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how the universe came to be, and how we apparently got here. I examined various religions by comparing their archetypes, which I had to determine in the first place. I analyzed various government structures, various philosophies: Basically, for a solid week of nearly 24 hour days, I reevaluated everything I had ever learned, systematically, doggedly, persistently.

I prayed, too. I wanted to give the God in whom I still believed full opportunity to reach down and work his magic in my mind so I could find peace. I probably spend a quarter of my time in thoughtful prayer, looking for answers within the venue in which I had grown up.

Toward the end of the week I found myself kneeling before a bench in my basement room at my uncle's. I had fallen asleep while praying. I awoke with a start, looked about me, and discovered that I had reached a decision; I had made up my mind.

I felt content and at peace with myself. I went into the kitchen, fixed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and then collapsed on my cot and slept for the rest of the day and night.

Now I was faced with a daunting task. I understood that I had been following built-in archetypal figures all my life, and that I had just thrown them all out. But Jung was very clear on this. We are genetically programmed with the instincts that manifest themselves as archetypal figures. Getting rid of one set, simply means replacement by another. But I had a big advantage: I was now aware of the mechanism, and as such, I could control it.

And so I set about carefully and deliberately constructing my own archetype set. The details are not important here, just the fact that I actually went through these motions. I wanted to be in control. Because I'm human, I need a belief set that reflects my built-in instinctual genetic heritage.

Here then, in outline, is what I believe.

Reality, the external world, exists independent of man's consciousness, independent of any observer's knowledge, beliefs, feelings, desires or fears. This universe was present before humans appeared on the scene, and apparently was responsible for producing humans through natural processes that appear to be standard throughout the universe we can see and study.

There is no God, at least not in the sense that He is described by any religion. Although the knowable universe is finite, apparently it has been around for a very long time. When we examine what humans have accomplished in the relatively short time since our ancestors crawled down from trees, we

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