How to think about meaning

Howdy, hope everyone had a nice eclipse this past Monday! I'm about to head off on a road trip so there may be a gap in TEDNET issues in the coming weeks. But, maybe not, we'll see 🤷. On to today's issue:

To find meaning, or even discuss meaning (as in the meaning of life), we have to look to a way of thinking outside of the material realm. Science, as it exists today, cannot provide any guidance on meaning beyond "to perpetuate the species by means of reproduction". Which I doubt is much solace to anyone. Instead, we have to look to the inner world (our psyche and spirituality). Where traditional thinking and reason deals with the outer, material world, intuition deals with the inner.

"Despite all the supposed knowledge that we have accumulated, meaning is no where to be found, except in those fields of study that point to a unity between man and the universe." —Stephen Arroyo

Intuition and the inner world are innately personal and entirely subjective. That is, objective reality cannot be measured and tested in order to prove or disprove the meaning of life¹. The meaning comes from within. So, by it's very nature, we have to step outside of the bounds of empirical evidence. We cannot simply look to a study, or some other external authority, and be given a meaning for our life. This has been the fall of so many religions over the ages: they became the meaning themselves, rather than guides to find that meaning.

Stepping into the world of psychology, philosophy and spirituality means we are entering the land of discernment. We must find a language or symbolism that resonates with our own intuition. We must determine what feels right or good to our own selves. I like to think about it as a personal science: We can't test and measure objective, material reality and thus can't rely on other peoples results and conclusions. Instead, we have to perform the test for ourselves and be aware of the results within ourselves! This is how we find meaning.

In this way, the type of knowledge employed for objective science is different than that for subjective. Which is why many get stuck. If they do feel compelled to search for meaning in their life, they may dive into thousands of years of human writings on the matter in hopes of finding something concrete. Or, a sort of definitive and complete system of meaning and how it all works that can be proven or shown in the same way we show empirical evidence for objective sciences. Instead, the works of this nature are guides to finding the thing, rather than the thing itself.

"[..] the teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. Don’t mistake it for the truth itself. A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon." —Thich Nhat Hanh

This, to me, is the magical part. Each of us, individually, have such immense responsibility! Without an objective, empirical guide to the meaning of life, essentially, we just have to choose it. The foundation of how we build up our view of ourselves and the world around us must be decided upon by each of us. This is like the root, creative act of being human! It's empowering and humbling. And, honestly, fun. If you haven't yet, why not give it a go? And, even if you already have, intuitive knowledge is a process rather than the static facts found in objective observation:

"As man's needs undergo periodic transformations, so his myths must change to suit his new dimension of being. As man's consciousness evolves so must his myths." —Stephen Arroyo

Agree? Disagree? Let me know. I'd love to hear from y'all. And thanks to everyone who's joined along thus far, and for the positive response—I'm immensely grateful! If you know anyone else who might enjoy these ponderings, please forward them this email or send them to tednet.org! 🙏