If happiness is our default state...

[quiethumir]

then what's the point of achieving our goals and dreams. If we can be happy for no reason at all, what's the point of following our passion?

[GregD]

if you are truly happy then you would not have the physical or psychological need to accomplish something else

especially people who want/dream of material objects are doomed to fail in the happiness department

likewise, people who want powers, etc are in the same boat because on the molecular level there is no difference between a table and telekinesis - its all vibrations

finally, my favorit quote from pulp fiction = "assumption is the mother of all f***ups"
which has great wisdom in it

[zeitgeist]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

then what's the point of achieving our goals and dreams. If we can be happy for no reason at all, what's the point of following our passion?

Everyone is born with a mission in life - unless you discover and tackle this mission, I doubt that you can find happiness.

[arpee]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

then what's the point of achieving our goals and dreams. If we can be happy for no reason at all, what's the point of following our passion?

If you can be happy for no reason, what's the point of going on that vacation instead of just staying home? " It's the same thing.

[zeitgeist]

Originally Posted by zeitgeist

Everyone is born with a mission in life - unless you discover and tackle this mission, I doubt that you can find happiness.

Unless, of course, it is your mission to show everyone else that one can be happy without having a mission in life.

[Moriarty]

Oh the poor guy! Why dont you guys jump on him and scare him to death?

There's no reason to feel happy other then to be happy. Why does there always have to be a reason? You can be happy and still live life and love what you do. It serves to magnify happiness and fulfillment.

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

then what's the point of achieving our goals and dreams. If we can be happy for no reason at all, what's the point of following our passion?

Maybe being happy is just one of our default states? Why not experience them all?

[quiethumir]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

Oh the poor guy! Why dont you guys jump on him and scare him to death?

There's no reason to feel happy other then to be happy. Why does there always have to be a reason? You can be happy and still live life and love what you do. It serves to magnify happiness and fulfillment.

poor guy? lol

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

then what's the point of achieving our goals and dreams. If we can be happy for no reason at all, what's the point of following our passion?

Because it is fun!!

[TheJourney]

Part of our innate happiness is the potential experience to be found in life

[Moriarty]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

poor guy? lol

Sorry, in Oz we call everyone guy, female, male, pet dog LOL

[ChrisGinsburg]

Who says happiness is our default state?

[quiethumir]

Originally Posted by ChrisGinsburg

Who says happiness is our default state?

I first heard this from Tyler Durden from Blueprint decoded.

[Arcanum]

Originally Posted by quiethumir

I first heard this from Tyler Durden from Blueprint decoded.

An excellent reason to question the truth of it. Hehe.
States are dualistic. Happy/unhappy is a duality. Dualistic polarities are mutually defining. Happy is defined by, dependent upon and relative to our experience of unhappy.

[Moriarty]

Arcanum
Happy is defined by, dependent upon and relative to our experience of unhappy

Brilliant!

[Apopohis Reject]

Originally Posted by Arcanum

An excellent reason to question the truth of it. Hehe.
States are dualistic. Happy/unhappy is a duality. Dualistic polarities are mutually defining. Happy is defined by, dependent upon and relative to our experience of unhappy.

Its a misunderstanding that 'Happy' is our default state. Happy is merely a degree of lacking in our actual default emotional condition - under fear. Whilst it may appear that we naturally graduate towards 'happy', what is really happening is that our levels of fear/anxiety/dread/frustration/perplexity are dropping; a result of some process of elimination of fear, by whatever description it presents at any moment.

[BillyTheAdult]

So is sitting in one place being a slob and never doing anything with your life what makes you happy? Following your passion is joy expressing itself rather thn a means to an end.

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by Arcanum

States are dualistic. Happy/unhappy is a duality. Dualistic polarities are mutually defining. Happy is defined by, dependent upon and relative to our experience of unhappy.

Absolutely!

[Arcanum]

Originally Posted by Apopohis Reject

Its a misunderstanding that 'Happy' is our default state. Happy is merely a degree of lacking in our actual default emotional condition - under fear. Whilst it may appear that we naturally graduate towards 'happy', what is really happening is that our levels of fear/anxiety/dread/frustration/perplexity are dropping; a result of some process of elimination of fear, by whatever description it presents at any moment.

So to you it's fear that is the default state? That's no more true than happy being the default state. The 'default' condition is to move rather continually between those two polarities and never come to rest for long in either of them. Hencely 'This too shall pass'.

[Reefs]

Default is prior to any state.

[Moriarty]

Originally Posted by Reefs

Default is prior to any state.

default is failure to do what is required. This would make it a descriptive verb.

With computers 'default' is the value of a setting unless over-ridden...therefore a noun in this instance.

Therefore I could look at the OP and say "The default of happiness is the failure to appear and the state of being will be non-happiness".

So, yes, I'll give you that default preceeds the state Reefs.

[Reefs]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

default is failure to do what is required. This would make it a descriptive verb.

With computers 'default' is the value of a setting unless over-ridden...therefore a noun in this instance.

Therefore I could look at the OP and say "The default of happiness is the failure to appear and the state of being will be non-happiness".

So, yes, I'll give you that default preceeds the state Reefs.

that's sooooooo truthin', Mori!

[Apopohis Reject]

Originally Posted by Arcanum

So to you it's fear that is the default state? That's no more true than happy being the default state. The 'default' condition is to move rather continually between those two polarities and never come to rest

Whilst you are quite correct to suggest that we continually slide up and down the consciousness continuum between the two extremeties/polarities and never (whilst we 'live') come to rest, there certainly is a systemic default whether we recognise it or not. Yet it naturally changes over time.

Initially however; 'happy' is a feeling that we may well recognise, however it's really not the opposite end of the (above) consciousness continuum to 'FEAR'; being at one extremity, of which 'LOVE' is the opposing. 'Happy' then, is clearly a position towards the 'LOVE' end, thereby at any relative moment lacking in a sense of 'fear'. Even so, there is a little more to the story than all that.

When first born, we exist primarily in a default state of LOVE. After all, no matter what be the dangers or threats to us, we have no purpose of anything else, for we couldn't protect our self even if awareness permitted fear. So for a time, we are permitted an ignorance of fear. Even so, we've already had the seeds of fear sown deep within, based as they are upon a sense of dread regarding impending loss.

We've just been painfully, terrifyingly, against our wishes, spat out of an existence perfection into environment imperfection, where harsh, cold, unforgiving are the rules to which we now need to adhere whether we like it or not. So we've already experienced and therefore appreciate the deepest possible loss - of a utopia.

Over the next few days, weeks, months, years, amazingly whilst as we gradually develop an increasingly mobile, dexterous capability to controlling our environment, we will nonetheless have this fear reinforced over and again with more loss and more dread of more loss. In the process we come to appreciate the supposed value of fear, to supposedly avoid loss, but alas such is a lost cause. Yet at the same time, we gradually realise an associated sense of frustration.

So yes Arcanum, I agree that we have two polarities to our consciousness continuum, between which we continually vacillate; both continuously calling our momentary attention towards them; that it is in our best interests to 'TRUST' the respective polarity - by default.

Through our childhood experiences then, we incrementally learn to trust one more than the (original) other. That is; we certainly develop a default trust, and therefore inclination to fear. Most of us are entirely unaware of this changing of default, and argue it as 'being the way it has always been' or perhaps 'the same for everyone', or even ‘fear is important to maintain life’.

So we consequentially reach a point in our lives when we stop 'growing', and commence upon an overall process towards an eventually demise. My expectation is that it is at this point, when we have surrendered our consciousness to a default inclination to 'fear', pertaining to the eventual, impending loss of losses, in a clear rejection, defiance of our original 'LOVE' - which is, and will continue for a time, to provide; 'life'.

So again, these two are according our duality of existence - objective and subjective - reality, Intelligence and emotions - consciousness, that is; life and death - experience.