I am trying out what already is looking like a promising experiment. In several areas of my life, I have tried using long-distance motivational techniques that seem to work. Right now, these include subconscious reinforcement, detailed plans for failure, and food or monetary penalties. In the grand scheme of things, however, everything comes down to how much I live consciously. This means I respond to stimuli from a rational framework, guard against distractions, and live fully in each moment. So I have created what I believe will become the linchpin of my whole paradigm structure.

What I am implementing is a brief consciousness evaluation at the end of each day and then a general one for the entire week at the beginning of my philosophical appointed times. During these times, I will rate myself from a 0-10 scale, with 0 being no lapses in living consciously and 10 being an absolute failure. For the daily evaluations I multiply that number by 10 and put aside that many cents in a specified envelope. For the weekly evaluations, I figure out the number and put that many dollars into the same envelope. Once the envelope reaches $50, I will donate it to someone who has been influential on my journey to living consciously.

Obviously this scale will be somewhat subjective and always subject to change, but just to give you an idea, I have included my daily version here. 0 is not included but would basically be a really good day.

1. Three or more “distractions”.
2. One definite lapse.
3. Two or three definite lapses.
4. More than three lapses or one substantial lapse.
5. Two substantial lapses.
6. Three substantial lapses.
7. More than three substantial lapses, but still generally maintained focuses, big priorities, and vows.
8. Did not maintain focuses and big priorities.
9. Did not maintain vows.
10. Day in complete disarray.

I look at this as one way I can literally redeem, or buy up the time (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5). Each time I give into distraction it will cost me in a very direct way. I believe in time this might also act as a subconscious reinforcement as well, meaning that even though I don’t actually think about the penalty, my subconscious still registers it and I live more consciously as a result.

Two of my Scriptural focuses the past year have been redeeming the time and taking captive every thought. Both of these are crucial components to living consciously. I am moving on to a different focus now, but hopefully by following the technique above I will be able to safeguard what I learned through experience the past year.

If you were given the choice to become a robot, would you take it? I am sure your instinctive reaction is a resounding “Of course not!” However, there are many benefits of being a robot. Here are ten reasons why being a robot would be beneficial:

1. No stress. According to medicinenet.com, stress is caused by a physical or emotional change, or a change in your environment that requires you to adjust or respond. A robot experiences no stress because it just follows a pre-planned script that encompasses any situation in which it is placed.
2. No depression. A robot never has time to be depressed since all of its energy is poured into whatever task it is currently performing. It is totally consumed by the now.
3. No guilt. Guilt or regret happens when we do something that we later regret. Robot’s don’t experience this since all of their actions are programmed by someone else. If anything, the robot might get angry at its programmer. However, even this won’t happen unless the robot was programmed to do this, which would be unlikely.
4. Deliberation is calculated and rational. A robot will only deliberate when it faces a decision about which it has not been programmed to respond. In this case, it would quickly deliberate to find the action that would be closest aligned to what it was programmed to do and function in that way until specifically programmed differently according to the situation.
5. Respond rather than react to stimuli. A robot is not “surprised” by anything that happens to it. It doesn’t react rashly or emotionally to unanticipated situations. Instead, it calmly responds in the rational way in which it has been programmed to respond.
6. Little ambiguity about purpose. A robot’s purpose is always crystal clear: to complete what it has been programmed to accomplish. It doesn’t have to wrestle with whether an activity is worthwhile or beneficial. It simply executes the next action on its hard drive.
7. Ability to view pain simply as neurons firing in the brain rather than as an energy-sapping demon. A robot would sense pain as a signal that something is wrong and respond accordingly. It would not languish and consider suicide to end the pain. In doing so, it would be able to most effectively alleviate the pain.
8. Not worried about what others think. A robot has no regard for the feelings or wishes of anyone else. It will perform any action it is programmed for without thought of anything else. It will never let social constraints hold it back.
9. Not afraid of failure. There is no reticence on the part of a robot in doing what it has been programmed to do. It only functions in the present moment and simply functions according to the instructions given to it.
10. Not despondent about messing up. If a robot does mess up in performing a task, there is no shame or embarrassment at having done so. Instead, it simply changes what it needs to so it can accomplish its mission.

Perhaps after reading this, you are warming up to the idea that being a robot isn’t all that bad. Actually, I am sure you are not doing anything of the sort. Why? I can answer that in one word: freedom. Embedded in our psyche is a drive for complete autonomy. Sometimes we choose to settle with something less than that, but that is always in the back of our minds. The problem is, freedom usually brings along with it all the negative things listed above, such as stress, depression, and fear. So, is there any way we can maximize our freedom while minimizing these negative by-products? I believe there is.

Many attempt to solve this dilemma by following some religion. However, I believe making any religious presuppositions the fundamental framework for your life is a very limiting option, unless someone could prove conclusively that the tenets of the religion were true using logic and evidence. My solution is actually much simpler and more liberating than religion. In fact, any person regardless of their religious affiliation could use the method I do without compromising any of their beliefs, at least initially. The method I am referring to I have outlined in previous posts as Living in Appointed Times by Faith. The main reason I wrote this post was to dispel the myth that being a robot was bad, because this would be the main objection to this paradigm, which you can read about by following the link above, as well as part 2, part 3, and part 4. Being a robot is only bad if one or both of the aspects below is true:

1. Someone else is programming you. This is often what happens with religion. A person gives up their reasoning and moral compass to follow a holy book or an expert that they believe without good evidence has the important answers to life’s great questions.
2. The program you are following can never change. The capacity for change is what freedom is all about. No one (I think) will choose to follow one set of parameters for ever. This would result in eternal boredom.

In my ideal paradigm, I follow a preset program of how to behave, think, and respond during scientific appointed times. Then, during philosophical appointed times, I reprogram my robot (or avatar) based on many factors that were processed during the previous week. This cycle can repeat endlessly, producing maximum efficiency, maximum freedom, and maximum enlightenment.

Now, to be honest, I am a horrible robot. I am very moody and am constantly evaluating everything. I get despondent about life very easily, but I also have times of ecstasy after having a breakthrough in some area. This is why this paradigm is perfect for me. It helps me to stay grounded and to realize that change happens gradually. I realize that not even the best paradigm can necessarily work for everyone. I would love to hear your critiques of this paradigm as well as its merits if you have tried it out. I really hope all of my readers are able to live life to the fullest and attain the highest possible level of happiness.

One final note: I don’t want it to sound like I am disparaging religion. I myself currently follow a religion, albeit my own unique version of it. What I do object to is making any religion the starting point in a person’s epistemology. This could be a road to disaster. Everything has to come down to logic and evidence in the search for truth.

I have a penchant for challenging the core pillars of my knowledge structure. I have a passion for combining logic with creativity and continually asking the question ‘why?’ Putting your beliefs and psychology on trial is one of the most liberating and terrifying things you will ever do.

If you decide to muster up the courage to challenge yourself in this way, here are some pointers that will help you along the journey:

1. Focus on only one thing at a time.  I often find myself, say, rethinking some theological position I hold. That will then dovetail into some political controversy and might extend into science or medicine and other subjects as well. Pretty soon, I am trying to solve all the world’s problems. This never gets me anywhere. It is better to just focus strictly on one specific issue and don’t consider the possible ramifications of that in other areas until after you have come to a resolution of sorts.
2. Seek to find the integration of truth and happiness. Probably the main reason you are auditing your beliefs is that you, like me, are intensely plagued by the quest for truth. This being the case, be wary of confirmation bias. A good way to do this is to do everything you can to prove that what you believe is wrong. This is, understandably, an extremely difficult mindset to adopt. This doesn’t mean you should only read or study things that oppose your viewpoint, but you should give more time to the opposing viewpoints than on researching your current position. Far to many people fall into what I call ‘leading the evidence where they want it to go.’ They have already decided what is true and are therefore just looking for whatever happens to confirm their presupposition. Although this may bring a level of happiness, it is shallow and for me, undesirable. Instead of sacrificing the pure truth for your personal happiness, allow them to tag alongside each-other by doing what I call ‘believing in the possibility.’ This means that while not accepting certain things as the most likely truth, you still see them as possibly true and find the potential benefits of trying them out to outweigh the cost in doing so.
3. Have an outlet for sharing what you are studying. There is a phrase we use when people own up to something they believe or practice that is contrary to the societal norms they belong to and that is ‘coming out.’ If you grew up in a very liberal family and community, it would be very hard to come out as a conservative. If you grew up in a fundamental Christian family and community, it would be very hard to come out as an atheist. If everyone you know is pro-choice, it would be hard to come out as pro-life, and vice versa. Therefore, if you are challenging a deeply rooted societal or family value, find a safe outlet that you can share your thoughts with about the extremely controversial topic you are researching.
4. Be excited about wherever you are going. Don’t fear change. This is one of the most significant obstacles to progress: fear of change. It halts innovation, stifles creativity, promotes slavishness, and deadens relationships. Auditing beliefs will lead you into uncharted territory. Embrace the adventure.

Please know that if you need an outlet for anything, I can help. I will not judge you or think strangely of you regardless of what you tell me. In fact, I will do everything I can to prove I am wrong if what you say happens to clash with what I currently believe. Humility, open-mindedness and a non-judgmental spirit are the hallmarks of a true friend. May you find many in life.

Happy travels!