By Mike Zonta, BB editor

Translation is a 5-step process of “straight thinking in the abstract” comparing and contrasting what seems to be truth with what you can syllogistically, axiomatically and mathematically (using word equations) prove is the truth. It is not an effort to change, alter or heal anything other than our consciousness.

The claims in a Translation should be outrageous and mind-blowing, but they are always (or should always be) based on self-evident syllogistic reasoning. Here is one Translation from this week. 

1)    Truth is that which is so.  That which is not truth is not so.  Therefore truth is all that is.  Truth being all, there is nothing other than Truth.  Therefore Truth is one.  Truth being one is therefore united, therefore harmonious, therefore in agreement, therefore at peace.  I think therefore I am.  Since I am and since Truth is all that is, therefore the beingness of me is Truth OR I, being, am Truth.  Since I am Truth and since I am mind (self-evident), therefore Truth is Mind.  (Two things being equal to a third thing are equal to each other.)

2)    Parkinson’s disease is caused by unexpressed terror.  

Word-tracking:
terror:  fear, fright, danger, ambush, evil, dread, treachery
ambush:  to hide in the bushes, waiting to attack
treachery:  perfidy, to trick, decieve
perfidy: lack of faith, trust
trust:  true, truth
Parkinson’s disease:  out of control
express: to demonstrate, to show

3)    Truth being all that is and since nothing can violate truth, therefore everything can be trusted.  Truth being mind and truth being all, therefore Truth is all-knowing.  Truth being all-knowing, there is no tricking truth, therefore truth is undeceivable.    Truth being undeceivable, there is no ambushing truth.  Truth being one, therefore whole, therefore indivisible, there is nothing out there to attack, therefore Truth is One Mind fearlessly taking care of its own agenda.  Truth being all that is, there is nothing to stop the expression of truth, therefore Truth is expressed in everything.

4)     Everything can be trusted. 
        Truth is all-knowing.  
        Truth is undeceivable. 
        There is no ambushing truth. 
        Truth is One Mind fearlessly taking care of its own agenda. 
Truth is expressed in everything.

5)    Truth is One Mind fearlessly knowing that Truth is expressed in everything and that everything’s under control.

And now here’s ChatGPT’s Translation of the same sense testimonoy:

Me:

Please Translate, as taught by The Prosperos, the following sense testimony: Parkinson’s disease is caused by unexpressed terror.

ChatGPT:

I’d be happy to. This is also a good example of why Translation distinguishes between sense testimony and the Absolute. The statement makes a strong causal claim, and Translation asks us not first whether it is medically correct or incorrect, but whether it describes the nature of Reality.

Here is how I would approach it using the structure we’ve been developing together.

Translation

Sense Testimony

“Parkinson’s disease is caused by unexpressed terror.”

1. Statement of Being

Truth is that which is so.

That which is not Truth is not so.

Therefore, Truth is all that is.

Being is whole, complete, and self-consistent.

Truth is Life expressing itself.

I am.

I am conscious.

Since Truth is all that is, the beingness and consciousness of me are not separate from Truth.

Truth is not divided against itself.

Being cannot be diminished by fear, nor can consciousness be separated from its Source.

Therefore, Reality is whole, free, and incapable of corruption.

2. Uncovering the Sense Testimony

The senses report:

Parkinson’s disease is caused by unexpressed terror.

The statement implies:

• Terror has the power to produce disease.
• Consciousness can become damaged by emotions.
• The body is the effect of hidden psychological states.
• If terror had been expressed, the disease would not have occurred.
• My well-being depends upon my success in managing my emotions.

These are the assumptions contained within the statement.

2½. Word-Tracking

Parkinson’s disease

The name comes from James Parkinson, the physician who first described the condition in 1817.

The name itself does not describe a cause. It identifies a pattern of symptoms.

Cause

To cause means:

• to bring about
• to produce
• to be the reason for

The word suggests certainty.

It asks us to distinguish between correlation, contributing factors, and ultimate cause.

Unexpressed

Unexpressed means:

• not communicated
• not outwardly manifested
• kept inward

The word assumes that what is inward necessarily becomes harmful if not expressed.

Is that assumption self-evidently true?

Terror

Terror means:

• extreme fear
• overwhelming dread

Fear is an experience.

Is fear itself a creative power?

Or is it a mode of experience within consciousness?

These questions prepare the way for the Argument.

3. Argument

If Truth is all that is, then fear cannot define the nature of Being.

Terror is an experience of consciousness.

It is not identical with consciousness itself.

Likewise, a disease is an experience within bodily life.

It does not define the Reality Self.

The statement claims a direct causal relationship between unexpressed terror and Parkinson’s disease.

Even if emotional states influence bodily processes, it does not follow that terror possesses sovereign creative power.

To grant terror such authority would be to place fear above Truth.

Yet Truth alone has authority.

Therefore, neither terror nor disease can define the beingness or consciousness that are grounded in Truth.

The statement may express a hypothesis about human experience, but it cannot establish the nature of Reality or the identity of the person.

4. Summing Up Results

The statement proposes one explanation for a disease.

It does not prove that fear governs Being.

It does not establish that consciousness is essentially damaged.

It does not demonstrate that the Reality Self can be diminished by emotion or illness.

The authority attributed to terror exceeds what the statement can establish.

Being remains grounded in Truth.

5. Establishing the Absolute

Truth alone has authority; therefore neither fear nor disease can alter the beingness and consciousness that I truly am.

One additional thought

This Translation also highlights an important distinction between medical inquiry and Translation.

Medical science asks:

What biological, genetic, environmental, or psychological factors contribute to Parkinson’s disease?

Translation asks a different question:

Does any explanation of disease, whatever its scientific merit, define the nature of Being or the identity of the person?

Those are different levels of inquiry. A person may fully engage with medical research and treatment while also refusing to conclude that illness, fear, or any explanatory theory has the final word about who they are.

That distinction seems deeply consistent with the spirit of The Prosperos: the Translation does not settle empirical science; it examines the metaphysical assumptions that we are tempted to infer from our experiences. In your own formulation, it continually returns to the first step: Truth is. I am. I am conscious. Everything else is examined in the light of those self-evident facts rather than the other way around.

For information about Translation or other Prosperos classes go to: https://www.theprosperos.org/teaching.

Or, if you have taken Translation class, join us each Saturday for Translation Saturday Meeting at 11 a.m. Pacific time for current, up-to-the-minute Translations on the issues of the day.  Email zonta1111@aol.com for the Zoom link.

By Mike Zonta, BB editor (and ChatGPT)

Me: Do you know how to Translate using the 5 steps as taught by The Prosperos?

ChatGPT: Yes. In the teachings of [The Prosperos], “Translation” is described as a five-step process of “straight thinking in the abstract.” The steps are:

1. Statement of Being (Ontology)
   Begin with the basic syllogism: “Truth is that which is so. That which is not truth is not so. Therefore Truth is all there is.”
2. Sense Testimony
   State the situation, problem, or appearance as it is presented by the senses. For example: “I am lonely,” “People are divided,” or “Sometimes love hurts.”
3. Argument
   Compare and contrast the absolute truth of Step 1 with the relative experience described in Step 2. This is the reasoning process that challenges the assumptions contained in the sense testimony.
4. Filter the Conclusions
   Examine the conclusions reached in the argument and discard those that do not follow from the ontological premise of Truth.
5. Overall Conclusion (Translation)
   State the final conclusion in terms of absolute truth rather than sense testimony.

A later description associated with the Prosperos summarizes the same process with slightly different labels: Statement of Being, Uncovering the Lie, Argument, Summing Up the Results, and Establishing the Absolute.

Since you’re familiar with the Prosperos, I can also walk through a complete example of a Translation if you’d like.

Me: Yes, please.

ChatGPT: Here’s a simple example using the statement “I am lonely.”

1. Statement of Being (Ontology)

The Prosperos typically begin with:

Truth is that which is so. That which is not Truth is not so. Therefore Truth is all there is.

From this perspective, Truth is considered whole, complete, and undivided.

2. Sense Testimony

State the appearance or problem:

I am lonely.

This is not yet accepted as Truth; it is simply the report of the senses or feelings.

3. Argument

Now compare the sense testimony with the Statement of Being.

For example:

• If Truth is all there is, then separation cannot be ultimate reality.
• Loneliness depends upon the idea that I am separate from love, life, or others.
• What is truly whole cannot actually be deprived of wholeness.
• Therefore loneliness may be an appearance or belief rather than the deepest truth about being.

The argument can be much longer, but the purpose is to reason from the ontological premise rather than from the problem.

4. Filter the Conclusions

Keep only conclusions consistent with the Statement of Being.

For example:

• “I am permanently cut off from love” does not follow from the premise.
• “My present feeling does not define what I truly am” does follow.
• “Wholeness is fundamental” does follow.

5. Overall Conclusion (Translation)

State the conclusion in terms of Truth rather than appearance.

Something like:

In Truth I am whole, complete, and inseparable from life. Loneliness is an appearance in consciousness, not the reality of my being.

The goal of Translation in the Prosperos system is not primarily to solve a practical problem but to move one’s thinking from identification with appearances to identification with what it regards as Absolute Truth.

If you’d like, give me any statement—”I am afraid,” “I am getting older,” “Someone rejected me,” “The world is divided,” etc.—and I’ll walk through a Prosperos-style Translation of it.

Me: Housing is too expensive.

ChatGPT: Using the Prosperos-style “Translation” method described earlier, it might look something like this:

1. Statement of Being

Truth is that which is so. That which is not Truth is not so. Therefore Truth is all there is.

2. Sense Testimony

Housing is too expensive.

This is the appearance or condition being reported.

3. Argument

• If Truth is whole, complete, and abundant, then reality itself cannot be characterized by lack.
• The statement “Housing is too expensive” expresses a relationship between available resources and desired housing.
• The feeling of scarcity arises from the perception that there is not enough.
• But if Truth is abundance and completeness, then scarcity cannot be ultimate reality.
• Therefore the appearance of unaffordable housing cannot define the nature of Being itself.

4. Filter the Conclusions

Conclusions that do not follow from the Statement of Being:

• “I am condemned to lack.”
• “There is never enough.”
• “My well-being depends entirely on economic conditions.”

Conclusions that do follow:

• “Abundance is fundamental to Being.”
• “My true nature is not determined by appearances of scarcity.”
• “The appearance of limitation does not alter Truth.”

5. Translation

In Truth, abundance and sufficiency are present. The appearance that housing is too expensive reflects a perception of limitation, not the reality of Being. My true nature remains whole and provided for, regardless of present appearances.

One thing worth noting: a Prosperos Translation is not the same as an economic analysis. From an economic or political perspective, one could still argue that housing is objectively unaffordable in many places, including parts of San Francisco. The Translation method simply shifts the discussion from material conditions to what it regards as metaphysical Truth.