Quote from smoothiekiwi

As a consequence, I asked how God can forgive everyone, because some misdeeds don't seem forgivable for me; and if everything is forgivable, then I might as well be sinful and have a lot of fun before I come into paradise. My friend agreed with me, but said that we should still try and be good, because he don't want to let his parents suffer by harming other people.

I had some further reactions to your story, and I want to point out that...I think it is important to be careful about the word "sin" (and "sinful") because there are two things being mixed up here.

One understanding of "sin" is that it is the harming or hurting of another person, and all the things that we in a civilized world, understand as "wrong" because they cause pain to someone else. There are different levels of moral understanding: It could be based on fear of punishment - either by the judicial system of society, or by social ostracisation (or fear of getting a bad reputation or disappointing others). Also most people will react toward inflicted pain with some kind of retaliation, or they will no longer trust you. We also have our inner conscience and this will follow us for the rest of our lives in the form of our memories. When you fully understand "pain and pleasure" you see the importance of non-harming. Every person moves toward pleasure and recoils from pain. Why would you do to someone something that you would not want to be done to you? If you cause pain to others, and then justify it in some way, you will begin to attract others to you who also cause pain to others...and this will put you into harms way...and then you will live in fear that you will be harmed.

Then secondly there are the "sinful" things which have been invented to "try" to make certain aspects of civilization function more smoothly, but come from some religious opinions (for example: sex before is wrong marriage, dancing is wrong, drinking alcohol is wrong, etc.) and these opinions are not inherently correct. These are things which only cause pain when there is a lack of mutual consent or when there is over-indulgence (when there is a potential for pain, and when the person is not being fully responsible). So would guess it this second instance of "sinful" in which you said "might as well be sinful and have a lot of fun".

And I want to correct this idea of "sin" being "fun"...as this is incorrect. We cannot live a joyous life without living wisely and rightly:

Principle Doctrine 5:

Also there is this with regard to the second category I wrote about, and so one makes choices not to do things that will result in pain. For example, I would say that at all Epicureans would not do binge drinking.

Quote from smoothiekiwi

Still, I'm wondering that I couldn't find an answer to his answer- that the belief in God is an intrinsic part of him

I think that the belief in god can be a component of self-identity, and also a way for the human mind to relate to the experience of the inner sense of self, the sense of "I-ness". So at his current level of development, he has an inner relationship with his sense of "I-ness" in which he needs to have a god to make sense of things, and therefore his religion feels like an intrinsic part of himself. It is good for those in Epicurean philosophy to understand when they see this in others. Eventually people grow out of their need for myths. (Also see Principle Doctrine 12).

This will shed more light:

Some thoughts today...in regard to meditation, just thinking to point out that it doesn't lead to the understanding of the nature of things, or the best way to live.

So it is important to see it as form of enjoyment, or a kind of pleasure, but it cannot be relied upon as a complete cure (which is one reason why I left Buddhism). And I think it was said somewhere on the forum that there is no evidence that Epicureans did meditation. As a form of pleasure, meditation could be a tool for pleasure, and it would depend on a given person's inclinations. It is possible that going for a short walk gives equivelant health benefits, and possibly more pleasure.

The best way to live has many components...and I am still working out what the Epicurean philosophy brings to life-long well-being...to see a big-picture view of Epicurean philosophy.

Quote from Matt

Our perception is real, though it may not be always consistent. A coat rack in a dark room may appear to be a man, it may cause us a disturbance. We may perceive it as a man…but when the light is turned on the coat rack is revealed to be just an object. Our perception is real because regardless of what it “actually” is our reaction via our perception is real.

Our perception may be different or maybe our identification of something might be mistaken, but our perception of it is “real”…I guess but what other standard would someone judge? There are no other arbiters of what is real other than what conscious humans perceive.

Quote from Cassius

Book 4 of Lucretius is all about illusions and other distortions that appear to us, yet despite that confirms that the senses are all we have so that all reasoning still ultimately rests on the senses.

Add to that the previously stated earlier in the poem observations that the universe has no center, and no edge, and no beginning (or end) and you have the elements for concluding that the search for any perspective of objectivity from "outside" the universe or by a creator or from a center or a point of origin is impossible. You therefore eliminate the possibility of a standard of omniscience or a single "absolute" answer as the test of "truth."

That leaves repeatability as the ultimate test of the senses and what is real to us - what is confirmed through repeated observation is what is "real."

The following Principle Doctrines 23, 24...seem to apply to this discussion:

Quote

23.	If you fight against all your perceptions, you will have nothing to refer to in judging those which you declare to be false. [note]	εἰ μαχῇ πάσαις ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν, οὐχ ἕξεις οὐδʼ ἃς ἂν φῇς αὐτῶν διεψεῦσθαι πρὸς τί ποιούμενος τὴν ἀγωγὴν κρίνῃς.
24.	If you reject a perception outright and do not distinguish between your opinion about what will happen after, what came before, your feelings, and all the layers of imagination involved in your thoughts, then you will throw your other perceptions into confusion because of your trifling opinions; as a result, you will reject the very criterion of truth. And if when forming concepts from your opinions you treat as confirmed everything that will happen and what you do not witness thereafter, then you will not avoid what is false, so that you will remove all argument and all judgment about what is and is not correct.	εἰ τινʼ ἐκβαλεῖς ἁπλῶς αἴσθησιν καὶ μὴ διαιρήσεις τὸ δοξαζόμενον καὶ τὸ προσμένον καὶ τὸ παρὸν ἤδη κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν καὶ τὰ πάθη καὶ πᾶσαν φανταστικὴν ἐπιβολὴν τῆς διανοίας, συνταράξεις καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς αἰσθήσεις τῇ ματαίῳ δόξῃ, ὥστε τὸ κριτήριον ἅπαν ἐκβαλεῖς· εἰ δὲ βεβαιώσεις καὶ τὸ προσμένον ἅπαν ἐν ταῖς δοξαστικαῖς ἐννοίαις καὶ τὸ μὴ τὴν ἐπιμαρτύρησιν <ἔχον>, οὐκ ἐκλείψεις τὸ διεψευσμένον, ὡς τετηρηκὼς ἔσῃ πᾶσαν ἀμφισβήτησιν κατὰ πᾶσαν κρίσιν τοῦ ὀρθῶς ἢ μὴ ὀρθῶς.

Quote from Matt

We can still maintain relations with certain people based on familial ties or old friendships.

Yes, I have two sisters...one is a kind and good-natured "fervent Christian". The other is very difficult to communicate with because she has a very negative and aggressive attitude. She isn't all "bad"..it is about a 50/50 chance whether she will be in an okay mood or in a negative mood. Luckily she lives in another state so I only see her once a year when I go to visit family. I have decided that I want to maintain some kind of connection with her, so will talk on the phone occassionally. But I really need to "take care of myself" and that means not letting her attitude bring me down, as well as remembering not to confide my feelings, or too many details of my life because she will twist them around and make it "unpleasant". So I set boundaries within myself to be clear about my connection with her, and to be clear about what I will and will not tolerate from her (I can remove myself from a conversation when it gets too unpleasant).

The breath awareness meditation I shared in the earlier post can be done in any environment, even as you are moving around, out and about (or if sitting reading/typing on the forum, lol)

So at any time or place, one can simply pause and breathe, to gain an energizing feeling:

Being aware of your breath and saying to yourself:

---Breathing in I enjoy my breath, breathing out I enjoy my breath.---

So this conscious breathing helps oxygenate the body and helps you feel the good energy of the life force in your body.

Matt and anyone else...would love to hear if you have tried it out, either the focused sitting or the active simple version.

Quote from smoothiekiwi

Well, I think that it should be the goal- after all, to prevent cultism and "bubblism" by only surrounding himself with like-minded people

Quote from smoothiekiwi

yet I'm wondering if that correlates with the pursuit of pleasure in friendship. What that means is that I don't know of any Epicurean people in my surroundings. By dedicating myself to the Epicurean lifestyle, that would mean that I couldn't lead deep and meaningful relations with people around me, simply because we would talk "on different pages".

Quote from Cassius

Not many of us (maybe none of us?) have very many "classical Epicurean" friends in our personal local lives, but we can't let that stop us from developing deep and meaningful relations with those friends we do have.

Here are some thoughts coming up for me now:

Some people can have naturally occuring "Epicurean" attitudes without knowing about Epicureanism or the philosophy. And they see that life is to be enjoyed, and they have an attitude of taking responsibilty and making choices to make life joyful and enjoyable.

Other people can have very different attitudes, and they can be "sour-pusses" or "Debbie-Downers" always compaining and focusing on what is bad in the world, and they are not able to see how they are making their problems worse by not making choices to make their lives better and more fun and enjoyable.

So you have to choose wisely who you want to be friends with. You will be able to have more deep and meaningful relationships with people who enjoy living life.

As for the study and shared discussion of the wisdom in Epicurean philosophy, at this point in time that will be online, since there aren't many of us (but who's to say what things will be like in ten years from now).

It is my conclusion, though I don't yet know if we can determine if Epicurus would have agreed.

So another way of saying it is:

----The sweetest kinds of pleasures will not come with any regrets.---

Because the kinds of regrets that I am thinking about are:

1) You ended up causing more pain to yourself than it was worth - you went for a short-term pleasure that in now causing you on-going long-term pain.

2) You ended up causing pain to someone else - and now you must live with a variety of consequences resulting from that.

3) You sacrificed pursuing your own pleasure or freedom, in order to maintain some aspect of the "status quo" of your life - so later you think back and regret that you didn't choose to be more bold and live more fully.

And to define the "sweetest kinds of pleasures" - these would be things that are important in life, such as friendship and comradery - and so they are longer lasting pleasures that are always good all around.

I made a "Mexican Wedding Cookies" recipe, and made them with hazelnuts and almond butter. (Next time will experiment with adding some spices like anise).

Quote

Also referred to as Mexican wedding cakes, these buttery cookies originated outside of Mexico. Their creation has been traced back to medieval Arab baking that predominantly featured ingredients like butter, sugar, spices and nuts. As trade routes began to broaden, these sweet confections made their way from the Middle East to all parts of Europe.

Historians believe that the recipe migrated to Mexico by way of European nuns or Spanish conquistadors in the Americas in the 16th century. Traditionally, these sweet cookies are made with finely chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or almonds, though this can vary depending on the recipe’s origins.

According to Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Norma Arellano-Salazar, these popular cookies are also called snowballs or pecan sandies on the East Coast of the United States, as they resemble snow or sand thanks to their powdered-sugar dusting. Some even refer to them as Russian tea cookies. Yet, speculation indicates that in the 1950s, the name changed to Mexican wedding cake or cookies in the U.S. to diverge from any Cold War context due to the strained relations with Russia at the time.

https://www.ice.edu/blog/mexican-wedding-cookies

Quote from Don

If all pleasures were alike in these respects, then there would be no difference at all between them, but as it is, a ‘calculus of pleasures ’ becomes possible, we can select our pleasures, either according as they are more pure, i e. more completely exclude pain (VIII and XI), or as they are more lasting or affect the whole organism or its more important parts.

The sweetest of pleasures bring no regrets.

Yes, I am interested

Diogenes Laertius states that Epicurus wrote an entire book "On Love"...

...and among the other interesting titles there is also "On Touch" and "On Gifts and Gratitude".

In celebration this evening of the birth of Epicurus!

A few snipets from the video:

"There is no all encompassing perspective that gives me all of the information about a situation."

--"transpersectivism" - "the way to seek an understanding of truth through other perspectives/traditions and incorporating them into our own"

Also it goes on to say: "Science's belief in objective truth works."

And then toward the end says "asking different questions requires different ways of processing the underlying reality" and this is in regard to understanding the human mind.

To the question: "Do we see the world accurately?" This thought came up for me: watching the scene with a man walking through an alley that has graffiti covered walls -- as we observe reality, can we separate our feelings (pleasure or aversion) and judgements of "right/wrong" or "good/bad" about an observation...can we separate this from our sensory observation of the barest of facts about the situation? So this would be analogous of "What does the video camera see?" --- and this would be a kind of objectivity that could be corroborated with other human beings. (This was not in any way addressed in the above video).

@Cassius...Does Epicurean philosophy say anything about "objectivity separate from judgement"? (In the way I just explained in the above paragraph).

And if so, how would you very briefly state that?

I just happened upon this thread, and thought it might be good to cross reference it here, as it tells a story about addiction and it's consequences, and also gives some Epicurean principles and potential wisdom to help anyone who might be dealing with addiction or who knows someone dealing with addiction. (Addiction is a very complex issue, and may of course need the help of an addiction counselor or therapist).

Thread

“Love and Marriage, Real Series”

Although we are now forced to devote much of our attention to the nature of viruses, and how to prevent or defeat the pain that comes from them, we should also keep in mind the nature of pleasure, the goal for which we endure the possibility viruses and all other kinds of pain.

Just as we study the details of how viruses operate, and how we can minimize our danger from them, we should remember too that pleasure operates through natural mechanisms, and we should study the details of how…

Elli

March 30, 2020 at 12:02 PM

I'll go ahead and do a description of a simple breath awareness meditation.

You begin as you say to yourself: "Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out." This can be your starting thoughts, then you can drop this and move to watching the sensations as they arise in the body...

Focus your awareness on air moving in through the nose (with mouth closed). Notice the feeling of the air as it flows inside the nostrils. Notice the feeling as your chest expands and fills with air. Gently let the air come all the way down into the diaphragm, and notice as it expands. Let the speed of this be at whatever speed feels good. Then watch as you naturally breathe back out at whatever speed feels best. Let your body relax and loosen any tension at you exhale. Repeat this process, and just let it happen at whatever speed feels good. This will vary, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Check to feel if your sitting posture (on chair or cushion) is both relaxed and supported, so that your spine in a good alignment, head and neck comfortably aligned. Again relax your neck and shoulders as you exhale. As you continue, let your breathing become smooth, let it feel like it is become smooth on it's own accord. No need to force anything. If you feel tightness at any point or place in your body just notice it. Breath into it with gentleness, and let it relax on its own terms. You can then "play" with aspects of your breathing, including letting your exhale have some audible sound, as well as opening your mouth as you exhale (always breath in through nostrils). Gradually allow your breathing to relax toward going slower and deeper, feeling and enjoying the smoothness. Experiment with eyes open to increase energy (gently focused on a spot about three feet in front of you), or try with eyes closed (to increase relaxation and as a sleep aid, in which case you could do this laying down in bed).

This is a very good topic, in my opinion. There are so many forms of meditation out there, and everyone has individual preferences for what feels pleasurable. Now that I am personally identifying as "Epicurean" I am very much enjoying the idea of "doing what is pleasureable" rather than doing meditation for "stoic-discipline" reasons.

The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has a very simple approach, and he says: "Enjoy your breath" and so now I periodically remind myself to do that (with a little note posted on my refigerator). So from my earlier times studying meditation, I have taught myself a certain way of inhaling and exhaling which I find pleasureable. It is very simple and involves the full experience of feeling the body, and it can be a kind of "medicine". Perhaps I will blog on it soon, and then add link to here.

Quote from Joshua

4. Have lunch with an old friend. Pleasure is the good of life, and friendship the very best of that good. Tell them about that bird you were staring at the other day.

Yes, some people here on the forum might find that their "friendship needs" are easily met, where as others might find that this it isn't as easy as it "ought" to be, or used to be in the past.

Right now the world is still in the midst of the covid pandemic, which may be less of an issue in some places than others. Things have "opened up" again where I live, however there seems to be much less happening as far as public meetings, gatherings, and social meet-ups.

I think this forum can function as a helpful place until we can all get back on our "friendship-feet" again.

Perhaps Cassius the phrase "agreeable motion"?...which just last night found, because I was reading about creating Epicurean outlines: Thomas Jefferson's Epicurean Outline

And then my mind starting thinking about how someone who enjoys both pleasure and reason, might not very often find themselves in the midst of the ecstatic dance crowd (What would Thomas Jefferson say about ecstatic dance, if he time-traveled and observed it?)

And then it came to me...

Epicureans would more often than not, would dance with their eyes fully open!

So much of group ecstatic dance is done with the eyes closed, however I very rarely felt the need to do so when I danced. Also in my Buddhist meditation - eyes open, not closed.

Because Epicureans fully accept the world, fully enhabit the pleasure of life, take responsibility for personally navigating through pleasure and pain (responsible action) then there is an enjoyment of the experience of life...and so we enjoy dancing with our eyes wide open.

I found this article about ecstatic dance and wanted to share. This is something that I used to do a few years back. (Now with covid still happening, it only occurs on a very scaled back level).

My question is this: How does dance fit with Epicureanism, as it is something which creates a certain level of passion and excitement.

Do we know if dancing did occur at Epicurus' Garden? Or would the focus be more on the philosophy, so everyone focused on learning and discussion of philosophy? Or perhaps later Gardens in Roman times had dancing?

How would dancing fit with a modern Garden? (I know there are different types of social dance and this is just one modern type of dance).

Excerpt from article:

Quote

We all know what happens when a baby hears music.

If you haven’t witnessed it firsthand, you’ve likely encountered a YouTube video (or, if you’re in the majority, many videos) that captures a child’s reflexive physical reaction to music. Viral videos show babies instinctively scrunching up their faces and nodding their heads to a dubstep track, or flailing their arms and legs from the confines of a car seat when the chorus kicks in on a pop song. (And, if YouTube observations aren’t evidence enough, there’s research like this 2010 study that found babies are predisposed to move to music.)

Turn some tunes on for a kid and the results are not only adorable, they are telling: humans are born to dance.

Yet, even though this innate need to move doesn’t go away as we grow up, few of us adults let loose like our inner child would. When we do dance, it is often in a set way — in a dance class, for instance — or, if in more loose settings like the lusty dance floor of a nightclub, our movement can be filtered through the lenses of social norms and desires. Even as someone who relishes the opportunity to leave it all on the dance floor, my opportunities for truly liberated dance — the kind where you stop thinking and let your body go — are relegated to the dusty desert dance floors of Burning Man, the occasional concert and solo dance parties in my living room. (Of which there are many.)

So what happened to us from tot-hood to adulthood that tampered with our freedom to groove?