THE END PRODUCT OF THIS SECTION:
A SUPER EFFECTIVE PHILOSOPHY THAT YOU HAVE DECIDED FOR YOURSELF (for your greatest happiness)
In order to be happy you MUST decide your philosophy, what you believe, the principles of life, how you'll be in life and what you value that will lead to the actual purpose and meaning of life. (There is no other workable path!!!)
And it must be in writing - or it has not been fully formulated and made clear.
___________________________________________
1. Read the discussion below, after this outline, then
2. Choose:
OR find out what is of interest and/or get an overall perspective.
SCAN: (and pick what is of interest in:
The Components Of Your Life Philosophy
READ, in sequence!
philosophy of life after considerable study and thinking.
NOW READ THE DISCUSSION...
___________________________________________________
THE DISCUSSION
Formulating a good, practical life philosophy simply involves establishing certain truths to replace certain nonsense beliefs about how things work in life. The importance of doing so would seem rather obvious, but few people heed it, continuing on in life with a dysfunction belief system that causes all sorts of problems or unnecessary distractions from what is better in life.
Philosophy, in a way, is a key "stop" along the railroad to the final destination of a healthy psychology that leads to happiness that is enduring and unconditional. and also to our being high effective in life, able to create whatever we want in life. Without a sound, complete enough, sound philosophy one cannot possibly get to a highly healthy psychology nor to happiness.
The sound philosophy will be what we apply our higher brain to in order to find false beliefs and to correct them - and to knock out those beliefs that harm us and cause us to totally needlessly (uselessly) suffer.
______________________________________________________
(Note that this process will begin in a "level 101" simpler, quicker process that will deliver substantial payoffs in a relatively short time. Later, once we've freed up the time and have time, we will do "201", which may suffice, but we will still have the option to do to "301", etc., choosing whether or not to stop or go on.)
In order to be happy you must decide your philosophy, what you believe, religion and principles of life, how you'll be in life and what you value. This is the domain of philosophy - and, of course, it is what totally affects your psychology. You can't have a good one of these without the other being good!
The process starts with the piece What Is Reality?, which forms a solid base to go forward from and then it answer the questions in the section below called "The Components Of Your Life Philosophy" (which also includes suggestions on what you might include in those). Once those are answered (filled-in), we go to the beliefs bashing (replacing) process in Dealing With And Changing Beliefs.
___________________________________________________________
"Just as medicine confers no benefit if it does not drive away physical illness, so philosophy is useless if it does not drive away the suffering of the mind." Epicurus
"Your philosophy of life, including your beliefs, is what determines the quality of your life. It is the foundation of all of your psychology. Deciding on a philosophy of life that works is the key – the key to happiness."
The BuddhaKahuna
_________________________________________________________
THE WHY OF HAVING A STRONG PHILOSOPHY
Your life philosophy determines your personal psychology and your happiness - so it is essential, vital, absolutely necessary to have a great one!
(And a "great philosophy" is one that works in real life and brings happiness.)
It affects whether you worry, whether you take illusions seriously, continue to use erroneous strategies and beliefs, and how you will live your life. So it would seem immensely important to have a well-developed, effective working philosophy of life!
How to do this time-efficiently and life-effectively is what this section will lead you through.
Read the introduction and then the pieces provided below:
THE INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW:
FORMING A SUPER-STRONG FOUNDATION FOR LIFE
INTRO CONTENTS:
Why study philosophy at all?
How much should I study it, to be practical and get the major benefits
What is the definition of philosophy and how will we use it here?
The components of your life philosophy
Being practical about what to take from philosophies "out there"
Formulating a super- strong foundational philosophy of life
To read on:
Overall philosophy of life - and how it works
Philosophy overall
Implementing the process
How, then, shall I live my life, spend my life
The next major section to go to
____________________________________________________
WHY STUDY PHILOSOPHY AT ALL?
Since philosophy is the total sum of one's beliefs, including one's views of life and oneself, it follows that one's happiness is based on one's philosophy. Good philosophy begets good psychology, for the source of bad psychology is erroneous beliefs!
I will categorically state that "one cannot have a good life without a good philosophy, period!"
HOW MUCH SHOULD I STUDY IT?
"Enough." (Until you are basically truly happy.)
I would not recommend that you study all of philosophy, but that you do learn enough to be able to establish a very workable and strong philosophy of life. When philosophy gets into the esoteric stuff it loses the practical part of it, so I would recommend skipping over that part of it. And alot of "strange terms" from the ancient days or various disciplines may be offputting and/or not strike a real cord.
So, we'll cut to the core on this site, plus recommending supplemental materials you may want to read later (or as you go, also).
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY AND HOW WE WILL USE IT HERE
"Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or
values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods." (American Heritage Dictionary)
For the purpose of establishing what is wise in order to make life better.
Modified herein to focus on what is also proven scientifically.
THE COMPONENTS OF YOUR LIFE PHILOSOPHY
An A+ Philosophy ---> An A+ Psychology ---> A+ Happiness
THE WHY OF HAVING A STRONG PHILOSOPHY
Your life philosophy determines your personal psychology and your happiness - so it is essential, vital, absolutely necessary to have a great one!
It affects whether you worry, whether you take illusions seriously, and how you will live your life. So it would seem immensely important to have a well-developed, effective working philosophy of life!
FORMULATING A SUPER-STRONG FOUNDATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
This is what forms the foundation for all of your life, including how happy you are:
A clear, true view of
1) How life and the world work,
2) What is worthwhile about life, and
3) Who you are and how you are going to be in life
Do this with care, as part of the LifePlan process that will carry you to the happiness level you really want in life.
The purpose for having a great, powerful philosophy is to reach and stay in a non-conditional overall, underlying state of happiness.
BEING PRACTICAL ABOUT WHAT TO TAKE FROM PHILOSOPHIES
"OUT THERE"
Most people engage in philosophical disciplines to find "peace" (or the mirror image, "less stress"). However, finding peace is also related to more mundane things, such as how you manage your life.
We repeat: Your life philosophy determines your personal psychology and your happiness - so it is essential, vital, absolutely necessary to have a great one! It affects whether you worry, whether you take illusions seriously, and how you will live your life. So it would seem immensely important to have a well-developed, effective working philosophy of life.
To understand the whole, it is vital that you understand The Pieces And The Why Of (Re)Forming A Philosophy Of Life. It will pay high dividends to see how each piece determines your life happiness and fully understand what a "life philosophy" is. Again, your life philosophy forms the essence of how you experience and handle life, yet many never fully form one or live it up to The Drift!
And then there is the questions of what constitutes "success" in life (or the meaning of life or what makes life worthwhile, etc.) and of how do I get there (not just the steps but the manner, such as honorably and fairly - see values). And part of the latter are the questions of who do I need to be and who do I want to become (powerful, admired, known for being "good", responsible, caring, etc.)?
The following conclusion is excerpted from another spot on this site.
MY SUMMARY AND ADVOCATED POINT
One's believed thoughts cause emotion and feelings. In man, many beliefs and thoughts are incorrect and unquestioned, often formed in a haphazard unworkable manner, and accordingly need to be questioned to establish facts using reason to tie everything together into a correct context and content system. If we drive this system to a logical whole our lives will operate automatically in a workable way. But along the way, we must know that we do not yet have all the facts nor are our perceptions correct - so we must constantly ask and find better and better facts and conclusions.
The key is to form a coherent, well-thought out philosophy of life as early in life as possible, though it will be improved over time. The key is to have this context for life ready for constant guidance and for running our life. Without it we are jumbled and erratic, fumbling our way through life (though many might not notice that, since it blends into the background called "normalcy", through the process we call "the drift" in life).
OVERALL PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE - AND HOW IT WORKS
The overview pieces
It is helpful to get a "quick overview" so that the piece tie together, so you might want to review the basic life overview pieces that both involve "science" and "philosophy".
These are to be read as "perspective" or "overview" pieces so that one might "view" life from a different "view point", and in so "seeing" cause life to be enjoyed much more and not taken so very seriously!
barriers, playing the game in a "realistic" arena, for greater happiness" -
stories, emotions, and purpose.
centered,clear and powerful beyond any original vision.
On philosophy overall
We seek herein to explain life and how to view it overall for the maximum happiness. The following are like very brief (from 2 to 5 pages mostly) "chapters" in a book, chapters you link into to read:
world supportive and is there really anything to be upset about? How can I
be happy?
the circumstances of life!
RE-WORK - Would it benefit us to "re-work" some of our assumptions,
viewpoints, and beliefs about life, formed without knowledge or reasoning
from a powerless and dependent viewpoint?
completely free of fear and restriction and as a wonderful game to actually
play at. Realizing this is the highest form of living life.
believe your stories or your perceptions or you will believe untruths are the
truth! Or that right/wrong is valid. Vital to knowing how to run your life.
valuable "perspective" reading and one that can create a huge shift in
viewing the world and how you are more than ok in it.
Implementing The Process:
An interesting overview of key items to "transform" is listed in the Syllabus For The Landmark Forum. There, though obviously needing some elaboration, lies a format for creating a powerful life philosophy.
HOW THEN SHALL I LIVE MY LIFE, SPEND MY LIFE
LIFE - A CHOICE OF HOW WE LIVE IT - We can live a life where we operate from beliefs that work and from a paradigm of what works, instead of right/wrong, good/bad. This piece tells us how we can live it much, much more effectively.
THE NEXT MAJOR SECTIONS TO GO TO
Containing:
Powerful Quotes!
