[wallflower]

Re: Bliss

I think it is along the same levels of Enlightenment.

"Our egos very often keep us from being our best selves" -Karen Armstrong

I think materialism is the short-term fix to some problems that we all have. Nothing is black or white. We are all consumers, in some form. I think true happiness comes from producing and giving more, especially when there is no monetary compensation or stress tied to the giving or producing. E.g. a real hobby

[igravious]

Ah. In Western philosophy there is talk about attaining 'happiness' or even 'true happiness' but it does not surface much, I am open to correction here.

I totally dig Karen Armstrong, I have two of her books :)

I think Western culture is absorbing these Eastern ideas about not identifying with our thoughts and emotions, that you can acknowledge that 'you' (whatever that is) have thoughts and emotions but that they don't have to define you. I would be extremely interested in seeing if this way of thinking has been advocated in Western philosophy prior to now. Prayer in religion may come close?

An interesting advance on this I have seen recently is the social model of human interaction. By which I mean, we are not a duality: physical and psychological beings but a triad: physical, psychological, and social. To achieve 'happiness' or 'wellness' or 'enlightenment' or 'bliss', call it what you will (I know they are not strictly synonymous) that you'd have to work on all three: the body (exercise or yoga poses or ...), the mind (meditation or mindfullness or ...), society (? charity? other virtuous acts?)

Food for thought indeed :)

[dragonwriter]

> In Western philosophy there is talk about attaining 'happiness' or even 'true happiness' but it does not surface much, I am open to correction here.

It surfaces more in a religious context; perhaps another East-West difference that is relevant here is the separation between secular philosophy and religion.