Phase 2: Ask the Right Questions
How do we make sense of it?
If life seems like a maze of carnival funhouse mirrors, where everything is distorted and out of perspective, the task at hand is to see more clearly.
The "funhouse mirror effect" isn't that something is a complete and total illusion - seeing something that isn't there. It's seeing something that is there, but distorted or out of focus.
A key source of confusion today is this: modern life often means navigating through massive tornado clouds of conflicting ideas. The modern world often feels like a tsunami of incompatible belief systems. Even a few minutes of media can leave us disoriented, spinning, or with a lingering sense of existential vertigo.
Is there a healthy response to this?
One solution is to "reboot."
It means taking a "back to basics" approach.
Rewinding back to very simple, fundamental questions can wipe the slate clean. They can eliminate a lot of confusing noise and allow us to regroup on solid ground and start fresh.
Objective: To achieve a degree of clarity through "asking the right questions."
Articles
Start with these:
What is Real "Success"?
What is Real "Happiness"?
Why Are We Here?
Why Do We Suffer?
Who Am I?
What is "The Meaning of Life"?
What "Game of Life" is Worth Playing?
Then, for a deeper dive:
What is "Sanity?
What is "Ego"?
What is "Religion"?
What is "Angst"?
What is an "Existential Crisis"?
Who, or What, is "God"?
What is Real "Faith"?
What is Real "Love"?
What is Real "Self-Esteem"?
What is "Human Nature"?
What is the "Human Potential" for Good?
What is the "Human Potential" for Bad?
What is "Spiritual Awakening"?
How do you "Know Yourself"?
-and for slightly more targeted inquiries:
10 Existential Riddles Life Asks Each of Us
What Are Your Basic Assumptions About Life?
The Search for "IT"
What "Game of Life" Are You Playing?
The Higher Life: on "Living" versus "Existing"
Life Without Regret
Know Thyself: A User's Guide
-and to clarify the playing field:
Why Everyone is a Philosopher
Why Everyone is a Mystic
Why Everyone is a Theologian, Including Atheists (or Why No One is "Irreligious")
These are key questions. But there's still a big problem.
The above rings the dinner bell and calls for answers to gather from all around.
Ideally, this leads to a gathering of the best answers from across the globe and throughout all of known history.
But the actual result can feel like a turbulent mob of conflicting and contradictory ideas.
How do we sort them out?
We need a very practical tool to cut through the noise, simplify things so to prevent overwhelm, and help us organize the avalanche of information and perspectives.
We need a sturdy life philosophy.
NEXT: HOW TO BUILD A STURDY LIFE PHILOSOPHY >
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