The original
"Steps to Knowledge really is the road to freedom, real freedom—freedom to be inner-directed, freedom to have real integrity, freedom to be able to think freely, to think creatively, to think spontaneously."[1]
"The Message is pure. It has been uncorrupted. It is undefiled. It is the original, the pure Teaching."[2]
Originality a Requirement for Authority
"All true Emissaries bring something unique and remarkable into the world. They do not simply restate the popular ideas."[3]
"Some people will never wait to be chosen, so they choose themselves because they need something to believe in, to give themselves to. They need a sense of identity, purpose and meaning. And though they are not really chosen by the Divine, they choose themselves in the name of the Divine and claim to be the representatives and emissaries of the Divine. But their message has no substance and no originality."[3]
"Then there are all the false messengers who out of pride and arrogance and insecurity will proclaim they have a new message from God or something equivalent to that. And they may be very persuasive, very aggressive, very charming, charismatic. But their message has no substance. It is not original in any sense. While it may make some different intellectual associations, it is not a New Revelation. It does not bring a new reality into the world. It does not prepare humanity for the future. It does not encompass all of life in this world and beyond. It is the product of their imagination, curiosity and reckless association."[4]
Metaphors
"There is so little original thinking out there. There is so little originality. There is so little real creativity. There is a whole lot of imitation. There is a whole lot of imagination. But it all begins to look the same, doesn’t it? People are really copying each other. Where is the real originality? Where is the real dynamic thinking? Where is the breakthrough? You might as well be on a chain gang out building the road! Everyone is doing what everyone else is doing. When you look behind and beyond the appearance of personal freedom, it looks like a chain gang! When you look at where people really are in their thinking and their evaluations of themselves and you see how little originality there is and you see how people really are just simply going along with everything else, it looks like a chain gang!"[1]