"An unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

Rizal Philippines
November 8, 2015

From New Philosopher




You have heard this quote a hundred times before.

This course does not wish you to understand Socrates but invites you to engage in self awareness.  Your papers are to be graded on the reflection/on the examination of your stories, your life story, of the movies

This does not mean just examining your life but the world around us. There is portion of this course where there is a brainstorming/mind mapping of the world around us.  We can make this world a better place to live in (heal the world)

When you examine your life, you understand your story (where you have been) set to determine your goal (where are you going) and plot the map how to get there (strategy). Somebody who has looked deeper into his life experience and connected the dots would obviously lead a richer life than the one who did not.

The graded recitation led to more conversation and reflection on leadership

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

Yesterday, we had a graded recitation.  The list of articles to be read and discussed by the Leaders were previously sent and they were archived systematically for easy location.

Some of the important points that came out:

1.   On Heneral Luna:

    1. He could have done better were it not for the fact that he looked too harsh.  He could have been the great general who would have saved our country;  His inability to connect and engage with his people led to his untimely demise.  He could have balanced his use of power and empathy/compassion. Thus iron fist and velvet gloves approach.  Himas tadyak ika nga ng matatanda.

   2.  While he had character (discipline) and competence (scientist, writer, soldier, general) he forgot one aspect of power  -  legality, that of being with the blessing in the organization.   We should bear in mind that the President and his cabinet made sure they were in power (first with the rigged election) the elimination of adversary like Bonifacio

Emptying (freeing) your cup and mind leads to knowledge and personal growth

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

Ateneo Professional School
Makati City
November 4, 2015

As I was starting my career in business, and studying the Japanese system of management and philosophy, the emphasis for trainees and students was sunnao - emptying your cup/mind.  Little did  I know that this was Buddhist/Socratic philosophy at its best.

"The purpose of education is replace an empty mind with an open one" By Malcolm Forbes

Emptiness of ones emotion and mind are keys to understanding the realities of this world.  Thus we may be prisoners of the barrage of advertising, so we cant quit being a shopaholic.  Or we may be brainwashed by some people to be a prisoner of unreality.

Thus if we empty our mind, we accept the fact that there can be both good and bad on this earth; and that we are liberated from trite and little things that stop our growth.  Our desire for material things anchor us and prevent us from moving on.  This may be the same as ingenuity in Chris Lowney, the sense of being indifferent, of being detached from this world.  And hence, living with one foot raised, ready to take on new challenges of this world.

From Journal of Yoga on Socrates and Buddha

Both Socrates and Buddha, living thousand of miles (without texting) away both renounced pleasures in the attainment of....

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

Ateneo Professional School
Makati City
November 4, 2015

From Ordinary Gentlemen

This subject is about Leadership, right?  Why are we then pursuing the thoughts of Siddharta Gautama ( Buddha ) and Socrates?  Were they not philosophers and therefore their thoughts/this discussion belongs to another subject/class?

Necessarily we are invited to discuss their thoughts because part and starting point of leadership is self awareness (and the authentic self)

Both agree on denial of the pleasures and satisfaction of the senses -  Socrates goal is spirituality - on rebirth after death (I would like to suspect that Socrates promotes suicide which brings one to a rebirth)  Letting of our bodily desires promote spiritual growth.    Buddha on the other hand promotes denial of pleasure for Enlightenment on this earth.

It is nice to discuss the 4 noble truths of Buddha.

1. First truth suffering or pain is inescapable, part or life
2.  There is pain because of our inability to permanently satisfy our cravings
3   Removal of craving removes pain
4.  Dharma

Comparing Buddha, Socrates and Descartes

Emptying your mind and desires from Joy of Yoga

The four noble truths

Dharma, the 8 fold path:

The purpose of inclusion of Buddhism and self awareness is not to understand and make a study of Buddhism nor of Socrates (we do not have the time nor the competence to investigate their thoughts,  but to use the concepts and process the way of Buddhism and Socratic philosophy  in self awareness.  The ability to control your pain your emotion is an important aspect of self awareness

Buddhism and self awareness - did Leadership borrow this from the Buddhists?

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

Rizal Philippines
November 3, 2015

From Tiny Buddha

Effective Mind Control and Developing Self Awareness

                                   Do your best, leave the bad behind and  move forward

                                        


BBC on Buddhism
In the BBC feature this week, they had Socrates and Buddha both independently arriving at the concept of self awareness to growth (and later Rene Descartes perhaps)  In a deep thoughtful conclusion, Buddha says there is no perfect self, as the external forces constantly change.The external forces/factors shape the self   Our passion are the causes of our pain and we must constantly be aware of our emotions and even denying them to avoid pain

But self awareness involves more than examen Buddhist reflection involves three concepts:

from this post:

Self victimization

Self empowerment

Self awareness - it involves understanding our thought and emotions and redirecting this towards more positive direction

Here is a copy paste from

Self-awareness includes:

• Understanding our emotions—what we’re feeling and what triggered it—so we can effectively work through and transform our emotional responses (instead of using them to justify unhealthy choices)
• Recognizing our destructive thought patterns so we can redirect them
• Tuning into what’s going on in our bodies so we can learn from it and access our intuition
• Noticing our behavioral patterns and habits so that we can make adjustments to change negative ones
• Understanding our beliefs, assumptions, and expectations, and how they influence what we choose to do
• Accepting that we are responsible for our actions—even if we developed certain patterns in response to events from our past

The fundamental difference between self-awareness and self-victimization, when it pertains to acknowledging we’ve been hurt: Self-awareness is about observing our response to what happened; self-victimization is about feeding into the story of what happened.

This isn’t always easy to do. Sometimes the mere act of remembering something painful can bring up all kinds of old feelings. It helps if we learn to immediately redirect our thoughts to a positive, empowering affirmation.

This means that next time I find myself questioning whether the other person really has best interests at heart, when I have no reason to believe they don’t, I can tell myself something like this:

I give people I love the benefit of the doubt. I release my instinctive emotional response from the deepest root cause and do my part to create happy relationships.

In changing my thoughts, I can change my feelings and then effectively redirect my actions.

This process can apply to all kinds of unhealthy relationship patterns that stem from former relationships, but it requires us to work at developing self-awareness.

One way we can do this is by journaling about our feelings and triggers—if, for example, you tend to feel mistrusting, or defensive, or angry when specific events occur—and then come up with affirmations to use when we get caught up in those patterns.

Some examples of situations and affirmations:

If you frequently mistrust someone solely because someone else formerly abused your trust, you could use this affirmation when those old feelings arise: 

This is a new relationship. I release my instinctive emotional response from the deepest root cause, and accept that I can change it and improve my relationship by trusting.

If you frequently feel guilty in your relationship, in large part because you were emotionally abused in a former one, you could use this affirmation when those old feelings arise (assuming you’re in a healthy relationship now):

I choose not to blame myself. I release my instinctive emotional response from the deepest root cause, and free myself from shame and self-judgment. 

Whatever the pattern, we can challenge it and eventually change it by changing our thoughts and beliefs.

If we’re willing to be self-aware, we can empower ourselves, and transform our relationships and in our lives in the process.

Two great, related resources:

• Self-Awareness Affirmations
• Healing Affirmations

 Photo by nattu

More on self awareness from Socrates

'Quamplurimi et quam aptissimi" (As many as possible of the very best)

September 26, 2015

The thesis of this Leadership subject is that Leadership starts from self awareness. (Knowing oneself  One of those who have quotes on self awareness is Socrates (One wonders if the present leadership of Greece ever read about Socrates - those who acted queerly on the Greece debt problem.  How about the general populace of Greece)  If they did they would not be in this kind of mess

From Life Hacks - Quotes from Socrates that are related to self awareness