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Discuss the November 2022 Philosophy Book of the Month, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes.

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#447124
This is a discussion forum topic related to the book, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All.


As the human we call Eckhart Aurelius, I have been very happy every single second of every single day for at least the last few years.

I have more happiness every single second of the day than most people have even at their peaks. I have more happiness every single second of the day than the average person has while literally in the middle of having sex or an orgasm. I have more happiness every single second of the day than a fat kid eating cake. :lol:

No matter when or where you are seeing me in this human form we call Eckhart (or Scott), you can look at it and confidently say, "Look at Eckhart! He's happier than a fat kid eating cake!" Indeed, I'm happier than a heroine addict shooting up. I'm happier than an alcoholic on a bender. I'm happier than a cheater having an affair. I'm happier than a comfort-addicted enabler comfortably giving their drug-addicted child money to buy drugs. "Mmm, so comfortable," they think, as their child dies of an overdose. I'm happier when I'm doing nothing than those people are doing the thing they love and crave most.

On this roller coaster called life, I'm happier on both the ups and the downs than most people ever are even on their highest ups.

Because I am sooo happy all the time every single day of my life and living in this constant state of wonderful invincible blissful nirvana that I frequently call "inner peace", people often ask me for advice. They at least pretend they want to be as happy as I am, and perhaps a few do but somehow haven't done it yet even though they are 100% in control of their choices and 100% in control of whether or not they have the true happiness that is free-spirited (a.k.a. self-disciplined) inner peace.

Of course, if and when I do charitably and generously give my advice to them based on their request for it, they then most often just disagree with me, or otherwise come up with some excuse why they won't follow it or why it doesn't apply to them. Or, they just jump past all of that and jump to applying the advice to others instead of themselves: "Oh my annoying spouse needs to read your book!", "This reminds me of the disgusting hate-worthy Trump, that evil bastard!", "This reminds me of Biden, that evil bastard!", "I wish Trump would read your book and follow its teaching," "I wish Biden would read your book and follow its teachings," "I wish my drug-addicted son would follow your book's teachings; he'd be so much happier if he did", "My boyfriend needs to look in the mirror and take self-responsibility, just like your book says", "You're book is right; my neighbor needs to stop trying to clean my backyard and clean his own first! He should follow the teachings of your book!", "If only Democrats followed these teachings!", "If only Republicans followed these teachings!", "If only my neighbor followed these teachings!", "If only my sister followed these teachings!", "If only my younger self had followed these teachings!", "I wonder if I can get my future self to follow these teachings after I'm done doing what I'm doing this weekend."

Whether they take it or find a way to disagree or dodge it, I might (but probably won't) ask them, "Is your real goal to be happy, day-in day-out like I am, in the sense of the true happiness that is consistent unwavering invincible free-spirited inner peace, or is your goal to rationalize the way you've been doing things so that you can more comfortably continue to do them the same way?" It's fine with me either way.

If you are unhappy and want to continue being unhappy, and you pretending to want my advice will help you with that goal of continuing to be unhappy, that's great. Go for it.

Otherwise, if you genuinely want to be happy like I am and think my advice will help with that, then that's good too.

Regardless, my number #1 top piece of advice is always this: Don't ever take any advice from unhappy people.

That also applies to the human in the mirror.

If you look in the mirror and see someone miserable (i.e. someone lacking the true happiness that is invincible unwavering free-spirited inner peace), then my advice is to absolutely not take that person's advice. In other words, my advice is don't take the advice of that miserable ungrateful complainer in the mirror. Stop listening to the voice in your head. Don't fight it; let let it speak, but just ignore it because it gives bad advice.

In contrast, if you want the same results, then, by all means, keep doing the same thing. You see what you want to see, and, when it comes to your choices, you always get exactly what you want, meaning what you choose. I think that's beautiful. If you are living in a living hell and want to keep doing what you've been doing, go for it. To each their own. Live and let live. More power to you. :)

In other words, the beauty of this eternal heaven in which we all eternally live is that it is so heavenly even the hell-wishers get their wish. This inexorable heaven is so heavenly that if you want and choose to be miserable, you get your wish. If you want and choose hell, even an all-powerful all-loving god couldn't stop you from getting it. And that's great. To each their own. It's the beauty of freedom.

In any case, for those who want my advice for one reason or another, here is some of my advice given indirectly in the form of me telling you my own rules of thumb that I follow so that you can choose to mimic them or not, with my general advice being to definitely mimic them as best you can (if you prefer being happy rather than a comfort-addicted miserable slave):


Things I avoid doing, engaging in, or even being exposed to:

- Toxic Positivity

- White Lies

- Over-Promising

- Being a "Yes Person"

- Being a "People-Pleaser"

- Valuing outer peace over inner peace

- Valuing comfort and the comfort zone over true happiness and spiritual freedom

- Valuing non-brutality over honesty

- Being addicted to comfort

- Seeing or treating money or physical health/longevity as an end rather than merely a possible means to something infinitely more valuable



Things I aim to do a ton of and use to decide who to have on my teams and in my circles:

- Productive Laziness

- Self-Determined Stubbornness

- Eager to give and receive honest constructive criticism

- Radical honesty with oneself and others

- Knowing what you would die for (i.e. what's more important to you than your life itself), and behaving accordingly

- Knowing what's more valuable to you than money (i.e. what you would choose to have if given the choice between being financially poor but having it versus being given billions of dollars)

- Not being a "sell out" or spiritual slave in any sense of the words

- Valuing the true happiness that is free-spirited inner peace above all else, including comfort and the comfort zone

- Transcending the common human addiction to comfort
(i.e. not being a comfort addict)


Find the happy spirituaBe stubborn, self-deterimined
Find the happy spirituaBe stubborn, self-deterimined
intentional-laziness-and-stubbornness.jpg (134.98 KiB) Viewed 4195 times



---
In addition to having authored his book, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All, Eckhart Aurelius Hughes (a.k.a. Scott) runs a mentoring program, with a free option, that guarantees success. Success is guaranteed for anyone who follows the program, both for the free option and the paid option.
Favorite Philosopher: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
#451159
Your perspective on constant happiness and inner peace is intriguing. The emphasis on avoiding toxic positivity and the comfort zone resonates, promoting a deeper understanding of true happiness. Your advice to steer clear of certain behaviors and values offers a thought-provoking guide to fostering inner peace. It's clear that your philosophy centers on choosing happiness over comfort and embracing the freedom that comes with it. How do you perceive the balance between inner peace and external circumstances in achieving lasting happiness?
#454419
These days I try to avoid negative energies. This world is full of so much pain for me to keep attracting negativities to my self. I believe that the more positive energy I have, the better things work out for me.
In It Together review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewt ... p?t=518534
#454819
It's better to value real happiness and freedom over just staying comfy. Good traits include being lazy in a smart way, being stubborn for yourself, and being honest. Know what's really important to you and don't just chase comfort. It's about being true to yourself and valuing inner peace the most.
#458333
To me, this means focusing on one thing at a time. We talked about talking directly and not saying more words than necessary, this is like that only with doing things. You don't need to run around like a chicken with its head cut off to accomplish things. That just gets in your way.
#458335
This is a powerful piece. I think majority of people these days want to be a 'yes' person or a people's pleaser and yes I was one of those a couple of years ago. I just couldn't say no, whether doing something I didn't want to or just not say or do things that would upset people, irrelevant what it did to me. I'm glad to see that the change I did in my life is something you suggest we do. Some people think I'm horrible to just say 'no' but I really are in that stage of my life that their opinions don't faze me. I'm ok with being the 'horrible' one at least I'm happy and that's all that matters. This might seem like I don't care for other people but it's not the case at all, it's just that I want to put 'me' first for a change.
#458342
...advice to others instead of themselves: "Oh my annoying spouse needs to read your book!", "This reminds me of the disgusting hate-worthy Trump, that evil bastard!", "This reminds me of Biden, that evil bastard!", "I wish Trump would read your book and follow its teaching," "I wish Biden would read your book and follow its teachings," "I wish my drug-addicted son would follow your book's teachings; he'd be so much happier if he did", "My boyfriend needs to look in the mirror and take self-responsibility, just like your book says", "You're book is right; my neighbor needs to stop trying to clean my backyard and clean his own first! He should follow the teachings of your book!", "If only Democrats followed these teachings!", "If only Republicans followed these teachings!", "If only my neighbor followed these teachings!", "If only my sister followed these teachings!", "If only my younger self had followed these teachings!", "I wonder if I can get my future self to follow these teachings after I'm done doing what I'm doing this weekend."
- I agree with this. We always think the solution is to change the other person, when first we must change ourselves. Sometimes when others see that we have changed, for the better, then they might change too, on their own, without us having to say the aforementioned.

Most of us have been told not to associate with bad company, for we might become bad too. What if we can strengthen our goodness more than the bad company and make them good too?!! After all, it just takes one man/woman to start a revolution of any kind, right?!! The power of love and generosity.

Other than that, I agree with all the rest of it and am practising as much of it as possible.
Thank you Scott.
#458371
The emphasis on avoiding toxic positivity, people-pleasing, and comfort addiction really resonates with me. It's refreshing to hear an advocacy for productive laziness and radical honesty, underscoring that true contentment springs from inner peace and self-acceptance rather than chasing external validations. Your approach to prioritizing personal values over societal expectations offers a liberating perspective on achieving genuine happiness. This shift towards embracing our authentic selves and dismissing superficial gratifications is a powerful reminder of where true fulfillment lies.
#458380
Yes! I choose happiness and liberation. These are the most important goals to me.

Yes, I am beginning to say "No" to being a people pleaser and also an "Expector ".

I have been looking a lot in my mirror lately and I agree with what you say in this regard:


"If you look in the mirror and see someone miserable (i.e. someone lacking the true happiness of free-spirited inner peace), then my advice is to absolutely NOT take that person's advice. In other words, my advice is don't take the advice of that miserable ungrateful complainer in the mirror."

I have been choosing day in and day out to lovingly decline the advice of the " complainer in the mirror ".

Even when this complainer throws tantrums, I am learning to watch with calmness and say "No, thank you".
In It Together review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewt ... p?t=508012
#458479
I appreciate how you describe the happy state of mind of a person living in a constant state of wonderful blissful nirvana. I compare it with the 'laughing Buddha.' We should always take advice from a happy person. It is the beauty of freedom that even the hell-wishers get their wish in this eternal heaven where we live. On this roller roster of life, one should be happier on both the ups and the downs than most people ever are on their highest ups.
#458492
That part of being a spiritual slave is something I should comment on. I feel like most people are so stuck up on religion that they spend countless hours praying and waiting for results instead of actually going out there to Di the work. Asking for God's help and guidance is necessary, but while doing so, also put in the work instead if waiting for the so called miracle to happen with any effort.
In It Together review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewt ... p?t=489094

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