In the 3rd grade, I once convinced a girl in school that we should follow a religion I made up. I based the religion on Greek mythology. She didn't know any Greek mythology and so I guess my grasp of the complex details really swayed her. I told her that we were actually the daughters of gods and that we had these special magical powers that would manifest themselves any time now. I think I picked Cory Merkel because she looked the most like a fairy princess.

We began to worship Zeus. We would ask Zeus for things and then see if we got them. We worshipped the whole pantheon--Zeus, Athena, Hera, Demeter.

We wrote each other fervent letters working out the complex doctrines of our secret faith. We were true believers.

Then I guess one day...I don't remember this part exactly...It sort of came out that this was sort of made up. She was very angry.

I ran into her many years later at a high school party. She actually told me that she was disappointed for years after that...mourning the loss of the only religion she had ever believed in. (Her parents were atheists.)

I tried to explain to her how I wasn't really LYING. That even though I knew it wasn't true, literally true, I believed it too in a certain way. I wanted it to be true and thus made it semi-true to myself. She didn't buy it and probably hates me to this day.

But isn't that always the way it is? It's always better if you can make yourself believe the thing you are putting over on someone. And how is that you can really truly believe something and at the same time know it isn't actually true? I sometimes do this to make life more fun for me and sometimes to get out of trouble. That's the problem with being a deceitful person with too much imagination--All you have to do is lie and it can seem to you like you've actually changed reality.