Human Flourishing Revisited

In the 4th century BC Aristotle gave a series of lectures in Athens that became know as the Nicomachean Ethics. It is here that he introduced the word Eudaimonia that is now translated to mean human flourishing – the innate potential of each individual to live a life of enduring happiness, penetrating wisdom, optimal well being and authentic love and compassion. Of course Aristotle was not alone in this view of the heights of the human condition. Wise woman and men through time and across diverse cultures have spoken of this very same pinnacle of human existence. With a universal voice they spoke of this uniquely human possibility while simultaneously pointing out the veils of mental misunderstandings and emotional disturbances that must be surmounted before this potential can be realized.

In his Parable of the Cave Plato describes the noble human promise of human flourishing as well as the veils of confusion and ignorance that obscure each of us from its realizatiion. He speaks about the enslavement to tenacious conditioning and the miracle of breakthrough to the True, the Good and the Beautiful. The East they t relate this same dilemma in parables. They say it is as if we are born and live on a gem encrusted island yet, blinded by our confusion and ignorance, we are unable to see the riches that lie beneath our feet. We leave our island-home at the end of life empty-handed even though great wealth is right beneath our feet.

So if this natural treasure of happiness, wisdom and love resides in each of us why can’t we see or experience it? Why does it seem so scarce and inaccessible? Why do we exert so much energy and effort scavenging in the outer world for a mere facsimile called pleasure which is transient at best, and at worst suffering-in-disguise? Why don’t we go directly to the source, to the center of our being where our wealth is natural, permanent and brilliantly present? The answer is quite simple. Out of habit we have learned to search for the good and benevolent life in the wrong place. That is why we can never find what we are searching for regardless of the effort and persistence we bring to our search.

We learned this powerful and unsatisfying mental habit a long time ago. We mistakenly learned to reach outside of our self for happiness and serenity, wisdom and compassion, health and healing and wholeness and love. This tendency is so deeply ingrained that it feels like a natural instinct. Even when our outer gaze fails to truly satisfy our longing we automatically, without reflection, respond with greater striving and effort. We don’t know what else to do. We rarely question our learned dependence on the outer world. We have an intractable faith that it will give us what we need, if we only try hard enough. It is this intractable self-righteous habit that denies us access to the authentic qualities of human flourishing that are already and have always been seamlessly interwoven within our authentic self.

Fortunately, the wise ones who have come before us have left a road map to human flourishing. They have shown us the way to move beyond “normal” life to a noble life that fulfills our evolutionary destiny. They have left us a step-by=step instruction manual for the attainment of human flourishing. Those instructions reflect the universal teachings of all wise philosophies and religions throughout time and across diverse cultures.

The question for each of us is how to take this journey and who to take along and rely on as a trustworthy guide. In our time, when there are a plethora of workshops, seminars, books and “guides,” this is not an easy choice. Some reflect authentic wisdom while others do not. Perhaps it is best to turn toward the traditions whose detailed practices are alive today and have stood the test of time. Of these there are few rather than many. Similarly, there are uncommon teachers who are well-trained and “walk the talk.” The investment in a time-tested inner path and a reliable and wise spiritual guide that will help you along the way is a critical choice that can potentially save years, if not a lifetime. So take your time. When you decide upon the right path and teacher you will be off on the adventure of a lifetime. That adventure is a journey to the last frontier to be explored by humankind. It is a glorious journey of body, mind and spirit towards the perfect of human life. Choose well and pack your pack your bags with enthusiasm, perseverance and devotion.

In my next blog I will look at meditation, the central instrument of inner development that leads to human flourishing. This is not meditation as it is generally presented in the west, as a tool for relaxation or mindfulness. In its traditional form meditation, when properly and precisely understood and used, is a tool for freeing the mind and heart as a foundation for a larger life.

www.elliottdacher.org

Upcoming Transformative Learning Weekend Workshop at IONS Retreat Center
Human Flourishing: Enduring Happiness, Optimal Well-Being and Serenity in Modern Times

July 23-24, 2010

Contact: Claudia Holt: 707 779-8202 or cholt@noetic.org

Comments

[Dorene Mahoney]

I found your site on a workshop notice through IONS. I like your general orientation and ascribe to much of what you're advocating in your blog, including the notion that most of us are looking outside ourselves for answers, which makes life effortful. On the flip-side, then, I also like your support of going within oneself to find happiness and the innate capacity to flourish. However, my training is in Depth Psychology which posits that personal growth involves loss and healthy conflict associated with becoming conscious (i.e., bringing what is unconscious into consciousness, against the protective efforts of the ego). Shedding outmoded or inauthentic beliefs is fraught with suffering, as it smooths our rough edges and builds character within us. I'm curious about your response to this view, specifically as relates to your aim of "bringing distress and human suffering to an end." I suspect my sense of disconnect may have to do with our different ideas of the meaning of the word "suffering," but I'm curious about what you think. Thank you for doing what you do--there aren't enough of us out there to help all those who need this kind of soul work.

[Dorene Mahoney]

I found your site on a workshop notice through IONS. I like your general orientation and ascribe to much of what you're advocating in your blog, including the notion that most of us are looking outside ourselves for answers, which makes life effortful. On the flip-side, then, I also like your support of going within oneself to find happiness and the innate capacity to flourish. However, my training is in Depth Psychology which posits that personal growth involves loss and healthy conflict associated with becoming conscious (i.e., bringing what is unconscious into consciousness, against the protective efforts of the ego). Shedding outmoded or inauthentic beliefs is fraught with suffering, as it smooths our rough edges and builds character within us. I'm curious about your response to this view, specifically as relates to your aim of "bringing distress and human suffering to an end." I suspect my sense of disconnect may have to do with our different ideas of the meaning of the word "suffering," but I'm curious about what you think. Thank you for doing what you do--there aren't enough of us out there to help all those who need this kind of soul work.
Dorene Mahoney, www.stepwellcoaching.com

[Elliott Dacher]

Dear Dorene;

Thanks for your note.

The distinction is not in the definition of suffering. It is in the differences between psychological and spiritual development.

Psychological development is focused on creating a healthy ego – transforming afflictive emotions and dysfunctional mental patterns into healthy ones. This is achieved through an investigation into ego disturbances, the unveiling and diminishment of negative patterns and behaviors and the replacement by them by a healthy functioning ego.

Spiritual approaches begin at the level of ego, but that is only the beginning. Spiritual development posits that the central problem is the ego itself - healthy and unhealthy. Even a healthy ego must deal with the existential problems of life - aging, disease and death. A healthy ego cannot bring suffering to an end because it is the central and fundamental cause of suffering. That is to say that the belief in a solid, permanent, autonomous and powerful self is posited to be false. From a spiritual perspective the self is seen as a mental construction built and sustained over a lifetime. It functions in day-to-day life but it is imputed and mentally fabricated rather than real or solid. By undercutting this false sense of self we develop access to our authentic self which is an open, simple and non-mental presence and being. The qualities of human flourishing are innate to this basic steadfast and natural self that spontaneously arises once the ego gives way.

Psychological development diminishes the suffering that results from an unhealthy ego. Spiritual development ends all suffering as it brings an end to the false view of the ego – undermining is separateness, underlying isolation and disconnection and its veiling of our authentic self and its qualities.

A bit complicated answer to your question .... hope it helps ...

Elliott

[Dorene Mahoney]

It's a tall order to unplug from the creative tension that exists between what we know to be true in our psychology and the vast realm of all that is unconscious. You have done this? And, what of our humanity? Is it not our capacity to feel emotions and be self-reflective that makes us human (and not some other organism)? Is that the aim--to escape our humanity? I'm not challenging you. I'm trying to figure out if I'm understanding what you're saying.

[Geoffrey]

Thanks for your website. I just found it today while substitute teaching. Last year, my journey began much like Joseph Campbell's "ladder up the wrong wall" metaphore. You mention the "Nicomachean Ethics". That is actually one of the first places my journey brought me. (The first being M. Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled" series.) I had listened to Joseph Koterski's lecture on Aristotle's Ethics from "The Teaching Company".

I ended up transposing it to text while inserting pieces from other sources as well as hundreds of visual vocabulary words from the Visual Thesaurus. (If you wanted a copy I would email it too you.)

Anway, I have gone on to study Haye, Wilber, Canfield, Hill, Moore, Wilson, Dali Lama, The Marharishi, Forrest Church and many others.

Somehow, your words regarding "Human Flourishing" touched my very much and will add your blog to my "primary" sources for inspiration.

Thank you