via Sam Harris @ Big Think

From a psycho-social development perspective, I agree with Sam Harris.

But happiness is relative. So I prefer serenity instead. But sadness is good too.

February 6

The
cells of our body are dying, the neurons in our brain are decaying,
even the expressions on our face are always changing, depending on our
mood. What we call our basic character is only a “mindstream,” nothing
more. Today we feel good because things are going well; tomorrow we
feel the opposite. Where did that good feeling go?

What
could be more unpredictable than our thoughts and emotions: Do you have
any idea what you are going to think or feel next? The mind, in fact,
is as empty, as impermanent, and as transient as a dream. Look at a
thought: It comes, it stays, and it goes. The past is past, the future
not yet risen, and even the present thought, as we experience it,
becomes the past.

The only thing we really have is nowness, is now.

In the two truths doctrine of Buddhism there are two levels of truths, or expressions of reality: the relative and the absolute. The relative is the ever-changing nature of reality, and the absolute is the ground
in which everything and nothing happens (so they say). The absolute is
unfathomable to grasp because it can never be imagined. Whatever we
think of the absolute, it’s not it. Still we try. But if there is
such a thing as perfection, only the absolute deserves to be described
as such, because being perfect means being imperfect at the same time.

It is easy for us to proclaim (or imagine) that the world is perfect as
it is — that we are aware of living in every moment. It is easy to project our
ideals on what the absolute is. But from what level of consciousness are we proclaiming this insight? I leave that for you to decide.

My take is that the injunction “describe a perfect world” stems from a dualistic (read: relativistic) notion, so I will answer it in a relativistic fashion.

Yes, we (the whole of humanity) are doing better now, historically speaking. But we can do much
better! And we should. And we would. Because it is in our nature to
push the limits of our individual and collective boundaries. And since
the idea of perfection is always projected somewhere into the imagined
future, allow me to describe my humble version of a Utopian vision.

There will always be suffering and pain in the relative world, because
it is through suffering and pain that we learn. So I equate
“perfection” with the ability to quickly adapt to change with less (not absence of) suffering as much as possible.

Thus, a perfect world to me is a world where:

– human societies develop spontaneously in freedom with minimal harm to the environment, other creatures, and especially to each other

– people settle disputes by diplomatic means instead of bombing each other

– religious differences are tolerated yet dogma is thrown away whenever
it cannot withstand the rigorous test of scientific inquiry

–
spirituality, the arts, sciences, and morals are taught as
complimentary modes of knowing in schools, colleges, universities, and
corporate boardrooms

– morality and ethics could easily catch up with technological breakthroughs and innovation

– poverty is nothing but a distant nightmare

– the inner sciences and exterior technology would enable us to travel
to distant stars, as well as to the depths of our own individual and
collective psyches, in order to fulfill our destiny, which is: to
explore and evolve into Infinity.

In the relative world, we’ll
always strive for perfection yet we would never attain it, because
everything that happens unfolds as it is, in all Its glory and
imperfection.

Is Steve Pavlina awesome or what?!

“People
who say they want to become a millionaire but are unwilling to back it
up with hard work are only fooling themselves.  It’s not going to
happen by itself.  If hard work is a dirty word to you, don’t bother.

“However,
the great thing about this goal is that it’s achievable.  People in far
worse positions than you have already done it.  It’s hard but
definitely not impossible.  If you accept this, it becomes something of
a game.  You don’t have to fear failure because you’re expected to
fail, and that makes success all the more exciting.”
…

“After some
serious soul searching, I gave up on the idea of becoming a millionaire
for myself.  I just didn’t want it badly enough.  If I did I’d have
done it years ago with my computer games business, which I believe
was entirely capable of getting there.  I felt like a dolt for dropping
this goal, but I also felt a sense of relief about the whole thing.  It
freed me up to focus on more important priorities like service and
contribution.   

“Ironically
it was the decision to put contribution ahead of wealth that led me
full circle.  Eventually I realized that becoming a millionaire could
dramatically enhance my ability to help others.”

via: 5 Wealth Lessons from 20 Percent of a Millionaire

1. reset the timer to zero. warm up: first two minutes walking pace at 3.5 mph speed.
2. run like the wind at 9.5 mph for one minute.
3. back to walking at 3.5 mph speed for one minute.
4. repeat step 2 and 3, alternate between running and walking. do this until the timer reads 20 mins.
5. by this time i’m already gasping (very) hard for oxygen, so i catch my breath and drink lots of water.

As effective as this cardio workout is for me, I sometimes find it monotonous. It lacks variety and fun. Enter, the Cardio Coach. Check out this video promo:

I met Sean O’Malley (aka Cardio Coach) when he joined Zaadz. He posted an insane gesture/challenge on his blog:

"The gesture - From now (Jan 5th) until the 27th,
anybody who wants to use Cardio Coach and is a member of the zaadz
community can get it at no charge. If you get one and like it, you can
come back and get another (up until the 27th).

"In Return -
verbally commit that you will give much consideration to participating
in the Press Play event on the 27th…. Press
Play day has the potential for amazing things."

I took Sean’s challenge, sent him an email and asked which of his cardio workouts
is right for me. He recommended Volume 2. So I clicked the promo link,
downloaded the mp3s, saved them on iTunes, created a Cardio Coach V2
playlist, and synchronized it with my iPod Nano.

Here’s what happened on my first session with the Cardio Coach:

NOTE: Before starting with the program I recommend that you check out the Quick Start Guide to determine your fitness level and familiarize yourself with your exercise equipment of choice. And of course, check with your doctor too

Volume 2 consists of eight mp3 files: Intro, Warm up, Challenge 1,
Challenge 2, Steady State/Rest, Challenge 3, Cool down, and Coaches
Notes. I didn’t bother checking my heart rate using the treadmill’s
panel. Since I’ve been doing cardio for a while now I have a good idea
of how to pace myself. So as soon as stepped on the treadmill I
selected the Cardio Coach V2 playlist and hit play. I used the tempo of
the music as my pacing and listened to the voice instructions. At first
I thought that this would be a piece of cake. So I pushed myself more.

For Challenge 1 and Challenge 2, I manually adjusted the incline to 5.0
and the speed to 7.5 mph during the challenge intervals. Man! Big
mistake. By the time Challenge 2 was completed, I was already sweating
like Jack Black in a sauna. I
underestimated the program and overestimated my capacity. Duh. During
the Steady State the Cardio Coach gave me the option to continue with
the third and final challenge or to "veer off to the beaten path" and
skip it. I seriously considered giving up and calling it a day. But I
visualized the Cardio Coach behind me shouting at the top of his lungs,
calling me a wuss if I give up! Rats. So I took a deep breath, crossed
my fingers and proceeded to Challenge 3.

For Challenge 3, I manually adjusted the incline to 6.0 and the speed
to 5.0 mph and kept my pace for the next five challenge intervals. I
thought that I would never complete the challenge but the Cardio
Coach’s voice guided me and provided the feedback that I needed to
focus on the challenge at hand. By the time I finished Challenge 3 I
felt like Homer Simpson about to have a meltdown.
My shirt was all wet, my perspiration was dripping from my head off the
back of my neck, I’m gasping for oxygen–all signs of an awesome cardio
workout! The workout lasted for almost 40 minutes, including cool down.
I felt great! I still feel great as I write this!

So starting today instead of listening to Guns N’ Roses during my
cardio workout, I’ll do my workout with the Cardio Coach. The pacing
provided by the music alone is worth it and the guided voice
instruction helped me to focus and gave me timely feedback to push
myself even more. Give it a try.

Thanks to Sean for this gift of fitness! I’ll be joining you on January 27!

~C (for Cardio Coach rocks!)

First of, I’m not stalking Sam Harris. For some reason he just keeps on
appearing on my RSS reader. That dude seems ubiquitous nowadays.

But
anyway, apparently, Sam Harris and a number of scientists went to a
retreat and practiced a form of Buddhist meditation. Neat. If that’s
the case, I still wonder why Sam Harris and B. Alan Wallace (an
ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk) still don’t see eye to eye.  Also, Indistinct Union has some excellent rebuttals on why Sam’s Contemplative Science approach is "doomed to (partial) failure."

In any case, it’s good to know that Harris is open to such interior inquiry. If only Dawkins, Dennett, and fundamental religious leaders would follow suit.

However, unlike Steve, most of my blogging flow comes from writing and
finding links and putting them together in a single blog post that is
very meaningful to me–the blog post serving as an extension of my
memory. I also lose track of my sense of time and I get cranky when
people or outside interference bother me while doing my thing. But what
I’m really curious about is, does Steve Pavlina’s armpits sweat heavily during times of flow? Mine did. But thankfully, not anymore. Hah!

Um, I think he is. Or, at least, Steve Pavlina is the Web 2.0 counterpart of Tony Robbins. Robbins may be pumping up people on the stage over at TEDTalks, but he has been slow to adapt to the social dimension of the web. Case in point: Check out his site. WTF? a Flash splash page? Ugh!

Maybe Tony Robbins is not that crazy adapting to the Web anyway. As long as he keeps his positive influence on the influencers, he’s still doing an awesome job, and making lots of moolah too.

But now I think it’s time to retire to my bed and incubate the ideas. And trust that everything unfolds accordingly.

October 14

The
fear that impermanence awakens in us, that nothing is real and nothing
lasts, is, we come to discover, our greatest friend because it drives
us to ask: If everything dies and changes, then what is really true? Is
there something behind the appearances? Is there something in fact we can depend on, that does survive what we call death?

Allowing
these questions to occupy us urgently, and reflecting on them, we
slowly find ourselves making a profound shift in the way we view
everything. We come to uncover in ourselves “something” that we begin
to realize lies behind all the changes and deaths of the world.

As
this happens, we catch repeated and glowing glimpses of the vast
implications behind the truth of impermanence. We come to uncover a
depth of peace, joy, and confidence in ourselves that fills us with
wonder, and breeds in us gradually a certainty that there is in us
“something” that nothing destroys, that nothing alters, and that cannot
die.