Ways of good life

[Annoynymous]

Does  self survival leads to a good life? If it is not, how to lead a good life?

[zambize]

How to lead a good life is a question best asked to yourself in my opinion.  I think there's reasons to believe we all have different things that make us happy, and that anyone's answer is crap when compared to your own.  Look within, what do you define as a good life?  What do you enjoy?  What are you looking to get out of this life?   If you are incapable of answering your own question "how to lead a good life?", then ask yourself why you are incapable of answering that question, and resolve that or ask another question as  to why you feel limited.  

 

I also understand that some times people just want tips and they are also actively asking themselves at the same time, I just want to make sure you're doing that because I think that's probably the number one issue with people who ask a lot of questions.  One tip that I found useful in having a brighter day was instead of asking myself how I felt about something,  I ask myself how I could feel about it.  I start by drinking some water and thinking about its taste and how accepting I am of its taste, and try to really work out what I am experience.  After that though,  I've found it helpful to ask how much could I enjoy something.  How would I go about experiencing this moment, such that I "enjoyed" it the most.   You'll often find it possible to immerse yourself further and further in the moment.  On the note of immersing yourself in the moment, there tends to be an equation which I think Leo has talked about which is something along the lines of suffering = pain x refusal (struggle).  Next time you have a headache or are experiencing something you don't like, ask very concretely EXACTLY what you don't like about that emotion or sensation.  Typically if it was negative, it kind of fades away or seems to change form.  When I accept my fear and anxiety, it turns to excitement and adrenaline.  On the same note, and let me quick exonerate Leo because this isn't something he has personally said, but I believe it to be true, there is an opposite equation which is essentially the inverse.  When you feel love or a sense of profoundness for the world, and you try to become more aware of that sense, and it becomes even more beautiful and profound as you get more conscious of it.   In summary, being aware of your negative emotions and sensations tends to either make them disappear or become more bearable while being aware of your positive emotions and sense of self love magnifies them.  I.E. life is pretty simple, just be aware and honestly that will get you really far.  Best of luck!  Sorry if I gave you any bad advice, all I can do is try to give good advice, remember to check this all for yourself
 

[thehero]

Check out Leo's vid, 65 principles to a good life 

[K VIL]

Define good. Is good alive? Is that all there is to a good life?

[aurum]

@Annoynymous

I would say self-survival is necessary to certain degree. The idea is to take what is good about self-survival and transcend.

For instance, it's good to take care of yourself partly because that allows you to help others. This is a healthy self-survival that benefits the whole.

Unhealthy self-survival might be something like constant fear about the future, Win/Lose situations, etc.

 

[kieranperez]

13 minutes ago, aurum said:

@Annoynymous

I would say self-survival is necessary to certain degree. The idea is to take what is good about self-survival and transcend.

For instance, it's good to take care of yourself partly because that allows you to help others. This is a healthy self-survival that benefits the whole.

Unhealthy self-survival might be something like constant fear about the future, Win/Lose situations, etc.

 

This reminds me of a joke I heard from a monk one time in the form of a story he gave:

”A disciple once asked his guru ‘do we need ego to function in the world?’ The master said, ‘you just need enough to make sure you don’t step in front of the moving bus.’”