[As some may know, I am preparing my next book, which will be the all-and-everything text. I'll attempt to leave nothing out which subsequent seekers require. In editing past writings, I came across this, which I believe is too good to wait until the books publishing some years ahead, so I'll post it here.]
The Meaning of Life
So many over the ages, and even today, bewail that the meaning of life is a secret the universe has obstinately and unforgivingly refused to vouchsafe. But these are ignorant people who simply haven’t bothered to look in the right places. To those who have aroused from the common somnolence, and sought answers without prejudice, the solution to this mystery is blindingly obvious. Like the philosopher’s stone, tossed into the muddy street from a pub window, the truth is hidden in plain sight.
The first truth, the foundation, is evanescence. As the I Ching says, “It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.” Death is not the meaning of life, but it is the basis of where we begin. The first truth is that we are allotted only a short time span. Life is a light flaring which peaks, dims, then extinguishes.
The second truth is, that for reasons which remain obscure, rarely does anyone ask: what happens after death? Surely, any intelligent living being who has awoken to the inevitability of death would naturally ask what lies beyond? And surely, the answer to that question would be the pivot upon how one would then conduct the life that is left before them.
The third truth is that despite the commonly held belief that ‘no one knows what happens after death’, in fact, this has been extensively studied by many highly talented and determined people over the long history of our species. Sieving the rubbish and identifying the insightful, is not so difficult. Condensed to a few intelligent candidates, it becomes obvious they can all be addressed in remarkably similar responses – there is not that great a difference between the most likely possibilities.
The fourth truth is understanding how to conduct life to ensure the survival of consciousness beyond death. This truth cannot be discerned on one’s own. It requires more than common sense and intelligence – it requires accessing the legacy of wisdoms from long traditions of those dedicated to this endeavour.
All this can be condensed to a very simple meaning of life: because it ends, the only purpose worthy of our life-force is to dedicate ourselves to sustaining the essence of life beyond death with the most effective and liberating outcome.
That so few alive on the planet have grasped this fundamental reality of our existence, is to me the strangest mystery. Not that there haven’t been whole civilisations dedicated to this pursuit of post-life truth in the past, but in my time on earth, this awareness is depressingly absent. A pall of ignorant enchantment envelopes humanity, where they quickly tire when talk turns to matters ultimate.
Never mind, that is for wiser beings to ponder – we must assure our own survival in whichever way possible, before we divert attention to ‘saving the world’. This book is about securing the only sane meaning of ‘freedom’: freedom from annihilation at death.
The situation is this:
You wake up from sleep on a boat, that in a short time will disappear over the edge of a precipice, where you die. You ask yourself, “What does this mean?”
‘Meaning’: what is the essence of this word, this question? You want to make sense of your situation; you want to grasp the significance of it; you want clarification – to decipher the impressions and realisations you have received upon awakening. You experience a passion to clasp the pith of your state in clarity of action. The meaning of life is not a philosophy – it is the command to act. Awakening on that boat with your demise ahead: what will you do? To seize the meaning is to seize the day: to act!
To act implies purpose. Initially, we are asleep within the purpose of others. To break that spell, we must drop all alien ideals and schemes: free ourselves from the commands of others. Once we have shed the shackles of ensorcellment, the next truth dawns:
The fifth truth is that ‘meaning’ is not something we discover. Meaning is the fruit of creative will: we make meaning. Upon being reborn into sovereignty, our spirit demands vision, conviction and resolve. This is called intent.
Mindlessly sucked into alien designs, or aimless dithering, are the marks of spiritual catalepsy. The final truth is that we are the agents of our own meaning, and this cannot be fabricated or artificial: it must emerge from the core of being.
How to foster and release this endogenous inspiration is the whole science of spirituality. Everything else in this world is secondary to this one primary quest: the realisation and liberation of destiny. That is the meaning of life.
