# Actual Freedom – Definitions

# Definitions ## Ingenuous; Innocence/ Innocent; Nocent; Nocuous ## To Be Naïveté; Naïve ## Sedulous; Sincere; Sophisticated (Antonyms); Ingenuous: The Oxford English Dictionary states: “The original sense [of ingenuous] was ‘noble, generous’, giving rise to ‘honourably straightforward, frank’, hence ‘innocently frank’ (late 17th century)”, and provides: “late 16th century: from Latin ingenuus literally ‘native, inborn’, from in-, ‘into’ + an element related to gignere, ‘beget’” as its etymological origin. (www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ingenuous). Innocence, Innocent: • Innocence: freedom from wrong, sin or guilt; the state of being untouched by evil; • Innocent: not injurious; not arising from or involving evil intent or motive; morally pure; producing no ill effect or result; not deserving punishment etc. [Etymology: from Latin ‘innocentia’ from ‘innocent-’ (in- + nocent-) pres. ppl stem of ‘nocere’ (hurt, injure) ... meaning unhurtful, harmless]. Synonyms: not guilty, guiltless, guileless, artless, simple, naive, ingenuous, innocuous, not malignant, benign, blameless, clean, in the clear, unblameworthy, inculpable, unimpeachable, irreproachable, clean-handed, safe, non-injurious, unmalicious, unobjectionable, inoffensive, innoxious, virtuous, pure, sinless, upright, chaste, immaculate, impeccable, pristine, spotless, stainless, unblemished, unsullied, incorrupt, uncorrupted, free from guile, unsophisticated, artless, frank, open, benign, non-malignant, harmless. Not surprisingly, the word innocent (as in, ‘harmless’, ‘innoxious’; ‘sinless’, ‘guiltless’; ‘artless’, ‘naive’; ‘simple’, &c.) stems from the same root as the word nocent (as in, ‘harmful’, ‘hurtful’, ‘injurious’; ‘guilty’, ‘criminal’, &c.) does ... namely: the Latin nocēns, nocent-, pres. part. of nocēre, ‘to harm’, ‘hurt’, ‘injure’, with the privative ‘in-‘ affixed as a prefix (i.e., in- + nocent). Viz.: • innocent (in′ȱ-sënt), a. and n. [‹ ME. innocent, innosent, ‹ OF. (also F.) innocent = It. innocente, ‹ L. innocen(t-)s, harmless, blameless, upright, disinterested, ‹ in- priv. + nocen(t-)s, ppr. of nocere, harm, hurt: see nocent]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • nocent (nō′sënt), a. and n. [‹ L. nocen(t-)s, ppr. of nocere, harm, hurt, injure]. I. a. 1. hurtful; mischievous; injurious; doing hurt: as, ‘nocent qualities’. 2. guilty; criminal; nocently (adv.): in a nocent manner; hurtfully; injuriously [rare]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). Nocuous: Nocuous (adj.): harmful; noxious; (adv.): nocuously (n.): nocuousness. [C17: from Latin nocuus, from nocēre, ‘to hurt’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). RICHARD: It is always cute to see how the cultured sophisticates respond to my stressing the importance of naiveté in becoming free of the human condition ... apparently the words <gullible> and <naïve> go hand-in-hand for them. Yet to be naive is to be virginal, unaffected, unselfconsciously artless ... in short: ingenuous. Naiveté is a much-maligned word, having the common assumption that it implies gullibility. Nevertheless, to be naive means to be simple and unsophisticated. Pride is derived from an intellect inured to naiveté (which is the closest a ‘self’ can get to innocence); to such an intellect, to be guileless appears to be gullible, susceptible, credulous, uncritical, unwary, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, trusting, stupid. In actuality, one has to be gullible to be sophisticated, to be wise in the ways of the ‘real world’. The ‘worldly-wise’ realists are not in touch with the purity of innocence; they readily obey the peremptory decrees of the cultivated sophistication which says: ‘I didn’t come down in the last shower’, or ‘I wasn’t born yesterday’, or ‘You’ve got to be tough to survive in the real world’, or ‘It’s dog eat dog out there’ ... and so on. Such people are said to have ‘lost their innocence’: human beings have not ‘lost their innocence’ ... they never had it in the first place. Innocence is something entirely new; it has never existed in human beings before. It is an evolutionary break-through to come upon innocence. It is a mutation of the human brain. Naiveté is a necessary precursor to invoke the condition of innocence. One surely has to be naive to contemplate the profound notion that this universe is intrinsically benign, friendly; one needs to be naive to consider that this universe has an inherent imperative for well-being to flourish; one can only be naive in order to see that this universe has a built-in benevolence available to one who is artless, without guile. To the realist – the ‘worldly-wise’ – this appears like utter foolishness. After all, life is a ‘vale of tears’ and ‘you must make the best of a bad situation’ because ‘you can’t change human nature’ and therefore ‘you have to fight for your rights’. This derogatory advice is endlessly forthcoming; the put-down of the universe goes on ad nauseam, wherever one travels throughout the world. This universe is so munificent in size – infinity being as abundant as it can be – and so magnanimous in its scope – eternity being as bountiful as it can get – how on earth could anyone believe for a minute that it is all here for humans to be forever miserable in? It is foolishness of the highest order to believe it to be so. Surely, one can have confidence in a universe so grandly complex, so marvellously intricate, so wonderfully consummate. How could all this be some ‘ghastly mistake’ (as more than a few people claim)? To believe it all to be some ‘sick joke’ (as some other people claim) is preposterous, for such an attitude cuts one off from the perfection of this pure moment of being alive here in this fantastic actual universe. (Richard, List C, No. 4b, #innocence) To be Naïveté Itself: To be naïveté itself (i.e., naïveté embodied as ‘me’), which is to be the closest one can to innocence whilst remaining a ‘self’ (innocence is where ‘self’ is not), one is both likeable and liking for herewith lies tenderness, sweetness and togetherness, closeness whereupon moment-to-moment experiencing is of traipsing through the world about in a state of wide-eyed wonder and amazement as if a child again (guileless, artless, ingenuous, innocuous) – yet with adult sensibilities whereby the distinction betwixt being naïve and being gullible is readily separable – simply marvelling at the sheer magnificence of this oh-so-material universe’s absoluteness and unabashedly delighting in its boundless beneficence, its limitless largesse, with a blitheness and a gaiety such that the likelihood of the magical fairy-tale-like nature of this paradisaical terraqueous globe becoming ever-so-sweetly apparent, as an experiential actuality, is almost always imminent. (Richard, List D, No. 4b, 4 July 2015) See also: (Richard’s Personal Website, Various, A Clay-Pit Tale) RICHARD: Maybe it is suffice to say at this stage that I do stress how essential the pure intent of naiveté is ... yet because ‘naïve’ and ‘gullible’ are so closely linked (via the trusting nature of a child in concert with the lack of knowledge inherent to childhood) in the now-adult mind most peoples initially have difficulty separating the one from another. Perhaps it may be helpful to report that, when I first re-gained naiveté (which is the closest a ‘self’ can approximate to innocence) at age 33 years, I would exclaim to whoever was prepared to listen that ‘it is like being a child again ... but with adult sensibilities’ (naïve but not gullible). I was soon to discover, however, that being child-like is not it – children are not innocent – and that innocence is totally new to anyone’s experience (it is just that a child is more prone to readily allowing the moment to live one, from time-to-time, than a cynical adult is). Thus the pure intent of naiveté provides the collateral assurance ‘I’ require to safely give ‘myself’ permission to allow this moment to live me (rather than ‘me’ trying to live in the present) and to let go the controls. Yet it is the direct experience itself which is the fundamental factor when it comes to making the curious decision to abandon both one’s present course and that of one’s peers and plunge into the adventure of a lifetime. Viz.: • ‘I was outside watching a bird fly/flutter through a background of blue sky and the green leaves of trees and I was taken away by the utter fullness of it!’ This is what is important. (Richard, List B, No. 25f, 22 June 2000) Naive: Naive or naïve (adj.): having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature; *unsophisticated*; ingenuous; (adv.): naively; (n.): naiveness. [1645-55; from French, feminine of naïf, Old French naif, ‘natural’, ‘instinctive’ from Latin nātīvus, ‘native’]. [Emphasis added]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). RICHARD: There is a marked distinction betwixt spontaneity and impetuosity (aka impulsiveness) ... acuity and/or perspicacity, in the applied form of discrimination, discernment (as in being expedient, provident, judicious, prudent) in conjunction with pragmatism, practicality, sensibility, simplicity, and so forth, gives ready access for any introspective/ creative process to take place. With no identity in situ/no affective faculty extant, to stuff things up, it is all quite effortless. (Richard, Actual Freedom List, No. 103, 1 October 2005d) Sedulous: sedulous: from the Latin ‌sēdulus,‌ from sēdulō, derivative of the phrase ‌“sē dolō” ‌(lit. ‘without guile’): ‘assiduously’, ‘diligently’ (Latin ‌dīligere‌ = ‘to esteem’, ‘to value’, ‘to choose’). Sincere/Sincerity: The word ‘sincere’ can be traced back to the Latin sincerus, meaning ‘whole’ or ‘pure’ or ‘sound’, and which is arguably derived from the roots ‘sin-’ (one) and ‘crescere’ (to grow) in that the Latin ‘sincerus’ originally referred to a plant which was of pure stock – not a mixture or hybrid – and thus came to mean anything which was genuine (as in ‘true’ or ‘correct’) and not falsified, adulterated, contaminated. Sincerity is to be in accord with the fact/being aligned with factuality/ staying true to facticity (as in being authentic/ guileless, genuine/ artless, straightforward/ ingenuous). To Be Sincerity: [Richard]: Because you are evidently paying so much attention to that previous post of mine I would like to emphasise a couple of important aspects to it regarding sincerity/ naiveté. Given that it is, plainly and simply, always ‘my’ choice as to how ‘I’ experience this moment then the optimum manner in which to do so is, of course, sincerely/ naïvely. Thus the part-sentence in that previous post of mine [quote] ‘and to be sincere is to be the key which unlocks naiveté’ [endquote] is worth expanding upon. The operative words in that part-sentence are [quote] ‘... to be the key ...’ [endquote] and with particular emphasis on the word ‘be’ (rather than ‘have’ for instance). In other words, to be sincerity (not only have sincerity) is to be the key (not merely have the key) to be naiveté (not just have naiveté). (Bear in mind that, at root, ‘I’ am ‘my’ feelings and ‘my’ feelings are ‘me’ and it will all become clear). As there is something I have oft-times encouraged a fellow human being to try, in face-to-face interactions, which usually has the desired effect it is well worth detailing here: Reach down inside of yourself intuitively (aka feeling it out) and go past the rather superficial emotions/ feelings (generally in the chest area) into the deeper, more profound passions/ feelings (generally in the solar plexus area) until you come to a place (generally about four-finger widths below the navel) where you intuitively feel you elementarily have existence as a feeling being (as in ‘me’ at the core of ‘my’ being ... which is ‘being’ itself). Now, having located ‘being’ itself, gently and tenderly sense out the area immediately below that (just above/ just before and almost touching on the sex centre). Here you will find yourself both likeable and liking (for here lies sincerity/ naiveté). Here is where you can, finally, like yourself (very important) no matter what. Here is the nearest a ‘self’ can get to innocence whilst remaining a ‘self’. Here lies tenderness/ sweetness and togetherness/ closeness. Here is where it is possible to be the key. (Richard, List D; Srid, 26 May 2009) RICHARD: And the key to unlocking naiveté is sincerity, pure and simple. RESPONDENT: Can one ‘try’ to be more sincere? Curious. RICHARD: Sincerity, or any expansion thereof, is not a matter of trying: anybody can be sincere (about anything) – all it takes is seeing the fact (of anything) – and in this instance the perspicuous awareness of blind nature’s legacy being the arch-crippler of intelligence ensures one stays true to/ correctly aligned with that (that very factuality/ facticity seen). And which (being aligned with factuality/ staying true to facticity) is what being sincere is ... being authentic/ guileless, genuine/ artless, straightforward/ ingenuous. (Richard, Actual Freedom List; No. 68d, 18 October 2005) Sophisticated (Antonyms): • naïve: (antonym) sophisticated. ~ (MsOffice Thesaurus). Sophisticated (Antonyms): • simplistic: (antonym) sophisticated. ~ (MsOffice Thesaurus). RETURN TO DEFINITIONS INDEX RICHARD’S HOME PAGE The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one. 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