Today begins a series on the importance of community in our lives, and its relationship to finding individual freedom and fulfillment.

In today’s world we are encouraged to recognize and pursue the natural drive for individuality, independence, autonomy, personal liberation and freedom, self-development, self-fulfillment, self-determination, and personal agency and sovereignty, to “be all you can be,” “do your own thing,” “follow your bliss,” “be who you are,” and “find your answers for yourself.”

At the same time, we are inherently social, communal creatures. There is a need for community in all of us – that is our natural state. Most of us implicitly understand the importance of commitment to and relationship with other beings, and the personal and communal value of loyalty to others and/or to a cause.

We have been wrestling with the issue of how much to focus on ourselves versus our commitment to and responsibility toward others for a very long time. What, then, is the right balance between individuality and community for each of us? How do we find that balance? This will be the theme of the emails and posts entitled Community and Freedom.

To read more, simply click on the pull down menu on the top of the page on the right.

We have all at times come up against our limits – physical, emotional, intellectual, etc. Often, however, we believe our limits are much less than they are. In the physical realm, at least, those limits can be stretched far beyond anything I could have imagined. Watch the first 3 minutes of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaMjhwFE1Zw

Wim Hof has 21 Guinness World Records, achieved through learning to control his breathing, heart rate, and blood circulation. Listed below are some of his achievements.
Running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle, barefoot and only wearing shorts
Swimming underneath ice for 200 feet
Hanging by one finger at an altitude of 6,000 feet
Climbing the highest mountains in the world while wearing shorts
Running a full marathon in the Namib Desert without drinking anything
Standing in a container covered by ice cubes for extended periods of time

Wim says that everything he does, anyone can learn. Perhaps our limits are much greater than we think – in all areas of our lives. I don’t plan to sit in ice water for 2 hours, but there are definitely areas of my life that are limited by my thoughts and beliefs. How might that be true for you?

There are many YouTube videos about Wim Hof, and a good book is: What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength by Scott Carney

 

Is your life “about” something, or is it simply “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?”
Explore this question, and many more, through:

1. The posts below – scroll down for the latest.
2. Emails on the Journey – column to the right, made up of emails sent once or twice a week and then posted in this column.
3. Course 1: Journey to Fulfillment – an On-line Course based on my current book. Sign up and take the course free of charge.

All are free, and we pledge never to share your email with anyone for any reason.

The underlying theme of this web site is that, throughout history, wise teachers have urged us to explore the deeper questions of life and living, including the values that are important to live by, the wisdom that is necessary to flourish, and the practices that can aid in this process. For me, some of the goals of life’s journey are:

• To bring more Love and Compassion into my life, and into the life of the world
• To use the Wisdom that has been passed down to us to make my own life and that of others richer and more complete 
• To become more conscious and thereby gain Freedom
• To find the Peace and Joy the wisdom traditions suggest is our birthright
• To find the right relationship to others and to the broader dimensions in which we exist

Feel free to share this web site with anyone who is thinking about or wrestling with how to live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Welcome to this new venture. Enjoy, and hopefully learn and grow.
David

A Gallup poll asked people around the world in 2007 if they felt a sense of meaning in their lives. Liberia came out as the nation where the highest percentage of people felt they led meaningful lives and the Netherlands came out last.

Liberia is a very poor country with lots and lots of problems – but people there are trying hard to address those problems. There is a strong sense of community, and a feeling that many people are trying to address the problems together.

Friedrich Nietzsche said: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Those who have something to be “about” that seems worthwhile are those who will find fulfillment.

In the same vein, Viktor Frankl beleived that: “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.” Frankl’s life work, after surviving Dachau, was to teach that happiness and fulfillment come from living meaningfully, no matter one’s external circumstances. If you focus on a personal interest in happiness, it will always outrun you – captured in this famous Frankl quote: “It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.” Following the work of Frankl, well-known psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman said: “In a meaningful life you use your highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something you believe is larger than the self.”

Meaning has to do with expectations about where you are going, with being “about” something that seems worthwhile. It arises from a sense that your efforts are worth making and are toward an end in which you believe – whether that be your connection with others, creating something, serving a valuable cause, or pursuing a spiritual path.

What gives you life meaning?