Wednesday 12 August 2009

A short sharp (ish) guide to Zeta

Finally I've plucked up courage to take the plunge - prevarication can only last so long before it becomes obvious avoidance. SO, what is Zeta? The philosophy of life can be summed up as follows (in no particular order or coherence, by the way):

1) The objective of life is contentment. Happiness is surficial and short-lived, but contentment permeates every aspect of your life consistently, once achieved. Religions tend to talk about enlightenment, but it is basically the same thing.

2) Contentment can only be achieved by taking the right course of action at each turn in life. Right means the best for you and others - taking the selfish option to the detriment of others will never lead to contentment.

3) The right course of action is obvious if you follow your instincts - follow your heart rather than your intellect. This could also be thought of as being guided by spirits/gods/guardian angels/God, depending on what you believe. Never act out of fear, duty, greed etc.

4) Life naturally tends to lead you in the right direction - taking the right course of action is not always the easiest option in the short term, but will always lead to the best overall outcome. Every time you make a wrong decision, life will throw up chances for you to get back on track, but taking that course generally becomes harder the longer you put it off.

5) Don't give yourself a hard time about getting things wrong: to err is human. Be kind to yourself (and others) so that you have room to change for the better.

6) Do not take yourself too seriously and don't judge others. You can never fully know yourself, but you should never stop trying. Always keep half an eye on what you are doing and try to make sure it fits with (2) above; but remember (5).

7) Don't chase money and never take a path purely to make more of the stuff. If you live life right then sufficient money will just crop up - sufficient to make you content, but not necessarily wealthy.

8) Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll are, for some people, just as sure a means of reaching contentment (enlightenment etc) as sitting on top of a pole for 10 years. Each to their own.

9) Always wear cheap socks inside out - they're much more comfortable that way.

Well, those are the simple tenants of Zeta, I guess, although there is a lot more to talk about with each one. That will have to wait till later, though, as I had best get back to some good honest relaxing now. I'll probably chat about Zeta, gods & spirituality next time. Probably.

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Philosophy for the Age of Change - the Book of Zeta

What a ridiculous title! Still, there's no point being half-hearted about these things, especially when there is such competition for our attention out there.

So, what's it all about? Good question, and one that might take quite some answering. The short version is that it is about how to live a good life - good in every sense: content, useful, successful etc.

The whole zeta way of life is a good idea at the moment, as it is a toolkit for success, but it will become ever more useful as the Age of Change comes upon us - as resources run low and current lifestyles are squeezed out of existance. Success does not mean having fast cars, big houses or race horses, but rather friends, love and contentment.

Zeta is basically a state of mind, a way of looking at life, a philosophy. The only problem is that it is really hard to talk about the concepts involved without sounding either like a religious zealot or a new age etherial. Terms such as 'acceptance', 'enlightenment', 'peace', 'understanding', 'creation' and 'ketchup' are all useful and apt terms, but somehow conjure up completely the wrong atmosphere of discussion (apart from ketchup, of course). There is nothing wrong with new age or religious concepts and beliefs, it is just that zeta is possibly neither. It might be both, as it happens, or either - it doesn't actually matter & I am certainly not sufficiently enlightened to understand the fundamental workings of the universe.

Which brings us to the problem of my not being very clever, so failing horribly at expressing myself succinctly. I am also not particularly zeta myself - not charismatic, brave or assertive enough - so I can only understand the concepts through a few personal triumphs, some knowledge of zetas and through recognising my mistakes. This again makes it hard to deliver my thoughts as words of wisdom, like delicate petals blown from the tree of knowledge, rather than just incoherant blather. Hey ho.

Well, enough for now - I'll start properly next time with some actual thoughts on Being Zeta and at some point get around to talking about love, religion, sex, drugs, rocks & rolls.

It'll be worth waiting for, I promise.