Tag Archives: equanimity

Some Equanimity by the Numbers

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Here are some thoughts and random numbers I will throw around.  Hopefully this will give you some perspective on your reality.  I recently read that it is estimated that there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy (that’s 200,000,000,000).  Each cell in the human body contains 20 trillion (20,000,000,000,000) atoms.  Moreover, you are composed of about 100 trillion cells.  So if you do the math, which you might be a little intimidated by, you end up with 2 x 1027 atoms that compose your body (That’s 2 followed by 27 zeros).

It's a big universe!

It’s a big universe!

Impressive numbers, no?  What if you could travel 2 x 1027 miles in space?  Where would that get you?  Well, 1 light-year is 5.9 × 1012 miles, and a reasonable estimate is that our universe is probably bigger than 40 billion light-years..  This means that the edge of the universe is 7.7 x 1025 miles away.  If you wanted to travel as many miles as there are atoms in your body, you just might reach the edge of the universe…maybe further, if there is anything beyond it.

Of course if you could travel at the speed of light (which you couldn’t) it would take you 40 billion years, so you’d probably run out of time.  By comparison, if 40 billion years were considered one year, your life span of 70 years would be 0.05 seconds of that year.

So just how small are atoms?  Click on the atom below to find out:

Atom

Click on the atom and see just how small it is.

I hope this gives you some perspective!

Oh, and somebody check my math…thanks.

Acting with Reservation

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In my post, Under My Control? The Wisdom to Know the Difference, I wrote of knowing which things are those we cannot change.  While it is extremely helpful to know these things, the fact of the matter is that there is no 100% guarantee that things will turn out the way we think.

It is for this reason, that the Stoic acts with reservation.  I wrote about this before in my “Unless…” entry, but this concept bears repeating.

There will always be “chance” in our future…

To maintain that sense of equanimity in our lives, while still pursuing that which we would like to attain (mainly for the sake of virtue, we hope) we must continue to act fully expecting that the outcome may not be to our liking.

For example, many years ago I was a student pilot in the military.  Without conceit, I can tell you that I was one of the most conscientious students you could find.   During this training there were 3 flying exams (called check rides), and despite my best efforts, I flunked one of them.  I just could not land the airplane that day, and this particular test counted more than any of the others.  In retrospect, the combined conditions of my own skill, flight conditions of the day, and the demands of the course arranged for failure to be my fate.  Of course, this went into my class score, and I will tell you that a great majority of the class did not fail this check ride.  Well, at the time not everybody was getting assigned to fly airplanes after graduation, and of course my class rank was low due to that failed check ride.  So, there was really no way I was going to get an airplane assignment.  In the end, I had to wait 3 years before I would be assigned an airplane.  There was nothing I could do to change this, so I had to put my best effort forward, simply defending what I thought was my mediocre reputation.

Getting ready for another flight…I can fly!

Now, I would not call myself a Stoic at the time.  However, I simply wanted to earn my wings as a pilot, regardless of whether I would fly right away.  As a result, I carried on.  If I were stoically inclined, it would have been helpful to my goal with two things in mind:

  1. Possibly, I might not attain that goal because of much of this outcome is out of my control
  2. I will put my best effort forward simply for the satisfaction that I did so

In the end, I did go on to fly, and every day I am grateful for the opportunities it provided me.  Now that I have embraced the Stoic philosophy, I pursue yet another goal: to spread the ideas of the Stoics to those who need them.  I think they are out there, we shall see.

Until then, I keep staring at my site’s traffic count, and I write for the sake of my own virtue.

Anchor #6: Equanimity

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Equanimity:  the sixth anchor in my CUPPJEL meditation.  I have mentioned it at least twice before (here and here).  Although I am writing about equanimity sixth, it very well may be the greatest of the anchors, or the Sublime States for that matter.

Not only is equanimity a means to virtue, but it could be an end state.  Equanimity implies tranquility, which in the end is the goal of virtue, no?  Once you have it, it permeates all of your actions and thoughts.  Once equanimity courses through your veins, it fundamentally changes you!  It is a marvelous state of being that makes you a better person.

So, that’s great and all, but what is it?  Well, first of all I’ve described equanimity quite a bit in my passionate equanimity post.  In short, it is the ability to see and know existence as it is, with all of its ups and downs.  It is not to be indifferent, but rather to be aware and accepting.  However, true equanimity goes much further than that.  It is to let go of yourself, your ego.  It is to be the ultimate observer in an unselfish way.  In the end, nothing is truly yours…you are infinitely connected to every atom in existence.  You are part of this divine interconnection, you always have been and you always will be.  Someday, the atoms you are borrowing from all of existence will go off to other uses.  In fact, the the vast majority of atoms in your body now will probably not be the same ones that are in your future body.

You are a collection in the Primordial Soup

Even tomorrow, your own mind and body will be entirely different.  The cells, molecules and atoms of your body once belonged to a cow, a pig, fungus, manure, the air, a carrot, etc.  As you expel your own cells, your own composition will be used by plants, by others, by bacteria, and the rest of existence.  Even more awe-inspiring, some of those atoms will escape, and travel throughout the universe.  Others within you now, have already been to the outer reaches of space.  You are helplessly and forever part of all of existence.  There is no “you” there.  As you accept this, little things become nothing and big things that bother you become much smaller.

As a result, you can rationally and methodically see things as they are…and accept them, and be more virtuous.

Are you there?

7 Meditation Anchors

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Am I being virtuous?  Am I focusing on what is important?  What follows are what I call my Seven Meditation Anchors.  During times of relaxation (before bed, with morning coffee, or even when I think I need to relax–e.g. heavy traffic or when family has driven me to the limit).  I use these 7 anchors to help me come back to what is important.  Sometimes I focus on one of them, other times I meditate on each in turn.  I rarely meditate for longer than 15 minutes.

Thanks, Siddhartha!

For those familiar with Zen/Buddhism, four of these, Compassion, Love, Joy, Equanimity will have a vaguely familiar look…the Four Sublime States are a cornerstone of my anchors.  They are what I call the spiritual/emotional anchors.  They speak to the cerebellum, the medulla, the spiritual/ancestral (limbic and reptillian) brain.

The remaining three, Understanding, Patience, and Persistence, I consider rational anchors.   They speak to the cerebrum (Neocortex), or thinking brain. They elicit cause and effect, and help with the “why’s” of what to focus on.

So, here they are with a short description for each.  Don’t worry, I will expand upon each in the upcoming days.  (Rationals are blue, Spirituals are green)

  • Compassion – is to feel the suffering of others.
  • Understanding – is to put yourself into another’s mind, or into a situation and really think about what you would do
  • Patience – is to understand that things take time, despite large amounts of effort
  • Persistence – if things take time, then great effort is required over and over and over…
  • Joy – is not just joy, but sympathetic joy.  This is to revel in the good fortune of others…the opposite of envy
  • Equanimity – is the ability to see things as they are, from a distance, to be the water and not the waves (see Passionate Equanimity)
  • Love – as in Lovingkindness; this is love without possessing, without judging, without expecting it in return, it is to love as if a god

Note:  You may be wondering why these are listed in this particular order.  It’s a simple practical decision for me:  it’s because in this order, they spell CUPP-JEL, which I can remember easily.  None is more important than another, in my opinion (see last paragraph of my credentials here).  You might choose to start with the “rationals” and finish with the “spirituals,” or vice versa (that would spell UPPJELC). For all I care, use PLUC-JEP.