What’s It All About?

People are like Peeps: crusty on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Does it ever feel to you like the world is falling apart? The list of issues caused by human activity is horrendous, isn’t it? We’ve got biodiversity loss, environmental disaster, potential nuclear holocaust, destructive artificial intelligence and societal collapse, just to name a few (List of Global Issues).

Given the problems we face individually and collectively, it seems a bit silly to think and talk about philosophy, let alone enjoyment. What does a person’s philosophy have to do with anything? The general perception is that philosophy is a waste of time; it doesn’t lead to a job and it’s not practical—both of which are, kind of true—but, in defense of philosophy, it’s also true that philosophy teaches skills like: analytical thinking—using logic and critical thought to analyze a situation—and critical thinking—making reasoned judgments that are logical and well thought out. Such skills are sadly lacking—especially in countries like the U.S.A, Canada and Mexico, not to mention South Africa and China and Russia, just to name a few.

Contrary to popular opinion, philosophy is important. Every single individual should think about their philosophy because it helps one to be well-rounded and enlightened, as in, “freed from ignorance and misinformation” and “based on full comprehension of the problems involved” (Merrium-Webster Dictionary). Philosophy “teaches us to ask good questions and examine popular opinions, core beliefs, and values” (On the Value of Philosophy).

Here is an example of critical thinking in action:

But as political theorist and writer of The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) said, “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” She saw philosophy as “human inaction” and said, “Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think” (“Dismantling the Ivory Tower of Thinking“).

That’s where enjoyment comes in.

The world is built on what people think about and what people think about is enjoyment. It’s why Disney World exists. It’s why people go to Paris and Rome. Everyone wants to enjoy life. Just like other animals, it’s why people want comfort and convenience and entertainment (even the scary kind). It’s why people shop and watch football and dance. It’s even why some people shoot others, invade countries, sanction murder or cheat at golf.

Whether it’s taking a shot of vodka for enjoyment, creating artificial intelligence or jumping off a cliff for fun (with a parachute, hopefully), most people spend their lifetime trying to enjoy themselves as much as possible, while they can, for as long as they can.

If we can match clear thinking skills with the motivator of enjoyment in harmony with nature, we have a recipe for well-thought out solutions that are good for everyone. Trouble is, when it comes to enjoyment, it’s often “full speed ahead!” regardless of consequences.

Cue music: 

“Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet, you’re a slave to money then you die”

As sweet as enjoyment can be, there is a dark side.

Negative emotions, for example, can be enjoyable for some people. According to a study out of the Netherlands, “people sometimes willfully engage in activities that they know will evoke negative emotions, and even seem to enjoy these experiences. Someone who decides to go bungee jumping, for example, will most probably be aware that this activity will evoke fear. Apparently, the prospect of experiencing negative emotions will not always motivate people to refrain from engaging in a particular activity” (“The Dark Side of Enjoyment“).

Think of people who enjoy recreational drug taking who become drug addicts and lose everything, or people who enjoy alcohol who become alcoholics and lose everything, or gamblers who love gambling and lose everything, or sexual cheaters and deviants who commit crimes and lose everything, or people who enjoy shooting animals until they are gone or people who enjoy driving in a world paved-over for this purpose or people who enjoy roaring around town on a motorcycle until they hit a tree or people who enjoy big houses and garages so much they have the natural habitats of other animals destroyed for their pleasure.

In Zen one watches thoughts come and go without acting on them. It’s a good start and a nice break, but it might take a bit more. Not thinking can lead to a feeling of joy, but clear-headed thinking is not a bad thing—especially when operating heavy machinery.

As for feelings, feelings are choices. People choose anger over calm; they choose “fear over courage and misery over joy,” but if one can look at all sides without locking onto an ill-thought out idea or get emotionally engaged in a negative perspective, one can be free and happy.

According to Chinese wisdom, “Intellect can be enlightened only in a kind person. A person can be kind only when he has an enlightened intellect. One helps the other” (from Tolstoy’s A Calendar of Wisdom).

To enjoy is to choose to do so without expectation. There is a calmness when what one has, is all one wants. A relaxed feeling comes when one accepts what is “as is.” The flow of enjoyment can get blocked, however, like water through a crimped garden hose. When one says, “I might enjoy if such-and-such happens,” or, “when I have this-or-that,” this says, “I will enjoy, as long as things go my way.” With this attitude, if there is an inconvenience or disappointment, it’s like a fly on one’s butter: Enjoyment is thwarted.

But, with an objective-subjective perspective (and a philosophy of enjoyment), one can see beauty—even in a butterfly!

After thinking clearly, without personal opinion, without judgement of likes and dislikes, after duties are completed (or even during), breathe in and breathe out, like a bottle making music in the wind.

Consider what you have learned of molecular structures from scientists who foretold that nothing is solidly so. Picture yourself as an organic candle burning energy from the sun. See the world as art. Hear the world as art. Speak of peaceful things and enjoy the best of the world, not the worst.

What if everything is connected and you (and I) are the world itself in the form of our own consciousness? For when the lights go out the very last time, or at the end of day, isn’t it your own consciousness that makes it that way?

Easy does it is the word.

And, don’t forget:

Enjoy.

A Philosophy of Life (to enjoy)

Philosophy is all around us. It’s how people think. It’s even on billboards.

In the Way to Wisdom (1950), psychiatrist (and philosopher) Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) wrote, “the essence of philosophy is not the possession of truth but the search for truth… Philosophy means to be on the way” (p. 11).

“…the question,” writes Jaspers, “is not whether a philosophy is conscious or not, whether it is good or bad, muddled or clear. Anyone who rejects philosophy is himself unconsciously practicing philosophy” (p. 12).

In other words, even if you don’t think you have a philosophy of life, you probably do. You just don’t know it.

Source: Garfield Weekly

A philosophy of life is the mental framework (i.e. intelligence) for understanding the world and yourself in it. It’s how you decide what’s good and bad, what the meaning of life is (or, if there is one), and what the purpose of life is (or, if there is one).

How you think affects how you feel which affects what you do and how you live. People don’t think much about how (and what) they think about, but it’s quite possible that how people think is the most important thing there is.

As psychologist (and philosopher) William James (1842-1910) put it, “Philosophy is at once the most sublime and the most trivial of human pursuits. It works in the minutest crannies and it opens out the widest vistas” (50 Philosophy Classics, p. 6).

Cue music:

There are basically two kinds of people: people (a few anyway) who have a clear philosophy of life that they use to guide their actions in peace and understanding and people (everybody else) who do not. 

It’s not that people don’t have a moral compass, it’s just they don’t know where it is (or how to use it).  

Look at “Karens,” for example. A “Karen” is a woman who acts entitled and uses privilege to demand her way at the expense of others. If you see a “Karen” in action in real life or in a YouTube compilation, you’ll see a woman who probably thinks she’s thinking clearly, but who is clearly out of her mind.

Image Source

If only “Karen” had a philosophy of life that was more congenial and less self-focused, but like Confucius said, “It is easy to hate and difficult to love.” Our default setting seems to be impulse and gut reaction.

People look to psychology and religion for answers but whereas philosophy seeks to explain right ways of behaving, psychology’s objective is not to study what is moral but to provide therapies and intervention, increasingly in pill form (as seen on TV).

Drug companies spend 19 times more money on advertising than on research and development. Source: Big Pharma.

As for religion, philosophers find meaning in religion to help people understand the truth of life. The difference being, whereas religion involves supernatural beliefs, ritual and faith without evidence, philosophy has no rituals and will only believe what is true by way of reasoning.

Source: “12 Times Calvin and Hobbes Taught Us About Philosophy and Religion”

To be wise means toggling between subjectivity, “My experience of being me from my perspective,” and objectivity, “A truth independent of my individual subjectivity and bias.”

Philosophies come in many forms. Every philosophy has its opposite. For example:

You’ve got your materialists—those who consider material possessions and comfort more important than ideals (or support the theory that nothing exists except matter).

A materialist.

And there are idealists—those who value ideals (aka principles) more than possessions. Both groups can be further broken down into individualists—independent, self-reliant—and groupists—those who see other people as group members rather than as individuals.

Exercise #42: Spot the philosophy of life of people in this video.

People they come together / People they fall apart / No one can stop us now / Cause we are all made of stars

What’s your philosophy?

If you don’t know what your philosophy is, try this: Look at what other philosophers have said throughout the ages to see what rings true. You can take a saying to heart and train your brain towards wisdom and change the world.

Commence brain training:

Eastern philosophy phrases (oldest to newest):

1. “If you correct your mind, the rest will fall into place….
   Love the world as your own self, then you can truly care for all things” – Lau Tzu (around 601-530 BC)
2. “The mind is everything. What you think you become…. Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways” – Gautama Buddha (around 563-483 BC)
3. “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior….Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you” – Confucius (551-479 BC)
4. “Unruly beings are as unlimited as space, they cannot possibly all be overcome, but if I overcome thoughts of anger alone, this will be equivalent to vanquishing all foes” ― Śāntideva (685-763)

Middle Eastern philosophy (oldest to newest):

1. “Patience is beautiful” – Arabic proverb
2. “A reflective, contented mind is the best possession….With an open mind, seek and listen to all the highest ideals. Consider the most enlightened thoughts. Then choose your path, person by person, each for oneself” – Zoroaster (around 628-551 BC)
3. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today”–  Jesus (1-33) Matt. 6:34
4. “Instead of resisting to changes, surrender. Let life be with you, not against you.  If you think ‘My life will be upside down’ don’t worry. How do you know down is not better than upside?” – Shams Tabrizi aka Rumi (1185–1248)

Excerpt from Existential Comic #344

Western philosophy (oldest to newest):

1. “The brave man is he who overcomes not only his enemies but his pleasures”– Democritus (460-370 BC)
2. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”– Aristotle (385–322 BC)
3. “Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one’s desires, but by the removal of desire”– Epictetus (50-135)
4. “Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but of how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness” – Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Conclusion: Study wise phrases. Make them a habit of mind and enjoy them. You'll be a beacon of wisdom in no time, and remember: It's the path that matters, not the destination.

A Way of Seeing (Part 2)

Must we discuss heavy topics such as truth, reality and the best way to live? Isn’t it enough to spend time doing interesting and pleasant things? Shouldn’t we be like young children, free of heavy thoughts and therefore lighthearted?

Isn’t it better to not know certain things? Like, isn’t it better to not know the feeling of cancer?

When we’re young,  death is something that happens to others—the old and infirm and/or unlucky—but then, one day (if it hasn’t happened already), a simple truth suddenly hits: Death happens to everyone—including you.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

As hard as it is to imagine, one day, there won’t be another. One day, nothing will happen and you won’t know what happened. You will be gone like those who have gone before you.

You will join the non-existent and leave only remains but this reality need not cause anguish. There’s nothing you can do. Fuhgeddaboudit. Some people see death as an opportunity to “live every moment.” To them we say, “What! Are you crazy!”

“Just look!
Even the blossoms that are destined to fall tomorrow
Are blooming now in their life’s glory.” ~Takeko Kujo

“Where does your face go after death? I do not know. Only the peach blossoms blow in the spring wind, This year just as last” ~ an  āgama sutra.

Maybe when you die it will be like before your parents were born. Maybe there’s a trick to this death truth.

The difference between reality and truth is: “Reality has been existent ever since the beginning of the universe. On the other hand truth is something that you have proved ” (source). Reality is multidimensional. Things appear as they do to you based upon from ‘where’ you are looking. 

The “world” is a felt experience but like Wittgenstein said, “The world of the happy man is a different one from that of the unhappy man” (Tractatus Logico-philosophicus).

In answer to “What is the meaning of life?” Eckhart von Hochheim—aka Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)— said, “Whoever were to ask life for a thousand years: ‘Why do you live?’—if life could answer, it would say nothing but: ‘I live in order that I live’” (source).

Caspar David Friedrich, Moonrise Over the Sea, 1822.

People have versions of reality that conceal certain aspects but to make the world a better place, it takes acceptance of all of reality and not just the bits we accept.

How a person responds to ethical principles determines that person’s character. For billions of people life means surviving. Life means eating, sleeping and eventually dying.

The problem seems to be one of money: how to get, spend and save. It’s economics—oil prices, real estate, stocks, debt, GDP, jobs etc.. The purpose of life for billions of people is to get money.

Then again, some people don’t care too much for money.

Some people see being creative as their life purpose but regardless of what you think your purpose is (if you have one), you probably don’t mind feeling happy.

As Kurt Vonnegut wrote in A Man Without a Country, “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

Positive psychologists Seligman and Royzman (2003) identified three types of theories of happiness: Hedonism, Desire, Objective List and Authentic Happiness. Which theory you subscribe to (knowingly or not) has implications for how you live your life.

Hedonism theory mantra: “Go for it! What the hell!”

Hedonism theory is about maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. It’s a popular theory. It’s all the rage. Seligman and Royzman (2003) object to it however. They say it can’t handle someone like philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein who lived in misery but died saying, “Tell them it was wonderful!” (source).

Desire theory counters Hedonism by saying that it isn’t about pleasure: it’s about the fulfilment of desire that makes us happy. But again Seligman and Royzman object, saying, if one’s desire is to collect dolls, no matter how satisfying it is to have a big little doll collection, it doesn’t add up to a happy life.

Desire theory mantra: “I want that!” Image: Celebrity collections.

Countering Hedonism and Desire theories is the Objective List theory. It focuses on “happiness outside of feeling and onto a list of “truly valuable” things in the real world” such as career, relationships, service to community etc., but again Seligman and Royzman object, saying, a happy life must take feelings and desires into account.

Oxford philosopher Derek Parfit’s “Objective List” Lecture

Seligman and Royzman point to Authentic Happiness theory saying, “there are three distinct kinds of happiness: the Pleasant Life (pleasures), the Good Life (engagement), and the Meaningful Life”  (Authentic Happiness). It’s positive psychology. It’s all the rage. But even if Authentic Happiness covers all bases theoretically, there’s a more deeply rooted problem.

Any quest for happiness through positive psychology is one-sided and self-centred. It’s essentially an unrewarding vision of a full human life because it’s still about another “me” feeling better.

Cue music: Primal Scream “Loaded”.

“Sorry! And the Nature of Suffering,” Existential Comics.

Look at a candle burning. It gives light and heat as long as it burns wax. It lives on wax. It dies as wax wanes. Humans are like candles. We are chemicals. We die as our time wanes and each generation carries our species one step further in time.

A person is like a candle.

Each moment must pass away for us to live another. Death is a continuous process.

Living things die as they live but we prefer not to notice.

We’d rather not focus on those who die before us but on the days and nights left to us (see: The Light of Enjoyment and/or Death Clock). But then, maybe being greedy for the pleasure of living isn’t good either.

In Human Minds Margaret Donaldson writes of a man who could put one hundred rattlesnakes into a bag in twenty-eight seconds. The act illustrates something fundamental about humans: We form unique purposes that we pursue with tenacity. If strong feelings are attached, we’ll even die or kill or perhaps maim in pursuit of our purpose.

We share with other animals certain urges—hunger, sexual desire and musicality—but as Margaret Donaldson writes in Human Minds, “it is characteristic of us that we are capable of transcending these urges, though not easily” (p. 8).

When something that was interesting suddenly isn’t, people get bored. People get angry and argue with others and themselves. The trouble with arguments of self-wanting is that, not only are they self-centred, they’re self-sustaining.

Donaldson says that coming up with a purpose for our lives is easy “because we have brains that are good at thinking of possible future states,” (p. 9) but it is in self-focused single-mindedness that we’re apt to misinterpret reality.

We feel satisfied when we dispel an illusion but if the illusion serves a purpose, we don’t  want it dispelled. Consider the world of Walter White in the TV show Breaking Bad.

At the prospect of death Walter corrupts his morals for money. He thinks ‘ends justify means,’ and finds himself enjoying money and power. Money and power become his purpose.

He becomes poster child for materialism and ego. The Double Whammo. “Say my name.”

Materialism is either a preoccupation with the material world—as opposed to intellectual and/or spiritual—or it’s the theory that everything in the universe is matter. We’re surrounded by matter so it seems only natural that we should be distracted from spiritual and/or intellectual pursuits, but what if problems are caused by materialism and/or ego?

What then?

 

Knowledge, Wisdom, Insight and Enjoyment

Knowledge, wisdom, insight and enjoyment relate to the mind but differ in kind. Knowledge is information, wisdom is the application of knowledge, insight is awareness of an essential truth, and enjoyment is, as writer Paul Goodman (1911-1972) observed,  “not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.” 

Knowledge is, “Nothing but the facts ma’am.” If you’re a carpenter, you have knowledge of carpentry. If you play guitar, you have knowledge of guitars. If you’re an astronomer, you have knowledge of stars. Knowledge requires research, study and experience.

Knowledge is the foundation for wisdom. Wisdom is knowing why something is. Wisdom is the application of knowledge for making sound decisions because one can’t act wisely without knowing the potential consequences of a choice.

Wisdom requires reflection and contemplation of what you know and don’t know so as to understand and use that knowledge in an intelligent way.

Wisdom is necessary if you are to have insight. Insight is a personal realization. Insight is an experience. It is the deepest level of knowing. It is understanding a specific cause and effect within a specific context.

Insight is a clearer perception of knowledge and wisdom as it pertains to your life. Whereas knowledge and wisdom are based on rationality, insight is based on intuitive understanding.

The application of wisdom enables a person to gain insight into the essence of an underlying truth. To enjoy insight you not only need to acquire knowledge and take that knowledge and contemplate it—look at all sides with care and attention—and deliberate it—weigh facts and arguments with a view to a choice and consequences—so as to gain wisdom, but you need to make an intuitive connection which is hard to explain—let alone impart to another person.

If you have insight, explanations are meaningless to another person. Like enjoyment, insight is an individual experience that can be described and analyzed but not transmitted or shared. When discussing knowledge, wisdom, insight and enjoyment, we are digging into two incompatible types of thought: rational and intuitive.

Rationality employs language, logic and reason. Think of rationality as a machine. Rationality can be taught but intuition cannot. Think of intuition as a flower. Intuition is embedded in your consciousness but it is often repressed by self-consiousness.

Rational knowledge is knowing what people, things, practices and pleasures make you happy, but wisdom is knowing that things you enjoy do not actually make you happy; happiness comes from within. Insight is feeling that whether or not you believe something isn’t the right question because the answer is what you know through experience.

Intuition is beyond words. You can’t manipulate intuitive consciousness with rational thinking. Rational thinking is a veil through which we think we see reality, but we’re really only perceiving a shallow portion filtered through our constructed perspective.

To see reality directly as reality is to be in reality with acceptance as it is (see also: The Art of Love And Enjoyment Incarnate).

Rationality constrains one’s mind and intuition releases it.

Intuition is a key to what might be called, “higher consciousness” which is, “the part of the human being that is capable of transcending animal instincts” (Wikipedia). Higher consciousness has been described as a feeling of oneness where the world is seen directly and not analytically. The world feels like an extension of your consciousness and there is a sudden sense of freedom from a bondage to the way you think about things.

An insight of higher consciousness is a highly enjoyable direct experience with reality in the present. It is knowing that the happiness you feel is a temporary emotion just like any other temporary emotion that you experience. Happiness is one emotion in a spectrum. If you give yourself permission and relax with acceptance, if you let your face go slack and see from the sides, if you hear without hearing, if you do all this without trying, you will enjoy the intuitive realization or insight that there’s nothing to realize.

The world is there. It is unchanged regardless of how you perceive it. Now is the time to give birth to an awareness of all the love and care you have in your body for everything that is, was, and shall be.

This is not a matter of believing or not believing. That’s the wrong way to look at it. This is about knowing from direct experience. It’s when a feeling of awareness dawns in you. It’s when you stop interpreting what you see, hear, smell and feel. That’s when you realize that you and the world around you are one and the same. Like a cell in a body you are. But wait, before you make a decision as to whether or not this is nonsense, try it yourself—then you’ll know. The trick is to try and not try without effort.