Happiness, Creativity, and Playfulness

Playfulness and happiness; Playfulness and creativity; Happiness in creative state.  I feel they are almost synonymous among themselves.  In other words, in that state, don't we feel a good utilization of our talent as if it is meant to be so?  Don't we feel like being really "alive"?  Don't we feel bliss, no words can describe?  And if so, how important is it to be connected to that state of playfulness, creativity and happiness?

Observe children in the sandbox.  Are they happy, playful and perhaps creative?  What about me writing this blog?  Am I playful, creative, and happy?  How about you immersed in your work or hobby which you like, or perhaps having a playful moment with your kids?  And of course, how about having a moment of intimacy with the loved one when the time has lost its meaning?  Don't you feel playful, creative, genuine and lively in such a moment?  

We do not have to be children to be "qualified" to play in the sand box...

OK there may be "hurdles" to overcome before getting there- like making a living, or address concerns of this and that.  Yet, as paradoxical as this may sound, are we not often dictated by those play of our own mind, to the point of blocking us from accessing those states where our senses are hightened, i.e., bright sunshine in the blue sky, vivid sense of colors of all surroundings, and smell and fresh breeze in the air.  In other words, intimacy with all!

What if we lose inquisitive eyes of children but to live in fear and anxiety?  What if we are caught up in our mind way too often and simply live as if according to the script from the TVs, and magazines and idiosyncrasy of the society?  Lost soul, lost paradise, lost intimacy with all...fun and pleasure of eternal children are no where to be found?!  Yet, I wonder, how can it be the case, especially when we are born as playful, creative, and happy children to start with?   Why not to be with the bliss, or follow the bliss and let the unknown future (new DNA) to unfold?  Or, whatever the task we may have, be engaged in it, forget time and space, or our self-identity.. just merged with the task at hand?

I want to propose to define happiness as the state when we are in the "zone" to express who we genuinely are?  And, may we also define "zone" as us connecting to the primary (the source, heart, law, order from God)?  If so, is it not absolute - beyond right and wrong of human mind?!  In other words, mind has little to do with what we may 'really' and 'truly' enjoy.  Yes, very subjective, is it not?  Although I recognize there are certain "rules" to follow, but they seem to be more of common sense, which is like not to hurt others and if possible, help with each other.  Yes, I propose, we can be playful and creative and happy alone, or with others - if we choose to be.

Desire less and be satisfied (from Buddhist sutra)

Then, I also see the connection to awakening or ultimate happiness (The free state) where Lester Levenson said five elements to characterize it, i.e., imperturbability, desireless, actionless, effortless, and witnessing.  And of course, there is no room for ego. 

Happiness is tied to liveliness, and it is about creativity, playfulness, fun, love, enjoyment!!!  Happiness is physical and biological!!! Also, it is tied to channeling the energy well toward new DNA whereas all cells are jumping!!!   And one more to add: body/muscle is totally relaxed when you are in that state.  These are the essence of LIFE, is it not?!

To end this post, here are some words of wisdom from those who walked ahead of us:

"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me."  -  Issac Newton

When Pablo Picasso was 85, he was asked how his later paintings could be so innovative - could have the boldness and fire of a young artist's work.  Picasso's reply:"It takes a long time to become young."  -  Pablo Picasso

"Man is a thinking reed but his great works are done when he is not calculation or thinking. 'Childlikeness' has to be restored with long years of training in the art of self-forgetfulness. When this is attained, man thinks yet he does not think. He thinks like showers coming down from sky; he thinks like the waves rolling on the ocean; he thinks like the stars illuminating the nightly heavens; he thinks like the green foliage shooting forth in the relaxing spring breeze. Indeed he is the showers, the ocean, the stars, the foliage. "  -  Daisetz Suzuki

* Related Posts:
Bliss, Ecstasy and Ultimate Happiness
Have Fun and Express Who we are

Bliss, Ecstasy and Ultimate Happiness

Having touched on Deeper Level of Connection, Primary Relationship (Heart), The Free State (Levenson), etc., let us dive into the subject of Bliss, Ecstasy and Ultimate Happiness (Nirvana).  My conviction is that these experiences have a common foundation and that it is easily accessed if we are more attentive to at least some of the characteristics I mentioned already.  The terms may sound foreign, but if patiently examined, reflecting one's own experiences, many if not all people may find the connection to what appears to me as miracle or wonder of LIFE.  (After all, all of us are from there to start with.)

In order for us to familiarize with such experience, let us first revisit Levenson, who said there are five elements that characterizes the free state.  They are: 1) imperturbability, 2) desirelessness, 3) effortlessness, 4) actionlessness, and 5) witnessing.  Some may already relate to such a description.  (Imperturbability and witnessing seem to correspond to what I call, "mirror mind.")

Next, let us review "indicative signs of being connected to Heart" I characterized from my experience in the post, Deeper Level of Connection;

-  Sense of being in present, here and now, choiceless observation, witnessing

-  Vivid sense of inner body sensation, aliveness, liveliness 

(cells jumping around as if very happily)

-  Calm, clear and quiet mind; beginner's mind, no mind, mirror mind

-  Soft eyes...see without seeing - very intuitive, third eye as if opening up a new channel

-  Body/muscle is totally relaxed; There is a sense of effortlessness; no strains felt

-  no ego/self; desirelessness, actionlessness

-  It is as if a new channel opens up by itself from deep within (a new sense of connection)
-  Feeling of all answers are already there (there is no doubt or question any more)

-  Mind and body are felt as one; no boundaries; I am you; I am one with the universe

-  Sense of serenity, peace, arriving/being at home, nothing is missing

-  Wisdom and compassion come naturally; delusions/sufferings/errors are nowhere to find

-  Sense of living truthfully (connection to the Law, the Way); sense of being absolute, imperturbability

-  Sense of Ki (Life energy) manifesting; Blissful sensation spreading over

-  Sense of connection to unconscious/infinite potential (connection of external and internal)

-  Sense of oneness; non-duality

-  Sense of mind and body being 'healthy' and 'genuine'
-  Sense of everything seen as vivid and alive (inside and outside)

-  Sense of love, bliss, and intimacy to all 

-  Sense of time distortion (as if time lost its meaning)

It is also felt as a totally natural state, since it happens on its own.  Yet, as mentioned before, "If you seek for it, you will not find it" (Yuima sutra, or Vimalakirti sutra), which connects to Levenson's desirelessness, effortlessness, and actionlessness. And because of that, when we have it, there is a sense of deep appreciation of arriving at home.  That is ultimate happiness, as Levenson calls it.  Note however, it does not sound like a short temporary state for him.


BTW, this term, "ultimate happiness" points to true, absolute happiness, but "not" the happiness that is transient.  Again, as paradoxical as it may seem, if we seek for it, ultimate happiness will not be found.  Daisetz Suzuki says, "It is Happiness that does not depend on anything." That is Levenson's "Free State."  

Meditating Miroku Bosatsu (Bodhisattva Maitreya) of Koryu-ji Temple, Nara, Japan

(World famous for his gentle compassionate "smile")

Reflecting on his spiritual experience, Eckhart Tolle said since then, there was 80 % reduction in his mind activities since then.  I see it points a long lasting "calm and quiet mind."  Or, this is what Krishnamurti called, "choice-less observation."  Then, the exhibit above indicates the state of body and muscles totally relaxed and mind very calm such that there is a genuine smile emanating from within.  If you remember the "state of centering" in Aikido (the list of ten items), you should see a definite connection there as well.

Then, here are the characteristics of Saintliness summarized in "The Varieties of Religious Experiences" by William Games (p.216):

1) A feeling of being in a wider life..; and a conviction ...of the existence of an Ideal Power

2) A sense of the friendly continuity of the ideal power with our own life, and a willing self-surrender to its control

3) An immense elation and freedom, as the outlines of the confining selfhood meltdown

4) A shifting of the emotional center toward loving and harmonious affections, toward 'yes,yes' and away from 'no,' where the claims of the non-ego are concerned

Finally, here is Maslow's findings from Wikipedia.  Beyond the routine of needs fulfillment, Maslow envisioned moments of extraordinary experience, known as Peak Experiences, which are profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, during which a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient and yet a part of the world, more aware of truth, justice, harmony, goodness, and so on.

 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

(When self-actualized, however, my view is like that of Suzuki, the state of bliss, ecstasy and ultimate happiness may not depend on the condition we are in*)

According to Maslow, self-actualising people share the following qualities:

- Truth: honest, reality, beauty, pure, clean and unadulterated completeness

- Goodness: rightness, desirability, uprightness, benevolence, honesty

- Beauty: rightness, form, aliveness, simplicity, richness, wholeness, perfection, completion,

- Wholeness: unity, integration, tendency to oneness, interconnectedness, simplicity, organization, structure, order, not dissociated, synergy

- Dichotomy-transcendence: acceptance, resolution, integration, polarities, opposites, contradictions

- Aliveness: process, not-deadness, spontaneity, self-regulation, full-functioning

- Unique: idiosyncrasy, individuality, non comparability, novelty

- Perfection: nothing superfluous, nothing lacking, everything in its right place, just-rightness, suitability, justice

- Necessity: inevitability: it must be just that way, not changed in any slightest way

- Completion: ending, justice, fulfillment

- Justice: fairness, suitability, disinterestedness, non partiality,

- Order: lawfulness, rightness, perfectly arranged

- Simplicity: nakedness, abstract, essential skeletal, bluntness

- Richness: differentiation, complexity, intricacy, totality

- Effortlessness: ease; lack of strain, striving, or difficulty

- Playfulness: fun, joy, amusement

- Self-sufficiency: autonomy, independence, self-determining.

Personally, I can relate to most of these characterizations... As in Tolle's case, my spiritual experience seems to have contributed to heightened sense of such state.  And, I am further drawn into it as if these are confirmation of me moving on the right path, I call here the new hero's journey - following that bliss.

--

Note: Related to my comment to the exhibit on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, here is a Zen koan (puzzle):

Monk: I am new to this temple. Please give me any proper advice.

Joshu (Master): Have you finished your meal?

Monk: Yes, I have.

Joshu: OK, wash the dishes well.

(Hint: If you live by following the law, that is all you need to practice - practice this in all situations)

Deeper Level of Connection and Communication

Previously, I said primary relationship was the relationship with True self, Heart, God (if I may use this term), Infinite potential, or the Law - as if to connect with the source of compassion and wisdom --- and to find peace, happiness and harmony.  This may sound funny but it is developing the connection with Heart which we already have.  In any case, we are here to explore ways to develop that relationship, i.e., how to develop the deeper level of connection as if to find a special communication channel.


Generally, we know communication is multifaceted. There is verbal, and there is nonverbal which appeals to five senses.   Yet, from old days, Oriental philosophers said that we have 'sixth sense' to detect the Law of nature on top of five senses.  (Note this is somewhat different from typically used sixth sense as in extrasensory perception or ESP)  We are not what we are as solely captured on the mind movement.  For example, Hypnotist Milton Erickson's observed people while he was immobilized with polio.  People's "yes" in word may be "no" in body language, he said.  We know this in our own experience.  And if so, there may be a conflict of communication within oneself.  Also, how may we detect and address it?  If this is the conflict we have with Heart, may we simply ignore it?


Previously, with posts such as; primary relationship, 50 CM Problem (Brain and Heart), Hypnosis and Aikido, we looked into the deeper level of our being and how our Heart, or True self, may be expressed.  Yes, easy to say, but we need to practice this while our living condition changes constantly - not just within ourselves but also to communicate with others in the most truthful manner.  Such is the nature of communication and connection I believe we should go after.


In business settings, I point to managers that if their mind is disturbed, reactionary, or negatively conditioned, the impact to their organization and the business results could be huge.  I also say, "the shop floor reflects the mind of managers." (The New Shop Floor Management)  In other words, manager's mind is reflected on how people at the shop floor behave.  It shows in people's motivation, the level of housekeeping, quality of products and services, and cost and timeliness of job.  "If the top water is muddy, it cascades down to the rest of the organization."  So, I conduct a short meditation session with managers to be more aware of having the quality of calm and quiet mind.  The situation is no different in any organization, e.g., family.


Many spiritual teachers emphasize, "You need to address yourself first before helping others."  And if we do this successfully always ourselves first, we should be able to bring out the insight and compassion naturally in our daily life.  The title of my book, "Results from the Heart" points this internal link being utmost important to get the results that have meaning.  Brain should communicate with Heart, not act independently.


Previously, I used the Cross of Jesus as reference, i.e., primary (Know Thyself) and secondary (Know Others).  If we see us functioning in these two dimensions, we may see our communication in a different fashion, orienting that, ultimately, everything needs to be aligned connected to the Heart.  This is the meaning of "Living Truthfully," in the post on Life Profile.

An Image of Communication and Connection at Deeper Level

So, how do we connect to the Heart and how do we know if we are actually connected?  Remember? This connection/communication refers the "sixth sense," Asian philosophers mentioned.  When we use that sense with "a calm and quiet mind.", we may be able to say we are living truthfully - connected to the Heart.  Of course, this connection is something each one of us to find.  My view is that there is liveliness or bliss we feel when we are connected, perhaps vibration as inner body sensation.  There is an intuitive feel to it.  More we experience this, we may connect and expand as if into this new dimension more often, like opening the third eye, .


Here are indicative signs of being connected to Heart as I see it, i.e., my experience;

-  Sense of being in present, here and now, choiceless observation, witnessing

-  Vivid sense of inner body sensation, aliveness, liveliness 

(cells jumping around as if very happily)

-  Calm, clear and quiet mind; beginner's mind, no mind, mirror mind

-  Soft eyes...see without seeing - very intuitive, third eye as if opening up a new channel

-  Body/muscle is totally relaxed; There is a sense of effortlessness; no strains felt

-  no ego/self; desirelessness, actionlessness

-  It is as if a new channel opens up by itself from deep within (a new sense of connection)
-  Feeling of all answers are already there (there is no doubt or question any more)

-  Mind and body are felt as one; no boundaries; I am you; I am one with the universe

-  Sense of serenity, peace, arriving/being at home, nothing is missing

-  Wisdom and compassion come naturally; delusions/sufferings/errors are nowhere to find

-  Sense of living truthfully (connection to the Law, the Way); sense of being absolute, imperturbability

-  Sense of Ki (Life energy) manifesting; Blissful sensation spreading over

-  Sense of connection to unconscious/infinite potential (connection of external and internal)

-  Sense of oneness; non-duality

-  Sense of mind and body being 'healthy' and 'genuine'
-  Sense of everything seen as vivid and alive (inside and outside)

-  Sense of love, bliss, and intimacy to all 

-  Sense of time distortion (as if time lost its meaning)

Signs of benefits/awareness:
-  Brain and Heart find a connection
-  Heart to heart  communication between people is possible
-  This deeper level communication may be manifested as wisdom and compassion
-  Paradox of human existence is resolved (in oneness)
-  Bliss in various activities, e.g., work, hobby, relationship, health, and the sense of genuine security in any situation 
-  Discover new meaning of intimacy, e.g., sexual union, non-sexual relationship, Aikido, etc.  The list is infinite.
-  All of these corresponds to "living truthfully"


To sum up, however hard we may feel at times, and however is the thorny bush we may have to go through, the path we are taking as new heroes is precisely for its own good.  It should become more and more self evident as we move on.

Life Profile 1: A Powerful Tool to Navigate Our Life

This simple tool, I call Life Profile (LP), will help guide our path while better utilizing our talent, enjoying and appreciating life.   Specifically, it will enable us to manage our life better in such areas as work, hobby, relationship, health, and finance, while orienting us to live truthfully.  Also, it helps us to balance various activities in life as if plant grows in an organic fashion given its setting, e.g., sun, wind, insect, water, etc.  Then, through engaging in various activities and relationships with LP as a tool, we engage our life toward new possibilities (New DNAs) with partner(s).  

Essentially, through the use of this tool, we start to realize how our life energy flows in a balanced manner even to find us engaging in the manifestation of dynamic energy flow of the whole universe.  So, we can call LP linked to primary relationship, connection to the heart, law of universe.  Or, if I use religious terms, this may correspond to Tao, following the order from heaven (ten-mei), live in the kingdom of heaven.  (Note: the concept of mini-company is a representation of such a dynamic process in a company setting to self-manage while LP is applied for each person to live as the master of destiny. We can do this by; listen to the heart, use our brain, and follow the bliss.  Or, live truthfully.  This is the hero's journey)

If there is a strategy to live our life to the fullest, LP is a tool to assist that.  It can help "monitor" what is happening and how the strategy is working.  Then, it will help "come up with insight", and "find the course" (or strategy) into the future so that we can chart our way in the direction that makes sense, perhaps, as we follow the bliss.

Now, let's take a look at where we are. Thanks to technology and marketing among others, many of us may have developed a habit of seeking for instant gratification, i.e.,quick for everything or blindly reacting to stimuli.  More this, more that; we develop a bad habit. Then, "quantity" become more important, e.g., money, fame, title (may I add sex here as well?). I remember one friend when he was in his thirties he was counting the number of sex he would have in the rest of his life. Fine. But what about quality, or genuine intimacy to "Life"? Without understanding the meaning are we to live as if being chased to do various tasks? If so, do we really feel "alive," appreciating each day, each moment?  Do we hear the song of a bird, see a flower blooming at the roadside, and discover all the miracles happening around us, even to realize that we are the miracle?!

Certainly, we need to have a clear and balanced perspective in life. If we are caught up with small stuff or swung by stimulation, we waste our energy, lose balance, and quality in life will deteriorate. More untruthful actions we take, more wired our brain will be with bad closed circuit. Eventually, we will have to pay it back. All action has consequences if our mind eyes are closed. But if so, what do we do? How do we live our life? I believe the answer is found by having a calm and quiet mind. In other words, with quality in our mind, and observing things as they really are and coming up with insight, we can lead a quality life. Without clear mind, we are blindfolded, unable to see what is going on, and what we are to do in an intelligent and compassionate manner.

If the above point is clear, then how do we use our mind?  Einstein said, "Ask the right question." I think one good question may be to ask, "What is going on?" or "So what? (What is the meaning?)" to get to the core and clarify the meaning. In other words, connect to the heart to find why we are here for (mission) and what we are to do. This is new hero's journey. Ultimately, it is a moment to moment practice. However, we can use LP as an important tool to orient us. More we use this tool, we can balance our life better and find the real meaning.

In the following post, we will look into the specifics of this tool, I call, Life Profile (LP).