I wrote a Preface for a new book, I thought I would share it, feedback always appreciated:

Dedication 

I dedicate this work to my teachers whose anonymity I respect but without whose guidance I would still be lost, confused and sleeping soundly.

 I offer this work to all those who seek understanding of their own situation and are looking for clues to unravel the great mystery that envelops us all.

Peter J Levine  

MA, BA Hons, Dip LC, FRM

England, 2010
Preface

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Aristotle

” If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

Isaac Newton

Before we start, two things need addressing. The first being, what is The Mechanics of Happiness? The second: who is Peter Levine, and why should I pay attention to what he has to say? I will deal with them both now.

Certain questions go with the territory of being human. They are perennials, hardy and recurrent. They underpin our existence and are always there, either up front or in the background. Being human presents us with a set of conditions that define the character of what it means to be that most remarkable of things, a sentient, conscious being with aspirations, hopes, fears and concerns.

We have choice. The ability to select, like watching a parade progressing before us and voting for our favourite float or band or costume. We also have a fixed amount of time. We don’t know what that amount is, there’s an element of mystery to it, but we know that we have now. In our now, we may effect change; stand up, sit down, go over there, stay here. We have agency in our own affairs.

All of which sets a scene. We find ourselves in a landscape of choices and options and we each want to do what is best for our own lives. An inner compulsion demands that we explore that landscape and create our own place within it. A place in which we may flourish as individuals, flourish as a community and derive satisfaction, fulfilment, nourishment at all levels and a sense of deep and abiding well being; something that could be loosely described as happiness.

We arrive in this place without a guidebook. There is no definitive set of navigation aids to help steer us through the various challenges we will encounter. Ensuring we reach our final destination in a sound and flourishing condition is not a foregone conclusion. Experience tells us many of our choices will actually make our passage more challenging. We find ourselves in situations and circumstances asking the question “How did I get here?” Somewhere along the line, we strayed just a little from the path, stumbled and fell, became disorientated and found ourselves in a place we did not want to be.

It is easy to miss the obvious. To become distracted and drawn into the vortex of unforeseen events that seem to be swirling around us, waiting to entice us and demand our time and resources. When we are distracted, it is easy to forget those core questions that underpin our existence. We become anaesthetised; we fall asleep and enter what could be described as a dreamlike state. Like a ship that has slipped its moorings, we discover we have drifted into the open sea and are subject to its currents and eddies. 

No matter how far we drift. No matter how long we sleep, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in; those core questions remain unchanged. Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? How do I proceed? Why are things as they are? These, along with their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins, travel with us wherever we go. There is no surgeon anywhere who can remove them or make them go away. Whether we acknowledge them or not is of no consequence. That they are always with us, is.

The scene, then, is set. As The Bard himself said,  

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

The roles we play can be those of chance or they can be those you choose because that is what you wanted.

The conditions of our existence are not arbitrary. Certain laws govern our lives. Not those upheld by the judiciary; but the laws of Nature. We have permission to do what we choose within the territory prescribed by those laws. They are the conditions that define our reality. We may call them by names such as Gravity, Newtonian Mechanics, Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, growth and decline, expansion and contraction… or any number of other named observations, that they exist is a given.

To understand and abide by those laws is the foundation of a life well lived. To live such a life is to create a fabric into which finer qualities are woven. As with any cohesive system – for that is what the Natural Laws are – one who understands them is a mechanic or a technician. The person who understands and can orchestrate them in a way that transcends simply being aware is an engineer. That explains the title of this series of seven books.  

Happiness is not a prescriptive formula. It is an umbrella term that provides a location for a state of being. That state of being is what emanates from someone who is settled, resolved and contented with their life, whatever its conditions. That inner contentment derives from a sense of harmony; a resonance between the individual, the components of their life and the theatre that interplay creates. It is unique to each individual, although certain factors are consistent to us all.

For one person, satisfaction may come from seeing their children flourish. For another it may come from creating a piece of art; a poem, painting, sculpture, or piece of music for example. For another person it may be in watching the sunset, the moon rise and the stars appear on the canvas of the night sky. The list is as varied as the characters of different people. We extract nourishment from moments such as these. The objective is to engineer a situation where these moments become part of a continuum, rather than isolated pockets of inspiration.

You do not ‘do’ happiness. Rather you become and embody the thing that fills you with satisfaction, fulfilment and passion. This leads to the feeling of being connected to something greater, not isolated but a nerve ending in the feeling life of the Universe. This is a matter of fine-tuning, of connecting the person to that which inspires and moves them.

We’re walking a territory here. Exploring the lay of the land a little, taking an overview. It is the birthright of each person to seek exposure to the finest possible influences, in order that they may rise to and fulfil the proposition of their life. For each of us it’s a different proposition. We all have different sized spades, different capacities and different inclinations. The Mechanics of Happiness is offered to the reader so they may extract whatever gems they can from its rich seam. My intention is to cascade you with perceptions, cognizance and knowledge from every conceivable angle in order to facilitate your growth and progression. My loyalty is to the nascent genius that abides within you. Expect me to use whatever strategies I have at my disposal to encourage its growth.

This is not about self help and it’s not about academia. It is about being; about nurturing a sense of genuineness that enables you to flourish on your chosen path. It is about opening you to those factors that create a situation whereby happiness is the inevitable result.

Why happiness? We live in an age of assumed sophistication. The cult of Celebrity demands, and gets the devotion of the masses. Meaningless trinkets have become obsessions and people aspire to an unachievable fantasy lifestyle. The symptoms of this age are unprecedented levels of stress and depression. This in turn gives rise to psychiatric medication dependency and substance abuse. The simple pleasure of a virtuous life being its own reward is an alien concept, sneered at cynically. This is not the whole picture; but it is a significant snapshot.

There is a happiness deficit, an undeniable deficit. People turn to solutions that provide temporary respite from the gnawing reality they often report feeling overwhelmed by. It seems reasonable to conclude that the future prognosis is not a happy one. Change, genuine and lasting change can only come about when there is a true desire to implement it. The only change that counts for the moment is the change you are able to bring about in your own life. Often change is about small shifts in perception. It’s a word that chills the blood of the hardiest soul, but change does not have to be cataclysmic and it is one of the most powerful influences in our lives whether we acknowledge it or not.

Happiness in its simplest form – always the best – is the optimum condition for human life. Understanding the conditions that facilitate happiness enables you to engineer a purposeful life. One that functions in a fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding way. These are not unreasonable expectations to have. View these volumes as the toolkit that enables you assemble that structure and enjoy its rewards.

Going into an unfamiliar place is something that requires a guide. Wherever it might be, a mountain range, deep in an uncharted wilderness, the most essential piece of kit is the native guide. One who knows the territory; the lay of the land, the pitfalls and hazards as well as the short cuts and secret passes.

I will be your narrator. We will proceed together as companions and I will address you directly in a conversational style. I will try my level best to be thorough, informative and to give practical advice where possible. It will become clear to you that this is more than a set of handy tips. You will treat the information however you choose; for some of you this will be a life changing event.

What qualifies me to write about happiness? Why should you take notice of what I have to say? Something so fundamental to our lives demands an explanation on the part of one who professes insight or special knowledge. The route I have taken has not been an easy one. Paradoxically it has developed in me an abiding sense of value for those simple truths that manifest as ripe fruits on the Tree of Life.

I was born into a setting that ticked all the wrong boxes, or at least a high percentage of them. My father was a violent career criminal who spent almost all my early life in maximum security prisons. My mother was a refugee who fled an orphanage and had me at seventeen. She raised my sister and me as a single parent. She also suffered from clinical depression; something I didn’t understand as a child. I grew up in an impoverished, violent inner city neighbourhood, which again satisfied all the usual ‘no hope’ criteria. I experienced the full range of abuses; something that I struggled to make sense of for a good while.

That heady cocktail inspired me to look for authentic meaning. It did not seem reasonable to me at the time that my experiences so far amounted to the totality of what life was about. This is not a complaint, or an appeal for sympathy; it’s just the way it was. I loved my childhood, it was uplifting and inspiring and I engaged in the simple joys those halcyon days are. However, that was despite rather than because of the environment, I found myself in.

I set off on a quest to find answers to life’s big questions. What I had received thus far were very low grade answers of convenience. I travelled the world in search of masters, teachers and the illumined. Those who could provide insight, guidance and clues to a greater understanding of what it means to be human. My quest became an odyssey.

Over a period of some thirty years, my desire to understand flowered into a genuine love of wisdom and its application. As well as graduating from the School of Hard Knocks, I gathered esoteric, hidden and secret knowledge in addition to Master’s degrees in Philosophy and History.

I spent many years unconditionally pursuing my quest. Cloistered in secret gatherings and developing an understanding of the questions that had punctuated my formative years. Always practicing and refining; progressing arts, skills and ways and means. I was a dedicated and established member of esoteric fraternities, the custodians of hidden arts, technologies and knowledge. Within their chambers, I found the sanctuary I craved and the learning I desired.

I enjoyed privileged access to individuals and secret societies that do not court publicity. I absorbed whatever information, learning and wisdom I could and resolved to become the living embodiment of that process. Over a period of decades, I benefitted from an education that was as unique as it was profound. The enigma and the mystery transformed into a practical and implementable system. A system that heralded far more profound and significant matters than I had ever dreamed of.

Gradually the pieces of the puzzle began to fit. The whole began to fall into place. The chaotic gathering of half baked ideas and random notions began to take on clear definition.  A cohesive understanding of the human situation, the human deal and the proposition of human life began to crystallize. I experienced the metamorphosis from an eager and hungry neophyte to accomplished master.

As is the way of things, I worked and continue to work with students of my own in a variety of settings. These have numbered in the thousands over the years. Given the esoteric tradition I followed in the footsteps of, that work has been discrete. Simultaneously I taught in a classical setting at various colleges and universities.

I was inclined towards entrepreneurial enterprises. As a child, I used to work in the street markets picking up casual labour. My first business was manufacturing and selling a simple wooden toy called a Jacob’s Ladder. I employed a friend and we assembled them from small blocks of wood and ribbons. The toy gives the illusion of an endless cascade. We sold them on street corners on market days, fly pitching.

This street education prepared me well for my travelling days. I developed the skills of a pitcher, a pavement artist and an itinerant labourer. I was never out of work and found myself in some unusual situations in some exceptional locations. I became aware that my life had become the thing I had always dreamed it would be; a series of remarkable adventures. Blessings and good fortune have rained upon me. Something that continues to this day.

As time passed, I worked with many people as teacher, employee and employer. The most rewarding work I have ever done is that of counsellor and guide. Working closely with people. I have counselled the desperate, the grieving, the hopeful and the hopeless. All of which can be summed up as locating the spark within the individual and providing opportunity for it to flare, to burn brightly. I have worked with the most severely abused and misused children. Adults devastated by senile dementia. People whose lives have been derailed by disease and disability as well as the brightest and best of talented young people. All of this has informed my appreciation of whom and what we are, and what we may become.

Always driven on by the burning desire to understand the human condition and the precise nature of what the terms of engagement were here; everything else was secondary to the satiation of that desire. I was once asked by a very learned and wise man; “What do you want?” I replied, “I want to know what my place is in the Universe. Where I fit in and what my destiny is.”

Now, decades later, that has become my credo, it always was. The dust has settled on the havoc of my early life and allowed me to pick my way through the debris. Situations over which I had no control are resolved. Vendettas and curses set aside. Anger, venom and bile replaced with understanding and embalmed with perception.

I could not begin to describe the quickenings, breakthroughs, states, transformations and ascendance others have experienced when working with me. It would be a breach of confidence and contrary to the spirit of discretion that governs such things.

My own family have flourished and prospered in their chosen fields; I observe their progress and development with a sense of indulgent pride. One as a highly accomplished scholar and teacher, the other as a skilled engineer. The road we travel along makes us the individuals that we are. We are, at one level, the product of the amalgam of all our experiences.

We triumph over adversity, overcome impossible odds and flourish despite the hand we are dealt. True emancipation is the fruit of a vine whose tendrils seek to establish themselves in all the areas that our lives touch and are touched by. Perception is a gift, understanding a blessing. We move forward, onwards and upwards. We grow stronger and more dynamic as we evolve into our tomorrows.

The further we travel the more we realize that impossible is not a criteria. The Universe in its magnificence is benign and generous; it provides all we need. Our task is simply to assemble it in a cohesive and meaningful way. To piece together the elements and make a pattern that represents something great.

We stand in a field whose harvest is rich and bountiful. We are nourished by all we do. Development is a matter of fine tuning, small shifts in perception. I will say it repeatedly because it is the case. There is no great leap of faith demanded by Creation. Only that you try, remain flexible and adapt what you know to what you discover. Apply what you discover here to what you do and do what you need to in order to extract the gems, the vitamins and the very essence of being from the life that you lead.

image: yuri