What is a happy society? What is Eternal Happiness?
(1) How can you be happy?
(2) What is Eternal Happiness?
(3) Definition of happiness
(4) Conclusions
What is a happy society?
Simply put, it is a society where everyone is happy (being content).The key is
"everyone.” If some people are suffering and grieving on a constant basis, we
could not consider it a happy society. A society can be
a happy society even though happiness may differ from person to person, (The
definition of happiness will be discussed later.)
(1) How can individuals be happy?
So how can you be happy? How can you fill your heart?
For individuals, we believe that this can be achieved by (a) satisfying your
needs, (b) to attain a contented mind, (c) adjusting your needs (to some
extent), and (d) thinking in a way that makes you happy.
This is explained below.
(a) Satisfying your needs
In a limited sense, the solution to the problem of how to be happy is: How do
you satisfy all your needs, such as wanting this and that, wanting to be
connected and wanting to become an ideal person. While some of them may be
solved with little awareness, others may require considerable effort.
Based on psychologist Maslow's theory, people have five levels of needs in
common. These are physiological need, the need for safety, social need ( i.e.,
the need to belong and to love), the need for esteem, and the need for
self-actualization. It depends on the person's situation as to which needs they
have.
Physiological needs are the desire for food, water, oxygen, etc. While social
needs are the longing for friends, lovers, and a place in a group. Moreover, the
need for esteem is the desire for self-esteem, respect from others, status, and
a sense of accomplishment. Lastly, the need for self-actualization is the desire
to find oneself and to grow more. This desire for self-actualization is said to
arise only when all other needs have been sufficiently satisfied.
For example, physiological needs such as food and the need to go to the bathroom
are usually relatively easy to be satisfied (although there are people in Japan
and around the world who find it difficult to do so).You can think of your own
solutions, ask wise people, or try Google search to resolve your hope to have
friends, loved ones, and be accepted by everyone. When it comes to the desire to
"find oneself," which is said to arise only after all the other needs are
satisfied, I consider as follows: to know who you are and what you really want(
recognize the difference between your goals and your current situation, and
think about how you can become that person in your own way) or through the help
of others (such as reading self-help books or getting advice from friends and
wise people) . As such, the need for self-actualization is considered to be
relatively difficult to satisfy, but it is achievable.
One more word about the desire for self-actualization.
I believe that human beings are basically mere life forms (creatures) who seek
pleasure and keep away from pain, but also creatures who set up ideals and
strive towards them. Therefore, we believe that both loving ourselves as we are
and realizing our ideal selves are necessary to fulfill our desire for
self-actualization.
(b) To attain a contented mind (Be satisfied with one's lot in life)
Knowing "enough" should also give you a sense of well-being.
It is also true that there is no limit to our desires, since we usually seek
more and deeper pleasure, but there are also desires that we can control, which
can increase or decrease at the level of our consciousness.
We have a certain amount of control over what we direct our attention to. When
you are aware of what you lack, what you want and what you do, you will have a
feeling of that something is missing, which will result to the secretion of
brain chemicals related to it. In other words, a sense of actual scarcity would
arise from consciousness.
If this is the case, we can assume that if we focus on what we are satisfied
with, brain chemicals related to this will be secreted, and we will feel
satisfied to some extent. (The exception to this is that attention and awareness
may turn on to what we want automatically. (In that case, where we may feel
impulsive scarcity.)
In other words, we would also be able to achieve happiness by "knowing enough.
Problem: However, I still don't know the answer to the question, "Once you know
first-class, you won't be satisfied with second- or third-class. What should we
do in this case?
(c) Adjustment of desire (d) A way of thinking that makes you happy
By the way, I reckon that people's desires seem to be adjustable to some extent
by changing the way they think.
In other words, when we change our mindset, we change our perception of the
situation. When the perception of a situation changes, the brain chemicals
secreted also change. I conclude that if the brain chemicals that are secreted
change, there should be an increase or decrease in desire, thus an increase or
decrease in happiness.
For example, if your anxiety increased about the same event or fact, worrying
that "What if X (a bad thing) would happen?", you will feel bad and actually
feel unhappy. Instead, if you start to positively think about countermeasures
and ideals, taking in a way such as "anxiety is a warning signal" and "it would
be nice if I could do something about it," you will feel less anxious and feel
happier as dopamine and other brain chemicals are secreted from your positive
attitude. As such, whether you feel happy or not, depends on exactly how you
think of the situation.
This is according to Tokio Honda's book, "How to Think Happily.
In short when you feel anxious:
The way to be unhappy is to think in terms of "what if X(a bad thing) would
happen?
The idea of being happy is "anxiety is a warning signal.
In other words, in order to be happy, it is also important to have a happy
mindset.
Another thing, since there is a diversity of desires, there must be a diversity
of ways to be happy.
For example, people have different ways of satisfying their appetite, which is a
physiological need.
Each person is different even in choosing "hobbies," which is supposed to
belong to a higher level of desire.
It is also said that when the desire for self-realization, to "become who you
want to be," is fulfilled, a person is fulfilled at the highest level, but how
one wants to live and what one wants to be is different for each person.
So what is the goal for a happy society?
If the goal is to realize a happy society, then the goal is to have the content
of heart for each person in the society (group of people).Therefore, satisfying
our common needs and desires as living beings and satisfying the needs and
desires of our diverse minds are the goals of each individual and policies.
Specifically, the goals are to provide a wide variety of common items, such as
water, food, education, security, and entertainment, to meet the diverse needs
of each individual.
It must be effective to utilize various sources of knowledge such as biology,
sociology, economics, psychology, and religious studies when we consider the
above mentioned things in reality.
(2) What is Eternal Happiness?
So what is "Eternal Happiness" ?
It is "a state of being content transcending life and death.
It may be possible to get very close to it, assuming the existence of spirits,
the spiritual world, and the digital world.(Eternity is real, but it's probably
impossible to be unchanging forever. If we can transcend the limitations of
birth, sickness, aging, and death, we may be able to approach a more
"near-eternal" happiness. In this life, a state close to Eternal Happiness would
be "peace = joyous coexistence, immortality, happiness forever, and being able
to play and live. We should not deny this world completely, but make this world
(the way of living beings) happier. This is because denial of this life is
dangerous, and it is likely that we can achieve a more prosperous and
"near-eternal" happiness , even if it is in this life, through medical and
social improvements.
In Buddhism, life is said to be accompanied by the four sufferings.
Scientifically speaking, living as an organism could be considered to involve
suffering or unhappiness (i.e., birth, sickness, aging, and death). For example,
people feel uncomfortable if hungry, sickness will bring pain, aging will bring
decline, and death is usually accompanied by the fear and pain of disappearance.
However, through genetic engineering and advanced medical treatment, we will be
able to achieve permanent youth, overcome diseases, and transform our lives as
living beings into something less painful and more fulfilling for a longer
period of time. In addition, although each person's mind is different, we will
be able to have a fulfilled mind by establishing a social system that guarantees
a variety of ways of life,
To achieve this, the first thing we require would be a society that is free from
"fear and lack" and protects lives through a high level of security, freedom,
and safety.
Respect for other lives is also important.
In this life, I believe that not only humans but also other living beings should
be happy. However, in this world, there are realities such as the struggle
between the weak and the strong, fight against fierce animals, pathogens, and
pests. I can't think of a way to fully achieve the ideal. Nevertheless, it is
possible to minimize victims through introducing segregation, developing genetic
engineering, and eating meat substitutes or artificially cultured meat.
On the other hand, if there is a spirit or spiritual world exists(which is
almost unknown to me), we can expect to find a way of being that is free from
such suffering. If we can implant consciousness into a computer, we can expect a
similarly liberating way of being in the digital world.
In other words, I now believe that the state close to Eternal Happiness in this
world come close through the improvement of people and their society. We should
just "hope" for it now, without denying this world.
(3) Dictionary definition of "happiness".
In English dictionaries, the definition of happiness seems to vary from
publisher to publisher. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "happiness"
(2.a) is the state of pleasurable contentment of mind; deep pleasure in or
contentment with one's circumstances.
The point is that we should consider the above definition to be good enough and
not to expect too much from the word "happiness" or to add or subtract meaning.
Otherwise, it would be hard to know what it is and would lose track of it.
This is because this definition not only covers most of the meanings in a
simple, clear, broad and rich manner but, also because it is a subjective
definition of fullness, so there will be no shortage of meanings. Although,
happiness may be thought of as "joy", "peace of mind," etc., the above mentioned
definition covers not these sensations themselves, but what we as subjects feel.
It also fully covers the aspect that people have different minds and what makes
them fulfilled.
In addition, it is difficult to compare the definition of happiness in the
world. It is a problem which inevitably accompanies translation. The choice of
words is considered only to be equivalent and must be arbitrary, even by
authorities. Such as, worldwide, Happiness (the equivalent term) is frequently
defined as "good fortune" and "favorable external environment," but in American
language it has been replaced by a definition that focuses on a "favorable
internal sense state.(A comparison of 30 languages shows that 24/30 = 80% of the
words considered "good luck" as an equivalent for "happiness").
Here, I will use psychiatrist Shion Kabasawa's November 2020 seminar, "How to Be
Happy," as support for this paper. It is a way to be happy in terms of concrete
actions.
Simply put, the way to be happy is to keep your mind and body fit, strengthen
your connections, and work hard.
How to be happy: a seminar by Zion Kabasawa, a Psychiatrist.
Conclusion of the seminar:
Things you need to do:
1. Be healthy and keep sound mind
2. Strengthen the ties with your loved ones: Avoid isolation.
3. Work vividly
To do (more concretely):
1. Sleep well, exercise well, do MORNING walk.
2. Keep a good relationship with your family members, friends, pets. Do
volunteer work, or charity,
3. Do the PDCA Cycle (Plan, Do, Check Action) and give reward to yourself when
you accomplish each plan. Praise or psyche up yourself.
4. Ask yourself "When are you the happiest?" then try to recreate those moments.
5. Find three happy things every day, and write them in a three-line short happy
diary at night, and go to bed feeling happy.
Because:
By doing the things above, we must feel happy because happy brain chemicals
mainly Serotonin, Oxytocin, Dopamine will be secreted adequately, and will be
balanced.
Mr. Kabasawa described these things in detail, with scientific evidence. I
expect Mr. Kabasawa to publish a related book in the near future.
(4)Conclusions
In a happy society where everyone is happy, one can be as such by fulfilling all
his/her needs, knowing enough, adjusting desires, and thinking in the way that
makes them happy.
Although it is difficult to compare the definition of Happiness worldwide due to
translation problem, it should be taken as good enough so long as we follow the
definition of Oxford dictionary: state of pleasurable contentment of mind; deep
pleasure in or contentment with one's circumstances.
Happiness is not a delusion or mere dream but a reality we can get or live in.
Eternal Happiness can be achievable if we transcend life and death or can even
be close to it by social and medical development.
We should live in happiness now, while savoring the gift from Something Great,
we should try to improve our society for the better towards Eternal Happiness.
Reference
・Tokio Honda Shiawase Ni Naru Kangae kata [The Way of Thinking that Makes You
Happy], Alpha Police 2007
・Shojun Ogi Cho Kantan Eigo De Bukkyo Ga Yoku Wakaru [Understanding Buddhism in
Very Simple English], Fusosha 2016.
・Dictionary of Psychology," Maruzen
・Shion Kabasawa No Wo Saitekika Sureba Nouryoku Wa NIbai Ni Naru [If you optimize
your brain, you can double your ability], Bunkyosha 2016
・Shigehiro Oishi, Jesse Graham, Selin Kesebir and Iolanda Costa Galinha
"Concepts of Happiness Across Time and Culture" SAGE Journals 2018.