【small chocolate cake】
Are you in any kind of distress right now?
But don't worry.
It is almost certainly just a preparation for the "happiness" to come.
Let's explore the mechanism together.
By the way, "happiness" is a purely philosophical theme.
If "you" cannot have an academic image of the word "happiness," it is probably because it has not reached a consensus as a subject of modern scientific research.
Ultimately, all phenomena in this world are “physical phenomena”.
``Consciousness'' and ``happiness'' will eventually be treated in physics as the effects of ``quantum''.
In New Philosophy, we will proceed with consideration while anticipating these a little.
Then why do people seek happiness?
Before that, what is “happiness” in the first place?
Let's take a concrete look at "happiness" through a single story.
"You" were born into a very poor family.
Due to the recession, your parents can't get a decent job, and they can only provide you with the bare minimum of food.
By the time "you" turned 5 years old, I came to know that my family was poor. I will continue.
One Christmas night.
The city is adorned with gorgeous lights and you can hear merry Christmas songs.
The streets are filled with families with presents in their hands and young couples heading to restaurants.
In front of the cake shop, a child about the same age as "you" is asking their parents for a "chocolate cake."
"You" hated Christmas. Because I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed by miserable feelings.
It makes me even more sad when I think of my parents who are in pain because they can't please "you".
For “you,” who do not know the taste of cakes or the time spent with family members exchanging presents and eating happily, Christmas is nothing but pain.
That night, my parents came home particularly late, and I became worried, so I went to the main street to pick them up when the traffic started to sparse.
Then, your parents rush to you with a smile they've never seen before.
"Look, I bought a cake! 』
It was a tiny little "chocolate cake".
That night, for the first time, "you" experienced the "happiness" of a "merry Christmas."
And 40 years have passed.
You worked hard, graduated from college with honors, and are now the owner of a large company.
The scenery that "you" see now is "a view overlooking the night view of a big city", "a living room surrounded by luxurious interiors", "a luxurious dinner", and "smiles of family and friends".
At the end of the dinner, you always have your favorite famous brand chocolate cake.
"You" says
"No matter how famous the brand is, nothing beats the taste of the chocolate cake I ate on Christmas Eve."
This is just a story (and there is no compensation for you), but the identity of "happiness" is hidden in this.
What was the essence of "happiness" that "you" felt on Christmas night?
Is it "chocolate cake"? "Or is it "parental love"?"
No, they just gave a "trigger" for happiness to appear.
You, unfortunately, have never had a Happy Christmas before.
And you didn't expect anything that night either.
If I had already experienced such "happiness" and expected it, I would not have been able to feel such "happiness".
In other words, the essence of "happiness" is the "environmental gap" in which the "individual" called "you" is placed.
By changing the environment of an individual at a certain point in the direction of "comfort" from the original environment at the next point, the individual feels "comfort" and obtains "happiness."
Then, that environment becomes a new standard, and we perceive "comfort/discomfort" depending on the direction and degree of the next environmental change.
In this way, it can be said that "happiness" is a sensation that arises only when the environment surrounding an individual changes along the time axis, and cannot occur where there is no change.
That's why "you", who became a millionaire, can't feel "happiness" even if you eat "chocolate cake" every day.
In other words, "happiness and unhappiness" are two sides of the same coin, and neither of them can stand alone.
Therefore, if ``you'' are in some kind of ``suffering'' situation now, it is preparing for ``happiness''.
So what is the reason why people seek such "happiness"?
Living organisms perceive the internal and external environments, and maintain their existence by determining their own actions based on the judgment criteria of "pleasantness and displeasure."
The judgment result of "pleasure/discomfort" rises to "consciousness" as "emotion"
For example, when "you" enter a room with the optimum temperature and humidity for the human body, you feel "pleasure", but when you enter a room with high temperature and humidity, you feel "uncomfortable". I wouldn't want to stay there too long.
It is not the result of thinking by your ego, but an automatic action in the realm of the unconscious.
The essence of "happiness" is the "environmental gap" on the time axis, which is expressed by the amount of change in "pleasure".
In other words, we can think that the reason why people seek "happiness" is that they are automatically guided in the direction of "comfort" by "unconsciousness."
However, if the ``unconscious'' automatically leads to ``pleasure'', then the ``ego'' doesn't need to work hard, and it seems that it would be better to leave it to the ``unconscious''... .
The important thing here is that what the "unconscious" leads to is "human happiness."
On the other hand, what “you” should acquire is “your happiness”.
Since "your unconscious" is oriented toward "preservation of seeds", even if "you" are pleased with "pleasure" in the short term, there is no guarantee that "you" will ultimately be "happy" in life. .
Therefore, it cannot be left to "unconsciousness".
【Eastern Thought and Western Thought】
In order for “you” life to be “happy”, it is necessary to continue “happiness”.
And, in order to continue the "feeling of happiness", it is necessary to continue to increase the environmental gap on the time axis in a positive direction.
Eastern thought tried to secure an environmental gap by consciously lowering the standard of "comfort."
The phrase "to eliminate worldly desires" is a typical example.
"Worldly desires" are, to put it plainly, "desire" such as "I want that" and "I want to do this".
It's a concept close to what I'm talking about in this blog, ``expansion desire''.
Furthermore, it seems that "ego" is also included in "worldly desires".
This is because, in meditation, which is a training method for erasing worldly desires, we practice 'no thoughts'.
Muten musou is defined as the state of reaching the state of no-self away from all evil thoughts.
The "greed" in the realm of "unconsciousness" cannot be controlled by the "ego".
However, the ``ego'' recognizes the feelings of ``pleasure and displeasure'', which are the result of the action of the ``greed''.
If "self" is erased, "you" can no longer recognize "emotions", so what remains is only the minimum life support function.
Then, "you" has neither "suffering" nor "happiness".
Certainly, if 'greed' disappears from people, 'competition' will cease to occur, society will become peaceful, and the living environment will improve... but.
No 'greed' means that what you eat and what you wear ultimately remains at the minimum level necessary to sustain life.
It will stop the development of all aspects of "civilization", not just food and clothing.
In the first place, "living organisms" are products of "competition", which follow "laws of nature".
Phenomena that deviate from the "laws of nature" cannot persist in the long term.
Without healthy "competition" by people's free will, it would be an oppressive society.
In addition, in Western thought, the direction of "comfort" is directed not to "individuals" but to "society/groups" in an attempt to secure an environmental gap.
The phrase "love thy enemy" is symbolic.
If "enemies" can love each other, they will no longer be "enemies", so society will become peaceful and the living environment will likely improve.
What is an "enemy" anyway?
It can be said that it is a competitor that is in a position that is relatively conflicting with your own interests.
And if the meaning of "love" is interpreted as "cherishing", it seems that "loving the enemy" means "prioritizing the other's interests over your own."
In other words, "self-sacrifice"
It is not that "self-sacrifice" is bad, but in order for it to lead to "individual happiness," it must go through the realization of "social happiness."
The ``individual'' is ``your body'' and the ``symbiosis of the unconscious and the ego'' that appears there. Then ``your happiness'' means ``happiness'' across the extended spectrum.
Under such circumstances the concept of "self-sacrifice" disappears.
This is because there is no boundary between ``my interests'' and ``other interests'', so all actions are recognized as ``for my own sake''.
In the first place, the "ego" is oriented to the "preservation of the individual", which follows the "law of nature".
Extending the ``self'' from the ``individual'' to the ``other'' itself does not conform to the ``law of nature''.
Phenomena that deviate from the "laws of nature" cannot persist in the long term.
Therefore, "self-sacrifice" must be based on people's free will, and if this is forced, it will lead to an oppressive society.
In this way, forcibly changing the standard and direction of "comfort" will eventually lead to suppression of "individuals".
In the first place, the "ego" cannot control the judgment of "pleasure and displeasure" in the realm of "unconsciousness".
Then, in the end, is ``you'' expecting ``coincidence'' for a ``happy life''?
【happy future always exists】
Are you now standing in the “happy” future you imagined when you were a child?
And beyond that, is "your happy future" waiting for you?
"Happiness does not walk (to me). "That's why you're walking (from me)."
This is a passage from a famous Japanese popular song.
I sympathize with the content that "happiness" is to be "actively" obtained through effort, but there are also unrewarded efforts.
On the other hand, like gambling or the inheritance of distant relatives, although rare, there is also "happiness" that is obtained "passively".
Apparently, there is no such thing as a “happy future” that you can control.
In that case, it seems that we have no choice but to expect "coincidence" after all.
By the way, "this world" was a numerically infinite multiverse that "canceled each other".
Therefore, there is no such thing as "coincidence" in "this world", and there is "everything" from the beginning.
In the multiverse, because it is ∞, there will always be a universe of patterns in which "you" have a "happy life".
And since "one universe", which is a part of the multiverse, is a deterministic universe, the entire history of the universe was determined at the moment it existed.
From the viewpoint outside of "you", there is no room for "free will" in "your life".
However, in this blog, we consider the multiverse to be a superimposed state of the ∞ pattern universe, so “your life” is also a superimposed state of the ∞ pattern.
Therefore, from the viewpoint of "your consciousness", there will be room for "free will" to choose "which pattern" to proceed.
From here on, let us focus on the perspective of "your consciousness."
The room for 'free will' means that 'you' could shift into a patterned universe with 'your happy future' superimposed on 'the universe you live in' now. , which means you don't have to wait for "coincidences".
However, the role of the "ego" is important for that.
This is because the "ego" is the only existence that "you" can freely control, and "free will" means the "ego".
In the previous discussion, "thinking with one's own head", which was the condition for ending the "war on hormones", is nothing other than activating this "ego."
Next time, I will consider the room for "free will" in life, that is, the control of the "future" by the "ego."