((Philosophy)) is a ((Path of Happiness))

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I recently saw a play called Philosophy for Gangsters, where it was suggested that philosophy and happiness have nothing to do with each other.  After hearing this, I thought for some time about this topic.  Does philosophy lead to happiness?  Is there a connection?

Philosophy is the “love of Sophia,” meaning wisdom  Let us inquire into these two terms.  ((Wisdom)) may perhaps best be suggested as understanding the nature of ((Reality)), in other words, seeing the truth of ((what is)) in the moment.  Love, not /exclusive/ or /possessive love/, but ((real love)) seems to be a ((total absorption)) with something, such that no /divisions/ or /separateness/ exists between one and the other.

We may not necessarily even be speaking of romantic love, but ((love)) in general.  Imagine for example, the martial artist who becomes absorbed in his or her practice, or the athlete that loses his sense of self on the field such that there is just movement, or the musician who is lost in the music.  A sense of /self/ disappears, and there is only ((action)).  The kind of love which we speak is unconditional; there is no separation between /one/ and the /other/ on any level, but a complete and total ((union)).

((Philosophy)) therefore would mean a ((total absorption and understanding into what is)), i.e., ((the nature of reality)).

Through ((wisdom and love)), we break through the /illusion of separation/.  ((Seeing)) that there is no /separation/ is already the flowering of ((love)).  Thus, ((wisdom-and-love)), ((truth-and-compassion)), are interconnected and co-arise.

As we said in previous articles, an “I” appears to exist because of memories and sensations.  However, if we look closely with sensitivity and awareness, we can see that it is thought that creates a thinker.  The narrative we tell ourselves everyday is an illusion, perpetuated by thought in order to preserve a sense of continuity.  This separation between the thinker and the thought, the experiencer and the experienced, creates conflict and divisions within us.

Since thought operates only in the past and projects the future, there is a conflict between what should be (according to thought), and what is.  This /self/, the /ego/, projects all kinds of labels, categories, divisions, and judgments on reality and experience.  As we can never escape from the present, from what is, we lead a double life: experiencing what is, and what we think should be according to our desires, thoughts, conditionings, and memories.

In order to define itself, thought creates labels, judgments, and all kinds of divisions.  This causes us to objectify all experience, people, relationships, language, and reality, and view as /other/ anything which does not fit our own definition.  The /ego/ operates in an /I—It/ technology of mind.  ((Wisdom-and-love)), brought to Life through ((Living Philosophy)), creates a shift from /I—It/ to ((I==Thou)), whereby objectifying habits are dropped, and there is insight in the ((Sacredness)) and ((Interrelatedness)) of all things.

Without any /divisions/ or /separateness/, there is no inward conflict, for conflict can only exist between /one/ and an /other/.  Without conflict, there is not only ((clarity)), but ((order)).  In this sense, ((order)) is not forced, disciplined, or adherence to some moral law, but is a natural spontaneity that is in itself ((ethical, creative, and harmonious)).  For the one who embodies ((love-and-wisdom)), he or she would not even consider /violence/ or /actions/ that would harm others, for they are ((aware)) of the ((interconnectedness of all things)).  Order seemingly brings about virtue and goodness then, and these give rise also to harmony.  Of course, we must keep in mind that these ((qualities)) such as order, virtue, wisdom, love, etc., do not arise in a linear or cause-and-effect manner, but also ((co-arise)) together, and are ((interrelated)).

Therefore, if there is no /self/ in conflict or that is /divided/, but simply the ((manifestation)) and ((action)) of these ((qualities)), would this not be happiness?  For the very /pursuit/ of happiness obstructs its flowering, because there is a pursuer and the pursued.  But without that conflict, and just the ((total absorption and flowing into what is)), ((the present moment)), there is bliss.

Thus, ((Philosophy)), not intellectual jargon, debates, and complex theories, but real ((Living Wisdom)) is the key to ((Happiness)) and ((Human Flourishing)).  This ((meditative intelligence)), the ((understanding and awareness)) of ((what is)) is ((Living Philosophy)).  ((Philosophy)), therefore, is a ((Way of Liberation)).  It is not a path “towards” happiness, as that would create a division between the path and a goal, but rather, ((Philosophy)) is a ((Path of Happiness)).

Related Articles:

The Game of Life – Don’t Take it Personally

On the Nature of Happiness

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

When Life Falls Apart

On Uncertainty

Link to my book – Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy

Link to my other essays – http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by Tony Parrotto

The Mazeway Project

That Which Is, by Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell

When Life Falls Apart

© Jason Kunen 2014

Why do we put up psychological resistance?  Is it not because of fear?  There is a change of some sort, and we resist this new situation.  We judge and evaluate this new circumstance.  But judgments are only out of comparison; you can only judge and evaluate a thing in relation to something else, and the measure against which we compare this new situation is the known, which is of the past.

When our primary mode of being is grounded in ego-mentalism, we cling to the past, to the known.  As we observed in the article On Conformity, Fear of the Known, and Discussing Matters of Life, there is never fear of the unknown, for how can we fear that which we do not know?  There is fear, however, of losing the known, more specifically, the psychological security that comes with attachment to the known.

When we resist, it is a clear sign that our ego, the projected image of an identity constructed from memories and conditionings, is afraid of something.  The ego identity naturally clings to the past and to the known because it lives and functions in that.  Facing that which it does not know means it will have to die to what it is now in order to change and adapt.  So it will resist against the unknown, against death, against anything which endangers the illusion of psychological comfort.

If we pay attention, and are sensitive to these mental habits, we will discover that we are not our ego.  We are so much more than this projected, constructed image, but its narrow lens objectifies and constricts even the reality of ourself.  By clinging to the past, we don’t fully meet the present, and the future is merely a projection based on the known in accordance with our disposition.  Of course, planning for the future has practical applications, but it must be remembered that it is only an image, an idea, and that everything is subject to change.  Therefore, it is an expenditure of energy to cling or attach to an idea, a projection.

It is as though the cocoon of the caterpillar is breaking apart because the butterfly fully evolved, but clinging to the past is like the butterfly desperately trying to save the cocoon, despite the cocoon’s imminent destruction.  It has the opportunity to break free and fly, but instead, chooses to focus on the danger, the fear, and what it knows.  When things fall apart, perhaps consider that they’re actually falling into place.

When you resist, be completely aware of it.  Don’t try to convince yourself intellectually, or dismiss the feeling.  There is something crucial happening, and forcing or suppressing is self-destructive.  Hold that moment of resistance with awareness, as you would hold a delicate flower in your palm.  Discover the underlying reasons of why this resistance is there.  Is your fear of not accomplishing something, getting a job, being successful, etc., because there is the fear of failure?  Do you fear failure because deep down, you fear being nothing, that you did not become something?  Society has drilled you to be single-minded on pursuing success, wealthy, famous, and all the rest of it, and if you fail, you feel you are worthless, because you did not become this or that person you were conditioned to idolize.  No one can become another!  To be your ((true Self)) is the greatest gift you can give to humanity.

If these posts are helpful and interesting, please subscribe, like, and comment on the Dia-blog, and share the articles with others.  There are links to share this on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress, and others below.  Many thanks!

Related Links:

Last week’s post: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary – The Desire to Become – Life as it is

Here is a great book by my good friends Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell that discusses spiritual evolution in a clear and simple manner.  I highly recommend it, especially to young persons interested in spiritual topics.  It is called, That Which Is.

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto.  Here is a link to his website, The Mazeway Project.

Changing the World Starts with Understanding Yourself

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As we saw in the post, A Call to ((Action)), there are a number of issues that humanity faces today that threatens our survival, and some which will have cataclysmic effects on our planet.  In several ((Dia-blog)) posts, we investigated that the cause of our problems is /ego-mentalism/, that is, we are conducting our mind from a self-oriented, self-centered, objectifying, and fragmented framework.  When we use this mental operating system, we take ourself to be the center of existence and the basis for experience, and contrast it with everything outside of us.  We objectify and cut ourself off from everything else.  This creates the distinction between “I” and “not I,” which leads to constantly comparing, judging, evaluating, and creating more and more divisions.  Thus, all dialogue, experience, interaction, relationship, ideas, and emotions are filtered through our conditionings, memories, thoughts, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, judgments, reactions, and experiences (all these things which comprise the /self/, the /ego/, the /“me”/, our /story/).  Because of that, we rarely encounter moments when we are free of our /self/.  But through this ((Dia-blog)) we are discovering together if there is a way we can encounter and experience things ((as they are)) in a fresh, present, and creative way.

We have also been investigating the fact that we are as we mind.  That is, the world is a reflection of how we are conducting our minds.  Our way of minding is projected into the outer world.  Therefore, if we wish to change the world, we must start with ourself, with our own inner life.  Why?  Because without understanding ourselves, our psychological process, our actions will perpetuate the cycle of /ego-mentalism/, of /objectification/ and /violence/.  If you are full of conflict, jealously, anger, hatred, self-centeredness, whatever it is, could your actions in the world reflect differently?  We will be stuck in /reactions/, not creatively responding to the experience, interaction, or problem.  (For more on this, please refer to the posts On Psychological Freedom and On Relationships).

But how does one go about doing this?  To change ourselves, don’t we need to understand what it is we’re changing from?  It is vital to understand the /ego-mental patterns and habits/ within ourselves.  Through non-judgmental awareness, we can watch our reactions, thoughts, emotions, clinging, anger, hatred, and the rest of it.  We can simply watch unobtrusively; once we start judging, condemning, justifying, and interfering, it means we are trying to escape the fact of what we are because we are afraid to look at ourselves.  If you learn to observe yourself in this non-judgmental manner, with an interest and an openness to see what you are, then you begin to understand yourself, and a change happens naturally.  I recommend a book by Osho called Awareness: The Key to Living in Balance.

Changing oneself is not a matter of creating ideals or following a belief system.  When you have ideals (non-violence, compassion, courage, kindness, temperance, etc.) and try to live up to them, doesn’t that mean you are in conflict because you are the opposite of that ideal?  If I am trying to be non-violent, doesn’t that mean I am trying to change myself because I am violent?  Creating this ideal in your mind puts you in conflict with your idea (which is really just an image rooted in your thoughts and memories of what you believe it is), and your actual, everyday experience.  That is why I am not an idealist.  Ideals create conflict, and are an elaborate way to escape from what you are by trying to live up to some belief in your mind.  Instead, through awareness we begin to understand our psychological process and our /ego-mental habits/, and with understanding, one naturally changes.  Then, there is no striving to live up to or become some ideal, but rather, one is kind, non-violent, creative, compassionate, courageous, etc.  These qualities become the very presence of the person; it is their very being.

If you truly understand, not as an ideal or a thought or a belief, but clearly see what /ego-mentalism/ is as a fact, and how it creates divisions, objectifies, fragments, creates conflict, and leads to suffering, loneliness, and a chaotic inner and therefore outer life, no one in their right mind would continue to live with way of minding!  Naturally, you would inquire whether there is a profoundly different way of living and experiencing life and optimizing your relationships with people and the world around you.  This means that understanding is not merely intellectual, but is empathetic, intelligent, creative, and active.  ((Understanding is action)).  You can believe that everyone is interconnected, that we can be non-violent, that we can break free of /ego-mentalism/, whatever it is…but belief does not lead to integrated action.  Integrated action comes from understanding, from seeing what is.  And such ((action)) is, by its very nature coherent, moral, creative, and intelligent.  I suggest reading Jiddu Krishnamurti’s book, The First and Last Freedom for more on this subject.

Through this awareness and understanding yourself, you begin to interact different in your relationships.  Your nature of ((Being)) creates ripples and affects others.  Society, the world, is not independent of you relationship between you and me, between you and other people, the world, ideas, etc.; it is the relationships we have.  Understanding ourselves, our psychological process, leads to a ((transformation)) of our being, not through discipline, force, effort, control, authority, or fear, but through Self-knowledge.  This ((inner revolution)) creates a change in our relationships.  And if the vast network of relationships and interconnections is the world, we thereby affect the entire ((Field of Reality)).  If you want to end conflict and violence in the world, end the conflict and violence in yourself.  If you want to end misery in the world, end the misery in yourself.  If you want to eliminate self-centeredness in the world, self-centeredness must be eliminated within yourself.  No one can be forced to change, but you are responsible for creating and holding the ((space)) for a ((radically transformed Humanity)) through your own ((inner revolution)).

So, if you want to change the world, start with understanding yourself.  If you want to understand yourself, become aware of how you are conducting your mind.  For awareness and transformation to flourish, you must inquire whether a ((total revolution of our being)) is possible, not through force, discipline, or desiring to change, but through openness and willingness to see what is.

If these posts are helpful and interesting, please share them with others.  There are links to share this on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and others below.  Many thanks!

Related Links:

Here is a great book by my good friends Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell that discusses spiritual evolution in a clear and simple manner.  I highly recommend it, especially to young persons interested in these topics.  It is called, That Which Is.

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto.  A link to the book and the his website, The Mazeway Project are below:

The Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy

Link to Last Week’s Post: On Conformity, Fear of the Known, and Discussing Matters of Life

Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Book, The First and Last Freedom – On Amazon or Online

Osho’s Book, Awareness: The Key to Living in Balance

On Conformity, Fear of the Known, and Discussing Matters of Life

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A young friend of mine requested that I write on why most people in our culture, young and old, are hesitant to discuss and inquire into themselves, into life.  Why this fear and uncertainty regarding matters of life?  Why is it that so few people are interested to look beyond the superficial aspects of themselves and the world around them?  There are many factors which can be attributed to this, and I will not attempt to try and name them all.

I highly advise reading my previous two posts to help you understand what we shall investigate together here today:

On Uncertainty:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/on-uncertainty/

On Interconnectedness and the Problems of our World:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/a-call-to-action-on-the-problems-of-our-age-we-are-as-we-mind-interconnectedness/

Education certainly plays a great role in our willingness to inquire whether there is a different way of life and understanding ourselves.  If education provides an intellectually safe space where students can be open to Self-knowledge and are free to be creative and inquire into themselves, their fears, and their insecurities, then perhaps we shall have a society that is coherent, peaceful, and dialogical.  Many educators are frightened of introducing controversy and dialogue on such matters, and education is reduced to memorization, the acquisition of knowledge, and learning things most students find irrelevant to their lives.  But I shall not delve into that here; for that, I recommend Jiddu Krishnamurti’s book, Education and the Significance of Life.  In conjunction with that, the media, from news stations and magazines to even textbooks influence our openness and wonderment.  For that, I recommend Lies My Teacher Told Me.  Furthermore, our culture provides all kinds of escapes through which we find temporary comfort from our fears, insecurities, loneliness and the rest of it.

Let us look at this from a broader approach.  As I’ve said in my previous posts, whether you agree or disagree, like or dislike, judge as right or wrong, anything I say is not important to me nor does it help you.  These words are here to act as a mirror in which you can look at yourself.  I write this, not so that you have a set of beliefs to adopt or to compare your own to, but to ignite the flame of inquiry so that you can find answers on your own.  Let us proceed attentively and investigate this matter together.

If we look within ourselves, it seems that most of us have accepted self-centeredness, violence, jealously, hatred, anger, escapism in one form or another, apathy, and loneliness as a way of life.  Very, very few of us have attempted to understand our own psychological process and truly understand why the world is as it is.  We turn to systems, methods, practices, religions, philosophies, belief systems, rituals and prayers, political and economic ideologies, science, or some other set of beliefs to give us the answers.  For many, a system is imparted, conditioned, and given to us from birth, but we live with it without questioning it, or we reject as a reaction, not through understanding.

When we live according to the doctrines and ideas of another, we become second-hand, mechanical human beings.  We repeat what others have said and try to justify, through our knowledge and books, that we are right.  We tend to privilege our own framework and believe it to be absolute.  Understandably so, for we are extremely frightened of the giving up all that we know.  Even the thought of giving up one’s grand narrative, the story we tell ourselves about who we are, etc., is frightening.  We enjoy living with the illusion of psychological comfort by clinging to our thoughts, memories, systems, and experiences.  It is not that we are frightened of the unknown, how can we fear that which we do not know?, but rather, we are afraid to give up the known.

More and more people are beginning to realize that children are natural philosophers.  They are full of wonderment and inquiry when they are young.  But over time, many are conditioned with answers, patterns, and systems leaving no room for questions; few can endure the tumultuous environment of school and its pressures while simultaneously keeping their interest in understanding themselves and life alive.  We are pressured to conform, not only to a peer group, but to the patterns laid out by our /ego-mental culture/.  And this is very tempting, because particularly as we grow into adolescents we have an increasing desire to be accepted, to be loved, to feel our existence is acknowledged; this feeling of being accepted by others gives the impression that the void of emptiness, of loneliness that we feel is fulfilled.  This leads to a psychological dependency on those people to keep us satisfied.

Conformity restricts and confines us; we become conceptually imprisoned to various patterns and habits of mind.  But to understand ourselves requires tremendous openness, creativity, wonderment, aloneness (not loneliness or aloneness in the typical sense of the word) and not being bound to any pattern.  By ((aloneness)), I mean the willingness to question and not accept any pattern until we have found out Truth for ourselves.  When I use the word “aloneness,” I’m not implying isolation in any typical sense of the word.  I mean by that not being confined to any established pattern of thought that keeps one conceptually imprisoned.  ((Aloneness)) is emptying oneself of /ego-mental habits and reactions/, and having the ((courage)) to stand against /ego-mentalism/.  Thus, many young people I feel are in deep conflict: conformity and feeling accepted by others so that we have temporary comfort from our loneliness vs. interest in understanding ourselves, which inevitably puts us at odds with others because we do not conform to their ideas, judgments, expectations, standards, and the rest of it.

Let us pause for a moment and reflect on what we said.

Our /ego-mind/ does not see or understand the interconnectedness, the relationality of all things.  So, our /ego way of minding/ cuts us off from others because the /ego/ tries to assert its own independent space and define itself; it believes itself as a self-sustaining identity, and gives the illusion of independence from all others.  In doing this, it creates a void of emptiness and loneliness within ourselves, which is what drives this incessant desire to become something else, or to become like someone else.  As a way to deal with this void, many of us conform to the patterns of society, to a peer group, to this or that ideology, in order to feel like we are a part of something greater.  When you conform to any pattern, you are given answers, beliefs, expectations, and standards so that you no longer need to question and inquire or understand.  As we become more fixed in this pattern, we become more and more attached and psychologically dependent on it, because that becomes our /limited framework/ for understanding the world.  We cling to our /identity/ and our /framework/ and are afraid of giving it up, not because we fear the unknown, but because we fear giving up and undermining all that we know.

Thus, rather than inquire to see if there is a different way of life that is free of anger, hatred, suffering, etc., we accept these patterns out of fear.  Psychological comfort and attachment to our fragmented, objectifying mental operating system (our way of minding), is a primary cause of our unwillingness and fear to understand ourselves and life.  Furthermore, most of us are afraid to look at ourselves and see what we actually are.  It is tremendously difficult to face our anger, loneliness, fears, insecurities, desires, and all the rest of it directly.  That is another reason we turn to others to give us answers or to some other activity that gives us temporary comfort.  This, however, we shall take this up another time.

If these posts are helpful and interesting, please share them with others.  There are links to share this on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and others below.  Many thanks!

Related links:

On Psychological Freedom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/on-freedom-reaction-vs-response/

The Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org

Listen to yourself and find answers, by Jiddu Krishnamurti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VWnf9OBpQA

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose and Fear Part 1:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

On Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a natural part of life and the human experience.  Yet it seems that so many of us cannot stand uncertainty.  Most things in our culture either try to guarantee certainty, or distract us from the fact of uncertainty with some form of entertainment.  Even religions, belief systems, philosophy, scientists all want to give you certainty about what the world is like, what happens after death, what to do with your life, so that you do not have to face uncertainty.  Why this dislike and discomfort of uncertainty?

If we look in ourselves, it would seem most of us are seeking certainty.  Certainty in the job market, financially, in relationships, what to do, in our judgments, how to think…we desire to find an established set answer that is permanent, static, and definitive.  Desire for certainty, however, is a side effect of our insecurity within and our desire to seek psychological security.  When we approach the world with an /ego-mental/ framework, that is, a way of conducting our mind that is polarized, fragmented, and objectifies, we are operating from our conditionings and the past.  An /ego-mental/ mind speaks, thinks, judges, reacts, and lives from the past; it projects the past into the present and the future.  It is attached and psychologically dependent on our thoughts and memories, and wants to replicate what it knows from the past into the present; it desires certainty in the future based on what it knows from the past.

Our /ego/ sees itself as a self-sustaining, independent entity that is separate from everything else.  We have a desire to control everything else according to our own nature and dispositions (based on thought and memory) because at some level, we feel we are inferior, insecure, afraid, and lonely.  We feel more comfortable replicating something we already know because of fear of the unknown.  So, we seek psychological comfort in trying to control others, experiences, and life itself to conform to our desires.  Thus, we become obsessed with control and certainty.  Certainty, therefore, is nothing other than our own inclinations that have come to fruition.

Are you following this?  Perhaps an example would help.  Say I am a recent graduate and want a job, and my peers have found one before me.  Now for whatever reason, either pressures from family, my own conditionings, society’s expectations, or something else, I feel inferior to them because I have not yet found something.  This makes me insecure about my situation because I too want to find something; I want psychological comfort, a feeling of security through finding employment so that I no longer feel lesser.  This leads to frustration, anger, depression, perhaps even to jealously and hatred, because we have no control over our situation.  Thus, psychological insecurity leads to my want for certainty and thereby a habit of controlling and shaping our relationships, other people, experiences, and life according to our own disposition; this inevitably breeds frustration, because such a thing is impossible.  This example does not reflect my own situation, but I’m sure there are many out there, especially young people, who feel this way.  I am trying to demonstrate that if you are open, interested in inquiring into yourself, and giving attention to understanding your own psychological process, that perhaps there is another way to conduct your mind that does not lead down a path of suffering and frustration, despite the situation.

Will learning to watch our fears and reactions, and breaking the mental habits that reinforce the fear of uncertainty give us psychological comfort?  So long as we try to find psychological security in something outside of us, whether it’s some form of pleasure or entertainment, meditation, religion, reading, some activity, drugs, alcohol, whatever it is, we remain attached and dependent on something else.  This psychological dependency leads to suffering.  Once you are certain, you are stuck, static, and have reached a standstill.  Meditation, prayer, ritual…all these practices are not about eliminating uncertainty and finding psychological comfort in them, but about learning to be comfortable and live with uncertainty, with what is.  We can move into the unknown with openness, acceptance, and a willingness to learn from life’s experiences.  We learn to watch and flow with what is, and not escape from it or try to control it.  Learning to abide in uncertainty allows us to enjoy each moment, each breath.  This doesn’t mean we become lazy, apathetic, or don’t try to change our situation.  Rather, we are not attached to any expectation or result, and we focus on the process.  We become flexible and fluid, and become aware of how to work with our situation, inwardly and outwardly.

I am not condemning our desire for certainty.  We must experience it so that we can observe this mental habit and understand it.  The caterpillar must experience being the caterpillar; it must go through the process of making a cocoon and wanting to feel safe and secure.  But when it evolves, the very cocoon which has kept it safe for so long must be broken to be free.  Our evolution as human beings is similar.  We must experience being the /ego-pillar/ so that we can transform into a ((Buddhafly)).  That is the journey of our existence.

Related links:

On Psychological Freedom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/on-freedom-reaction-vs-response/

On the Problems of our Age, Interconnectedness and Activism:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/a-call-to-action-on-the-problems-of-our-age-we-are-as-we-mind-interconnectedness/

Pema Chödron’s Book, Comfortable with Uncertainty:

http://www.amazon.com/Comfortable-Uncertainty-Cultivating-Fearlessness-Compassion/dp/1590300785

Global Philosophy, talk by Ashok Gangadean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODCfj0rV6DY

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto.  A link to the book and the his website, The Mazeway Project are below:

The Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org

Link to the book, Navigating the Mazeway:

http://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Mazeway-Fulfilling-Possibilities-Individuals/dp/0874260701

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

On Freedom (Reaction vs. Response)

Freedom can be discussed at many different levels, but in this inquiry, we shall be discussing the nature of psychological freedom.  Now, most people say they want freedom, but what they really want is license, that is, the “freedom” to do whatever they want.  Is that really freedom?  Let us inquire and see if there is such a thing as psychological freedom.

In my previous posts, we have taken up the fact of conditionings.  That is, since our birth we have been conditioned by our parents, schools, religions, politicians, and other influences of society.  These conditionings set up parameters for how to think, act, behave, what to like and not like, and how to process experience in our life in order to conform to the same mental patterns of the culture.  Now, can such a mind that is operating based on conditioned patterns that one is unaware of be free?  For example, if someone hurts your ego, insults you, slashes your pride, what do you do?  Many of us would react with some negative remark about the other person perhaps, and some of us would restrain ourselves maybe because we’ve been told to have self-control.  We’re not discussing here what is the right or wrong answer, we are simply using this scenario to look at psychological freedom; I’m sure you can think of many other examples.  In either of these cases, if one is reacting to the person, based on our patterns of mind we have been conditioned into, is one engaging in this scenario with psychological freedom?  Perhaps this is not a very good example, but the point is: if we react, aren’t we being controlled by some initial action?  That is the definition of reaction isn’t it?  An action that comes about as a result of some initial stimulus.

Therefore, as Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, “there is no freedom in reaction.”  And that is how the vast majority of us go through life, just reacting to stimuli, reacting to experiences that come across our path.  If one is all the time just reacting to things, we are merely passive victims of our experience.  Can such a life really be the extent of living?  Is that living?  Our conditionings, which define and shape how we function in the world, give us established patterns as to how one ought to judge and react to experiences.  But if we’re unconsciously operating from these mental patterns, there is no freedom in our action.  In fact, there is no creative action or appropriate response at all, for creative response requires a mind that is not limited or blinded by any conceptual imprisonment.  Such a mind encounters experience in the present moment, it sees what is, and does not process experience through the filter of conditionings.

Is this making sense?  Let me summarize: Our mental habits, which have been instilled in us since birth, lay out the so-called “appropriate” or “right” way to think about and experience events in our life, whether major or minor.  We are inquiring whether there is any psychological freedom in this or if there is such a thing.  If we look at examples in our own life, it becomes clear that we are reacting to stimuli happening to us based on these mental habits.  And reaction, as we have said, is not free; firstly because it depends on an initial action, and secondly, because it stems from thought, memory, and conditionings, which are based in the past.

In previous posts, I have discussed that we can rehabilitate our mind through non-judgmental awareness and observation of our reactions and fears in order to understand and dissipate our conditionings.  Now, many of us will be tempted to ask how; how does one do this?  How does it work?  The moment you ask the how question, you are no longer interested in understanding or inquiry, you want a method, a system, a practice, something you can depend on to help you so you don’t have to go through the work of finding out or understanding the process yourself; you just want an answer, you’re no longer interested in the question.  Either that, or you doubt such a thing is possible without giving it any thought for yourself, so you want someone else to provide you with an answer that you can argue with; in that case, you are no longer interested in inquiry, and communication between us has broken down.  This is not a mono-centric debate (or an egologue) between your position and my position and one trying to convince the other of being right.  This is an inquiry, a dialogue, which requires openness, attentiveness, curiosity, and interest in understanding.

Jiddu Krishnamurti also said, “there is no such thing as freedom of thought.”  Wherefore?  Because not only is thought of the past and based on memory, but it is limited to whatever conditioning/framework one is using to process experience.  Therefore, our conditionings are a conceptual imprisonment aren’t they?  Those patterns of thought came from others, not from ourselves, and if we’re just repeating those words, those actions, those patterns, without any critical inquiry, awareness, or experience of our own, aren’t we just secondhand, mechanical human beings?  So what we are discovering here is that if we wish to have psychological freedom, it requires stepping out of our conceptual imprisonment.

Now, if we can in fact become aware of our reactions and conditionings and rehabilitate our mind, would this not lead to psychological freedom?  If we can encounter our experiences in the moment, and see what is, without processing it through the filter of our conditioned patterns of mind, we can respond.  Response is not reaction.  Response is in the moment; it is pure action coherent with what is, and not dependent on an initial stimulus.  The event and the action are interconnected, are coterminous.  We can encounter the event as it is, rather than the image constructed in our mind based on the past.  For more on this, please refer to the post:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

and you may also be interested in watching my youtube video on Meeting Each Other in the Moment (which was made quite some time ago and by no means professionally done, but it gets the point across – I was still discovering how to use Youtube and speaking to a camera instead of an audience, so be easy on me):

http://youtu.be/ICPS6S9ieQo

Thus, response is creative, as it is not confined by conceptual boundaries.  It is like a Zen kōan.  Think of the martial artist.  If she reacts to an attack, she must think about what to do, and then take action, but it is too late.  But if she responds to the opponent, it is like a dance; she flows and takes the appropriate and necessary action to stop the attacker.  Therefore, if we are at all interested in psychological freedom, we must become aware of our conditioned habits of mind and our reactions.  This awareness will allow us to rehabilitate our mind so that we can live and respond in a creative, attentive, open, presencing manner to everything we experience.  We no longer are victims of life’s experiences or sufferings, but become ((R-evolutionary co-creators)) of a new humanity guided by compassion, wisdom, awareness, and understanding.

If you find this or other posts/links here to be helpful, I ask you to please share with others whom you think would be interested.  I would very much appreciate your support.  Thank you!

Other Links:

About: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/about/

Other Posts/Home Page: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my (old) youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 2)

Click here to read part 1: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

Let us continue our discussion of destiny, meaning, purpose, and fear.  We left off saying that when we ask what the purpose of our lives are, we are actually asking for its use.  Living beings, however, are changing, flowing, learning, and are not static; they are not objects.  The problem is, isn’t it, that we are using a technology of mind (ego-mentalism) that objectifies all experience, including ourselves?  In coming to think of ourselves as objects, we therefore try to find out what our function is.  But, as we said, something that is alive cannot have a static function or use, but its purpose must also be flowing, a movement that is changing.  We then said that if we wish to find out the meaning of our lives we must let go of all the answers we have been given so that we have the clarity and psychological freedom to see for ourselves the reality of what is.  So long as we cling to conditionings and the baggage handed down by others, all past memory and knowledge, we remain secondhand mechanical human beings.  It therefore takes great awareness and energy to pay attention to our reactions so that we can clearly see our conditionings, fears, desires, and the rest of it.  Does this make sense?  I hope I haven’t lost you.

We then said that if we observe the experiences of our life, we find that there are certain encounters that seem to repeat themselves in various forms until we have been able to understand our fears and resistance to them, and that when we have true understanding, they no longer repeat.  We finished by saying that it seems as though life is a journey of encountering, facing, understanding, and letting go of our fears and becoming aware of our psychological process.

Why is it so important that we encounter and let go of our fear?  We’re not talking about running away or escaping from it, pushing it away, pretending its not there, or fighting it.  Fear will dissipate with understanding, not through any force your ego uses to face it.  Really look, and see.  Isn’t our fear interfering in our relationships, not just those we are close to, but with everyone, and with the planet?  Do you see all of the distrust and suspicion around you, and even within you?  And it’s reflected in our language isn’t it, with sayings like: trust no one, no good deed goes unpunished, better safe than sorry, etc?  Fear leads to mistrust, which inevitably leads to closing ourselves off from people.  Don’t rely on my words, see it for yourself.  How can we be open, caring, and attentive to someone we don’t trust?  In fact, we’re not even open or trusting of ourselves!  We’re constantly running away from having to face who we really are.  That is why so many of us cannot stand being alone; we have to face ourselves as we are, but since we’re so full of judgment and guilt and cannot accept who we are, we run away from it.  The experience of being alone has many negative connotations nowadays, unfortunately.  So, if we cannot be open, trusting, understanding, and attentive to ourselves, how could we possibly be any of that with another?  In this case, it is clear that our relationships, and communication among us, breaks down.

In understanding ourselves, we naturally become more compassionate towards others.  If we are full of fear, we spend our time and energy seeking our own psychological comfort and making up for our insecurities; this leads to a self-centered attitude.  Don’t judge yourself for it, or say that I shouldn’t be this or that.  All these religions, philosophies, self-help books, gurus keep saying don’t be self-centered, help others.  But how can we help others in any significant way if we are full of fear?

Become aware of your conditionings, understand your fears.  Observe your relationships.  Letting go of our fears allows us to be open and trusting.  In coming to understand our psychological process through encountering fear, our self-centered orientation begins to dissolve.  We begin to see that we are profoundly interconnected with all things, not as a theory, but as a fact.  We become more and more open and trusting to others, and to what is.  We become less and less steeped in objectifying others, and become more compassionate and attentive.  Why?  It is the recognition that others are full of fear, envy, sadness, loneliness, mistrust, longing, violence, anger, and the rest of it.  This, in turn, is projected into the world.  Having understood our own psychological process, we see that we are the world.  We are as we mind.  What goes on in the world is a projection of what we are and what we do.  We are what is.  Seeing this for yourself, not intellectually or as a theory, but experiencing it for oneself…that is the journey.

Now, some of you who are reading this might say, “He didn’t mention anything about purpose, or meaning, or destiny.”  And others might say, “why didn’t you just say the answer from the beginning?  Why this roundabout method?”  So what if I or somebody else told you your meaning or your destiny?  How would those words, that knowledge, help you?  You would take it and go on your way, once again believing and repeating somebody else’s ideas.  You can read all kinds of books.  And how many of them tell you purpose is to return to wholeness, to God, to Allah, to Emptiness, to be in union with the Dao, or whichever name you like to use?  But how long have those answers been around, and have they really changed people?  Has humanity psychologically matured with those answers?  It is important to see this, to experience and understand it for yourself.  If you are psychologically mature, then you can see the immense power behind the words and wisdom of these books.  Otherwise, we just go on repeating answers, memorizing words, which doesn’t help us understand ourselves.  So first and foremost, see for yourself what is.

Links to previous posts, essays, and my book:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

On Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

About:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/about/

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 1)

What are we really asking when we talk about meaning and purpose and destiny?  If we really look deeply at these terms it would appear that we’re really asking about functionality, that is, the purpose of a thing.  For those of you who are familiar with Ludwig Wittgenstein, the German philosopher, this idea resonates with his idea that when we ask for the meaning of the term we’re really asking for it’s use.  Therefore, what we are really asking when we ask about our meaning or our purpose, is actually what is our use; what purpose do we serve?  Living beings, however, that are changing and learning, are not objects created for such specific instances, as objects to be used in this or that situation.  Beings are not the same as tools in a toolbox, where each item is an object that has a particular function.  Objects are static, beings are flowing.

Before we can seriously consider this question regarding the meaning of our lives, we must first understand why this question arises at all.  Having an answer with no real understanding is not intelligence.  But that is what has been happening worldwide for centuries.  We are given all sorts of answers, from the priests, teachers, politicians, parents, and society, that we begin to rely on their words.  Their so-called answers become the foundation of our life, and we live according to others’ words.  Our life becomes mechanical, because we go on repeating answers and beliefs we have been given but never thought about.  We are living according to a reality someone else has promised us.  If we see this, then we can really begin to understand why we feel so empty inside.  We realize the illusion of it all, and start asking questions like what is my purpose, why am I here, who am I?  This is vital, because it is when we feel groundless that we can see the situation without all this baggage we have been carrying.  If we ask these questions from a ego-mental standpoint (defined here as a standpoint of objectification wherein all experience and testimony is filtered through our own lens created by accumulated biases, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, memories, and conditionings thereby creating the illusion of a permanent self), our inquiry will be distorted.  So long as you carry all that baggage with you, you will only find a projection of what you hope to find, not actually what is.

Therefore, to deeply inquire into these questions without distorting your search requires one to move against the patterns of society, which takes tremendous courage and awareness.  The society since you were born has been saying who you should be, what you should do, what to believe in, and so on, and if you want to find the truth, you will have to reject any ready-made answers they give you.  Some of their answers might sound appealing or ideal, but if you don’t find an answer for yourself and always depend on another’s answer, you will never have psychological freedom.  So here is the problem: the answers and conditioning that society has imposed no longer satisfies us, and we seek to find some other way; but, there is fear because one must go against the whole movement of society.  Thus, we are stuck in a kind of purgatory.  We don’t wish to move back, because that would mean accepting beliefs and answers that are not coherent with our experience, and we don’t want to move forward because the fear of standing alone against this movement.  Therefore, we find ourselves in a groundless, nihilistic state and full of fear.  Nihilism is nothing but the rejection of society’s patterns and conditionings, and the fear to stand alone and inquire for oneself what is beyond that.  This is an important step to finding out what is beyond all the conditionings, because we must first realize that we are stuck within these ego-mental patterns before we can understand how to be free.  However, the fear which holds one back from exploring the depths of our being, our psychological process, stems from our conditionings, and so even when we reach this point, we are still falling back into these same mental patterns.

But let us return to this question regarding the purpose of life.  As we go through our lives, we encounter all kinds of experiences and emotions: boredom, anger, sadness, loneliness, happiness, fear, lust, and all the rest of it.  It would seem to me that people desire happiness and wish to avoid pain.

You can read my post “On the Nature of Happiness” here: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

However, in wanting to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, fear arises doesn’t it?  It is our sense of self, the “I”, the ego, the sense of “me” which is really just a collection of memories and conditionings that just appears to persist through time, that has this fear.  It wants its own separate space because it believes itself to be self-sustaining, thereby cutting itself off from what is.  There is not only fear of that pain, but also fear of losing pleasure, fear of not reaching pleasure at all, and this fear, in turn, leads to anger and suffering when our hopes, desires, and dreams don’t come to fruition.  And isn’t it the case that certain experiences that cause fear and resistance in ourselves repeat, but when we open up to them and we eliminate that fear, that we no longer encounter those experiences?  It would seem then that whenever we encounter fear and resistance in our psyche, there is clearly a lesson that must be learned so that we can assimilate that experience into our psychological process and be free of that fear.  Wouldn’t that imply then that life is a journey of accepting, facing, and letting go of the fears and resistance, and understanding our psychological process?  This is, in essence, learning to lose fear of what is.

Link to Part 2:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-2/

Links to previous posts, essays, and my book:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

On Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

On Relationships (Encountering Others in the Moment)

© Jason Kunen 2014

When you meet someone, it is important to ask: who are you really meeting?  That is, when you an encounter another, your parents, your children, your friend, your partner, your neighbor, who is it that you are really meeting?  Are you meeting that person as they are, or are you meeting something else?  Please, do not answer according to your tradition which is someone else’s ideas, or some new age philosophy given to you about being the present which you have never experienced, but really observe this question and let us examine it together.

What is our first reaction when we meet another, whether someone close to us or a stranger?  It is typical that we bring forward thoughts that categorize and label this person.  We call to mind all of the knowledge we have of this person, or if they are strangers, we think of various prejudices and stereotypes to fit him into our mental framework.  In other words, we judge this person.  These judgments may even be unconscious; our conditioned habits may create these judgments.  These judgments are based on thoughts of the past, on memory.  Therefore, what has happened is that through memory, we have judgments of others, thereby creating an image of the person.  If we have such an image of the person, are we actually meeting the person as they are?  Are we even really meeting that person?  Please examine and observe this for yourself; the author cannot do it for you.

Clearly, the knowledge we have of the person, this image created from past experience, has a purpose.  Without it, the person would always be a stranger; it would be like having amnesia.  We can use this knowledge to interact with another in a deeper way.  However, rather than using the knowledge when it is needed, we become stuck in a pattern in which we encounter others solely through this image that acts as a filter.  Because we are psychologically insecure, we seek permanency in all things; this applies to these images of others as well.  In other words, we believe that image to be the actual person.  That image, since it is based on the past, is static and unchanging.  Nothing is permanent, and everything is always changing.  Think back to when someone you know did something unexpected.  Why did their actions surprise you?  Isn’t it because it went against the image you had of them?  Their action was perhaps contradictory to what you thought they could or would do based on past memories, and it becomes clear that the image you had of them is no longer accurate, so you now have to create a new image.

So, if we meet people with this image, which we said acts as a filter from seeing the person as they actually are, aren’t we encountering them with half-truth and half-lie?  Physically we might be present, our image of the person may correspond to the person in front of us (unless we easily confuse our acquaintances), but psychologically we are not totally there.  Instead of using the image to help us interact with the person, we are interacting with the image.

I find Miranda Fricker’s book, Epistemic Injustice: The Power of Ethics and Knowing to be a good book on some specific details of this subject.  I also talk about encountering other in the present in my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy, available at lulu.com and amazon.com as listed below:

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/jason-kunen/meditations-on-zen-and-martial-arts-philosophy/paperback/product-20178964.html

Understanding that this is how we typically meet people, we can then ask, is there any way to interact with the person fully?  Can we encounter another without this image that distorts our experience and dialogue with them?  It is not enough to get rid of the image, because what is to stop a new image from being produced in our mind and falling into the same pattern?  These judgments are created from past memories, but judging itself in this way arises from our mental framework.  Our judgments that hold on to stereotypes, prejudices, labels, traditions, religious values, and all the rest are rooted in our conditioning.  We are brought up and conditioned in a certain way, to think, interact, categorize, label, judge, and believe, in a certain way.  This is where these judgments come about.

Therefore, if we can become aware of our conditioning, we can understand how we judge others and what framework we are using to do so.  In this way, we release our attachment to this framework, these judgments, and these images.  It is not that we are incapable of creating images of the person (again, it’s not some kind of amnesia we’re talking about), but the image no longer obstructs our ability to meet another in the present moment.  We see the person as they are, without a filter.  This allows us to understand them in a deeper way, and we realize they are not a static object, but a living, changing being.

Though I made it some time ago, I have a short youtube video speaking on this subject below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICPS6S9ieQo

Links to other posts, essays, youtube channel, and my book:

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 1):

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose and Fear (Part 2): 

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-2/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

On Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

On the Nature of Happiness

© Jason Kunen 2013

One aspect common to all human beings is that we are all searching for happiness.  Each person looks for it in their own way.  Many people take up mindless activities that think make them happy, but do they really?  Religions try to help their followers find happiness.  Parents want their children to be happy.  The U.S. Declaration of Independence states that we have the right to pursue happiness.  The question is, do we ever reach anything?  Does the search for happiness ever become anything more than a search?  That is, do we ever finally attain happiness; does the searching ever come to an end?

Before we look directly at the nature of happiness, we must first look at why we need to search at all.  Everybody wants happiness, but have you taken the time to look at the nature of the search and what prevents happiness?  Have you ever thought why we are searching for it in the first place?  Don’t base your answer off the conclusion of anyone else: your textbooks, your religions, your philosophies.  Observe this question for yourself.  Let’s explore this together.

A search implies that what we’re looking for isn’t here, it is elsewhere.  Since we believe that goal is elsewhere, we go looking for it.  But is happiness elsewhere?  Can it be said to be found anywhere?  What makes us think happiness is not here already?  It is self-consciousness isn’t it?  We are self-conscious, always looking at the image of ourselves instead of really being ourselves.  We use a mental framework, a way of conducting our mind that objectifies and fragments.  This is how self-consciousness arises.  Instead of being immersed in experiencing the flow of everyday life, we construct an image of ourselves and watch that image move through life.  This causes a split between the image (created out of past experiences and conditioning), which is static, and our actual experience of life, which is flowing, changing, and moving.  We use this image to evaluate our mental states, and therefore we separate from them.  In other words, to be self-conscious is to evaluate the image one has of oneself (out of fear).  To do this, we must step back from what we are currently experiencing and judge it.  By doing this, we are no longer experiencing that mental state, we have separated from it.   We might be immersed in some activity and feel happy, but when we become self-conscious, we separate from that experience; from this standpoint, we are no longer immersed in happiness, but looking at a picture of it.

If we follow the logic, this would mean that happiness comes when our self-consciousness fades.  Self-consciousness is a result of using a mental framework that cuts itself off from everything else, and takes itself as the center.  We are self-conscious because of fear, but I shall take this up in another post.  This self-centered (literally and metaphysically) way of conducting our mind has been given all kinds of names from various religions and philosophies: sin, samsara, hell, ego-mentalism, evil, demons (in Descartes’ Meditations, Buddhism, et al.) and so on.  It is a technology of mind that believes itself to be the center, and is convinced that it can stand totally on its own; that it is independent of all things.  It believes itself to be a self-sustaining identity.  The more we are immersed in this kind of ego-mental thinking, the more we feel lonely and isolated.  We are interconnected with and through the entire ((Infinite Field of Existence)), or ((Reality)), and we try to cut ourselves off from that and everything else.

So, if using this kind of mental software so to speak gives rise to self-consciousness, which in turn leads to psychological suffering (in this case being separate from happiness), what then can be done?  Most people try to escape their thoughts of self-consciousness through mindless activities where one loses one’s sense of self.  Drugs, sex, television, and essentially anything else can become an escape from this.  Why?  Because one has the potential to lose this ego-self in any activity.  Performed at a level of high awareness, any activity can become beautiful, an art form.  But if an activity is used as an escape, it becomes ugly, corrupted.  One’s happiness now depends on something else; it is a crutch for your suffering.  The martial artist, for example, practices totally, and for the love, joy, and passion of the art.  But if he or she uses it as a form of psychological escape, it loses its beauty, and you cannot enjoy it with your whole being.

So, most people find an escape in which to lose their self-consciousness for a while, only to return back to their suffering later.  What is required is an inner transformation, at the level of the mental software or technology of mind we are using.  That is why Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths.  Many people misinterpret Buddhism to be about suffering and negativity.  But how can we understand happiness if we are ignorant about the nature of suffering and what prevents happiness?  Without going into detail about them here, the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism help others understand suffering, its causes and conditions, so that they can then also understand happiness and how to eliminate suffering (on a psychological level).  If we are to actually be happy then, we must look within and transform the way we are conducting our mind.

As we become less and less self-centered, more in touch with the other people and the world around us, and able to become aware of our conditionings, we find that happiness has been here all along.  That is why so many wisdom teachers have said that by helping others we also help ourselves.  We are not separate, independent entities, but are all connected.  The more you take care of others, the more you take care of yourself and become happy.  The more self-centered and ego-oriented you are, the more you create suffering for yourself, cut yourself off, and become lonely.

Letting go of fear and self-consciousness, we can relax in the moment; we can be happiness.  Or more accurately, happiness is us.  Therefore, real happiness arises when we make peace with others, with nature and the world, and also make peace with ourselves.  Self-consciousness can be used as a tool and can have some uses, but it has become stronger and has taken over our minds.  We certainly have a right to pursue happiness, but it is our nature to be happy, and that is our birthright.

Don’t believe any of this just after reading it, but really observe, inquire, become aware.  Find the answer for yourself.  I’m not looking for agreement or disagreement.  The author could be all wrong, but most important is not to accept any given answer and to find an answer for oneself through observation, awareness, and critical insight.