Thoughts on Thinking

"When somebody persuades me that I am wrong, I change my mind. What do you do?" John Maynard Keynes

"If you're unhappy with your life, change your thinking." Charles Fillmore

"The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it." Eckhart Tolle

"People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." Epictetus

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

"Consciousness is a terrible thing to waste." PunditGeorge

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What on Earth is Going On?


Evolution.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, wars and rumors of war, passions running wild, discomfort, edgy, irritable, unsettled, angry, agitated…yeap, looks to me as if there’s a whole lot of change going on bumping the hell out of many nights.

End of the world, 2012, doom and gloom, and other such anticipations are but the latest summaries of the evolution of mankind and thought.  As aptly put, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.  Indeed, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The battles and conflicts splashing over the internet, television, phones and all communications are nothing new.  What is unique is the sheer number of folks walking around the planet contributing their thinking/emotional state to the mix.  That’s a lot of energy.

I’m optimistic.

Evolution is not a circle,  not a destination, it’s a spiral process.  We know how our planet, solar system, and Life cycles – always in motion, but – the important aspect – always morphing into something better.  Among human affairs there is nothing more wrenching than releasing an old belief to begin a new thinking.  Tenth century practices are totally lost in twenty-first century speed and openness.  Personal responsibility for thoughts and decisions trumps a nefarious devil creating mischief.

Nothing is occurring that hasn’t happened before, many times.  We’re just a bit further up on the evolutionary spiral.  And there are a lot more of us contributing.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Be Happy! Live Longer!

Like the full moon drawing out luny behavior, somethings are just "known" without ever being "proven."  Happy people live longer is one of those.  You suspect it, if for no other reason than miserable people often desire an escape from torment.  It's the how that stumps folks.  Then again, it might be simple:

"A new study led by a Michigan State University business scholar suggests customer-service workers who fake smile throughout the day worsen their mood and withdraw from work, affecting productivity. But workers who smile as a result of cultivating positive thoughts – such as a tropical vacation or a child’s recital – improve their mood and withdraw less."

The link includes such mischief as "Look on the Bright Side" from Monty Python's Life of Brian.  

Although attributed to Abraham Lincoln (but something for certain Benjamin Franklin would endorse) is that a person is about as happy as he/she makes up their mind to be.  Mortgaging your happiness (or well-being) to someone or something else is a B A D investment.  It never pays off.  Happy, it appears, is not something that is conjured by external events or others.  Happy is a state of Being of appreciation and delight.
I know, I know, those who get it,  get it.  Those who don't, can't.