You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect ...

1. There are two types of experiences constituting human life – non-dual and dual. Life in duality demands clarity.

a. Non-dual experiences – when we don’t experience the distinction between self and other
i. One, in dreamless sleep there is neither the awareness of self nor the other.
ii. Two, when deeply engrossed in some activity, with a great deal of interest, there is only complete awareness of the thoughts and actions required for the progress of that activity. This experience is referred to as ‘flow’ experience. The opportunities for flow experiences are all around us; watching a thrilling movie at the edge of the seat or playing a tennis game with great involvement or working to solve an interesting and challenging problem at work are all examples of moments of flow.
iii. Three, dream experiences of all kinds. Here too, like flow experiences, we are deeply engrossed in the activity but the difference is we don't control it. Thoughts during dreaming in sleep and during daydreaming arise spontaneously and we get carried away under its influence until we snap out of it. As, we are in no control of this mind churn, we may have pleasant or unpleasant experiences.
iv. Non-dual experiences ( especially (i) and (ii) ) are the most exciting and pleasurable to us. We crave for such experiences.
v. If we were to just experience ‘sleep’ and ‘flow’ experiences, we would be like machines/computers. A computer is either sleeping (powered off) or in flow (in complete attention and proceeding work on a pre-programmed instruction). Clearly, we are not machines; thanks to Duality.

b. Dual experiences – when we do experience distinction between self and other
i. All experiences when you think about yourself in relation to the world are dual experiences. For example, thoughts like, “should I have a burger or a salad or a burrito for dinner?” and "I think I am a better tennis player than him" are in the realm of duality. Because of self-awareness, we are able to distinguish and say what is 'not the self' or 'not the subject'.
ii. Our sensory organs, mental faculties and the tools we created (telescope, microscope etc) are used to objectify all things that are not our 'self'. Duality gives rise to awareness of multiplicity of things and concepts. This multiplicity of things gives us options and consequently choice. As an illustrative example, if we didn’t know we were different from the plant or the cow, we couldn’t possibly be aware of the choices we have for dinner; a burger or a salad.
iii. So, how to choose what’s for dinner? That is a relatively simple problem as we know our likes/dislikes with respect to foods very well and also have a good degree of scientific knowledge about chemistry of foods. We can use subjective or objective information or both to make the dinner decision. Once we decide to eat the meal of our choice, we may experience ‘flow’ if we become completely indulged in eating the delicious meal. So, humans go in and out of dual and non-dual experiences all through life.
iv. We were able to figure out a plan to answer the dinner question. But there are other questions we can raise for which we may or may not have a plan. We need a Philosophy to answer these questions. It is to answer such questions that religions have been invented since time immemorial. An important representative of that set of questions is; how to live a happy and meaningful life?
v. If you do not already have a philosophy/religion that addresses this important question, you absolutely need to figure one out to get clarity in life.


2. To navigate through life with clarity, we need a philosophy/religion.

a. The most important criteria prior to choosing a religion is that we should be reasonably confident that we won’t become skeptical about its fundamental precepts later on life. A hint of skepticism will cast a doubt on the meaningfulness and pleasures of life. Both meaning and pleasure are critical components to a great and happy human life; one without the other makes life empty.

b. One might think that finding the answer to the existential question; “what is the purpose of this Existence (Universe) and what is my place and role in it?” will give us insights on how to live a happy and meaningful life. But, the answer to that question is beyond human knowledge and this is why. We need to understand the purpose of the whole (Existence) before we can understand the purpose of the part (us). However, purpose of an object can only be described using concepts outside of it. For example, purpose of the house is to provide shelter, purpose of a bulb is to provide light, purpose of a phone is to communicate long distance etc; in all such examples of things of human creation, we find that to describe the purpose of an object we need to use concepts outside the object. If we apply the same rationale, the purpose of Existence is outside of it! What does that mean? What concepts are outside of the entirety of Existence? We have to conclude that irrespective of whether there is or isn’t a purpose, the answer to that question is beyond human intellect.

c. So, it is up to our wits to figure out a philosophy that is reasonable. Our knowledge about the world has never been perfect, we are continuously updating it. We know more today than yesterday and hopefully that trend will continue for foreseeable future. Ultimately, right now, imperfect knowledge is all what we have at our disposal to synthesize a philosophy/religion to give us clarity and to show us the path to have a meaningful and happy life.


3. Here I present a philosophy that paves a way for meaning and pleasure in life for anyone who wishes to look at life through these lenses.

a. Love at Home: You are one among infinite things in the Universe and a feeling of loneliness is inevitable unless you receive genuine love. Love gives a sense of belonging and feeling at home.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society in which all mothers and caretakers are given all the support they need to shower their children with unconditional love especially in their tender ages with the understanding that seed of love has to be planted in the child for it to mature into the adult’s capacity to love later in life; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘Self-Love’, the feeling that one is in fact lovable is a gift that we receive when someone else loves us, gives us comfort.
ii. Pleasure: Receiving genuine love from your mother or caretakers and family especially in childhood, finding mutual love with a partner and having great social companions all through life removes loneliness and gives a sense of belonging. Doing all the fun and entertaining activities and the not-so-fun chores with family and friends give us companionship and pleasure.

b. Respect in the Community: Everything in Existence exists because of good causal reasons and unless you make a subjective judgment, there is no superior/inferior ‘thing’ out there. All things are equal by virtue of their existence, so, a basic sense of respect and acknowledgement of all things in existence is elementary.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society to protect fundamental rights of all humans and other non-human entities too, like ethical treatment of animals, judicious use of natural resources; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘self-respect’ is an intrinsic right that can never be taken away, gives us confidence.
ii. Pleasure: A nod, a Hi, a smile, a helping hand, hospitality, compassion, freedom, beauty etc are various degrees of expressing respect for the other. When it is bestowed on us, it fills us up with gratitude and pleasure.

c. Value at Work: As we go through life, we consume all kinds of things from the world for sustenance and enjoyment in our life. It is only fair that we give back to the world the best within us.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society in which kids are educated in such a way that their strengths shine through and weaknesses minimized and enable them to move on to an enjoyable career in which their creativity will grow leaps and bounds in the areas of their interest is a worthy aspiration; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘self-value’ is earned by creating value in the world, gives us control.
ii. Pleasure: Every individual has unique passions and strengths, identifying and pursuing them and making use of them to create value in the world is the best way to contribute. When we find a job that lets us work on our passions and create value for the society; that will give us a great sense of gratification and pleasure.


4. In summary, the key to a great and happy human life is to have meaningful and pleasurable dual and non-dual experiences every day. When confronted with choices; choose love over loneliness, respect over disrespect, and passion over mediocrity.

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Different pieces of the puzzle

A quick summary of all the previous blogs:
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I started off the first blog post in this site on July 2008 with observations and questions about human's place and role in the Universe and how our incomplete knowledge of Universe causes uncertainty and consequently uneasiness in day-to-day life. I argued that incomplete knowledge is inevitable in a life of Duality as existential questions are beyond human knowledge. I initially thought the solution lied only in the domain of non-duality i.e. that there has to be a self annihilation; which happens naturally in dreamless sleep and in a state of flow. I soon realized a satisfactory solution is very much needed in the domain of duality as well, as we do spend substantial time outside the states of non-duality.
I argued that a philosophy for life in duality has to be synthesized to provide sails to navigate the seas of duality. Prevailing religions didn't appeal to me as they are based on an unseen God as their foundation. I am not wired to be a man of faith. I knew that any philosophy I synthesize won't comprise of 'absolute truths' of nature, but I wanted it to be at least complete, non-contradictory, elegant and rational based on human experience. The following philosophical framework is my take on the idea of god and a definition of a religion which will be a compass to live a life in duality. The hope for this is two-fold: a) that it gives me clarity in life, that it would serve as an anchor and rudder in predominantly a life of duality and b) that it would help others like me who are traveling a similar path.


Philosophical framework for life in duality:
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Non-essential
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1. God - universe

Although God is non-essential in this philosophical framework, the concept of God demands clarification. God is generally considered as the being that created Universe. God outside of Universe is unimaginable. God inside (part) of Universe is finite and hence unacceptable. What is approachable is the idea that God is indistinguishable from Universe. Consequently, a reverence for everything in the cosmos is reasonable.

Essential
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2. Religion - practice this; respect everything, contribute every day, love along the way

Religion is a guide to life. The necessary characteristic of religion is it should be unshakable over your lifetime. If you become skeptical over its fundamental precepts, then it can't serve as a guide any more.
practice: Internalizing and expertise requires mindful practice. Practice; duality imposes you to act, which you can do good job of with practice.
respect: All things in existence are equal by virtue of their existence, hence all things (animate/inanimate) deem respect. Respect everything; self-respect is an intrinsic right. Threads: Intrinsic, Self, Objective, Community, Laws & Justice, Non-judgment => Equality, Scope for Meaning.
contribute: Contribute as you consume much from this world, only that is fair. Contribute everyday; self-value is created when you create value in the world. Threads: Extrinsic, Other, Subjective, Personal, Economics & Value, Education => Employment, Scope for Flow.
love: Deep, meaningful social relationships are needed to avoid feeling lonely. Love along the way; self-love is a gift that you receive when you receive love. Threads: Holistic, Mutual, Relative, Inter-Personal, Sociology & Nurture, Parenting => Family, Scope for Positive emotions.

The progression is: respect < value < love. Ideally; everyone will respect you, some will value you, a few will love you.

3. Pleasure - Practicing a religion that makes sense to you gives meaning to life. If the quality of our experiences going through life are also pleasurable to us, then that is the icing on the cake. Just seeking pleasure without meaning is an empty, unsatisfactory life and on the other hand just having a meaningful life without enjoying it is unsatisfactory as well. So, the formula for a great life, a happy life is a concoction of meaning and pleasure.

Summary
~~~~~~~~

A meaningful+pleasurable day for a human would be as follows:
1. being in an environment where everyone's treated with dignity and equal rights are upheld and there is a compassionate social net for young and old people without a family
2. having flow experiences at work and being appreciated for the good work
3. receiving immense love from and having fun with family and friends
4. having a very restful, dreamless, great night's sleep

Most humans, however have a sub-optimal experience:
1. There are still sections of society that are discriminated even in most countries. Most countries don't give all its citizens even their basic rights. We still have homeless on our streets. We are just scratching the surface on rights of non-human entities.
2. Most people's skills and strengths don't sync up with the education they get or the jobs they do. So, they drudge through their workday instead of enjoying it and being creative at it.
3. Many don't have the social skills to be in a loving relationship, raising a family, giving unrequited love to their children, making genuine friends and having fun.
4. May be the sub-optimal experience of human lives reflects on the sub-optimal quality of sleep we have in the nights?

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Full Circle

PROBLEM:
You have existential questions that keep coming back to you and bother you and you yearn for clarity to settle this dilemma once and for all so you can lead a life anchored in sound rationale. But, you know you are 'finite' in more ways than one and you realize you only have partial and imperfect knowledge about ‘stuff’, as a result philosophies/religious thoughts seem too narrow for your logic and you have a difficulty in blind acceptance of such ideologies. You wonder, is there a natural, organic, human philosophy that you can come up with that satisfies your brain so you can get on with life?

OBSERVATION:
You come to terms with the fact that Absolute Knowledge is Utopia. The chances of enlightenment or a mystical halo around your head are pretty slim to none. You want to figure out a solution right here and now, with what you know.

FRAMEWORK:
This is the best ‘philosophy’ my brain can come up with:
Equality: Every thing in Existence is equal by virtue of its existence. There is a reason for every thing's existence. Be fair and respectful, to every thing.
Creativity: Every moment is a new creation. Creativity is a domino effect of everything in existence interacting with everything else. Anything creative as long as it does not decry the principle of Equality should be welcomed and celebrated in this world. Be adventurous and explore out of the box.
Causality: Causality is making mathematical sense of the world around you. You have a causal model, if you can predict future. Make good and humane use of causal models and keep making the models better.



SOLUTION:
Dismiss existential questions; spending energy on them may not be worth your while. Instead respect animate (people, flora and fauna) and inanimate things (water bodies, natural resources).
If you are a creative person; be creative and entertain people with your art, humor, literature and music.
If you are scientifically inclined; do fundamental research, engineer, invent drugs and technologies.
If you a genius (creative+scientifically inclined), you know what to do, just do it.

[It is still a challenge to know ways and means to treat non-humans with respect, think about ways to do that. (Examples may be: Treatment of animals before they become meat, not littering in the woods, not putting chemical waste in water bodies etc).]

IMPLICATION:
If you can be mindful and remember to live a life using the principles above, then you will pass Earth leaving a positive effect on beings and things around you. Some might say, you lived a meaningful life. Simple, but effective; that you were kind to things around you, contributed to the society and had jolly good time doing it.

MANTRA:
Respect everything, Contribute every day, Have fun along the way.

SUMMARY:
Does this philosophy solve the dilemma of existential questions in your head? If it did, it is a successful philosophy. Remind yourself of the mantra as and when needed and continue leading a positive life. If the dilemma comes back to you in a few months and the mantra doesn't help, this philosophy is not for you, search for your own mantra.

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Attitude - Focus and Progress

Philosophy:
Flow of Existence.
Knowledge and Ignorance about the Flow.
Intuition and Mathematical models are Knowledge.
Prediction is the yardstick of knowledge.
Causal nature of the Flow is apparent from Knowledge and Prediction or vice versa.

Implication:
Understand, if not, Accept the past.
Desire a future.
Act in the present.

Guide (a conscious, personal decision):
Civic focus: Fairness, Service, Science, Work
Personal focus: Sleep, Health, Relationships
Entertainment focus: Arts, Sport, Nature

Attitude:
Make progress

(Incidentally, a study from Harvard today reported that a focused mind is a happy mind.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/645790.html)

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A Point of Reference

In an earlier blog, I stated that even if we overlook Existential Questions, we still need to synthesize a Point of Reference for living in Duality with some Peace of Mind. Here is one PoR.

Humans experience subject-object dichotomy in waking state. This is not experienced in deep-sleep state. We are primarily concerned with the experience of duality in the waking state. Our observation of Existence is; objects with some attributes interacting with other objects it is connected to and based on the interaction there are changes in the involved objects. (By object, I mean, anything we objectify; example: an atom, a neuron, a star, a dog, a person, an emotion, a thought, a country.) From one moment to the next, Existence changes; this I refer to as Flow of Existence.

Without using any kind of knowledge (like scientific knowledge), there is no way to say one object in Existence is more superior or inferior to another object. Hence, with just our experience of duality and our ability to reason, we can claim that, all objects in existence are equal, by virtue of their existence. However our ability to objectify and formulate what we objectify has led to Science. We know couple of things about Science, a) we know science works; we are able to cure diseases and send man to moon and b) we know more today than we did yesterday. And because Science works, that implies that the Flow of Existence is algorithmic i.e. there is a set of rules. The more rules Science discovers/tweaks, the more we can predict the Flow. Although the Flow is algorithmic, there is room for newness. When object A interacts with object B, a completely new object X that never existed in Existence before may be produced. That is the creative nature in Existence which is witnessed in new babies, new art, new music, new ideas to solve problems etc. Humans too, are objects in this Flow. Strangely, we are Aware of our self and other objects. Our awareness/mindfulness of our self, our choices, our thoughts, our decision process and our ability to execute the decision in action has given rise to the concept and confusion about free-will. If we look closely at mindfulness of our self, we can realize that it is not a willed condition i.e. we are not mindful before we actually become mindful of our self. Once we become mindful, we recognize it. When and what we become mindful of, is also an exhibition of the creative nature of the Existence. In light of all of this, we can say that every moment is causally-driven, the cause being the entirety of Existence.


CONCLUSIONS:

Point of Reference for a Dualistic Human World:

Religion: Philosophy
God: Existence
Ethic: Equality
Pursuit: Science
Mantra: There are causes for everything that happened. You may not know all the causes. This wisdom will give you the inner-peace to accept the past. There will be causes for everything that will happen. You may not know all the causes. This ignorance will give you the freedom to cause a desired future.

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Hear - Reflect - Contemplate

REVELATION
(Rupert Spira in his book Transparency of Things)
Omnipresence: Consciousness is all there is.
Omniscience: Consciousness is self-aware.
Omnipotence: Consciousness has total freedom.

REFLECTION
Something that is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent could be considered God, even an atheist would agree with that definition. The entirety of existence can be considered to be omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent; as Existence encompasses Everything! So, is consciousness = existence = god?

CONTEMPLATION
1. DUALITY: There is subject-object dichotomy
2. FUNDAMENTAL CLAIM: In the context of duality, every 'thing' in existence is equally significant by virtue of its existence. All superiorities and inferiorities are subjective/contextual.
3. FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATION: Every 'thing' has some attributes and every 'thing' interacts with things it is connected to - can be visualized as a ripple effect. (Or butterfly/domino effect).
4. EXISTENTIAL QUESTION: What caused the ripple?
5. LIFE: Flow of Existence is algorithmic; proof is science.
6. DILEMMA: Our mindfulness causes confusion within us, creating an illusion of free-will. Realizing that mindfulness is not a willed condition dissolves that confusion.

From this argument, for humans in duality; the logical religion is Philosophy, the logical ethic is Equality, the logical pursuit is Science and the logical mantra for the present moment is Causality.


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Variables and Control

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.

One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "Maybe," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "Maybe," said the farmer.

Taken from: http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/zen.html (Sept 26, 2009)
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