Personal Philosophy of Buddha

Suffering?

Michael Gervais talked about a few people that had rock solid personal philosophies. Buddha was one person that was mentioned. Gervais said that Buddha’s philosophy had something to do with suffering, and the loving kindness that can come out of it.

Punching suffering in the mouth is how I have usually dealt with it. Maybe I can twist it around to say it was tough love for suffering. But, we both know that isn’t what I had in mind.

In the past few years, I have come around to at least hear the message that Buddha may have been trying to get across. It takes a heck of a lot of strength to see suffering the way he did. It probably has a lot to do with that Sean Connery quote from the Untouchables movie. “What are you prepared to do?”

Advertisement

Joel Spitzer

Joel Spitzer gives his take on thoughts and actions. Thinking about quitting smoking and taking the action to not smoke today are two different things.

Similar to his idea of actions doing more to stop something that harms you, doing something positive can impact your thoughts and words. Today, I went to yoga class. Our instructor told us to consider how this yoga practice will influence our words and thoughts.

When developing your personal philosophy, you may have it backwards if you are considering thoughts then words then actions.

Jennifer Piercy

Jennifer guides us to notice if we can be five to ten percent more comfortable. That one sentence is a life philosophy. It can be used by anyone in any situation facing any challenge. You can find her instruction in her Yoga Nidra for Sleep meditation on Insight Timer.

Pick a random time today and follow her advice. Most likely, whatever you do right after that will go better than it otherwise would have.

Cal Fussman

Cal Fussman – A man that knows how to tell a story.

Cal Fussman is the most charming story teller ever. He doesn’t speak in poetry. He seems to be talking off the cuff. His passion for the person he happens to be talking about is mesmerizing. Somehow he casts that spell on his listeners.

All his words are carefully chosen. He reveals bits of information at the perfect pace. He sets the scene. He gets you to sit forward and ask yourself questions about where the story is going next.

Longing to know who Cal Fussman is? Well, you’re in luck. His “About” page on his podcast website answers three questions. WHO AM I? WHERE AM I GOING? WHY?

His answers are unique. I urge you to go to his page and read the answers.

Peter Wohleben

Peter Wohleben tells us about the hidden lives of trees. He tells us about how all of the trees in a forest are interconnected.

It may seem like he made up a charming story to teach us about the framework of human communities.

I am ready to believe him. I take his book as proof that we are all connected. We are all connected whether we like it or not.

Billy Joel ft. Paul McCartney – Let It Be

This song goes against everything I stand for. All of the talk about modern philosophy for the modern man gets McCartney uncomfortable? English Irish guys were never known for their pondering. I’m not going to let it be if I can spend the rest of my waking hours on this earth pondering over why I’m a sharp cookie for letting it be.

Billy Joel is clearly the innocent bystander in all of this. He has been through his share of trials and tribulations. A Google search brought up this surprisingly good Daily News article.

https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/billy-joel-tells-suicide-attempt-dating-2-supermodels-bio-article-1.1987147

Daily News – When Joel dated model Elle Macpherson, he thought she was “so tall, I look like Bubbles the Chimp next to her. I realized this was just not going to work.” Also, she was 19 and he was in his 30s. Through a mix-up, both Macpherson and the woman he dated next — Brinkley — ended up in Billy’s Central Park West apartment at the same time. Brinkley bowed out and he spent the night with Macpherson. But, Billy thought, “I couldn’t help thinking that Frank Sinatra would have made a threesome out of that night.”

Cheer up Billy. That’s nothing to hang your head in shame over. Sinatra set the bar high. But, of course, I appreciate the pondering and analysis that went into what could simply be remembered as a good night. (Yes I know I started the sentence with “but “)

Epicurus

Epicurus asked the age old question. Sex, fancy suits, and money or friends, cheese, and books?

He went with friends, cheese, and books. It’s the ancient version of do you want to spend money on things or spend it on experiences. And it is hard to argue with his answer. Plus, the guy has a rock solid framework to feed his thoughts, words, and actions through.

I mean, how do you accuse this guy of being a hypocrite? Eating cheese while telling a bunch of friends about the latest New York Times best seller he has on his night stand? Yeah, that’s his way of staying true to himself. Talk about a piece of cake to stay on course.

And such a legacy this guy has. “The Church” took his commune idea and made them into monasteries. The number one seal of approval in history is when when “The Church” takes your idea and runs with it and leaves you in the dust. The number two seal of approval is when someone takes your idea and turns it into a somewhat successful form of government.

I really wanted to give this guy one blog and move on, but he may deserve just as much time and discussion as the X-man.

P. S. It appears that Epicurus style communal living was the first frat house. Of course, they were called the Deltas.

What is Framework?

Fast Company- Before you can reframe an argument, you need to understand what “frames” are in the first places. They’re simply the term psychologists give to the theoretical filters or categories our minds use to help us store, manage, and interpret the meaning of information.

https://www.fastcompany.com/40517659/this-is-the-scientific-way-to-win-any-argument-and-not-make-enemies

You can tell me you don’t like my haircut. You can tell me you don’t like my necktie. Just don’t tell me you don’t like my framework.

What is a framework? It is the filter that we use for all of our thoughts, words, and actions. And right behind that follows your philosophy.

Asking someone for their personal philosophy can cause people to squirm in their seat. A lot more headway could be made when asking people about their framework. Do you think everyone should be treated fairly? Do you think everyone should be loyal and patriotic Americans?

Most people can give clear answers to these questions under almost any conditions. But would they give similar answers when asked if they considered patriotism and fair treatment to be part of their philosophy? I doubt it.

%d bloggers like this: