CONTRARIAN - A person who makes decisions or poses questions that contradict prevailing opinion (Destiny).

COSMIC VIEW - In Destiny, the combined, complete perception of an individual about the nature of reality and purpose of life and its origin.

COSMOS - The universe regarded or viewed as an orderly, harmonious whole.

COUNTERINTUITIVE - In Destiny, that type of circumstance which one would not normally expect to rationally result from all considered information about a topic.

COVENANT - In the Bible, God's promise to the human race, esp. followers of Judaism, which is based on them being God's chosen people. Binding agreement regarding exclusive favored people status (Destiny).

CULTURE - The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.

DARK AGES - The period from about A.D. 476 to about the year A.D. 1000.

DEATH PENALTY - A sentence of punishment by execution.

DECEPTIVE - Something deceptive causes one to believe what is not true or fail to believe what is true.

DEFENSIVENESS - An unconscious thought process characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings (Destiny).

DEITIES - Objects of worship; Gods.

DELUSIONS - A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence.

DEMOCRACY - Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives, characterized by majority rule.

DERANGED - Psychologically abnormal. Similar to insane.

DESTINY - The conventional definition is a predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control. Destiny is a rejection of that concept.

DIALECTIC - Any systematic reasoning, exposition or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usually seeks to resolve their conflict.

DIFFERENTIATION - Used in Destiny to refer to a cultural subgroup practice of intended separation by status, ethnic background, residence, religion, or other factors that functionally unify the group and act collectively on each member.

DISEMPOWER - To deprive of power or influence. To diminish or eliminate opportunity. To fail to execute responsibility to help develop others (Destiny).

DISSEMBLE - To willfully give a false impression or false or contrived information (Destiny). To misdirect.

DIVISION OF LABOR - Separation of the type of work done by individuals to earn income into classifications that promote progress of the society by promoting individual areas of work concentration on behalf of improved efficiency(Destiny).

DODGE - To evade (an obligation, for example) by cunning, trickery, or deceit.

DOGMA - An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true. A expressed belief or opinion that does not entertain alternate possibilities (Destiny).

DRIVEL - Stupid or senseless talk. Nonsense.

DYNAMIC - Something characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress.

EFFICACY - Power or capacity to produce a desired effect; effectiveness.

EGALITARIAN - Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people.

ELITISM - The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION STYLE - That method of communication that directs an individual to a predetermined conclusion by means of avoiding objective reflection, through irrational excitement or exploitation of fears and prejudices (Destiny).

EMPOWER - To facilitate or promote wellbeing for growth or progress; to actively enable (Destiny).

ENTELECHY - The full realization of form giving cause or energeia, as opposed to mere potential existence.

ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM - A government program that guarantees and provides benefits to a particular group, e.g., social security, Medicare, welfare.

ENTITY - Something that exists as a particular and discrete unit.

ENVIRONMENT - The combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms. The complex of social and cultural conditions affecting the nature of an individual or a community.

EPISTEMOLOGY - A person's theory of the nature and means of human knowledge, especially with regard to the limits and validity of knowledge.

ESCAPISM - Habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine.

ETHICS - The study of ideal conduct; the knowledge of good and evil.

EUTHANASIA - The act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment.

EVOLUTION - A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.

EXACERBATE - To increase the severity, violence, or bitterness of; aggravate.

EXISTENCE - The fact or state of existing; being.

EXISTENTIAL - Grounded in existence or the experience of existence; empirical.

EXPEDIENT - Something contrived or used as a means to an end.

FACILE - Ready; fluent.

FACT OF LIFE - Something unavoidable that must be faced or dealt with.

FAIT ACCOMPLI - An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.

FASCISM - A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

FELONY - One of several grave crimes, such as murder, rape, or burglary, punishable by a more stringent sentence than that given for a misdemeanor, or, misdeed. Defined or declared by common law or statute.

FEUDALISM - A political and economic system of Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture.

FINITE - Having bounds; limited. Existing, persisting, or enduring for a limited time only; impermanent.

FISSION - A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, with the evolution of from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy.

FOIBLE - A minor weakness or failing of character.

FOREIGN SERVICE - The diplomatic and consular personnel of a nation's foreign office.

FORENSIC - Relating to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law or for public discussion or argumentation.

FORM - The essence of something. The mode in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself.

FREE WILL - The power, attributed especially to human beings, of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

FREEDOM - Liberty of a person from slavery, detention, or oppression. Political independence. Possession of civil rights; immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority.

FUNCTION - The action for which one is particularly fitted or employed. Assigned duty or activity. A specific occupation or role.

FUSION - A nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine to form more massive nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy.

FUTILITY - The quality of having no useful result; uselessness.

FUTURES MARKET - Auction for speculation about the future value of bulk commodities.

G7 - The acronym used to refer to the seven most financially powerful countries.

GALILEO - Italian astronomer and physicist. The first to use a telescope to study the stars (1610), he was an outspoken advocate of Copernicus's theory that the earth was not the center of the universe, which led to his persecution and imprisonment by the Inquisition (1633).

GDP - The gross domestic product, or, total dollar value, of the goods and services produced by the residents of a nation during a specific period of time, e.g., a year.

GENETIC ENGINEERING - Scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism. It involves the production and use of recombinant DNA and has been employed to create bacteria that synthesize insulin and other human proteins. It has produced clones in various animals, and it has the potential to modify human genetic characteristics for better health and evolution.

GENETICS - The branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms.

GOD COMPLEX - Ultimate destructive form of superiority complex (An exaggerated feeling of being superior to others), as illustrated by the quote from Camus: The principles which men give to themselves end by overwhelming their noblest intentions. Albert Camus (1913-60), French-Algerian philosopher, author. The Rebel, pt. 3, "State Terrorism and Rational Terror" (1951; tr. 1953).

GOLDEN RULE - The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself.

HIERARCHY - Categorization of a group of people according to ability or status.

HOLOCAUST - The genocide of European Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II.

HUMANISM - A system of thought that centers on human beings and their values, capacities, and worth.

HUMANITARIAN - One who is devoted to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of social reforms.

HYPER - Having a very excitable or nervous temperament; high-strung. Emotionally stimulated or overexcited.

HYPOTHESIS - A tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested by further investigation; a theory.

IDEAL - A conception of something in its absolute perfection. One that is regarded as a standard or model of perfection or excellence. An ultimate object of endeavor; a goal. An honorable or worthy principle or aim.

IDEOLOGY - A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.

IGNORANT - Lacking education or knowledge. Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge: an ignorant mistake.

ILLUSION - An erroneous perception of reality. An erroneous concept or belief. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.

IMMORTAL - Never to be forgotten; everlasting.

IMPEACH - To charge (a public official) with improper conduct in office before a proper tribunal. May cause loss of office.

IMPLIED CONSENT - Passive acceptance of a set of conditions or rules imposed by others (Destiny).

INDEXING - A practice of periodically collecting an index of prices used to measure the change in the cost of basic goods and services in comparison with a fixed base period.

INFRASTRUCTURE - The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, medical facilities and public institutions like schools and post offices.

INFUSE - To put into or introduce into a society or a body.

INNUENDO - An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation.

INQUISITION - A tribunal formerly held in the Roman Catholic Church and directed at the suppression of heresy. An investigation that violates the privacy or rights of individuals. A rigorous, harsh interrogation.

INSANITY - Endlessly repeating the same process, hoping for a different result (Einstein).

INTELLIGENCE - The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. The faculty of thought and reason.

INVERSION - Reversed in order, nature, or effect.

JOINT VENTURE - A partnership or conglomerate, formed often to share risk, cost or expertise.

JUNCTURE - The act of joining or the condition of being joined. A place or point where two things are joined.

KINETIC - Of, relating to, or produced by motion. In Destiny, the active form of money, which is it's use, as opposed to it's simple possession, by business, to create products and services.

KNEE-JERK - Reacting spontaneously in the expected manner, i.e. with the absence of thought.

LARGESS - Money or gifts bestowed.

LASER - Any of several devices that convert incident electromagnetic radiation of mixed frequencies to one or more discrete frequencies of highly amplified and coherent ultraviolet, visible or infrared radiation. Used in Destiny with regard to military application.

LEGACY - Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past, and that can be provided in the present for people of the future.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD - A condition of equal opportunity, developed by intent (Destiny).

LICENSED INSANITY - The de facto creation of insane behaviors in others by authoritative example.

LIE DETECTOR - A polygraph is an instrument that simultaneously records changes in physiological processes such as heartbeat, blood pressure, and respiration, and it is often used as a lie detector.

LIFE - The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general.

LOGIC - The study of the principles of reasoning, especially of the structure of propositions as distinguished from their content and of method and validity in deductive reasoning.

LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR - That which is understood, believed, or accepted by a majority of people. In Destiny, LCD refers to our lowest typical demonstrated ability in any endeavor.

MALIGNANT - Showing great malevolence; disposed to do evil.

MANIPULATION - Shrewd or devious management, especially for one's own advantage.

MASLOW - Mas·low (màzılo), Abraham 1908-1970

American psychologist and a founder of humanistic psychology who developed a hierarchical model of human motivation, in which a higher need, ultimately that for self-actualization, is expressed only after lower needs are fulfilled.

MAYANS - Of or relating to the Maya, their culture, their languages, or the language group to which it belongs. A linguistic stock of Central America that includes Quiché and Yucatec.

MEAN-SPIRITED - Having or characterized by a malicious or petty spirit; ungenerous or inconsiderate.

METAPHYSICS - The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value. The theoretical or first principles of a particular discipline. A priori speculation upon questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment, by Humanity, up to the present (Destiny).

MICROCOSM - A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development.

MINUTAE - Exceptionally small or tiny, relative to significant considerations (Destiny).

MISSION - A special assignment given to a person or group, or one decided by them for common purpose (Destiny).

MOMENTUM - Impetus of a physical object in motion or of a nonphysical process, such as an idea or a course of events.

MONARCHY - A state ruled or headed by a monarch, or king.

MONOPOLY - Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service.

MORALITY - The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct. A system of ideas of right and wrong conduct.

MULTIVARIATE - Having or involving a number of independent mathematical or statistical variables.

MUTATION - An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

MYOPIC - Lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning.

NATIONALISM - The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.

NATURALISM - The system of thought holding that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws without attributing moral, spiritual, or supernatural significance to them.

NAYSAYER - One who is assertively negative in attitude.

NON-CONTRIBUTOR - To fail to give or supply in common with others defines a non-contributor. To fail to help bring about a result or act as a positive factor (Destiny).

NONESSENTIAL - Having little or no importance.

NONLINEAR - Not in a straight line. Subject to rise, fall and stasis by various circumstances (Destiny).

NUCLEAR - Used or derived from the energy of atomic nuclei. A family unit consisting of a father and mother and their children.

NUCLEAR WINTER - A worldwide darkening and cooling of the atmosphere with consequent devastation of surviving life forms, believed by some scientists to be a probable outcome of large-scale nuclear war.

OBJECTIVE - Uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices. Reflective and balanced regarding the quality and completeness of information about a subject and the consequences of the decision process.

OBJECTIVISM - One of several doctrines holding that all reality is objective and

external to the mind and that knowledge is reliably based on observed objects and events.

OLIGARCHY - Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families. Those making up such a government. A state governed by a few persons.

OMINOUS - Menacing or threatening.

OMNIPOTENT - Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful.

ONCOLOGIST - A practitioner in the branch of medicine that deals with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

OPPORTUNISM - Behavior that takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences to others.

OPPORTUNITY CAPITAL - That amount of capital or income that is discretionary and can thus be invested for further gain (Destiny).

ORTHODOXY - The practice of adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.

OSCILLATE - To waver, as between conflicting opinions or courses of action; vacillate. To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.

OXYMORON - A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.

PERCEPTION - Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory. Insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving. The capacity for such insight.

PERJURY - The deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.

PERPETRATOR - A person who is responsible for committing an act. Usually used in a crime context (Destiny).

PERSPECTIVE - Subjective evaluation of relative significance; a point of view. The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelationships or comparative importance.

PHILANTHROPIST - A person who demonstrates the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.

PHILOSOPHY - Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline. The investigation of causes and laws underlying reality. Inquiry into the nature of things based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. The critique and analysis of fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated. The synthesis of all learning. The science comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.

PHYSIOLOGICAL - Of or related to the biological study of the functions of living organisms and their parts. The actual biological functions of living organisms and their parts (Destiny).

PLATITUDE - A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant, which may, none-the-less, be well intended (Destiny).

PLAYER - An active participant in life. Used in a Destiny illustration as the antonym of loser, or non-participant.

POLITICS - "The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government." The Destiny definition of politics replaces the above words art and science with the word craft, for social structure planning, negotiating and managing do not fit the proper definitions of art or science. Improper use of the terms art and science, e.g., management science or martial art, are deceptive methods of self-aggrandizement for those human activities that are crafts.

POSTULATE - Something assumed without proof as being self-evident or generally accepted, especially when used as a basis for an argument.

POWER STRUCTURE - An elite group constituted by people holding influential positions within a government, a society, a business or other organization.

PREJUDICE - An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. The act or state of holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions. Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion. Detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavorable conviction of another or others.

PRE-PROGRAMMED - To program in advance; preset.

PROGRESSION - Movement from one member of a continuous series to the next. A sequence of events.

PURPOSE OF LIFE - A purpose is something set up as an object or end to be attained. The purpose of life is then the objective or end we have in mind as individuals for the time available to us as life. Individually or collectively, we do not have a purpose beyond life except in the anticipation of our progeny. Anticipation of an afterlife, and any assigned purpose thereto, is not supported by any hard evidence and rightfully belongs in the domain of wishful thinking until proven otherwise. We may be able to impact the reality of death through our growth (Destiny).

RACISM - "The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others." In Destiny, race is irrelevant, for all of us inherit different abilities and limitations, and our objective is to eliminate such differences as actually exist, that underpin the racist beliefs and racially discriminatory behaviors. All races have geniuses and morons. It is the distribution of comparative abilities within a race that results in some races being currently more successful than others, for life is competitive and those who compete best succeed at the expense of those that don't, even within a race. The dictionary definition of racism as shown first is, unfortunately, a poor definition, for part of it is true and part of it is false. Nor are any of us responsible for our genetic inheritance. But to persist in pretending that marked racial differences in success are simply a societal behavior problem is not supported by fact. Let us stop attempting to deceive each other and get on with the job of realizing true equality. With any decent good fortune at all, this problem will be behind us within fifty years, due to applied technology. In the interim, we must be both realistic and humanitarian.

RAISE THE BAR - This term means elevating the requirement for successful participation. It is the antonym equivalent of lowering the bar, as in administering more simple tests to students to maintain the appearance of competence (Destiny).

RATIONAL - Having or exercising the ability to reason. Of sound mind; sane. Consistent with or based on reason; logical.

RATIONALIZING - To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for one's beliefs or behavior.

REALISM - An inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism. The scholastic doctrine, opposed to nominalism, that universals exist independently of their being thought. The modern philosophical doctrine, opposed to idealism, that physical objects exist independently of their being perceived.

RECIDIVISM - A tendency to lapse into a previous pattern of behavior, especially a tendency to return to criminal habits.

REGRESSION - The process of returning to a previous, usually worse or less developed state.

REINCARNATION - Rebirth of the soul in another body. Belief in this rebirth. A rebirth in another form; a new embodiment.

RELATIVITY - A state of dependence in which the existence or significance of one entity is solely dependent on that of another. The physical theory of space and time developed by Albert Einstein, based on the postulates that all the laws of physics are equally valid in all Frames of reference moving at a uniform velocity and that the speed of light from a uniformly moving source is always the same, regardless of how fast or slow the source or Its observer is moving. The theory has as consequences the relativistic mass increase of rapidly moving objects, the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, time dilatation, and the principle of mass-energy equivalence.

REPROGRAM - To program again.

RESTITUTION - To bring back to a former condition; restore.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT - An amount yielded or produced. A profit obtained from an investment.

REVELATIONS - The last book of the New Testament of the Bible, believed to be authored by the Apostle John.

RITUAL - Procedure, way of doing things, method, routine, way.

SACRED - Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity. Worthy of religious veneration. Made or declared holy.

SCIENCE - The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena. Such activities restricted to the class of natural phenomena.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD - The principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis.

SECOND STRING - Second, second best, second fiddle, second banana, second-rater, bad second, poor second.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION - To develop or achieve one's full potential. See Maslow and entelechy.

SELF-INTEREST - A concern for one's own advantage or wellbeing. Used in Destiny as enlightened self-interest, which means achieving one's goals by helping others achieve their goals.

SENTIENT - Responsive to or conscious of sense impressions; aware.

SEPARATIST - One who secedes or advocates separation, especially from an established church; a sectarian or separationist. One who advocates disjunction of a group from a larger group or political unit. One who advocates cultural, ethnic, or racial separation.

SHACKLED - Restricted, confined or hampered.

SOCIALISM - A social system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are owned collectively and political power is exercised by the whole community. The theory or practice of those who support such a social system. The building of the material base for communism under the dictatorship of the proletariat in Marxist-Leninist theory. In Destiny, those fait accompli legislative entitlement practices via income redistribution that convert democracy sequentially into socialism and eventually to communism or at a minimum to an oligarchy, by destruction of individual initiative, responsibility, rights and liberty.

SOLEMN - Deeply earnest, serious, and sober. Somberly or gravely impressive. Used with negative connotation in Destiny to describe self-serving and deceptive behaviors of the Congress regarding the Clinton Impeachment.

SPECULATION - To engage in a course of reasoning often based on inconclusive evidence. To engage in the buying or selling of a commodity with an element of risk on the chance of profit.

STATIC - Having no motion; being at rest; quiescent. Fixed; stationary.

STOCK OPTION - The granting of a number of shares of stock at a fixed price that is normally below current market price, the intent being to allow the receiver to exercise the option to receive cash at some future time without taking actual possession of the shares of stock. Stock options are a form of deferrable and therefore not currently taxable income. Their value to the receiver is based on the receiver's decision on when to exercise the option to realize maximum gain, based on share value fluctuations. Stock option exercise privileges are sometimes limited by deferred execution dates and/or expiration dates.

STRATEGIC - Of great importance within an integrated whole or to a planned effect. An integrated and orchestrated complex plan to maximize effectiveness towards a large, ultimate objective (Destiny). See tactical for comparison.

STRAW BOSS - A worker who acts as a boss or crew leader in addition to performing regular duties.

SUBLIMINAL - Below the threshold of conscious perception. Inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response.

SUBSTANTIVE - Substantial; considerable. Independent in existence or function; not subordinate. Not imaginary; actual; real. Of or relating to the essence or substance; essential.

SUPERFICIAL - Concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; shallow. Apparent rather than actual or substantial. Trivial; insignificant.

SUPERSET - The largest set or expression of related entities. The antonym of subset. Inference of an identity larger than the common perception of a set of entities(Destiny).

SYNERGY - The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

TACTICAL - A procedure or set of maneuvers engaged in to achieve an immediate end, an aim, or a goal. Characterized by adroitness, ingenuity, or skill.

TANGENTIAL - Merely touching or slightly connected. Only superficially relevant; divergent.

TANTALIZE - To excite one by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach.

TERRITORIAL - Displaying territoriality; defending a territory from intruders.

THEISM - Belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world.

THEORETICAL - Of, relating to, or based on theory. Restricted to theory; not practical. Given to theorizing; speculative. Not currently proven or realized (Destiny).

THEORY - Systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances, especially a system of assumptions, accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena. A belief that guides action or assists comprehension or judgment. An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture.

TOME - A book, especially a large or scholarly one.

TRADE PARITY - The net value of zero in monies owed, one country to another, as a result of equal value of trade between them.

TRANSCEND - To pass beyond the limits of. To be greater than, as in intensity or power; surpass. To exist above and independent of.

TREASON - Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies. A betrayal of trust or confidence.

TUNNEL VISION - An extremely narrow point of view; narrow-mindedness.

TYRANNY - Absolute power, especially when exercised unjustly or cruelly: "I have sworn . . . eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" (Thomas Jefferson). Use of absolute power. Extreme harshness or severity; rigor.

UNCONCEIVED - A potential conception, based on the inherent fertility of a male and a female, that is not realized due to methods of birth control or temporary or permanent sterilization (Destiny).

UNILATERAL - Obligating only one of two or more parties, nations, or persons, as a contract or an agreement. Emphasizing or recognizing only one side of a subject.

USURY - The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate.

VALUES - A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable. An estimation or appreciation of worth, merit, or character. Having admirable or esteemed qualities or characteristics.

VATICAN - The papal government; the papacy, of the Roman Catholic Church.

VIABILITY - Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable.

WE VS THEY - As the alternative to or in contrast with working cooperatively together.

ZERO SUM - Of, relating to or being a situation where a gain for one side entails a corresponding loss for the other, e.g., a game of poker.