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by Gary 'Z' McGee
August 28,
2023
from
Self-InflictedPhilosophy Website
Spanish version
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Gary
'Z' McGee,
a
former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher,
is the author of Birthday Suit of God
and
The Looking Glass Man.
His
works are inspired by the great philosophers of the ages
and his wide-awake view of the modern world. |
Image source:
Cope by Beeple
"May your
trails be
crooked,
winding, lonesome, dangerous,
leading to the
most amazing view.
May your
mountains rise
into and above
the clouds."
Edward Abbey
On the compass of life most of us have been conditioned to think
that happiness is True North...
Many of us go through
life thinking happiness is the be-all-end-all, the ultimate prize.
If I only had this,
I'd be happy.
If I only did that,
I'd be happy.
"Happy" is the
constant carrot forever dangling in front of us,
just out of reach...
But,
What happens when we
aim beyond happiness?
When we think outside
the box of happiness?
When we dare to go
north of happiness?
If we merely shoot
for the moon, do we not forsake the stars?
It's like the "foot in
the door technique" applied to happiness.
The interesting thing is
that you are more likely to achieve a state of happiness by
aiming north of happiness than by merely shooting for
happiness alone.
Here are five strategies for aiming beyond happiness…
1.) Seek Flow
states
"Creativity-like life
itself-begins in
darkness."
Julia Cameron
There is perhaps no other state better at launching you past
happiness than achieving a flow state.
When you are in the
creative throes of a flow state,
you are beyond place
and time, beyond sadness or happiness, beyond good and evil.
Time stops.
Interconnectedness
consumes you.
It is the only state
that subsumes all the other states on this list.
Being in flow is
similar to being "in the zone."
Everything flows.
Everything lines up.
Infinity abounds in the
here and now...
There's no wavering.
There's no
hesitation.
Anything keeping you
away from being fully present in the moment falls away.
Creativity emanates.
Imagination gushes,
full-frontal, tidal.
All you can do is surf it
into timelessness.
In the flow state, you're not just a drop in the ocean:
you are the entire
ocean in a drop...
And when you come up for
air, not only are you happy,
you are triumphant.
You are overwhelmed
with the joy of creation.
A joy tantamount to
jouissance.
You have surfed the
wave of your flow state straight over happiness and landed into
providence.
Happiness becomes merely
a side effect of doing something you love.
It's the residue of
falling in love with the moment so completely that you lose your
attachment to happiness.
You have surrendered your
ego attachment to happiness, and love stands triumphant.
2.) Seek
Non-Attachment
"Be
melting snow.
Wash yourself of
yourself."
Rumi
Speaking of surrendering
your ego's attachment to happiness,
non-attachment launches you past happiness by burying your ego,
before it can sink in its claws, or at least by transforming your
egocentric view into a soul-centric one.
Non-attachment puts the
cart of the ego behind the horse of being fully present.
Selflessness is key.
When you're not
married to a particular outcome, you are more open to
whatever the outcome might be.
When you're not
attached to a particular expectation, you are more likely
to adapt and overcome the vicissitudes of life.
In a selfless state, in a
non-attached state, emotions come and go, washing over the state of
human experience like tidal forces on a beach.
In a non-attached
state, you are always north of happiness.
You're north of any
emotion, really.
Emotions are neither
here nor there.
They are merely
passing storms or momentary sunshine.
Nothing lasts
forever.
There is no
permanence...
The only thing that never
changes is the fact that everything changes...!
Your defeats won't last,
but neither will your triumphs.
3.) Seek
No-mind
"Truth is
a staff rejected."
unknown
No-mind is that rare state, usually achieved through
deep meditation, where thoughts melt away and you are completely
present in the moment.
All previous
conditioning, indoctrination, and brainwashing falls away.
All that remains is
the infinite void, Indra's net, the interconnectedness of all
things.
You're able to see with
"over-eyes", perceiving the big picture despite the usual small
picture perspective held up by your ego.
Indeed,
no-mind is the
place where the ego goes to die - at least temporarily...
In this state,
you are a
fountainhead to the cosmos.
Your crown chakra is
in full flutter.
You are in a state of
absolute non-bias and non-judgment, completely open to the vital
information being downloaded by the universe.
All thought is put on
hold.
Your mind is a sponge
soaking in truth.
It's only after the
meditation, when no-mind is replaced with mindfulness, where
the potential for happiness manifests itself.
And the potential is
great, heightened by the experience in no-mind...
For no-mind has already launched you past happiness, into a
state of absolute vulnerability, where the judgment, bias, and close
mindedness of your thoughts were torn down to allow for,
beauty,
truth, and wisdom to sneak in...
All three of which can
lead to Eudemonia:
happiness beyond
happiness, a flourishing of the human condition, a
mind-body-soul creative expression and a deep sense of
purpose...
4.) Seek
Interdependence
"There
are some defeats
more triumphant
than victories."
Michel de
Montaigne
Beyond codependence, beyond even independence, there is the holistic
state of interdependence.
When you are
codependent, you expect happiness to come to you.
When you're
independent, you expect to find happiness.
When you're
interdependent, however, you have already subsumed happiness
because happiness, like sadness, grief, joy, guilt, anger, love,
and any other emotions, are simply a small aspect of the
interconnected whole.
Happiness is merely a
small side effect of living a full life, just as all other
emotions are.
Achieving a state of interdependence is no small feat, but the
little bursts of happiness discovered along the way make the pain of
growth well worth it.
The pain of passing
through the many thresholds of,
...will lead to the
absolute joy of self-improvement, self-overcoming, and the personal
transformation into your own version of heroism.
Working toward a state of interdependence, day in and day
out, makes happiness itself a process, an inherent aspect of the
overall method.
Because you are
always aiming for personal growth, self-improvement and
self-overcoming, you are always north of happiness...
The process itself trumps
the happiness gained, but it is also within the process
where the most happiness is obtained.
5.) Seek
Meaning creation
"Happy is
the man who discovers wisdom.
For the
merchandise of it is better than silver,
and the gain
better than gold.
Length of days
in her right-hand;
and in her
left-hand riches and honor.
She is a tree of
life to them that hold her;
and happy is
everyone that retains her."
Proverbs 13-18
Meaning trumps happiness, yet most happiness comes
from meaning.
As such,
the creation of
meaning is the ultimate trump card, and perhaps even the
ultimate True North...
When you're creating
meaning, you are the perennial artist, a self-inflicted mythologist
transforming the mundane infinity that surrounds you into the
meaningful art that defines you.
As a creator of meaning,
you hold courage in one hand and audacity in the other, defying the
inherently meaningless universe by creating your own meaning
despite.
The meaning you
create becomes a trophy, a symbol of your imagination and
creativity, a magic elixir that can be shared with "the tribe,"
and a legacy that can be passed down to your progeny.
It becomes
your life's purpose, an
immortality project that transcends happiness.
At the end of the day,
searching for happiness is old hat..
Better to go north of
happiness.
Better to experience
flow states.
Better to practice
non-attachment and no-mind.
Better to strive for
Interdependence through self-improvement and self-overcoming.
Better to create your
own meaning despite meaninglessness and happiness.
Best, to simply revel
in the little moments of happiness that come and go from
courageously living a well-lived life.
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