How to live
This question arises universally among people who have come to terms with the natural shapelessness at the ground of their experience. “Now that I know this, how do I live my life?”
Everyone will have their own unique way of understanding and living with these findings. For me it seems evident that, at the core, humans are biological machines that exist simply because energy took this particular shape for the time being. There's no grand reason behind it - we're here by chance, not design. On top of this physical reality, we've developed minds that process information, create identities and formulate beliefs. As humans, we've evolved beyond simple herd behavior. Our brains can now create complex group identities and formulate rules for whole societies. Sometimes, it feels like our minds have grown beyond what our bodies actually need. They've developed their own agendas, often disconnecting from our physical needs. In a way, our minds can be helpful partners to our bodies, but sometimes they act more like parasites. This evolution has separated us from nature in many ways. We've become strangers to the natural world and often to ourselves. There's no evidence of a master plan behind all this. It's as if nature's random experiment got a bit out of hand, turning into something that keeps replicating and spreading.
When people talk about enlightenment without the spiritual dogma surrounding it, I think many mean reversing this separation to some extent. Sometimes I hear about “removing one’s conditioning” as a key result to pursue. We will now live here, free of thoughts, free of any concern for our sustenance or survival. Well sure, sounds enticing, doesn’t it. But it’s pure escapism, a romantic solution to all your troubles, and another belief to follow. Mind you however, regardless of what you are now experiencing, and what heights of insight you have now achieved, there will be sunset, you will have to sleep somewhere safe and the most important job for you when you rise will be to poop and drink clean water, if you are fortunate enough to have access to it. Being reminded of your real nature is nothing short of transformational, I assure you. And yet, you will get back to your environment at some point. You will lead a good chunk of your life immersed in this illusory story of people having lives and mingling with each other. This is practical thinking, my friend. You are not a beast anymore and you are not ready to live in the wild . You are not ridding yourself of every conditioning and starting afresh. In nature’s terms you are unfortunately a weakling.
But yes, the transformational force of a reminder is to be reckoned with. Integration might mean stepping back from society's demands or finding a new way to be part of it with a clearer understanding of what's real. This new-found perspective can be problematic however, because it suddenly becomes somewhat incompatible with the craziness surrounding you. The natural world doesn't operate on our ideas of good and evil. It just is. Things are born, they die, they're consumed, they reproduce. What we call death is just energy changing form. Even climate change, in this view, is simply change - neither right nor wrong. There's no universal rule saying we must avoid harm to ourselves or nature. The tricky part about realizing life doesn't have inherent meaning is that it can be tempting to fall into nihilism, thinking nothing matters. But that's just as arbitrary as deciding everything is full of love.
At the end of the day, even if we've created the concept of morality ourselves, it doesn’t mean you should completely disregard it. Since we're probably not going back to being simple-minded animals, we might as well try to live in a way that allows for love, creativity, and growth. It's not an objective truth, but it's a kind of agreement we've made with each other. I think there's potential to create a world that's a bit less frightening, one that gives future generations a chance to explore and understand more. I'm not calling for a utopia - history has shown us how dangerous that idea can be. Personally, I don't align myself with any particular philosophy or vision of society. I try to stay neutral, guiding my actions by what seems true, kind, and reasonable. Truth is what sets you free, kindness is what helps you navigate your freedom with respect to others. Being reasonable is what will keep you safe while your in the beginning phases of integration. Lastly, I think it's important to respect our bodies - the animals that carry us through life. Take care of it with some physical activity, time in the sun, natural food, and restful sleep.
Even if there's no grand purpose to life, I believe we can choose to live it thoughtfully and gracefully. Whether we truly have a choice in this is another question entirely. You will soon see for yourself that, at some point, all notion of free will disappears completely as you flow seamlessly with all of life.
Remember, these are just my thoughts, stories that pop up spontaneously. What matters is finding what rings true for you.
