Greetings eidolonai.com members,
Please post your replies here to Eidolon's question "what specific concrete actions are you taking to cause happiness in as many humans as possible, beginning with yourself?"
If you haven't seen it, here is the video where Eidolon asks his question to us.
Thanks,
The Gravach
Gravach here,
my answer to eidolontlp's question "what specific concrete actions are you taking to cause happiness in as many humans as possible, beginning with yourself?"
is: "Not Enough".
This is one of those guilty questions that I hate answering because it is a poor reflection on my efforts towards the greater good. Yes I play with my 2 year old son everyday and make him laugh and joke with and hug and kiss my wife. But how much happiness am I inflicting on humanity? Direct actions? Ok I tell jokes at work, I am polite in line at the bank and grocery store. Do I volunteer? No. Do I stop to help stranded motorists at the side of the road? Only if they are hot. In short I take few conscience actions each day to cause happiness in as many humans as possible. Am I happy? Sure, are those directly around me happy? Sure. But how far out does that influence reach? Is one small act of kindness enough to cause happiness? I think eidolonTLP has oversimplified the ability to cause happiness. It like trying to cause a seed to grow into a happy health plant. One can only provide the environment for happiness to grow, it is not a cause and effect relationship. Hurt, pain and suffering are cause and effect, we can only help to a varying degree.
"We must "be" before we can "do" and we can "do" only to the extent to which we "are," and so what we do will necessarily coincide with what we are, and what we are depends entirely upon what we think."
-- Charles Haanel
Eidolon,
Thank you for the question, I find it to be relevant in many ways; especially in regard to your last message whereby you communicated your ideas surrounding the difference between religion and spirituality.
I also believe that causing happiness in as many individuals as possible, beginning with ones self is a very important topic to discuss.
The specific concrete actions I have taken, in order to achieve happiness are as follows:
1) Identify the physiological premises that constitute what we refer to as emotion.
2) Understand the cause and effect of emotional response.
3) Integrate my finding into my daily life, in order to better control my responses in the most effective way possible; focusing primarily on happiness.
To meet the first criteria and identify emotion by its physiological premises; emotion can be easily defined as the stepping-up or stepping-down of brain activity levels, through the release of neurochemicals such as dopamine, noradrenalin and serotonin; in response to internal stimulus.
To meet the second criteria, in order to understand the cause and effect of emotional response, we must define the aforementioned "internal stimulus" as thought. As thoughts are the primer that initiate emotional response we must, through inductive reasoning, conclude that thought is also the effect of emotional response; that is to say:
Thoughts create an emotional response, which in turn create new thought patterns following a line of reason in consonance with the original emotional response.
This conclusion indicates an apparent loop in which emotions and thought patterns can readily escalate beyond rationality and/or conscious control. This loop then manifests itself as conditions such as depression, anxiety, rage, etc.
In order to integrate these findings and efficiently control emotional response, to meet the third criteria, I have asked myself a very simple question: How do I control my emotions?
Answer: By controlling thought.
As a result, this leads to a fourth criterion; In order to control thought one must first become conscious of thought. To control thought, requires meditation and an active participation in "thinking about thinking". By controlling thought patterns you can then choose what you think, ignoring random negative thoughts, and thereby creating happiness.
As it relates to creating happiness in others, I try to do this in many ways; however I consider these to be the most important:
1) Stimulation through exchange of intelligent ideas.
2) Stimulation through learning.
3) Donation of my time and skills, in order to help anyone requiring assistance, at no price and with no expectation of reciprocation.
Again, thank you very much for your question.
Well to avoid sounding lengthy, I try to help and be as pleasant as possible to whomever i meet. and I hear that smiles are contagious so i do that often as well. I'm no saint and honestly help when I feel like it. But that fits that i make people happy when I am happy as whenever I don't i am generally unpleasant.
Concrete actions? to be honest not many i can think of any offhand, but would you consider something helpful to society as making people happy? I aspire to engineer something which affects the majority in a positive way if that helps.
Thank you for your question.
Beginning with myself: I always try to follow my highest joy. That way, I'm always happy.
If I don't feel like working, I don't... I goof off. Sometimes the goofing off leads to profound realizations that help with my work. And I'm happy.
If something has made me angry and it would be my highest joy to express my anger, I do. Sometimes the anger leads to profound realizations about my self. And I'm happy.
Sure, I get anxious about work once in a while, or I feel like an idiot for blowing up, but I try to realize that I am exactly where I need to be in this eternal moment of now. It always leads me to where I need to be. Many times it can be hard, but the happiness comes in just accepting where you are ('cause a lot of the time it can be pretty scary). BUT, inevitably, the acceptance almost always opens doors that lead to more happiness.
Making a concrete plan can be one of the worst restrictions you can put on yourself. You have to be flexible - in everything - including your beliefs. When was the last time your plans ever came together exactly how you thought? RARELY - if ever. And the crumbling plan does two things.... 1) leads you to unforeseen circumstances - but you decide if they're opportunities or obstacles, and 2) can make you realize that you can't always be happy - unless you are.
There's a great quote that I love that I think is attributed to Iron Mike Tyson (yes, he can offer intelligent insight)... please read with Mike Tyson's voice in your head:
Evwybody got a pwan...
till dey gets a punch inda mouf!
(Everybody has a plan, till they get a punch in the mouth!)
Causing happiness in others?:
I always try to follow my highest joy - it usually leaves a wake of happiness (wakes have peaks and valleys - hint, hint)
I followed my highest joy in creating this website. Did it make you happy?
RemodelingMySpace
Apologies if it sounded like I was pontificating. Yes, for those who recognized it, I've seen many Bashar and Eckhart Tolle videos. What they talk about, works. :)
Ah.. All the comments are so long that I fear sounding stupid writing only a few lines.
Firstly I would like to thank Eidolon the joy that was brought about.
Now, its is a very tricky question. There are several occasions that I am happy, and I make others happy. However this instances are not perpetual.
There are several occasions that I can be depressed for petty reasons and I still can't get out of the slump.
I'm not saying that I'm always down, on the contrary, I believe that I'm more joyous that depressed.
In conclusion, I've not taken any "concrete" step in ensuring my happiness and that of others.
I think I get it.
After having read all the answers... it seems that the secret to being happy, is about making others happy, in a selfless way.
Due to the fact I am seemingly unable to cause happiness in myself I strive instead to help instill happiness in others. To do this I find kindness to be the most paramount of all the things I could do. From the foundation of kindness, I expound upon it by being helpful when ever it is possible, sympathetic when it is needed and philanthropic when ever my resources allow. But that does not fulfill the letter of your question. You asked for specific and concrete actions.
The specific and concrete actions I do to create happiness in others are as follows. I have and continue to offer myself to people in various chat rooms that are meant for the support of people who suffer from depression and other mental disorders. While a therapist can be key in recovery from such disorders, a kind word and someone to talk to anonymously I have found to be extremely helpful in returning someone to the state in which happiness comes easier. On a more personal note, I help my family by helping care for my nieces and nephews as well as helping with various chores and projects in an attempt to lessen the stress and pressure that can steal the happiness from family events that should be full of joy. I also donate my time when ever I can, where ever I can in the hope I can make someone's day brighter by lessening the load they must carry, at least for a little while. Still I feel like I don't do nearly enough, I wish very much I could do more as I see so much sorrow around me on a daily basis. The reason for this sorrow seems to stem from how alone most people feel and how disconnected they feel from the world at large and particularly with the people they call their friends and family. I strive to help breed understanding which I feel is key to removing this lonliness, it is a goal of mine to learn more of how to bring about this understanding through meaningful dialog and action. All these things while they do not bring me joy, do I feel bring me closer to it so in a way, it does make me happy too.
I spread happiness in others through word and actions. People sometimes take for granted the gift of life. I help show them just how important they are and what they are capable of. I let them know that it is not how others view them but how how they view themselves. Be happy with yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually, for if there is nothing else you still have esteem. Don't sweat the small stuff and don't let the big things keep you down. Live, Love, Learn, Leave a Legacy. The universe tends to unfold as it should.
I spread happines internally by creating happiness externally.
After a period of depression some time ago, I found that the best way to cause happiness in myself was through a self help course of behavioral cognitive therapy recommended to me by my psychologist at the time. He recommended the book "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns" and I heartily recommend it to others. The therapy is an ongoing process and is not time consuming or difficult to do. The basic principle is to change negate thinking patterns by writing down negative thoughts identifying the type of thinking and then and answering them with rational answers.
e.g. Thought: I am a total failure. Answer: This is all or nothing thinking and is not true. I have succeeded at many things, I can hold down a job, I have raised a family etc.
Though you could do all this in your head, your mind seems to have a way of tricking you into not believing your answers. For some reason when you write them down it sort of turns them in to reality.
I am happy 90% of the time theses days. This alone seems to make others around me happy too.
Though I do my best to help where I can, most often, surprisingly, a smile seems to be the most effective method of causing happyness.
i like spaggetti
My answer to your question is built upon the precept that I, in my current form am only what I am in this singularity of space-time existence due to the choices of the past and the future existing in the present. As a result of this precept, all humans are essentially me if I began my human existence in their place and lived their lives making their respective choices leading to the present situations that they find themselves in. Therefore, the only concrete way to cause happiness in as many humans as possible is to maintain the attitude of omnipresence as all humans with the awareness that they are me in their respective universes except without any form of interconnection that would allow me to know everything they are thinking (whether this is because I do not wish to know what they are all thinking for the cause of an exercise or simply as a state of perfection in imperfection, I am uncertain). Therefore in maintaining this attitude, the 'eye for an eye' attitude is rendered idiotic as described in the film 'K-PAX' and I find myself compelled to act in ways that I believe I would find beneficial if I were them. At the same time, this attitude means that I am compelled to educate and learn from the various versions of me that exist as many perspectives as possible, thereby creating a newer and better me (at least as far as I am capable of discerning what is 'better'). This is not always an attitude that is easy to maintain as I occasionally meet a version of myself that acts in ways that cause me distress, or disgust me and therefore I do not wish that they were a part of me, but I can only hope that as I evolve not only in this singular form but in the eventuality of the return of the energy that now forms my physical existence to the universe from whence it came, that I these events will become non existence and I will reach a state of understanding that could be equated to descriptions I have observed of nirvana or enlightenment, in fact I have moments wherein my sensation of the universe around me feels perfect, regardless of other people's respective views on good and bad (which are in themselves illusions due to the infinite number of potential opinions on any given object, event, etc therefore rendering the terms useless in a more universal context).
This way of thinking could be ascribed to expressing love (although I understand love to be an esoteric term, that is largely undefinable by current, human terms) through simply being yourself.
In essence, I do what I feel is the best course of action to benefit others around me based on what I feel would benefit me if I had lived their lives and were them in their current situation.
To ensure my happiness I have eliminated all of the negative energy that I used to be surrounded by. I surround myself with positive people. Some people cannot be poitive and they tend tobring the rest of us down.
I try to make people laugh! I love to hear laughter! I love to see a smile! I try to give good advice when needed......then make the person laugh, sometimes both at the same time. Laughter is great medicine! J-NUT!!! ;)
I see what you mean jnut74:
http://www.eidolonai.com/forum/topic.php?id=34&replies=15#post-458
Ha Ha Ha HA.....................NOT
Greetings Eidolonai,
Your question is:
"what specific concrete actions are you taking to cause happiness in as many humans as possible, beginning with yourself?"
My Answer (beginning with myself):
To be personally happy, I need to feel like that my life is not a waste. That is, I want to do something concrete that aided in the advancement of mankind. Incidentally, without my religion or patriotism to motivate me, I would find this objective pointless. Why? My religion teaches me that there is life after death. I need to believe that, because I desire continuity. I fear the idea of ceasing to exist at all. My religion also teaches me that if I perform well, I will be rewarded with eternal life as a spiritual being which exists in the presence of an omnipotent loving God. I need to fulfill that obligation to avoid ceasing to exist. My patriotism is necessary because it motivates me to work with others for the common good of everyone. Being an American, I realize that my "hive" is diverse. In fact, there are many hives which contain many different peoples and cultures. These are the other nations. Out of those many nations, or hives, we are making ONE. This nation, or hive, is interested in the freedom and advancement of all civilization since all members of civilization have representatives in our hive. To take care of the world, we employ envoys from all over the world and they communicate to us the needs of their ancestry. In some instances, I view the other hives as sub hives to our hive. I have chosen to devote myself to the American hive as a mere drone because I am interested in creating happiness in as many humans as possible. In the event that I discover overwhelming odds within my hive, or if I feel that I am being marginalized, I am prepared to leave this hive in order to preserve myself. That said, this is why I am a racist. I do not trust the other races and I do not believe they are as fit to govern as my race. However, I am willing to participate as a drone and extend to them the opportunity to live in harmony with me. Again, my religion teaches me that I must learn to love everyone despite our differences and conflicts of interest. I am also prepared to temporarily leave my hive to enter other hives to collect data. I will then return to my hive and report the results. Does this make me a spy? No. I do not enter other hives under false pretenses and I state my intentions upon entry.
What have I done in the past that was concrete to cause greater happiness?
I was a soldier in the United States military. Here I discovered the necessity of effecting lesser unhappinesses by eliminating threats to the greater happinesses. I discovered the value and importance of being a drone. Much of my own personal happiness had to be sacrificed for the happiness of the collective. As I developed and evolved I realized that I was giving away too much of my own personal happiness to be effective in maintenancing the happiness of the collective. The way things at that time were: The collective was safe and productive in the hive. I was part of the swarm who protected the hive. I realized there was an alternate way to maintenance the happiness of the collective without sacrificing as much of my own personal happiness. This is what I am doing now.
What am I doing now?
I am seeking training in languages, particularly Arabic and Russian. Why Arabic? There is great unhappiness and miscommunication amongst people of this language. I need to understand them first hand to better report to my hive so that we can work together to cause them more happiness. Why Russian? Because I have determined that people who speak this language are not necessarily unhappy, but rather misunderstood. Moreover, the people of this hive are strong and fit. This hive rivals my own hive. If our two hives worked together as one, we could insure greater happiness for everyone. I have knocked on the door of this hive by sending letters on the web for them to read in the Moscow Times. They replied and shared the message to their people. I hope to understand these people better as they appear to also be interested in the happiness of the collective. Together, our hives may be able to prevent wars by being the envoy between nations, or hives, as arbitrators. Without wars, there is lesser need for the swarm and more drones available to do work inside the hive. The swarm's personal happiness would increase as it would be under less stress. Moreover, they too could participate and enjoy the productivity that goes on within the hive. As I feel more safe and comfortable with the Russian hive, I might choose to visit it temporarily. There are more of my own kind of drones in that hive than there are in my own hive. I want to touch antennae with those drones and discover them. I want to return to my own hive and communicate my findings. This, I believe, is the optimal way for me to perform as a drone to yeild the most happiness for all humans. Without war, the swarm, or swarms, could coordinate greater humanitarian operations. They would not be employed as merely maintenance drones who eliminate threats to the hive... they would be employed in preventing threats from arising in the first place. Why do threats arise? Limited resources. Hives that are lesser developed work twice as hard for half the yeild of happiness. The swarm can teach them to work more efficiently, better conserve their resources, and therefore yeild a greater harvest of happiness. Being of a more developed hive, the swarm have knowledge of how to build a more advanced hive that will yeild greater happiness. The greater happiness of lesser developed hives will neutralize threats to the happiness of greater hives. The greater hives, having more time to focus on research and development of a still greater hive will then be able to continue to share these developments with lesser hives and we will all progress together. The problem in the past with this strategy has been that they cease to try to develop their own hive and rely more and more on my hive. In fact, they all want to join my hive. We have our choice of suitable drones from all other hives. We have tolerated the invasion of aliens to our hive, but as they become feeders, and if they are unproductive, our tolerance will not last. Moreover, if they threaten our queen, we will neutralize them. If they are successful, we will join another hive. This is why I am a racist. I am constantly asked to maintenance unproductive feeders and there is no reward for me other than an eternal life that I can not prove exists at all. This they know, and when they approach me, they claim to be my "brother in Christ". However, we share no genetic kinship what so ever. Too, the honey they extract from my hive is not used to maintenance my hive, but instead sent to other hives. They ARE NOT INTERESTED in serving my hive, but their own. This is the plight of the greater hives. They also are unwilling to participate in the swarm. Instead, many of them participate in the swarms of other hives. (IDF) This is a conflict of interest to our hive and this causes great dissent amongst the swarm. This is why we do not respect the userers. I exist to maintenance my hive. My hive provides the model for other hives. My hive prevents suffering of other hives by inflicting suffering on hives that threaten the happiness of the collective. I am equipped to produce both happiness and defense. The choice is in the hands of others hives.
THE QUESTION I ASK THEM IS SIMPLY THIS:
WHAT WILL YOU HAVE... HONEY OR A STING?
This is the duty of a drone.
P.S. I don't mind being called "little being". I am one. This video illustrates how I feel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpc_4xgje1k&feature=related
With...
Without...
Who can deny this is what the fighting is all about?
Short Answer: Everything
Long Answer: All human action is designed as an attempt to improve the perceived well-being of the person acting. No human action can be performed otherwise.
It is in this understanding that I know that I must consciously and continuously choose to seek out the things, both material and immaterial, that I believe will cause happiness for, first, myself and, secondly, for others.
Considering that I do not believe in altruism, I perceive actions that I partake in which are designed to increase the well-being of others, are, at their core and subconsciously, actions which will inherently increase my own well-being.
Thus, all action that I take is a knowing conscious action to cause happiness for the whole.
Concrete Example: I encourage the ideology of living life to the fullest by living my life to the fullest. This has the double effect of causing happiness within myself and serving as an example to others who might not yet have the confidence to go beyond themselves.
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