Socratic Life

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~ Buddha

What we are today comes from or thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life for tomorrow:
our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man acts or speaks with an impure mind,
suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows
the beast that draws the cart.
What we are today comes from the thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:
our life is the creation of our mind.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind,
joy follows him as his own shadow.

The DHAMMAPADA vs 1-2
The DHAMMAPADA

Instead of choosing to be a Victim: Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior =Victim Reality = Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior = Victim Reality->

We can choose success: Success Thinking = Success Behavior = Success Reality = Success Thinking = Success Behavior->

(You must come up with your own definition of success)

This is not a secret and it is not easy. changing ones belief systems can take hard work and many years of practice. Many of the great minds throughout the history of time integrate improving ones self through Learning, Self introspection, Application and Wisdom.

Only when we learn something can we see where we can improve, applythe areas that we want to do better and then become master of ourselves, thoughts, actions and circles of influence.

Seek after edification, understanding and wisdom

We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. ~ Joseph Smith

Experience as education

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven”
–Orson F. Whitney

Recommended Reading:

Continuing To Learn

Benjamin Franklin: Wit and Wisdom

Self-Education: Socrates

Recently I have been interested in the questions: What is self mastery? and How can I improve all of the aspects of my life through a mastery of myself?

Following is part 1 of a 6 part article titled self discipline from http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/06/self-discipline/ I would recommend visiting this blog as Steve Pavlina is a great thinker and an excellent author.

I’ve already written about 20 pages on self-discipline for my upcoming book, including what it is and how to develop it. I’ll share some of those ideas in this series, focusing on what I call the five pillars of self-discipline.

The Five Pillars of Self-Discipline

The five pillars of self-discipline are: Acceptance, Willpower, Hard Work, Industry, and Persistence. If you take the first letter of each word, you get the acronym “A WHIP” — a convenient way to remember them, since many people associate self-discipline with whipping themselves into shape.

What Is Self-Discipline?

Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply get yourself to follow through on your best intentions no matter what. Picture yourself saying to your body, “You’re overweight. Lose 20 pounds.” Without self-discipline that intention won’t become manifest. But with sufficient self-discipline, it’s a done deal. The pinnacle of self-discipline is when you reach the point that when you make a conscious decision, it’s virtually guaranteed you’ll follow through on it.

Self-discipline is one of many personal development tools available to you. Of course it is not a panacea. Nevertheless, the problems which self-discipline can solve are important, and while there are other ways to solve these problems, self-discipline absolutely shreds them. Self-discipline can empower you to overcome any addiction or lose any amount of weight. It can wipe out procrastination, disorder, and ignorance. Within the domain of problems it can solve, self-discipline is simply unmatched. Moreover, it becomes a powerful teammate when combined with other tools like passion, goal-setting, and planning.

Building Self-Discipline

My philosophy of how to build self-discipline is best explained by an analogy. Self-discipline is like a muscle. The more you train it, the stronger you become. The less you train it, the weaker you become.

Just as everyone has different muscular strength, we all possess different levels of self-discipline. Everyone has some — if you can hold your breath a few seconds, you have some self-discipline. But not everyone has developed their discipline to the same degree.

Just as it takes muscle to build muscle, it takes self-discipline to build self-discipline.

The way to build self-discipline is analogous to using progressive weight training to build muscle. This means lifting weights that are close to your limit. Note that when you weight train, you lift weights that are within your ability to lift. You push your muscles until they fail, and then you rest.

Similarly, the basic method to build self-discipline is to tackle challenges that you can successfully accomplish but which are near your limit. This doesn’t mean trying something and failing at it every day, nor does it mean staying within your comfort zone. You will gain no strength trying to lift a weight that you cannot budge, nor will you gain strength lifting weights that are too light for you. You must start with weights/challenges that are within your current ability to lift but which are near your limit.

Progressive training means that once you succeed, you increase the challenge. If you keep working out with the same weights, you won’t get any stronger. Similarly, if you fail to challenge yourself in life, you won’t gain any more self-discipline.

Just as most people have very weak muscles compared to how strong they could become with training, most people are very weak in their level of self-discipline.

It’s a mistake to try to push yourself too hard when trying to build self-discipline. If you try to transform your entire life overnight by setting dozens of new goals for yourself and expecting yourself to follow through consistently starting the very next day, you’re almost certain to fail. This is like a person going to the gym for the first time ever and packing 300 pounds on the bench press. You will only look silly.

If you can only lift 10 lbs, you can only lift 10 lbs. There’s no shame in starting where you are. I recall when I began working with a personal trainer several years ago, on my first attempt at doing a barbell shoulder press, I could only lift a 7-lb bar with no weight on it. My shoulders were very weak because I’d never trained them. But within a few months I was up to 60 lbs.

Similarly, if you’re very undisciplined right now, you can still use what little discipline you have to build more. The more disciplined you become, the easier life gets. Challenges that were once impossible for you will eventually seem like child’s play. As you get stronger, the same weights will seem lighter and lighter.

Don’t compare yourself to other people. It won’t help. You’ll only find what you expect to find. If you think you’re weak, everyone else will seem stronger. If you think you’re strong, everyone else will seem weaker. There’s no point in doing this. Simply look at where you are now, and aim to get better as you go forward.

Let’s consider an example.

Suppose you want to develop the ability to do 8 solid hours of work each day, since you know it will make a real difference in your career. I was listening to an audio program this morning that quoted a study saying the average office worker spends 37% of their time in idle socializing, not to mention other vices that chew up more than 50% of work time with unproductive non-work. So there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Perhaps you try to work a solid 8-hour day without succumbing to distractions, and you can only do it once. The next day you fail utterly. That’s OK. You did one rep of 8 hours. Two is too much for you. So cut back a bit. What duration would allow you to successfully do 5 reps (i.e. a whole week)? Could you work with concentration for one hour a day, five days in a row? If you can’t do that, cut back to 30 minutes or whatever you can do. If you succeed (or if you feel that would be too easy), then increase the challenge (i.e. the resistance).

Once you’ve mastered a week at one level, take it up a notch the next week. And continue with this progressive training until you’ve reached your goal.

While analogies like this are never perfect, I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of this one. By raising the bar just a little each week, you stay within your capabilities and grow stronger over time. But when doing weight training, the actual work you do doesn’t mean anything. There’s no intrinsic benefit in lifting a weight up and down — the benefit comes from the muscle growth. However, when building self-discipline, you also get the benefit of the work you’ve done along the way, so that’s even better. It’s great when your training produces something of value AND makes you stronger.

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” ~Albert Einstein

 

What is it about the massive gathering of information that makes a person think that they are wise?

Is there more to learning than the gathering of data and memorization of facts?

Where does critical thinking fit in as an infinite process of trying to understand?

What is it that we are trying to accomplish through this understanding?

 

According to Russell Ackoff a system theorist and professor of organizational change, there is a hierarchy of content in the human mind.

 

 

David Moursund mentioned “Data, information, knowledge, and wisdom form a scale, although a rather peculiar scale. The points on the scale are not closely related even though they are often talked about at the same time.

 

Generally I would hesitate to try to convey a thought merely through definition.  I would however like to point out a few key definitions explaining the parts of our thinking system.

 

Data: Factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.

Information: Data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to “who”, “what”, “where”, and “when” questions.

Knowledge: Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Understanding: To understand something is to have conceptualized it to a given measure.

Wisdom: Ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.

 

Robert J Sternberg said “I define wisdom as the application of intelligence and experience toward the attainment of a common good. This attainment involves a balance among (a) intrapersonal (one’s own), (b) interpersonal (other people’s), and (c) extrapersonal (more than personal, such as institutional) interests, over the short and long terms. Thus, wise people look out not just for themselves, but for all toward whom they have any responsibility.”

 

My argument is that the gathering of information and memorizing facts is not only not the entire process of learning but merely a first step to true understanding and wisdom.

 

Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.  ~Edmund Burke

 

The first step past the culmination of information is introspective thinking.  Reflection on ones self. Desire to improve or make a conscious effort to obtain ones best self.

 

He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.  ~William Drummond

 

If one does not perform this type of process, that of critical and introspective reasoning in daily life they are merely a slave to their surroundings.  How can we be otherwise when there is no desire to understand and improve based on our understanding?

 

The step past that of desire to change is to realize that there are parts of oneself that our knowledge and understanding can be applied to.

 

These parts are as follows:

Mental

Emotional

Physical

Spiritual

Social

Financial

 

We realize that the application of our thoughts and knowledge can be applied to each of these different parts.

 

Many of the different organizations and religions throughout the history of time have sought to enlighten oneself through the ability to learn and apply our knowledge to each of these areas.  Please let me point out a few of these groups.

 

Bushido (The way of the samurai)

As Inazo Nitobe defines it: Bushido means literally the military-knight ways – the ways which fighting nobles should observe in their daily life as well as in their vocation; in a word, the precepts of knighthood.

What characterized the samurai and supported their action and knowledge of right and wrong is what we now popularly call the bushido code or the seven virtues of bushido.  Some of the virtues are inspired by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

 

Te seven virtues of bushido briefly stated are:

1. GI – Right Action, Duty

do the right thing.

2. YUUKI – Courage

brave, courageous energy.

3. JIN - Benevolence

the benevolence that unites each human being to the other.

4. REI – Politeness or Morality

to have politeness, respect shown in social behavior.

5. MAKOTO – Truthfulness

to follow truly the Law of the Universe.

6. MEIYO – Honor

to enjoy a good reputation, honor.

7. CHUUGI – Loyalty

to act faithfully, to be loyal.

Zen Buddhism

Based on a single, esoteric idea: all humans have a Buddha nature inside them and to realize this nature all a human being has to do is search his or her inner self. The key to Buddhahood in Zen is simply self-knowledge. The way to gain self-knowledge is through meditation (which is what the word “zen” means). Now, “meditation” is one of the cornerstones of Buddhism, where, under the name dhyana , it forms the final and most important aspect of gaining enlightenment. But Zen (in Chinese, Ch’an ) or Meditation Buddhism granted meditation an exclusive importance not ascribed to it in other Buddhist schools. Meditation, which was a means to an end in other Buddhist schools, became the end in itself in Zen: meditation was Truth realized in action. As a result, Zen readily dispenses with the Buddhist scriptures and philosophical discussion in favor of a more intuitive and individual approach to enlightenment. Meditation, however, is a strict religious discipline: the mind must be made sharp and attentive in order to intuit from itself the Truth of Buddhahood. Part of this discipline involves waking up the mind of the disciple, making it aware of the things around it.

Christianity

The Christian life involves a number of different aspects. Among the key ones are

• Fellowship with God

• Our relationships with others

• Obedience to God’s commands

• Discipline

Christianity is about personal relationships: with God and with others. When Jesus was asked to summarize his religion, he said that it was loving God and our neighbor. Everything else is a means to that end. One of the most important terms for Christians is “fellowship”. This term covers our life together as Christians. This means first of all that we spend time together, in worship, educational activities, service to others, and just having fun. In addition to their primary goal, these activities help us get to know each other, and to develop into a community. The Bible refers to the Christian community using organic metaphors, such as a vine and a body. It talks about us sharing with each other and supporting each other.

 

The true test of wisdom is the ability we have to implement that which we have learned.  In looking at the former positions we start to learn that the object of esoteric thought is to gain self understanding and the ability to apply all that we learn.  We can understand why our object will always be self improvement and self mastery.

One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield. ~Buddha

 

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. ~Lau-tzu

 

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. ~Lau-tzu