Wednesday,
July 23, 2008 at 8:56am
Shame on me for neglecting TED talks for so long. I've just finished watching Dr. Martin Seligman's talk about the three kinds of happy lives, and the bads and goods of psychology over the last 60 years. I won't pretend to be as capable of explaining the details so look at His talk and His site. I strongly urge you to check these out for yourself. What I would like to go into are the little eureka moments that hit me when I was listening to him.
What are people after in life, and will their drives actually manifest into happiness? The number one kind of happy life, according to Seligman's research, is the one that adds (1) meaning. ::HUGE COUGH:: I know right, exactly what religion has been touting since its conception. The "lesser" of the two lives involves (2) recognizing ones strengths and likes and engaging in them as often as they can, thus producing more "flow." The last characteristic is (3) being super social, usually feeling love, and being able to make a habit of positivity. Well, show me the talented activist(2) who actively engages hoards of people(3), all while believing he is devoted to the infinite brilliance and love that is God(1), and I'll show you someone who is 100% supported by science to be predisposed to proselytize on behalf of the truth and meaning in religion.
Think about any tough subject you've had to master or at least learn about. I'll choose playing the guitar in hopes of remaining clear. Before I started, my mental "flow" consisted of dreams about shredding or being the campfire entertainment. Anyone who's started to learn an instrument can easily understand how quickly cogs get thrown into your dreams. Some overcome it, many more give up or stay mediocre. So transpose this into a religious framework and compare it to scientific understanding. In truth, there are many people who treat bible study and ancient languages to the scrutiny they require, but I'm talking more general. Any scientist with the prerequisites to publish in Scientific American or Nature has done years of research and work to get where they are. What does it take to become a born again Christian? A dunk in a kiddie pool and meager church attendance. After reading over this and thinking the gap may still lead to an unfair analogy, I'll make it more personal. What did it take for me to coherently engage in discussions about the origin of life, the universe, evolution, the bible, etc? Three years of reading, watching videos, and too many frustrating discussions, and it isn't like I've reached some sort of end in my understanding. What does it take for the guy on Facebook to ask me "knock-out" questions that ten independent fields of science are devoted to refining answers for? Ya...
Those scientists and those Christians are both in pursuit of the same thing, but frankly, the Christians are after the meat of the happiness without stumbling over the cogs we all have to live with when we actively try to understand something. They will readily and openly admit this to you as their “faith.” Someone particularly apt in biology, who's flow of life has led them to understand evolution, should not have to debase their work and time engaging in debates and legal battles. I think with the flow idea in mind, it is quite obvious something about many religious people isn't flushing. You can be a desperate loner, yet still abuse your faith in a god. You can know absolutely nothing about the world and universe you live in, and still claim that golden nugget of meaning, albeit second-handedly, through the eyes of a god. For me, the pieces of the puzzle might as well be labeled in numerical order at this point. You want the same kind of fulfillment and meaning that religion claims by the throat? Here's the work of Dr. Martin Seligman who can tell you more about your potential for positive psychology than you'll ever find in your death-cult's book.
I remember a conversation with Mr. Bowman talking about how great it would be to have the power to just shoot all the stupid people. These mostly consisted of Showplace customers and library patrons, but in truth, I think we should point the guns at the lazy people. I think it is the laziness of thought that entices people to ponder and engage in the myriad of stupid facilitators. That would be me nipping it in the bud.
Religion is sometimes called our first attempt at science; for the obvious reasons above. It is just the recognizing of the fundamental truths about what makes us happy. Congregations of ten people don't last long, bad preachers are directly ignored, and if it wasn't all going back to God, then we would be all too quick to ask "What's the point?" Do you still wonder why I instantly bat away all the magical analogies that depict the portrait God has painted on your soul? Yet again, the power of our reason and hard fought intelligence has shined and shown us the way to happiness. Shucks, you don't have to take it on faith, wallow in sin, nor fear eternal hellfire to benefit from (and you will) what it's offering.
