I had an interesting conversation with some friends, one a psychologist and the other an experieced psychonaut. We were talking about internal happiness and enlightenment. They were talking about how the key is to remain happy on the inside by not internalizing external stimili. A sort of understanding that though we try controll our world all the time, any thing that happens is totally out of our control. So not letting actions out of your control affect your inner self. Now this idea has been on my mind since I had that conversation. I've been talking to others about it and some get it and some don't.
I wouldn't say that is exactly the key to happyness though it is a necessary mentality to adopt in order to taste true happyness, which I believe is eternal. Allowing the sensation reaction's produced by absorbing your awareness in external stimuli to be canceled out from being received emotionally will produce a state of balance, an evenmindedness, and an overall sense of harmony. But that is exactly why I dont believe it to be THE key to happyness, because it only allows you the peace of mind with which to touch your true Self, which I feel is what brings about the key to remaining happy indefinitley. Many people have the ability and patience to turn off their emotions and react indifferently to whatever life throws at them, however many of these very people are not truly happy because it takes another awareness, which is Love that is unconditional (and therefor beyond emotion but rather the fabric of reality), to keep the mind not only balanced but also allows teaching and sharing/helping to take place without desire for anything in return. Just my .02 ShadyGrove (awesome song by the way!) Namaste
i too agree in part, but do not think it is the 'key' to inner happiness. i think more that 'internalising' the world raises the likelihood of falling into unhappy thoughts. The important aspect to think about as we try to understand this topic is the role of CONTROL. we always try to control our world. control = power. lack of control for things that we desire control for = unhappiness. internalising = imagining = removing oneself from 'reality' = increasing the chance that our EXPECTATIONS differ from 'REALITY'. we always have more control over our internalisations, therefor internalisations display a world that builds expectations of control where there actually is none. therefor internalisation increases the likelihood of becoming unhappy.
i see what you're trying to say. For me, happiness is about able being able to control your own thoughts and actions regardless of others expectations, and taking your life into your own hands so it can move into a positive direction. I think this is key to long term happinness. Its about following your internal motivation rather than simply reacting to external stimuli.
good words overactive amaginati... I think I used bad diction by choosing the word key. This is not the Key to happiness, only an idea concerning internal happiness. I must also include some important information from my friend in regards to internal happiness. it's not as though you remain indifferent to everything around you, you can still have compassion for the things around you but you still live by not letting them interfere or disrupt your internal happiness.
"Suffering" is native to the human condition and always has been. Without suffering, one can never know happiness. Therefore, setting ideal goals of obtaining permanent happiness is unrealistic. Naturally, we can learn to cultivate deeper levels of inner happiness in our lives, but suffering will always exist. Some believe that "enlightenment" is achievable however it's also important to remember that the road to enlightenment is paved with both happiness and suffering. In other words, once we learn to accept that suffering is an unavoidable fact of life, we can then begin to work on improving our relationship towards it, and in turn, that will lead us towards experiencing deeper levels of happiness and peace of mind throughout our lives. Become a happy sufferer!
It just depends on what happiness really is, its hard to define internal happiness. Maybe it would be wiser just to stick with eternal understanding, polarities exists and so do the many levels in between. Props to jbean because when we start to talk about an idea we focus solely on the idea kinda of narrowing our views, we can't forget its all about balance (Chaos/Harmony). For life to have any meaning what so ever opposites have to exist and work off each other. The meek shall inherit the earth, eh? - with understanding comes acceptance, transcendence should follow.
