FROM "LIFE MAKES NO SENSE" TO "EXISTENTIAL FITNESS"
Here's the basic 5-Step Process this course explores.
Phase 1: Lost in the Woods / Confusion, Angst, Meaninglessness
This is "The Problem," or starting point.
"Life makes no sense."
Here's the catch: far from being a sign that "something is wrong" or "a question you shouldn't ask," this point of inquiry has a long and incredibly rich heritage. Shakespeare's Hamlet. Goethe's Faust. Tolstoy's Confession. Dante begins his Divine Comedy as literally lost in the woods. Ecclesiastes. The Bhagavad Gita. Groundhog Day. And so on.
"It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning." - P. D. Ouspensky
Phase 2: Ask the Right Questions
Modern life is confusing. It can seem like living in a hall of funhouse mirrors. We can often feel like we're living amid swirling, blurry tornado clouds of incompatible ideas, contradictory beliefs, and conflicting worldviews.
Everyone seems to walk around pretending that "The Big Answers" have already been figured out, and all that's left to do is work out the details. Almost everyone seems to disagree, yet they also seem certain that their version is correct.
In a situation like this, how can we find clarity?
It's a simple but huge step: to start asking the right questions.
Phase 3: How to Build a Sturdy Life Philosophy
"Big Questions" lead to "Big Answers." And Big Answers lead to belief systems.
Belief systems can be "fragile" or sturdy.
Fragile belief systems or life philosophies make us vulnerable.
Vulnerable to what, exactly? To the existential monsters (or Big Questions) every one of us face. "Bad" answers in these areas put us at risk of collapsing into existential crisis and soft nihilism.
The alternative?
A sturdy life philosophy that will withstand the slings and arrows life throws at it.
Phase 4: Reluctant Religious
"Everyone is religious, including atheists," and "there's no such thing as the irreligious."
With that in mind, the question isn't whether or not to be religious or not. The challenge is to get better at it.
That said, the modern spiritual scene is a hazardous landscape. (And that's putting it mildly.)
Some individuals are satisfied and already content with wherever they are in this area. They can skip this section.
A for the rest of us, we're striving to find some sort of resolution in the modern spiritual and religious scene that isn't merely crazy or boring, that doesn't negate the intellect or our humanity, that offers genuine answers, the fosters sanity and legitimate fulfilment, and is rooted in Truth.
The challenge here is to navigate some treacherous terrain.
Phase 5: "Existential Fitness"
The previous four steps have been about establishing a foundation to build from.
From that basis, it's about getting stronger.
Physical fitness is about strengthening the body.
Existential fitness is about strengthening the body, heart, mind, and soul.
The outcome is greater confidence and clarity, sanity and self-respect, groundedness and peace.
A Few Quick Words About Navigating This Terrain
A "5-Stage Process" like the above risks making the process seem oversimplified, simplistic, or gimmicky.
But there are reasons for this. To someone going through them, these matters can sometimes seem overwhelming. The challenge, then, is to boil things down into something manageable, like a 5-Step process.
Life is messy. It's confusing. Sometimes in these realms, there are no perfect answers, and we just have to muddle through the best we can. Problems like the above can be slippery, and finding "solutions" are no small deal. Along these lines, the process outlined above is not a panacea or silver-bullet solution to all problems, and isn't meant to be.
But it can sometimes help.
These problems can be solved. Greater clarity and peace of mind in these areas is possible.
A parallel here can be drawn to learning self-defense or martial arts. If someone takes a few martial arts classes, they aren't guaranteed to win every single fight from that point forward. Much depends on whether they come to class, how much they practice, how much they want to improve, etc.
But one thing is fairly certain: studying helps. Taking a few classes can significantly turn the odds more in your favor.
This works the same way.
The Course Format | How it Works
This course is a collection of written articles that you can work through at your own pace.
They don't include videos. It's currently various series of select articles.
They're organized along the five steps outlined above. Each step offers 1) an objective and 2) resources to help achieve that objective.
Since this process doesn't necessarily move in a straight line from A to B, the course allows users to skip around as needed. Sometimes the "way through" isn't a straight line, but a series of spirals, curves, wanderings, and retracing steps.