I have always thought a great deal about the "big" questions in life, but my
recent experience with transgenderism has caused me to delve into this more
than I ever have. In working through my gender identity, I have had numerous
opportunities to study and refine my entire belief system. It is an ongoing
process and can never be considered to be complete. Learning, study, and
rethinking are lifetime pursuits.
Where do we get our belief systems? We do not just pull our beliefs and
values out of thin air. For most people, myself included, influences from
early in life are quite profound and tend to stick with us throughout life.
Even if we reject some of the beliefs held by our parents, we continue to be
affected by them. Many people are brought up in a particular religion and
stay with it throughout life. In my case, I was not brought up in any
religion, and to this day the concept of organized religion seems rather alien
to me and I feel uncomfortable in such settings. My spirituality is an
individual pursuit. I feel free to consider a wide variety of my sources and
use my own system of reasoning to determine what works for me. This approach
has served me well in my journey down the transsexual path; it has allowed me
to be open to it and to accept it as a central part of my personality.
If I do not subscribe to a particular religion, then what are my influences?
In my opinion, this situation may make some aspects of life a little more
difficult, but the challenge of building a coherent philosophy which works
for me is a fulfilling and liberating one. No "higher authority" is there to
tell me what to believe - it is my choice. My influences come from a wide
variety of sources. Foremost among them is science. As I have already
discussed, my upbringing is also a great influence. Additionally, various
ancient and recent philosophical and religious texts have their place, and
the work of past political figures makes its contribution. The experience of
human civilization throughout its history is important; I strongly believe in
learning from the past, and I spend a great deal of time studying history.
Unusual influences are also present; a concept that makes a great deal of sense
may come from the most unlikely source - a series of computer games has had as
great an influence on me as certain more venerable sources. Finally, I use my
own ability to make rational choices to draw my own conclusions from all of
these diverse sources.
I have written a few articles explaining my philosophy of life, and I will
add more in the future. Philosophical writing is inherently rather dry and
boring, and I am sure my writings are mostly of this nature, so this material
is best consumed in small doses. I will, however, try to "spice up" these
writings wherever I can. I do not intend to attempt to "convert" anyone to
my particular way of thinking; what works for me may not work for someone
else, but I hope this material will stimulate others to consider their own
belief systems and feel free to explore their own ideas.
I have also included a few other articles here regarding my endless quest
for identity. These explore issues such as the tug of war between logic
and emotion, personality analysis, and whatever I may think of in the future.
All contents of this site, unless otherwise noted, Copyright 2002-2008
Heather Harrison. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to accredited
educational institutions to copy and use this material as desired, in whole or
in part, provided that proper credit is given.
