i Phone-the NO communication device- from Love & Life Ebook part 3
Over a hundred years we have now contributed to the technical advancements of this century and yes, much has been achieved in health and advancement to the benefit of a more cumberless life but the one-sided way of focus and the vanity paired with its achievements have blinded us to principle violations. The extreme development that’s mostly fueled by greed and fear and other scarcity motivations has resulted in worshipping money as the God of this century and names like Steve Jobs (only an example) being recited in the same sentence as saints and life- altering thinkers who truly have helped mankind to advance while I see now people just hiding behind small screens and having lost their peripheral thinking and an overview of what matters to them, but rather like sheep following any advertisement that has been placed in front of their eyeballs. So you see just like decades ago the typical pair of girlfriends with one being a fashionable beauty and the other a ugly duckling paired up but while the one less blessed by looks had the chance when an attractive boy came across to still muster up her courage to shine through wit and charm, she now like all simply hides by a conditioned response of checking her iPhone and excusing herself to her non- reflected virtual shrink who always offers the choice of low resistance and reconditions the way of more insecurities and less communication (the boy and the beauty by the way, also just checked their phones). So, we find ourselves paying huge monthly fees to vendors pretending to connect us while truly we are all no matter what age are sucked into a world the size of a few square inches, and find there, a hiding place for all our shortcomings and unreflect inferiorities and no man, woman or child escapes this worship of technology any more since these devises supposedly make our world easier and more connected. This isn’t meant to criticize, even so harsh in tone for pure contrast, any of the magical advancements in our time which have relieved so much pain and suffering. It is merely being stated that there are so many various aspects of life in a balanced and equally- weighted system that have to be addressed to truly create music. The lack of even just one instrument in an orchestra cannot be later integrated to complete the magical balance, but all elements of life need to be looked at and worked hard at and not just those who offer prospects of creating profits and advancements of individuals hard- working or corporations exploitation. In a view of the near future a united way rather than segregated one and a contemplative thinking that creates miracles for all humankind and not just the privileged few is the only chance for a survival of this planet and its inhabitants, and as such we would thrive if we joined in acknowledgements of our limiting beliefs and an embracement in overcoming them. Replacing the focus of the smaller focused view and rather gathering the minds who can offer solutions in the name of Hans Albers principle “sharing of goods is division, sharing of thoughts is multiplication”, is a step towards true prospects.
To my wife - the love of my life
TABLE OF CONTENTS: About this book Prologue
The reward
Principles
i Phone-the no communication device
Reality distortion
God’s mercy
Riding a motorcycle
60/30/10
Truth- sister of love
Facebook and the matrix
Less is more
Depression and Fear
The black dog and homeless
Thinking from the end
Education
Food
Art
Money
Imagine
Freedom
Universal growth
When principles fail
Planetary issues
a. Investing
b. Health
c. Relationships
Whatever works
Anticipatory versus reactionary
The flow principle
Circle of the known
80/20
The precautionary principle
Nature
Focus
Children
Just when I thought
180 degrees
Counterintuitive
Religion
Power
Problem shopping
Quiet Desperation
Man, and Machine
App food
Worry
The good old times
Synchronicity
Looking back
Men, and woman
Attitude
Mind creates matter
Hope
Limits
Tipping points
Silent solitude
Process
Quiet love affair
Anticipatory versus reactionary
Urgent versus important
It’s not crowded on the top
Singularities versus dualism
Board meeting
Time
Saving Time
Mastery
All there is LOVE
Repetition
Principle- based living
Happiness Principles
Conflicts
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews—without prior written permission of the publisher. The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice8of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions. The events related in this memoir have been re-created to the best recollection of the author. Some situations have been modified, compressed, or expanded.
About this book
There are three main problems on this planet that we are struggling with: Relationships, health and finance. Out of these three, relationships are the most important one… The one thing we haven't been educated about in school that truly impacts us in life is principles about how to create healthy relationships. Healthy relationships require a good relationship with oneself first, but how to acquire such a confidence within oneself? Much is attributed to feeling successful - feeling successful is vastly different for each of us based on our own values and beliefs. We are faced with making anticipatory and reactionary choices in life, both intuitive and counter- intuitive ones, so the margin of error is high, and as such, solid knowledge in the form of real truths becomes what’s beneficial along the way. Principles (ultimate truths) provide such knowledge strength. In this book you find a collection of such principles. A cheat sheet if you may, of truths to lean against to make more proper decisions in life to gain the confidence needed to have a healthy relationship with yourself, and the building blocks to create healthy relationships.
Prologue
The title of this book, Your Happiness through Principles, is a direct reflection of its intent. You, the reader, may wonder how the author, unknown in the study of happiness in psychology or in the field of self-help can be so bold to choose this title. While some aspects of this book might seem from a novice, its content is of value.
Over 20 years ago, I gave up my career to become a trader. I had moved to Los Angeles from Germany and was looking to establish myself and begin a new life. I had several talents and had tried myself in a few fields, bringing enough experience and unique skills to start a new career in a new country. My fate was decided when I attended a Tony Robbins seminar, where he introduced me to day trading, and I embarked on a new journey soon after. I expected to begin making money within the next six months.
Compassionate and empathetic, I have always been interested in the subject of human suffering as one of the most fundamental human experiences. While I have been fortunate enough to never have experienced physical suffering, my decision to become a trader has led me to experience intense emotional suffering throughout my journey. Many years into my trading career, I came close to giving up multiple times. I have been trying to master this craft for many years, and all I got in return was my own consistent punishment by losing money.
It is very difficult to compare the trading profession to other professions. While it is not an ideal comparison, traders are often compared to professional athletes. Even if a professional athlete doesn’t make it to the Olympics or win a medal, athletes get rewarded by being in shape and reaching physical goals to measure growth. They start by competing in lower divisions and reap victories as they work their way to the top. Many are financially sponsored and don’t need to worry about getting their bills paid. In an entrepreneurial world, there are guardrails one can set to feel accomplished. There’s a paycheck regardless of the abuse you have to take, and often personal gain is attained even if the venture fails. For traders, there are no rewards along the way but only consistent pain. And with the right dosage of willingness to suffer, the path can be long and enduring. I find it astounding of how much hope can be created in the endless demise of one’s efforts in trying to reach the top, and this in a society that praises persistency. Not to mention the lack of much needed reference points or even meeting peers. Plenty of bankers, and even more traders, come from the ranks of college athletes. And it takes a hell of a lot to compete at the collegiate level. So I know, there's a wide cross-section of Wall Street who has at least thought about what it would be like to be a professional athlete.
In my interest for suffering thereof, I found only one certainty: love is all there is, and everything else is an illusion. Since that realization, this has been the guiding principle of my life.
Isn’t love what we all long for and cherish when we have it, and isn’t this hard to explain energy force what holds everything together in this world?
Like any strong form of energy, love can result in the negative as much as the positive experience. Wars have been fought over it, endless hearts broken, and many other hardships caused by it. Similarly, money, another powerful form energy, can either be used as a force for good or in nefarious ways.
If love is the source of it all and the ultimate reason for our existence then truth comes very close to love and I shall call it her sister.
Do we not all feel embraced in the presence of the ultimate truth and doesn’t truth reign over events, and isn’t it refreshing how child’s play is governed by a truthful intent-yes truth isn’t always comforting or easy but in its essence when brought forward it has a power close to her sister love and is inherently good and worth thriving for. I gave the book its title because as human beings we often are misguided by our feelings. As much as we might have good intuitions and a sensibility for truth when we see it, when it comes to love we already get a little bit rattled at times if we try to grasp that with logic. So, at times when in conflict we tend to find solutions in the mind and often fail to come up with solutions and that being said it seems that relationships are where most our problems seem to stem from. We focus mostly on financial problems or health issues but in my opinion, it is the emotional confusion in regards to relationships where we truly struggle to get ahead and have developed little progress over centuries. Principles - I define them to be in their ideal form to be ultimate truths, and so can help one from an intellectual aspect to benchmark one’s feelings against. If you have a concept of a complex matter summarized in a simple sentence it can be a helper when emotionally distraught or otherwise confused. A principle can bring clarity in a difficult situation. Principle- based living can uncover complex situations to make one’s way through uncertainties. So, the goal of this book is to support our all thriving towards happiness, by shedding some light on a few principles that hopefully could be as useful to you as they have been to me in the daily challenges of life and in finding happiness both in the journey through life and its mysteries on a broader scale. xxx
The Reward
As much as these last 17 years have been filled with struggle, there is also a grand reward. You get to know yourself. Border experiences shape you, make you aware of yourself and this daily looking into your own intestinal tract shapes you as a person and if wisely attempted you can extract principles, ultimate truths, knowledge that’s worth attaining and you can look into the mirror each day and know you did something worthwhile. So as much as you expose yourself to constant suffering you truly live. And who is to say if obstacles that have been overcome provide such benefits, that seeking out a life in the direction to comfort and the easiest route through life is truly the road to happiness. Maybe a change in perception where happiness truly lies, is what’s required. In my case you don’t take the abuse of a boss but only the self-abuse of trying to get to the core of meaning and to get to know yourself. And if you are lucky once in a while there is satori-instant awakening-a true gem creation of a small miracle where you bring forward something that hasn’t seen light yet on this earth or at least in your own perception-something that really helps to put the foot a step forward on the journey of a thousand steps.
Principles
Core principles, those you truly can rely on, those that will never change, are free of the planets dualistic system that everything else is governed by; they are indivisible and have no opposites. They can be chosen to be one’s beliefs, convictions, dreams, hopes, fundamentally govern one’s thriving force to be followed and nourished by. Examples would be love, truth, silence … The next tier can still be heavily relied on and bring great substance to principle- based living. In this category, one would find gravity and other laws of nature, but quickly we would get in a top down approach to levels acceptable to be questioned since after all we believed the earth to be a flat disc for a very long time until discovering its true nature. The first to leave the circle of commonly known status quo knowledge, returning with fresh insights by risking venturing into the unknown, are the first to be ridiculed. Next, they are condemned and if lucky finally praised for their discoveries. There is the thin borderline between insanity and genius and it is called results. For the truth seeker, brave enough to stretch him/herself thin and walk the road less traveled by, there are two ways to expand to the outer rim of the circle that encompasses everything known. From constant and never- ending work, or asking quality questions over and over and finding incredible passion and compassion to simply not accept the status quo and finding answers beyond the know, a process that can take a very long time where principles like ‘the devil is in the details” rule the daily stretch. Or by miracle creation processes that are more along the lines of what the Japanese’s call satori; instant awakening; where the time component is irrelevant. The later requires an absence of self-inflicted filters and limitations, a true creativity and absence of scarcity and a willingness to allow the irrational and surrendering to larger energies and forces in play to be gifted by with the new insights. It is here where I can be of service as a mirror to the seeker of such expansions who wishes to reduce time (time being in principle, one of the very few scarce resources on this planet to the human individual, where we otherwise live in an absolute abundant never- ending to expand and changing universe). We are limited in principle to only perceive outside of us what we carry inside (like the Haitians literally not being able to see the arrival of the large Spanish ships by lack of ever having seen any large vessel prior at sea) and are fooled by a brain that functions on comparison while the true principle is that every moment is unique and we expand with every time increment into an absolutely new future. One way of improvement through the jungle of confusions is true self-reflection. “Sharing of goods is division while sharing of thoughts is multiplication.” (Hans Albers) “A moment of hatred destroys eons of good deeds.” (Dalai Lama) I have developed a skill of being a mirror to the truth seeker to hopefully support a shortened path and a slight lifting of the burden of a life lived with increased obstacles on the road less traveled by. In trying to extract principles on a very rudimentary basis the “RED” system for critical thinking is one of the basic approaches-one recognizes assumptions, then evaluates arguments and draws conclusions. In my humble opinion, one should take the liberty to truly question everything including established principles if so desired. This is very straight forward. Truth most of the time is just that.
i Phone-the no communication device
Over a hundred years we have now contributed to the technical advancements of this century and yes, much has been achieved in health and advancement to the benefit of a more cumberless life but the one-sided way of focus and the vanity paired with its achievements have blinded us to principle violations. The extreme development that’s mostly fueled by greed and fear and other scarcity motivations has resulted in worshipping money as the God of this century and names like Steve Jobs (only an example) being recited in the same sentence as saints and life- altering thinkers who truly have helped mankind to advance while I see now people just hiding behind small screens and having lost their peripheral thinking and an overview of what matters to them, but rather like sheep following any advertisement that has been placed in front of their eyeballs. So you see just like decades ago the typical pair of girlfriends with one being a fashionable beauty and the other a ugly duckling paired up but while the one less blessed by looks had the chance when an attractive boy came across to still muster up her courage to shine through wit and charm, she now like all simply hides by a conditioned response of checking her iPhone and excusing herself to her non- reflected virtual shrink who always offers the choice of low resistance and reconditions the way of more insecurities and less communication (the boy and the beauty by the way, also just checked their phones). So, we find ourselves paying huge monthly fees to vendors pretending to connect us while truly we are all no matter what age are sucked into a world the size of a few square inches, and find there, a hiding place for all our shortcomings and unreflect inferiorities and no man, woman or child escapes this worship of technology any more since these devises supposedly make our world easier and more connected. This isn’t meant to criticize, even so harsh in tone for pure contrast, any of the magical advancements in our time which have relieved so much pain and suffering. It is merely being stated that there are so many various aspects of life in a balanced and equally- weighted system that have to be addressed to truly create music. The lack of even just one instrument in an orchestra cannot be later integrated to complete the magical balance, but all elements of life need to be looked at and worked hard at and not just those who offer prospects of creating profits and advancements of individuals hard- working or corporations exploitation.