SGM June 2016 Weekly Message Two: “How to Bring Goodness to a Troubled World”
Press the play button or click here (right click + save target as) to download the audio file
Welcome back to the June 2016 Edition of Spiritual Growth Monthly. I’m Kevin Schoeninger. It’s great to have you with us here at SGM!
Does it feel like the world is a more dangerous and unpredictable place these days? Do you worry about safety, security, and what might happen in the future more than you used to? If you watch the mainstream news, no one could blame you for thinking that.
Yet, even in the face of the news, do you still believe that “If we look within, discover who we are, set out a plan for how we can flourish, and then work hard to fulfill that plan, we will prosper and grow as we should?” (p.59, The Path by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh, Simon and Schuster, 2016)
Sounds like a reasonable view. In fact, it’s part of a mindset that, on the surface, seems to make sense.
According to this theory, we are, or have the capacity to be, rational beings. Rational beings believe that there are certain rules for living that everyone should abide by. When we are faced with the question of what to do, we analyze situations by weighing the pros and cons of different actions according to these rules. We then make plans, based on our decisions about what is right, and move forward into a better future.
Again, sounds pretty reasonable. In fact, it’s the dominant framework under which most societies operate. Yet, what if that view of how we can improve our lives is based on myths that actually get in our way? What if they lead to the exact troubles we’re looking to avoid?
In this weekly message, you’ll learn a more subtle, powerful, and effective way to bring more goodness into our troubled world. Surprisingly, the ancient Chinese sage Mencius (372-289 B.C.) dealt with this exact issue and discovered some powerful insights that can lead us forward.
In Mencius’ day, there was a group called the Mohists (named after their leader Mozi) who believed that society was best off by discovering the Rules of Right and Wrong and living accordingly. To encourage people in this direction, they suggested that a system of rewards and punishments be installed. In this way, people are encouraged to do “the right thing” and discouraged from “doing the wrong thing.”
Not only did this seem to make sense, it also formed the sound basis for governing large groups of people. As a result, in one way or another, pretty much every government on earth, as well as most religious groups, and, in fact, most people, have adopted this outlook as a way of life. To live a good life means following the rules and being rewarded.
So, what’s the problem with that?
First off, Mencius believed that this mindset actually leads to more selfish behavior. Rather than striving to become better people, people become oriented to acting simply to gain benefits for themselves—ultimately hoping to receive the eternal bliss of Heaven, a place reserved for those who follow the rules the best.
This whole program encourages people to be self-focused, judgmental, and greedy—which is exactly what leads to the troubles of society.
The second problem with this mindset is that it is based on three false assumptions: a stable self, a coherent set of Rules that apply in all cases, and a predictable future. Let’s look at the problems with each one. Then, understanding these insights, we can use them to discover a whole new path.
1. The Myth of a Stable Self
The rational agent theory of decision-making assumes that we are rational, unified, coherent selves. We have an ability to analyze situations from some sort of objective viewpoint and apply objective rules to every situation for the best of all concerned. Whether we know it or not, most of us probably subscribe to this view to some degree and judge ourselves by how well we match up.
Yet, when you try to match your own real-life experiences with this theory, how well does it really fit? Do you have a consistent set of thoughts? How about your feelings and actions? Do you always feel and act the same way? Do you sometimes, or often, act out of character? Do you look back on those moments and say “Sorry, I wasn’t myself back there”?
And, what is the classic criminal defense? Insanity. This person was not a responsible, rational being at that moment, so they can be excused criminally—then locked up in a mental ward.
How often are your decisions in life based on a rational assessment of what is best for you and all concerned? Are you doing all the good things you know to do?
If not, maybe this unified rational self that you are supposed to be, has other dimensions? Perhaps you are much more complex than this? Perhaps you have many potential sides to yourself?
If you’re supposed to be more coherent and stable than that, strong self-judgment is inevitable. And, strong self-judgments tend to be severely self-limiting. They also tend to become projected as blame onto others who made you feel this way. Hardly a recipe for a better world.
2. The Myth of an Objective Set of Rules That Always Apply
Do you find it challenging when you try to apply an objective set of rules to the messy details of everyday life?
For example, is it always wrong to lie? What about “white lies” that support others to feel good? Are these really lies, or are you just highlighting the good stuff? Is it wrong to look at the glass half full?
Is it lying if you remember something differently than the way it happened? Did you know that each time you remember something, you are actually making it up anew from selective details that come to mind now and spinning it according to your present state of mind? Given that fact, are there any truly objective accounts? Is there really ever a true account of “what happened”?
Is it wrong to take something that is not yours? What about taking a bottle from a drunk friend? What about taking their car keys?
Is it always wrong to kill? What about in self-defense? What about in war? What about euthanasia? What about animals? What about accidents? What about when we are insane and not ourselves?
Real life details can be messy. Abstract rules rarely fit neatly. And, this leaves us confused about what to do.
3. The Myth of a Predictable Future
We generally believe in an oversimplified linear view of cause and effect. If we do certain things, other things are sure to happen. If we work hard, we’ll be successful. If we do the right thing, we’ll be rewarded. Good things happen to good people.
Are those things really true?
How many times have you worked hard at something and not been successful? How many times have you done the right thing and not gotten the reward? How many times do “bad things” happen to “good people”?
Again, we tend to think that things are much simpler than they are. In reality, causality is infinitely complex and the future has many possible outcomes. There are an infinite number of factors that coalesce to bring about anything that happens. We may identify certain things as important, but that doesn’t mean that countless variables weren’t involved.
For example, why was our son Will born 4 months prematurely? Was it the genetic shape of my wife’s uterus? The way her doctor did an internal exam? Something my wife did or didn’t do? Was it the weather or the altitude or the alignment of the planets? Was it Will’s destiny to battle for his life? Was this really a blessing in disguise? Why did Will survive, when over 90 percent of those born at that age didn’t? Why was Will eventually relatively healthy when most of the few who survived weren’t?
Causality is complex. The future is unknown.
What if you do all the right things and still get cancer? What if you do all the right things and still don’t get the job? What if you do all the right things and still get in an accident?
In real life, how often do things happen differently than you expected, planned, or thought they should?
When that happens, do you get mad? Are you devastated? Do you judge yourself harshly? If you think things operate by simple cause and effect with predictable results, there must be something wrong about what you did. You must not be cut out for the good things in life. You must not be worthy. Heaps of self-judgment. . .
What if, instead, causality is complex and the future is unknown?
Then, How Do You Know What to Do?
So, if we are complex selves, living in a complex world, heading toward an unknown future, how do you know the right thing to do in any situation?
Mencius says that it comes from refining your emotional senses so you take in all this complexity and are able to discern the best response.
As it says in The Path, “In order to sense the whole context before making a decision in an endlessly shifting world, you need to train your emotions. You need to learn what it means to think of decisions in terms of a complex self and a complex world and complex trajectories that can go in multiple directions.” (p.66, TP)
Mencius suggests a path of refining mind-body-emotional discernment. He believed that, “what set good people apart from others was that they had not lost touch with their emotional side; instead, they held on to and assiduously cultivated their emotional responses. And that was how they knew the right thing to do—the right decision to make—in any situation.” (p.62, TP)
So, what if bringing goodness to a troubled world means cultivating your ability to sense two things:
1) the complexity of what is happening in any situation, and,
2) how to guide the situation forward on a positive trajectory?
To take into account all that is happening in the present moment, we need to tune into life on an emotional or energetic level—on the level where everything is connected, interacting, and affecting everything else. On this level, we can sense “the whole field” and we can feel the effects of our actions. At this level, we can learn to sense what “goodness” feels like.
“Mencius wanted people to understand viscerally the sensation of goodness in order to understand how to become good. What does it physically feel like to be good? What do you do on a daily basis to gain that feeling? (p.68, TP)
For example, when we do something good for ourselves or someone else, we can pay attention to the “warmth” and “tiny glow” that produces. We can make particular note of that feeling and record it within us. It feels good to do good. This warmth is the sprout of goodness. We can water that sprout to grow the potential better sides of ourselves. In this way, we learn that doing good things for ourselves and others is a reward in itself.
When you cultivate goodness, you refine what Mencius and other ancient Chinese sages called your “xin” or “Heart-Mind.” The Heart-Mind is the center of your subtle energy system, the bridge between your physical senses and your spiritual senses.
Cultivating Your Heart-Mind
We cultivate our heart-minds by tuning into the present moment and noticing our emotional responses to what is going on. Rather than focusing on Rules, judgments, and blame, we learn to recognize and release our knee-jerk reactions and judgments, so we can recognize our finer feelings and what actions will lead to better results. Then, we pay attention to results, learn, and adjust our course accordingly. In this way, over time, we cultivate more refined responses to the ever-changing situations around us.
Rather than trying to fit ourselves and the situations of life into fixed ideas about who we are, rules about what is right and wrong, and what we think “should happen,” we open ourselves to the complex, ever-changing conditions of life. We respond to each situation from a desire to bring goodness to everyone we meet and everything we do. Over time, we learn to recognize the right actions by that refined emotional sensibility.
Mencius calls this process “developing flexible judgment.” Flexible judgment is oriented toward growth and well-being, rather than toward maintaining fixed ideas of self, right and wrong, and what “should happen.” You start to think of life and your role in it in terms of how you can create optimal conditions for growth and well-being.
By creating optimal conditions for well-being, “Over time, you open up paths that you could not have imagined, out of which emerge options that you never would have seen before.” (p.81, TP) You stay open, attentive, and receptive rather than closed, avoidant, and judgmental. In this way, you create a better future than you could have imagined.
What if you made it a practice in all situations to ask yourself “How can I contribute to optimal conditions for well-being right here and now?”
I would love to hear your experiences, questions, and comments in our Discussion below.
In next week’s message, we’ll learn how silence and softness can change the world.
Until next time,
How can you bring more goodness to where you are and who you’re with right now?
Kevin