Thursday, November 15, 2012

A Great Life

I believe there are two aspects to a great life; meaning and pleasure. Meaning has to do with reason/thought part of being a human. Pleasure has to do with emotion/action part of being human.



Meaning:
What gives meaning to your life boils down to the choices you make in life. Religion/Philosophy/Worldview/Culture gives the foundation to make those choices. So, its critical to build that foundation. Whatever Religion you choose, it has to make sense to you and it should be something that you hopefully won't regret later in life. (I humbly propose a religion for your consideration.)

Pleasure:
What gives pleasure to you boils down to how much fun and peace you are having in life. Pleasure within boundaries of Meaning is obviously more meaningful than pleasure without meaning. Mindful engagement in indulged activity, Flow experiences and Deep Sleep are avenues to experience pleasure.

Prescription for a Great Life:
1. Do some serious thinking/exploring and settle down on a religion/worldview that will serve you well throughout your life. It should primarily serve as a guide when you are at crossroads.
2. Make very intentional, conscious choices in life guided by your Religion.
3. Execute those choices mindfully and if possible by having flow experiences.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Rational Empiricism - a religion for nonbelievers

What happens if you don't have a religion?
You conform unconsciously or get confused when you have to make choices in life. Looking back at such a wavering life could cause much distress. You might regret the lost opportunity and it may be too late to fix it.

What is a religion?
A religion is a set of guiding principles for making choices in life. Religion gives the person clarity to make those choices and to consciously decide where to spend their time and energy in this world. It facilitates the person to live a meaningful and pleasurable life and gives the strength to navigate through the painful times.

Does religion need a God?
Religion has to be based on some solid, unshakable foundation. Belief in a God and God's word or a God's messenger's word  is one way to create a religion. One downside to such God-founded religion is that there are powerful middlemen interpreting the God's message and laying down rules for others to follow. A second problem is, at times practitioners of religion vilify other Gods and religions and cause communal disharmony. A more serious downside is the nature of faith itself; a faithful can't rationalize why he has faith but he has to always protect his faith. After living a long, devout life, if some incident suddenly converts him to a non-believer, then it invalidates a large portion of his life which would be quite devastating.

What is the foundation for Rational Empiricism?
Rational Empiricism is a non-theistic religion founded in reflecting and reasoning human experiences. Every human can testify to these two experiences; a) duality - that he exists and he is different from other things in Universe and b) causality - that there are causes for things to come into existence, causes for their sustenance and causes for them ceasing to exist. From these experiences, one can rationalize a definition for the Universe to be ''an interconnection of infinite, unique objects'. How?
1. Duality gives rise observation of objects
2. Duality also gives rise to distinction of self from other objects and to distinction of one unique object from another.
3. Duality also gives rise to observation of incomprehensible number of objects in Universe which gives rise to infinite, unique objects.
4. Causality indicates that these objects are interconnected as they continuously interact in space and time creating, sustaining and destroying each other.
Putting these concepts together, the definition of Universe as an interconnection of infinite, unique objects is justified. This definition of Universe forms the basis for the religion: Rational Empiricism.

What are the guiding principles of Rational Empiricism?
There are four guiding principles of Rational Empiricism interpreted from conception of Universe:
1. Principle of Uniqueness - Each human is unique, so is every other object in Universe.
2. Principle of Interconnectedness - Humans and other objects are interconnected to each other in complex ways.
3. Principle of Infiniteness - Each human (himself a collection of innumerable objects) and other seemingly infinite objects constitute the Universe.
4. Principle of Fitness - Each human is a person unless he is a corpse.

What is the promise of Rational Empiricism?
Rational Empiricism promises a meaningful and pleasurable life (pleasures within the boundaries of meaning) for the practitioner, a more peaceful and just society and a sustainable planet.
1. Principle of Uniqueness encourages expression of individual's unique passions and adding value through work and predicts that people do their best work in such environment.
2. Principle of Interconnectedness supports equality for all in the society and promotes scientific understanding of the interconnected world and policy making based on those findings and predicts that a human society in-sync with nature will thrive.
3. Principle of Infiniteness asserts that a sense of belonging and companionship is desired by every human in this seemingly infinite universe and predicts that love at home will give the recipient of love the strength to navigate through the tough times in life.
4. Principle of Fitness encourage physical and mental fitness while alive before other objects eventually figure out and transform him/her to dirt.

Will Rational Empiricism stand the test of time?
If we stop experiencing duality and causality, then Rational Empiricism can be discarded. But I am guessing that when that happens we won't any longer be humans, we would have evolved to a different species or we will be living in a new Universe.
Also, if we find new ways to rationalize duality and causality different from the way it is done in Rational Empiricism, then Rational Empiricism can be adapted and evolved to the new concepts. For instance, there are two fundamental mysteries of Universe that are purposely not dealt with in Rational Empiricism: a) What is the origin of Awareness? and b)  What is the origin of Universe? Rational Empiricism doesn't bother answering these questions because these mysteries of the Universe doesn't negate our experience of duality and causality. However, if and when somebody presents rational answers to these questions and if that alters our conception of Universe, then we can evolve Rational Empiricism to the new concepts. Until then Rational Empiricism will be valid in its present form for humans.

Monday, August 06, 2012

A computer science perspective

The fundamental concepts of an object-oriented programming language mimics Universe.

1. Object - An object encapsulates data and operations. This is similar to unique attributes and properties of every object in the Universe illustrating the principle of Uniqueness.

2. Message - Objects exchange messages to invoke behavior in other objects. This is similar to the ecosystem of objects that interact with each other in space and time in Universe illustrating the principle of Interconnectedness.

3. Program - An object-oriented program is a collection of communicating objects achieving the goal of the creator of the program. This is similar to collection of infinite objects which is the Universe illustrating the principle of Infiniteness. (The key difference is that the knowledge about the creator or the purpose of Universe is beyond human knowledge. Hence, we synthesize religion/beliefs/worldview to give our lives a  purpose.)

Thinking Object-Oriented

Sunday, July 29, 2012

An economic perspective

Buying
What you buy is what you assign as valuable. As long as there is demand for the product you buy, the manufacturer will produce it. So, think of all the implications before you buy i.e. the complete product life cycle from its creation to destruction. There are environmental (organic vs chemical farming, local vs global produce, biodegradable/reusable vs landfill/incinerator), health (fresh vs fast food), equal opportunity employment (gender, sexuality inequality), fair trade (child labor, minimum wage and sweat shop like inhumane work conditions) implications and many more. Vote with your dollars. This is one way to practice the principle of Interconnectedness.

Sharing
Most products you buy are best enjoyed when shared with friends and family. Think of sharing a meal, going to the movies, living with loved ones under the same roof etc. When experiences and products are shared, it enhances and enriches our life. This is one way to practice the principle of Infiniteness.

Selling
You are able to buy the products you like and share the products you buy with loved ones because of your own ability to sell in the market place. You may be selling your skills in accounting or software, farming or nursing or manufacturing etc to solve real-world problems and add value to the society. What you sell is what others buy, so try to create a virtuous cycle. This is one way to practice the principle of Uniqueness.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Universe

Universe is an "interconnection of infinite, unique objects". I have selected some pictures that exemplify this:

a) 'Interconnectedness' in Coral reef: This exemplifies ecosystem and interconnectedness of phenomena; sun, wave action, diversity and symbiosis of flora and fauna, nutrient content of water, global warming, human activity.
http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/coralreef.html
b) 'Infiniteness' in the naked eye view of Milky way: This exemplifies the sheer vastness of Universe, the expanse of space and time (as we are seeing the past, not the present when we look at night sky). The picture only shows part of our galaxy and astronomers have charted hundreds of billions of galaxies and no one really knows how big it is, yet.
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/webscope/activities/pdfs/galaxiesT.pdf
c) 'Uniqueness' in the work done by the honey bee: This exemplifies the unique role played by honeybees in pollination which is essential for more than 100 agricultural crops i.e. a third of our food consumption. Without the work done by bees, we would only have apple flowers and no fruit.
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf10.html



In actuality, every slice of the Universe exemplifies these characteristics; these pictures only make them stand out. So, what do I infer from this information? I infer these things:

a) From 'interconnectedness', I realize the ethics in unconditional respect for all things. Equality, I believe should be the foundation of our society.
b) From 'infiniteness', I deduce the reason for my desire for close relationships. Companionship, I believe should be the foundation of our homes.
c) From 'uniqueness', I imagine the opportunities available for my contribution and value addition. Service, I believe should be the foundation of our businesses.

I believe living a life by these ideals leads to a meaningful and pleasurable life for us, for the people we care about, the society, the planet and may be even the Universe itself. I don't see any other 'rational' approaches to achieve the same goals :)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The 30,000 foot view

1. Human life is made up of these moments.
    1.1. Moments of self-awareness
        1.1.a. When awake - Except when daydreaming or in flow
    1.2. Moments of self-non-awareness
        1.2.a. When awake - When daydreaming or in flow
        1.2.b. When asleep - When dreaming or deep asleep

2. Only in moments of self-awareness, we are faced with a real dilemma; to make a 'choice' and need help. Moments of self-awareness are 'decision points' where we decide how to chart the course of our life and how/when/where to have intense moments of self-non-awareness i.e. where to spend our time and energy.

3. On what basis do we 'choose' during moments of self-awareness? Science can help in making certain choices given the context, like "is potato chips or fruit a better snack for my health?" but it can't help in other situations like; "what constitutes a great life?". The reason is because an objective answer to the question: "what is the purpose of Universe?" is beyond our knowledge. Without knowing the purpose of the whole, the purpose of the part cannot be derived.

4. We need to synthesize an answer to the question, "what constitutes a great life?". Philosophies and Religions  try to do just that. Existing religions require the practitioner to have faith in God/s or arcane concepts. Here I propose the pillars of a Philosophy that is grounded in human experiences and reason. Speaking in religious terminology for a moment, if I have to define and choose a God, I will say that the entirety of Universe is God. It is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent because Universe encompasses all things that exist; known and unknown.

5.  This is a philosophy which I believe paves way for a meaningful and pleasurable life; meaning without pleasure or vice versa is not appealing to us. This emanates from my view of the Universe as an 'interconnection of infinite, unique objects'.
    5.1. Each object is one among infinite objects
        5.1.a. Desire close companionship to overcome infinitesimality
        5.1.b. Joys of being among loving family and friends at Home
    5.2. There are complex causal interconnections between objects
        5.2.a. Obligated to learn and be sensitive to the interconnections
        5.2.b. Joys of living in an equal and just Society
    5.3. Each object is unique
        5.3.a. Choice to demonstrate uniqueness
        5.3.b. Joys of working on areas of passion at Work


Only the ecstatic, pleasurable, personal part of the experiences are listed above. When you help other Objects attain these pleasures, it gives meaning to your life.

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

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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