Journey Into Self: Book II, A Philosophical Autobiography

By James Joseph Blaha III

What I'd like to do, if some of the readers get confused as to exactly what an autobiographical trilogy means, is to provide a working definition.

An autobiography is a book published by me, about me. A biography is a book published about me by someone else. An autobiographical trilogy is three books.

Book 1

• Language: English
• Publisher: Go To Publish
• Release date: Nov 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647496302

James Joseph Blaha III

Write your own story - for seniors, high school students and all those curious readers in between a unique three volume story of one's whole, full life.""Learning how to develop a philosophy of and for life will make you the reader a better person"".THINK FOR YOUSELF!!!""This is the second book of an autobiographical trilogy. The first book Journey Into Self answers the authors question - Who am I really? This second book develops a philosophy of and for life to answer the question - Why am I?The author lived his first seven years in Cicero IL (Al Capone territory) in an apartment on the second floor of his grandfather's building - Blaha's Hall & Tavern.The family moved to a Bohemian Bungalow in Brookfield IL when Jim was in the second grade. He became a successful professional musician while still in high school which helped pay his tuition through college. He later found, he could have had a full scholarship to Northwestern University if he played in the Marching Band. He stayed with the twelve piece Dance Band which he helped form while in high school and college.His paradigm in life was to get into the best University that would accept him, get hired by a top corporation with a great management development training program and if lucky enough to find the love of his life, It was accomplished.The second paradigm of his life was to have a successful career with Westinghouse, get married to Barbara the love of his life and have a family with three children. After accomplishing this, his next paradigm was to change careers, watch his family grow and his 3 sons go to college and have grandchildren. This was also accomplished and for the last twenty years he has lived his paradigm by spending winters on Okaloosa Island in his condo in Northwest Florida and summers in Naperville IL watching his grandchildren grow and graduate from college. As he said in his first book his goal is to show that anyone with mental health challenges can be happy, healthy, wise and responsibly wealthy.His favorite autobiography is Benjamin Franklin.

Book preview

Prologue

My process for writing this second book was similar to the challenge of my first book to Know Thyself and answer the question Who Am I? This second book of my trilogy started with the challenge to answer the question Why Am I?

A journey usually begins one step at a time and moves into the future. In my first book, I wore the hat of a Psychologist. In this book, I am wearing the hat of a Philosopher.

A Philosopher is a reflective thinker and a student of Philosophy. Philosophy is the following; 1. A critical study of fundamental beliefs. 2. Sciences and Liberal Arts exclusive of medicine, Law and Theology. 3. A system of ideas. 4. A sum of personal convictions.

To develop a personal Philosophy of and for life, I did a great deal of research of past and present Philosophers to answer the question Why Am I? and Why Are We?

Do you the reader have an answer for that question? I the author, did not. I spent the last several years trying to find out why. Philosophers are interesting animals. They differ from Scientists in their approach to problem solving. A scientific approach is to find a definitive answer. The Philosophical approach realizes there are many questions for which we do not have an answer.

Albert Einstein said, The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.

I have lived my life with Father Time, Mother Nature, and a fictitious friend called Whonose. In my first book, Father Time measured my life in 10-year cycles (decades). In this book he measures my life in scores (20-year increments). Since I am in my 80’s I am in my 5th score, probably my last score? The true survivors of the world are living in the 5th score of their life -JJB

Whonose is the person I turn to when I don’t have an answer to a complex question-Who-Knows?

Introduction

What I’d like to do, if some of the readers get confused as to exactly what an autobiographical trilogy means, is to provide a working definition. An autobiography is a book published by me, about me. A biography is a book published about me by someone else. An autobiographical trilogy is three books. Book 1 Who Am I? was published in 2010. Book 2 Why Am I? is being published in 2021. Book 3 Where Am I? will be published sometime in the future. All three books are published under the title Journey Into Self. Book 1 is a Psychological Autobiography. Book 2 is a Philosophical Autobiography and Book 3 will be an Astro Physical Autobiography.

Some people say to write an Autobiography is being selfish. I can’t disagree. However, I say anyone who can write an Autobiography that is helpful to others is being selfless. Selfish is defined an adjective-excessive or exclusively concerned with one’s own self. Selfless is defined an adjective, meaning unselfish.

While this book is about me the author, it is written for you the reader.

Dedication

Dedicated to Socrates and all the great Philosophers, Thinkers and Doers who brought us to where we are today!

Socrates was a scholar, teacher, & philosopher born in ancient Greece. His Socratic method laid the ground work for Western civilization systems of logic and philosophy. Birth: c470 B.C.E; Died: 399 B.C.E

Comments from Shelley Binghay:

After I read this book, I had become self-critical of any future endeavors. I would ask myself Is this or will this be meaningful to me? It was this book that influenced me to consciously live as meaningful a life as possible, to place a great value on the journey and not just the destination.

What is it that makes life worth living? Is it the pursuit of happiness? Attaining success? As human beings living in a vast and endless universe (or multiverse for that matter), what are we actually living for? I, for one, cannot answer those particular questions for you but know that I am also one of those who is searching for answers, trying to look for ways to make sense out of life, the numerous paths and roads we haven’t taken. We yearn for the truth about our own existence where pain, suffering, loss, and even death is inevitable, but amidst those darkest moments, we rise above those conditions and grow beyond them.

These philosophical truths and therapeutic methods hit close to home. For someone who has been wandering and wondering about meaning, this gave me a better understanding about life, offered me a glimmer of hope, and provided an enormous relief.

This book is very informative and easy to read. I like how Jim did this book his way and I like how he relays his message through the information given in this book. Jim is a very good man whose life experience made him who he is today. Jim also inspires me to always be happy and find a good meaning in life.

Comments from Kyle Entera

I generally like reading historians’ and biographers’ autobiographies. Not that they are generally more intrinsically interesting than other peoples’ (in fact they’re usually not) but I like watching how, as writers like Jim, turn their skills onto their own lives. I must confess that I am grateful to be part of this book. It’s like Jim brought me in to his life journey. Now it gives me a clearer picture about why Jim named this book Journey Into self.

— I was busy.

— I took time to absorb the content of the book. Instead of rushing through it, I let each chapter sink in before I moved on.

I enjoyed the book immensely. I studied basic philosophy in college so I soon became aware that many philosophers were left out and some of them were glossed over in this book. You could see some quotation statements coming from these great philosophers in this book.

This book is part of a trilogy which you’ll enjoy more if you read the first book and the 3rd book soon to be publish.

Jim is a master at writing with a scintillating wit and a way of connecting with his readers that is rare. The early part of the book is interesting and necessary and filled with a lot information and realizations that will answer our questions Why am I and Why are we. However, as he gets further into the story of his life, the author progresses in such a sharply amusing way that I was caught off-guard. What he did capture brilliantly for me that somewhat relates to my current