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Are you happier today than you were yesterda

Why not? Is there a way to become happier everyday?  

There must be. Whatever it is that we must do to become happier each day, will it eventually be all that we have time for? If we must increase the time we do that thing, it would make sense that we would have to do more and more of that thing each day, to be happier than we were the day before. Unless, the thing we must do everyday doesn’t have to take very long to do, say an hour at the most, and it could build incrementally on the happiness we established the day before. 

I could compare it to practicing piano, or playing tennis. I don’t do either one of those things now, but I know that daily practice will enable one to improve on one’s performance. And I believe the real improvement comes when one has a coach or teacher who will give the student or practitioner feedback so that they will know what they can improve on. In a vacuum or on an island, we have no one to evaluate our performance, except ourselves and it’s almost impossible to give oneself honest, and constructive feedback. If the feedback is constructive and given with empathy, the recipient of the feedback needs to be open, willing and prepared to take the feedback to heart, and change one’s behavior in order to improve on one’s performance. 

The same goes for increasing your happiness day after day. Lets’ say for instance that you write a blog everyday and it gives you some satisfaction to type up your thoughts and get clear about them, while maybe going into a topic and finding some angle, depth and insight about your subject that delights you. It’s the constructive feedback that you receive from others that can give you an objective perspective on just how clear your writing is, or the validity of the logic of your thinking, or the importance or relevance of your topic to anyone else’s life.

If other people resonate with your thinking and take the time to give feedback that can be a source of happiness. The difference of course with a blog post, is that the feedback usually comes from readers, who may or not like the subject matter, the way it’s written or the author, whereas a piano or tennis teacher is an expert in the craft and is invested in helping the practitioner to improve. Of course we are all practitioners, even so called experts. I was listening to an interview with Hilary Hahn, the talented child violinist, with her childhood instructor. The teacher stated that he also learned something while teaching. 

So whatever it is we are doing, hopefully something constructive, and instructive, to increase our happiness each day, our success will be more likely guaranteed with a competent, patient, and compassionate teacher to help guide our efforts.

One impactful way that people today are building on their happiness, is through practicing meditation, especially and more effectively when they have an enlightened spiritual teacher to provide meaningful feedback and encouragement.

About a forty years I belonged to a small spiritual community in California

A acquaintance of mine planned to be married, and someone organized a bachelor party. There were at least a dozen men attending. The scene that comes to mind was in a living room space. The men were seated around the perimeter, and some on the couches and chairs in the middle of the room. One of the men, a very talented vocalist, sang an aria. Very impressive. I forgot exactly what he sang but that it was not the highlight of the event, at least, not for me. The other men brought packaged gifts, none of which I remember. However one memorable guest offered an unusual presentation, that was very unique. I don’t know why I suddenly remembered this event after so many years, while I was listening to an episode of Hidden Brain,but it is what it is. The unique presenter, who was about 6’6” tall, sat the groom down in an easy chair, and then he sat on one of the padded arms of the chair. 

The presenter put his left hand on the groom’s right shoulder and proceeded to recite without notes, from memory,  the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge : The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Looking the poem over today, I wouldn’t be surprised if the presenter hadn’t recited the entire poem and, I recall, with impressive confidence and calmness. He didn’t falter or hesitate amidst the mixed, although respectful reactions from the other men. The groom’s face was a study in amazement, incredulity, and amusement. Need I bother to say, that the recitation altered and deepened the depth and nature of the bachelor party.

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Recently, yesterday in fact, I was listening to the Daily podcast, The NY Times investigative online news outlet.

The topic was the effects of climate change around the world, from rampant wild fires in the western US to air pollution from  those fires traveling to the skies of New York City, to unparalleled flooding in other parts of the world. Extreme climate conditions look very bleak. 

The bottom line is that although many coping mechanisms are being put into place, they are only bandaids for this climatology nightmare. Unless we, as a global populace, work together to mitigate the causes of global warning, we’ll never get on top of it. The absolute bottom line is, we are not prepared for what’s happening globally, and no one’s willing to change enough to make a significant difference in preparing for and proactively altering our mind sets and lifestyles to slow down, if not stop and reverse the disastrous effects of climate change.

Another podcast I listened to last week shared the thought that only when the climate catastrophe directly affects those individuals standing in the way of global warming legislation, only then will they concede and cooperate with restrictions on fossil fuel use. And by the time the upper crust is severely feeling effects of fires, heat, and flooding, the rest of us will be beyond caring. Revolution won’t help. They are ready for that. Peaceful protests make a difference. Gandhi had the right idea. We don’t have to sacrifice ourselves, but peaceful persistent protests will get some meaningful attention.

High minded spiritual organizations realize that all of us, good, bad, rich, poor, victims and perpetrators need to look within themselves and do some positive inner work that will, with a critical number of participants, create a ground swell of good will, understanding, peaceful appeals, and creative collaboration. This in turn will move the needle. When we redirect our energies from pointing the finger of accusation and criticism at those who are purportedly dragging their feet on acknowledging the consequences of global warning, and creatively redirect our minds and intellect toward solutions and patiently emphasizing common grounds, goals and needs, only then can we collectively address the consequences of our collective neglect. 

I’m not sure what good this blog post will do. However, I do know that although the EU has disclosed some proposed legislation that will restrict pollution. But I believe that their timeline is too long. We need to move fast within this decade. I understand why they think it will take into the 2030’s to secure drastic changes in pollution policy. But whether we like or not, if Al Gore’s prediction of decades ago, the conditions are changing faster than we are comfortably prepared for. And it won’t be long, within a year or two, that the opposition will notice the sizzle under their feet, instant sunburn, and their unconscious prayers that the air conditioning system in their house or automobile doesn’t break down. 

Elon Musk’s tunnel drilling equipment could be used create underground refuges for the homeless, who are growing in number because of fires, and flooding. If he helps save humanity, there’ll be more of us around to buy his products. 

How to get into their heads. If you know a person so well, sometimes you feel as though you’re in their head. That is, not exactly, you know their thought processes, you know your thought processes, you know when and where in their habitual thinking an alternative decision or course could be chosen, rather than the familiar, habitual way. You know that we all probably share similar thought processes in a culture, environment, social group, gender, age group, professional setting. If you are sensitive to a person’s mental state of mind, and you know what dictates their decision making, you can be aware of how and when to nudge them to follow their good sense rather than a sentimental obligation. Something like this can most likely be used for good or ill, but I envision multi-level protection against unethical efforts.  dsd

Even if you thought you could influence the decision making process of someone else, and their behavior changed, how could you be sure you had any thing to do with it. Maybe you were aware of the process, and it’s something you wanted to see happen, you had been thinking about mental manipulation, but these are coincidental features of the situation, that may happen independent of your effort but in concert.

When I identified with intellectuals, I thought that life and its situations were adequately handled by juggling a couple of variables. For the most part, things worked out. But even if we covered most of the bases, and lined up most of the ducks, occasionally a few loose strands tended to get tangled up and our intentions were misinterpreted, perceptions were faulty, and we missed nuisances of seemingly trifling significance, that inevitably resulted in minor disasters. It’s hard to be perfect in this world and probably not possible.

The popular view of being with reality is learning how to dance with it. I think the best analogy is swimming with it, because when you’re swimming resistance is everywhere.

You don’t have to be swimming constantly. Floating, relaxing, letting go completely will rejuvenate and regenerate, while still aware of the pulse of life beneath.

If we find that the answers to some of our problems seem to defy solution, how can we ever solve them? One approach might be: think of our problems differently, so differently that they bear no resemblance to how we thought of them before. Let’s for the moment, not get sidetracked into asking how that approach could possibly work.  The truth is: if we have persistent problems that do not submit to a satisfactory solution, perhaps it may be because of rigid thinking that never varies because of a consistent context, justification or character that we have become attached to out of sentiment, anger or resentment. 

Sometimes opening ourselves up to a different perspective may help to shed some light on how the problems can become opportunities to adopt different attitudes about who we are, why we are, and how we are responsible for our situation and whether we want to let go of them, and why we don’t.

Our problems are temporary, just as we pass away, they will also pass away. That’s a clue, our problems are attached to or symbiotically dependent on who we think we are. So if we were to think that we no longer existed, then our most cherished issues or problems would no longer exist. Perhaps we could imagine a new life or identity for ourselves. This alternate self, would embody all the strong, positive traits, behaviors and attitudes that we admire in others. We must feel that we deserve to have the best, be the best, and exhibit the best. Fake it until we make it. 

And it shall be said again, that there are many opportunities to excel in life. The problem and the imperative is to expect those opportunities to appear and to pray that one be prepared to take advantage of them. Use every appropriate occasion to connect and unite with other like minded seekers after truth. These opportune incidents will provide the mutual support we all need to make significant advancements in our understanding of the path we are on , and how best to deepen our determination to tune into the divine purpose for which we and everyone else exists. Go forth then in a natural way, expecting to meet and resonate with fellow travelers on the path to the ultimate fulfilling accomplishment.

https://www.patreon.com/muse_be_willing

If the typical answer to any question is: I don’t care, then that’s indifference, you don’t want indifference. It’s a no-brainer. Indifference is not considering anyone except one’s self. In fact, it’s the epitome of selfishness, to the extent of ignoring even the needs of one’s well being. Be smart, realize everything is temporary, there are great and humble ways to manifest and serve self, others and altruistic organizations. Serving the general good of the whole population can best be done by learning to meditate. By meditating one quiets the mind and body and eventually becomes aware of the omnipresent, omniscient plan for the universe and how to be a harmonious participant.

I remember being told when I was growing up, “don’t take that attitude”. 

Later in life, thinking back about that experience, I thought, “well maybe it’s  best not to have an attitude at all”. Now I realize that it’s nearly impossible, not to have attitudes about a myriad of things. We naturally settle on a certain attitudes toward people, situations and things. Sometimes those attitudes serve us and sometimes they don’t. It’s helpful to introspect and analyze our attitudes for the reason we have adopted them. Sometimes either out of laziness, mimicry, habit or prejudice we will unconsciously adopt an attitude spontaneously in new situations, but it’s behooves us to be very careful and calmly put the brakes on before adopting any attitude that is uncharacteristic of our usual way of thinking and behaving. People will sometimes take on the attitude of a group even though, after calm reflection they realize that the group’s goals do not resonate with our deepest held values. 

It goes back to the axiom: “Know thyself, and to thine own self be true.”

https://www.patreon.com/muse_be_willing

Let’s not lose any sleep over this, but we will think outside the box. Thinking outside the box, can be done by changing the box or changing what’s inside the box, also changes the box, and therefore puts us outside the original box.

What is in the box?, if it’s the same thing every day, our task is to change it, ever so slightly if that’s all we can do. For instance, if our concept of consciousness is always that it is awareness, then let’s think of consciousness as something else. Let’s say consciousness is knowing through sense or intuitional experience. When we are knowing something, for example, smelling a rose, it changes our consciousness or experience. We could say that consciousness is experiencing either through the senses or the intuition.

My definition box named consciousness has now been changed, and I am thinking outside or beyond my old box defined as consciousness. Ta da!