a central belief in the ego’s thought system: someone must lose if another is to gain; the principle of giving up in order to receive (giving to get); e.g., in order to receive God’s Love we must pay a price, usually in the form of suffering to expiate our guilt (sin); in order to receive another’s love, we must pay for it through the special love bargain; the reversal of the principle of salvation or justice: no one loses and everyone gains.
Glossary