First post blog freeze addition: Four short essays on my personal life strategy!!

Here are the 4 essays that were topics that came up during discussions with my friends. They are very personal in nature and highlight my own personal life strategy that I have mostly followed. 

 

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Thoughts on ethics

 

People put together their life strategy as they go along in life. An important component of that is your ethical compass. Ethics provides a framework to your life and anchors you.

 

Many people get their ethics from religion/culture (often called morals). Many others get it from values imprinted into their minds in childhood which really tend to stick. I do get it from childhood (in India) imprinted values as one source, but also from reasoning after interacting with westerners. Here are some thoughts on how values form when growing up: 

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-are-values-formed.html

 

My ethics blends ideas from both eastern dharmic living (many imprinted) and western ideas. To me ethics has three primary goals.

  1. Always try to be a rational, logical, analytical, and dispassionate being.
  2. Try to be a better member of society.
  3. Protect your mental equilibrium, self-image - without remorse, without guilt. 

 

The first point is crucial to make the right decisions in life and get the best outcomes.

 

The second point is crucial for society to function, and without society we would go back to living in caves.

 

The third point is crucial for your mental and emotional stability to function effectively.

 

Emotions like hate, envy, greed, lust, anger cloud your mind and distort your thinking thus impacting the first point and can trigger actions that impact the third point. I try to eliminate these when they occur by instead examining it logically to see what it really is.

 Positive actions like the following that I try to follow enhance the three points.  

  1. Always try to treat others and their views with respect.
  2. Do not intentionally harm others. Compete fairly. 
  3. Try to help those closest to you in need when you can, while you have an income stream from working and more energy.
  4. Display integrity when dealing with others. Don't play politics but defend yourself from a political attack against you.
  5. Take responsibility for yourself and your future.
  6. Follow society’s laws and rules. 

 

Most thinkers talk about telling the truth using a religion or culture derived moralistic lens. I think of it differently. Telling the truth when interacting with others is a part of integrity when interacting with others in my code of ethics.

 

However, there are three exemptions.

  1. Lying, hiding, or distorting is often to some extent to avoid hurting someone’s feelings or ego (don’t do harm to others)
  2. ⁠White lie to avoid getting into trouble about something you did, if you really think the other person is infringing into your space or privacy.
  3. Framing something in a way that could be somewhat misleading (not outright lying) that you believe the target would be most receptive to (mostly in business).

 

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Thoughts on institutional ethics

 

Should we demand ethical behavior from all public institutions? Yes. But interactions between nations may be an exception. Laws of the state put guardrails on private institution's behavior. Any other ethics by private institutions is self-imposed to better compete. You can choose to not engage with an unethical private institution.    

 

I generally take only a cursory interest in foreign policy unless it affects me individually. I anyway have zero control over it. Here is the very limited extent of my essay writing on it: 

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/10/brief-thoughts-on-china.html

 

There is no authority or referee or decision-making body governing foreign policy interactions between nations, except rules put in place by mankind itself through agreements like UN, ICC, rules of war, Geneva conventions, etc. Morality or ethics do not apply except those imposed on their government by pressure from its people and the orientation of the nation’s leader. Each nation pursues its own interests resulting in forces and counter forces brought into play and jockeying for position by states for advantage. I as an individual do NOT impose my individual ethical compass on such interactions. It is not only pointless but clouds your thinking on the reality playing out.  It is a set of force equations interacting and playing out. 

 

I try to avoid discussion of individual foreign policy actions of my government with overseas friends because they often view it with a different lens (often judgmental or moralistic) than me and the discussion is unproductive. 

 

Here are my views on what is in the US self interest in pursuit of its foreign policy. But I am not Henry Kissinger. Just my 2 cents. Lots of people in the state department are paid a lot of money to craft US foreign policy.

 

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2023/07/my-views-on-foreign-policy.html

 

Overseas friends have absolutely no reason to agree with or care about US self-interest which is perfectly normal!!

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A perspective on spirituality

 

It is not essential for spirituality to arrive at ethics.

 

To me spirituality is to answer a different question.

  1. What is the higher purpose and meaning of life?
  2. How could the order we see manifest in the universe possibly come to be?
  3. In eastern philosophy, there is an equation atman = brahman, where atman is your true consciousness and brahman is the universe and the true reality. So, knowing your atman is to achieve oneness with brahman, and consequent personal benefits. How to find atman?


There are other ways to meet people’s needs for purpose and meaning. Ultimately, whatever the approach, the net result is a state of mind and mental orientation. I have been too busy living life to ponder this question. I don’t need this currently. I am over 70. 

 

But #2 is interesting and worthy of an answer!! My evidence driven science-based probe got me as far as showing the order exists. But no explanation on why or how. That is very difficult to discern.  Stopped working on this. This is where I left it:

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2023/11/wrapping-up-spirituality-probe.html

 

I looked a bit at #3 and this is where I left it:  

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/09/consciousness-5-my-views-on.html

 

Will be focusing on transient happiness which is more reachable. 

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Finding happiness

 

There are three models of how one gets happiness. 

 

One model is that it springs from within. I can see that in my wife. She is a naturally happy person, and it springs from within. Some strive for a “state of mind” for more lasting happiness. I do have my normal state sometime after retirement that is neither happy nor unhappy. This is a state where I have peace of mind, am dispassionate and detached and have no baggage. The election did disturb that a bit but now I am back to normal. It is a state of mind but different than a happy state of mind or “comes from within happiness” for lasting happiness that people talk about. So, it is not necessarily relevant to this essay. Here is an essay on Eastern philosophy and happiness ("state of mind" for more lasting happiness): 

https://jaykasi.blogspot.com/2024/12/second-post-blog-freeze-addition.html

 

For me, I get it from the second model - my interaction with my environment. So, need to find it in my interactions with people and with what is available in Hawaii and vacations. Examples of when I was happy in the past are on the ski slopes, playing tennis with my wife, interesting conversation with a friend, on vacation, in a family gathering interacting, talking or interacting with loved ones, in a beautiful spot, etc. Exercise releases endorphins which make you feel good. 

 

There is a third model for happiness - the biochemical/neurology model. Scientists have traced dopamine to it. Pleasure from Sex is partly genetic and wired into the brain. Some say drinking or taking drugs, gives it to them. Not my cup of tea!! The other models though, ultimately map to biochemistry/neurology but that is not how I am charting it here. 

 

Some say happiness comes with purpose, but that has not been my experience. The purpose though may lead to interesting work you like. Its fruits may give you a sense of satisfaction especially later on when you reflect back.  I don’t really want or have any purpose after I wrapped up blogging.

 

These transient ways are enough for me instead of going in the direction of achieving a “state of mind” for more lasting happiness that some strive for. Each person defines it for himself and pursues it. Will discuss with my wife and come up with practical things I or us together can do here in Hawaii that is age appropriate.  We spend too much time sitting in front of the TV/computer. We are not THAT old!!

 

We are now in our golden years. All life goals accomplished and no more purpose in life except enjoyment (and take care of our health). Purpose before in life drove accomplishments.

 

For enjoyment, things we may take up - dine together in restaurants, sit together in our lanai and enjoy, sit together at beach and enjoy, walk/sit together at the beautiful botanical gardens nearby, vacations together mostly in Hawaii, watch movies or documentaries or sports, listen to music, read fictional novels, and try to take up regular exercise. I won't keep this up to date as it evolves - these are all simple mundane things. Often things you enjoy are simple things that cost little or no money. Both of us also have our circle of friends and relatives we enjoy talking to.



 

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