In the previous post, Wade cut to the core of our existence with a simple question:
In response to one of the most important questions we will likely ever face, I've organized my "top 5 major concerns/desires in life" into a personal manifesto. This exercise was eye-opening and instilled a great sense of inner peace. In short, this exercise cannot be highly recommended enough. Seriously, create for yourself a personal manifesto this very minute - you will never once regret spending the time to write it out.
Why are you here?
In response to one of the most important questions we will likely ever face, I've organized my "top 5 major concerns/desires in life" into a personal manifesto. This exercise was eye-opening and instilled a great sense of inner peace. In short, this exercise cannot be highly recommended enough. Seriously, create for yourself a personal manifesto this very minute - you will never once regret spending the time to write it out.
Noah Jeffrey's Personal Manifesto, or "Why are you here?"
Strive for enlightenment with a heart that loves unconditionally and a mind that fearlessly accepts reality. Work to bring greater happiness and liberation to those around you. Exist in the present moment, clear your mind of expectations, and turn negative circumstances into positive outcomes. Be mindful of the unity of all life and the illusion of self. Guard the purity of your thoughts as much as the sincerity of your words and actions. Embrace uncertainty, question dogma, and remember that change is inherent in all things.
Note: These steps contain no special secrets to life, they contain only that which you can see for yourself. You have the ability to find meaning in these thoughts just the same as anyone. You can open the door to enlightenment just as simply as anyone. You are strongly encouraged to read these words with an open mind. Seek to find truth throughout and you surely will. These are mere words and are thus subject to the limitations of the English language. Take nothing I say as an absolute truth until you have put it into practice yourself and can validate its use. If you find a reflection that is not validated after such an experiment, throw it out and seek a new means of acquiring your enlightenment.
7 Possible Steps to Enlightenment
In a recent journal entry, I attempted to chronicle 7 steps that have helped me stay on the path to enlightenment and live out my personal manifesto. Below is my second attempt at outlining these steps, with a short paragraph describing each step.Note: These steps contain no special secrets to life, they contain only that which you can see for yourself. You have the ability to find meaning in these thoughts just the same as anyone. You can open the door to enlightenment just as simply as anyone. You are strongly encouraged to read these words with an open mind. Seek to find truth throughout and you surely will. These are mere words and are thus subject to the limitations of the English language. Take nothing I say as an absolute truth until you have put it into practice yourself and can validate its use. If you find a reflection that is not validated after such an experiment, throw it out and seek a new means of acquiring your enlightenment.
- Love yourself exactly as you are. Love yourself unconditionally, love yourself down to the very flaws that make you human. In this moment, you are perfect. All the influences in your life and the decisions you've made have brought you here today, exactly where you're supposed to be right now, exactly as you are right now. You are a god formed from clay. Once you love yourself just the way you are, it becomes much easier to take the next step and...
- Love others exactly as they are. Love others for their differences, for what makes them unique. Love others for their quirks, love them for their own viewpoint, perspective, and opinions of the world. Love them and they will show you a new way to see. In all of us lies the same drive to find meaning, the same desire to serve a purpose. It is the very essence of being human.
- Boldly and courageously listen to your heart. Leave the world behind for a moment and dive into the depth of your being. Suspend your reality, forget everything you know, and then just listen. Step outside of time, step outside the realm of physical matter, and just be. If you listen to your heart, you will find happiness, but if you ignore it, you will only find suffering.
- Strive to bring happiness and liberation into the world. Work to improve the lives of those around you. Offer your aid as a humble servant to all. Make the joy and freedom of others a priority in your day. Seek ways to liberate the people around you. With love and compassion, guide them to freedom from desire. Show them how to avoid suffering by letting go of desire, letting go of want. The greatest obstacle to eliminating suffering is acceptance of the following truth: suffering is the effect of desire. Desire causes suffering. Which leads to the next step...
- Release all desires and expectations to eliminate suffering. Suffering is caused by attachment - attachment to the world, to people, to things. Remember the transient nature of this world, that decay is inherent in all things. Experience bliss by releasing desire and expectation. True peace can be attained in the present moment by letting go of your personal wants. Open your being to pure acceptance and only love and beauty will flow in. Forget the self and see life for the flowing continuum that it is. Se how everything is intertwined, everything is connected, everything is one. Happiness can only be sustained by letting go. It seems we are genetically programmed to believe that wanting leads to obtaining, and obtaining leads to being happy. This is partially true. Wanting, and consequently obtaining, will in fact lead to a brief flash of happiness, but a happiness that can never be sustained. It will always be just a glimpse of true happiness, a snapshot of the bliss attainable by releasing desire. When you let go of desire, you let go of a preconceived idea of the present moment. This means that you will harbor no expectations for how the current scenario will unfold. This frees your mind to appreciate the beauty of the unfolding itself, regardless of the end result. It raises your awareness of everything, heightens all of your senses, allows you to see the pure realm of reality. You are removing the filter checking for 'right' and 'wrong' and seeing the phenomenon for what it is. When you open a door with a clear mind, everything beyond will be a surprise. Everything will be unexpected, beautiful, perfect. When you open a door with a clear mind, you will open a door to the entire universe, to nirvana, to heaven.
- Practice achieving greater enlightenment every day. Decay is inherent in all things, so strive with clarity of mind and persistence. Enlightenment can be attained through anything, even by contemplating a single grain of sand, but it can only be attained in the present moment. Practice meditation daily, get into a routine that ensure repetition. Use a mantra or physical trigger (such as your breath) to raise awareness of the present moment. By repeating a mantra in a clear and deep meditative trance, that same mantra, when recited outside of meditation, can act as a trigger for mindfulness. The mantra can trigger your brain and body to assume the same state of peace and awareness that you experience in deep meditation.
- Learn to control your mind and you can change the world. Your thoughts are the most powerful tool you wield. Your ability to create reality, to change reality, to change the world, all lies within your ability to control your thoughts. Learn to control your thoughts and you will learn to control your reality. The world exists within your mind. Everything you see, touch, smell, is nothing more than a reality created from your own neurons. The reality you experience is built from your own thoughts. Every person who has impacted the world was no smarter or more talented than you are. When you can harness your thoughts and focus them with honest conviction, you can accomplish anything. Anything. Purify your mind to purify your actions. You are capable of great feats. Stay on the straight path and study these steps often. Your journey begins right now. Your journey beings in the eternity of the present moment. Enlightenment is just beyond that door. Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and open the world.
Wow. Noah thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response to my question. Amazing! I need to reflect on this for a while. I will respond in the coming weeks. Thank you for this. What a gift for me to better understand who you are and what really goes on deep down inside you. You are incredible.
ReplyDeleteLove you bro!
Wade
Thanks for your support Wade. It wasn't easy to write this. Excited to hear your thoughts on it. In the meantime, I would be very interested in reading your version of a personal manifesto. Peace and love my friend,
Delete-Noah Jeffrey
Reply to #1--Love yourself exactly as you are.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good starting point. Jesus commands us to love others AS YOU LOVE yourself. Surely Jesus does not want us to kill ourselves through negative self-talk. I have come to find that some of our greatest problems in our life come from the fact that we do not speak and think about true, good, and beautiful things. There is always an "inner-conversation" happening inside everyone. We need to make sure the inner-coversation is positive toward reality, not negative toward falsities. I think you start with a point to make sure that inner conversation is one about positive thinking. So there is a type of love for self that is a good thing. Thanks for highlighting that.
At the same time, I am confused about a few things you wrote. You said that we must love ourselves "unconditionally, even our flaws." But then you write that "we are perfect...a god formed from clay." Could you please elaborate on that point? My understanding is that we are very imperfect people who need the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. But you state that we are "perfect" and we are "flawed." Which one is it?
According to Christanity---we are "deeply flawed" individuals who need the love of Jesus to make us lovely. We are not "lovely and perfect" in and of ourselves. We are broken people who are not perfect. But Christ is the only Perfect person who gives us His perfection through his grace-- it is a gift to unwrap and enjoy; not to strive after and work hard for.
I hope this makes sense! Please respond soon!
Wade,
DeleteIs your body immune to physical exhaustion? Does your mind occasionally succumb to mental fatigue? Do you sometimes, out of confusion or frustration, say things that you do not mean? Do you make mistakes even when you think you are acting justly? Do you ever stub your toe?
You are human. You are "flawed".
Have you have put forth your best efforts to shape your body and mind into the person that you are today? Have you have created the best possible person that you could with the resources and knowledge that were available to you? Have you curbed vice to the best of your abilities and knowledge? Have you fostered virtue in your actions and thoughts, studying the methods that seemed most useful for you at the time?
You are human. You are "perfect".
Very interesting response! I love thinking about these issues with you! It sharpens my own understanding and clarifies what I truly believe. That is why Belief is more than mental assent--it is truth to be lived! You are a great man to challenge me!
DeleteI believe that I am more flawed than just "physical exhaustion" and "mental fatigue". I definitely say things that I do not mean. And yet I say things to people that I DO mean. And that is wrong. I am flawed not just mentally, emotionally, or physically. I am flawed morally. Something is wrong inside of me that makes me say bad things to hurt people. Yes, I have acted justly. But I have also acted unjustly. But I am therefore responsible for the way I have hurt the person.
Yet I do not believe I am perfect. I have tried to live a good life on my own abilities. But I have failed miserably at it! I think I probably have more vice in my life than virtue of any kind. Sure there are some bright spots--but that is only because Jesus is making me more like Himself. He is the only Virtuous person who has lived. I don't take any credit for "curbing vice". In fact, I have NOT curbed vice very well in my life. That is why I trust in Christ. His virtue becomes my virtue. His record of perfection becomes my record of perfection. That is my only hope!
RESPONSE--I hope this is not too reactionary and unkind--but let me ask a question to you in response. You talk about "acting justly" and "Fostering virtue". Where do you find your basis for "acting justly" and labeling something as "virtue" and "vice"? What gives you the basis for declaring something just and virtuous?
You da man!!!
First, it is wonderful that you have such a role model in your life as Jesus. One could easily argue that he certainly understood this world better than anyone else at the time. He was very in-tune with the big picture, and for that I very much respect him.
DeleteWhen you describe not being able to live up to your ideal self, you are describing the human condition! Emperor Marcus Aurelius, in his wonderful book "Meditations", offers the following advice.
"Do not be discontented, be not disheartened, be not out of hope, if often it succeed not so well with thee punctually and precisely to do all things according to the right dogmata (in your life, the New Testament), but being once cast off, return unto them again: and as for those many and more frequent occurrences, either of worldly distractions, or human infirmities, which as a man thou canst not but in some measure be subject unto, be not thou discontented with them; but however, love and affect that only which thou dost return unto."
Second, Wade, you are my good friend. Never worry about being too reactionary or unkind. It is more important to me that you are honest. I always prefer brutal honesty to compassionate deceit.
Basically, it seems you are asking what sort of basis for morality exists without religion. You are far from the first person to wonder this. I myself had doubted, for many years!, a natural basis for morality.
There have been many books written on the topic. I am going to attempt a hyper simplification:
There is a moral code embedded in our genetics to both make our lives better, and improve the lives of those around us. One could easily refer to this as our "soul", since it sets us apart as humans. That isn't to say that, for example, chimpanzees do not have a soul. They have one, though it is less extensive, contains less variables and rules, than ours does. Which is why we are able to thrive in metropolis-sized populations! We can get along with one another because we all, for the most part, share many of the same embedded genetic morals.
Science seeks to improve life, increase freedom and happiness, and better the world around us. The mission statement for its very existence as a branch of human study contains a sort of moral code: Do not harm. Improve quality of life. Seek better means to provide food for those that are hungry.
So how can I label something as "virtue" and another thing as "vice"? The same way you do! You test them against scripture. Science's "scripture", or the source against which it would judge an action, is data. Data collected from real-world experience and compiled research.
Example: Will having sex with my neighbor's wife harm anyone? Statistically, yes. It may lead to divorce, and the effects of divorce on children are pretty well established as being negative (thanks in great part to sociology and psychology), or at the very least undesirable.
Science shares a very similar moral code with religion, but bases that code more heavily on current knowledge and less on traditional beliefs.
Here is one question to consider--When it comes to loving ourselves. Are we fundamentally GOOD people? Or are we fundamentally FLAWED? Perfect? Or Broken?
ReplyDeleteAlso let me clarify-- The Christian story goes like this--
1) We were created good--loving God and loving others.
2) We chose bad things and became bad people--hating God and hurting others.
3) Jesus is the one perfectly GOOD person who loved God perfectly and loved bad people perfectly. In fact, he loved us bad people (WE WHO HATED GOD) SO MUCH that He chose to die for bad people so that they could be forgiven of our "Bad-ness" and made NEW people who can actually love God and love others the way we were supposed to.
4) Finally, when Jesus comes back to earth He will not judge us according to who is "good" or who is "bad". Jesus is NOT Santa Claus: "he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." Jesus is God--He loves sinners. He gives His forgiveness to those who definitely don't deserve it. Jesus will judge us all as bad people who either a) trusted in our own efforts to be good, OR b) trusted in HIM to save us from our badness.
Does that make sense?? Please ask me questions to clarify!
I will respond to #2 soon!
Are we fundamentally good people? Michael Shermer describes it like this:
Delete"Most people most of the time in most circumstances are good and do the right thing for themselves and for others."
The Christian story makes sense, and your description of it matches my recollection of the Christian teachings with which I grew up. I am not convinced that it is the most accurate way to describe the human condition. It relies heavily on supernatural phenomena and the teachings of a man who lived 2,000 years ago in a world very different from ours today.
RESPONSE to #2-- "Loving others exactly as you are."
ReplyDeleteThis is another good point. It is important that we emphasize the need to love others.
Questions for clarification: 1) What is love (your definition)? 2) How do we love those who hate us? 3) How do we love our enemies? Or should we love our enemies?
I definitely believe that we all have a drive to find meaning and purpose. People will die (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) if they do not live for the specific purpose that is beyond themselves that brings meaning and joy in their life.
I may attempt to define love as such: the desire for the welfare, health, and happiness of another person as well as the drive to want to help them achieve these positive states, regardless of their behavior or appearance.
ReplyDeleteHow do we love those who hate us? "Hatred is never ended by hatred, but by love." If we know someone hates us, and we want to stop that hatred, the only way to do it is by showing them love.
We can even show love for purely selfish reasons. Knowing that returning the hatred would only cause you more suffering, opting for love would allow you to avoid that suffering.
We should absolutely love our enemies! The only way to bring down the barriers between people is through love (and trade). So keep loving and keep those borders open!
I love your emphasis on loving enemies. Truly the way to overcome hatred is through love.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your definition of love as the desire and drive to help and seek the welfare of people regardless of their behavior or appearance.
I have always thought of love as seeking the good of another, irrespective of if they deserve it or not.
That is so hard for me to implement in my life. I find that I often want a "give and take" sort of love. I love because you love me back.
One of Jesus' teachings is about "loving our enemies". In Jesus' day (and I would argue in our day as well!) people were constantly spending time with and loving those who would love them back. They only loved those who were comfortable and easy to love. It was a two-way street--"I'll love you because you love me."
But then Jesus commands this: "I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your heavenly Father. For He makes the sun rise on the good and evil, and he sends rain on the good and evil."
We in Christianity the love of God given to people simply because THAT IS WHO IS. Just like a phone is designed to love, so also in the heart of God is seeking to bless people. And I realize how crazy this is:: God loves people who are his enemies. Jesus died on the cross to make enemies into sons. While Jesus was on the cross, he prayed for those who persecuted him. He prayed for the forgiveness of those who rejected, hated, and killed him. That is amazing.
I have been overwhelmed by how amazing Jesus is. He is the definition of Love. Jesus went out of his way to make sure people received the love of God. He sought our good through his death for our sins. He sought our good by giving us new life from our spiritual death and apathy. He gives us His joy in spite of our misery. And when Jesus was here on earth, the people that received His love were not the morally perfect or socially respectable people. They were not the "good" people. His love went to the people who committed adultery, stole people's money, and spent their lives doing the exact opposite of how God intended life to be lived. Jesus is the supreme Lover.
I cannot agree with you more that Jesus was amazing. The dude pioneered a way of life that was unheard of to most the people around him at the time!
DeleteI used to get down on myself when I couldn't live up to the perfect image that is Jesus in the Bible. But the guy was still human! He still lapsed and made mistakes, though they are greatly downplayed or not recorded at all in the Bible. It almost would have been better to record a more historic version of Jesus in the Bible - then we may not get so down on ourselves when we make human mistakes. It is almost like the current media's portrayal of the perfect female body. It is not realistic to be completely perfect in any regard!
RESPONSE to #3--Listen to your heart.
ReplyDelete"Listen to your heart and you will find happiness. Ignore it and you will only find suffering."
In my life I have found the opposite to be true. If I listen to my heart, I am prone to really screw things up. I suffer when I listen to my heart.
Can you please explain more of what you are meaning in this #3? By listening to your heart, do you mean an inner voice that tells you how to live life? Is it the "Moral compass" that people talk about?
Thanks Noah!!
You da man. I love this blog. It is so fun.
What I am trying to explain, and apparently failing at, when I say "listen to your heart", I mean that pure logic alone cannot steer you in the right direction. Since logic is linear, and only so many variables can be accounted for at any one time (due to the limitations of the biological brain), some of our best decisions are made from a more right-brain approach to analyzing the current situation.
DeleteListen to your heart, to me, means to set aside the left-brain's monologue for a moment and judge something based more on feelings and over-arching concepts.
I would say it is very similar to the concept of the "moral compass". It is not a moral handbook, one that lays out every scenario possible (because it would be impossible to predict every possible scenario), but more of a device that can weigh the current variables and point you in the right direction without necessarily giving you an exact response.
Reason is guided by intuition, and intuition is evaluated by reason.
The mind is guided by the heart, and the heart is evaluated by the mind.
Spock is guided by Captain Kirk, and Captain Kirk is evaluated by Spock.
Neither can function without the other - they both play an indispensable role.