In this video we discuss the phenomena of conspirituality and the necessity of first principles thinking. Conspirituality is an invented term that refers to the confluence of spirituality and conspiracy theories. We live in interesting times when the official narrative is often as absurd if not more than the zaniest conspiracy theories.
Most people who are on an awakening journey have at least dabbled in conspiracy theories. As we’ve discussed previously, exploring alternate explanations for reality is a necessary part of the spiritual awakening process. However, these alternate explanations are often even more distorted than the mainstream narratives. So, we have to be discerning about what stories replace the old ones.
The story of separation underpins the mainstream narrative of dominant culture, while the central experience of spiritual awakening is the realization that all is one. Therefore, the experience of spiritual awakening immediately puts us at odds with dominant culture. Up is down, left is right, and we find ourselves floating in a void of unknowing.
The unfortunate truth is that mainstream culture is based on the falsehood of dead matter and separation, so every cultural institution built upon that foundation is permeated with the great lie. Most of us have sensed this lie on some level since birth. We were born into a world that doesn’t make sense and inherited a culture that is based on falsehood.
This is the cause of the quiet melancholy and scared desperation that permeates the collective consciousness. Our soul longs for something real. Our heart longs for connection and authentic community. We dream of a simpler more authentic way of life.
These dreams and heart and soul impulses must serve as the foundation for a new story and culture. But we must beware of the trap of conspirituality which is often just another version of the story of separation. The truth is dominant culture is based on a flawed premise about the nature of reality so everything about it is suspect. Additionally, many conspiracy theories have an element of actual or allegorical truth. However, conspiracy theories are generally speaking outgrowths from the tree of dominant culture and share many of its pathologies. The most pronounced of which is a tendency towards fear and paranoia.
In our search for truth it is important to remember the difference between absolute and relative reality. Absolute reality is the singularity of consciousness that is the truth of who and what you are. Relative reality is everything else and the entirety of manifest reality. Manifest reality itself is based on the lie of perceived separation.
At best we can experience absolute truth subjectively and strive for increasingly less distorted understandings of manifest reality. However, any perception of separation is necessarily built on the relative reality of separation which is a lie. Therefore, any understanding of relative reality necessarily falls short of absolute truth.
As we navigate these confusing times it is important to ground ourselves in the experience of absolute reality while applying critical first principles thinking to our understanding of relative reality. The frequent experience of absolute truth through meditation is the most important foundation for sensemaking. The experience of absolute truth through meditation makes the distortions in explanations about manifest reality more apparent. Moreover, it helps anchor us in the void of unknowing, which is the best place to approach truth from.
I have grown less interested in conspiracy theories over the years because I’m less interested in relative truth. More and more I simply exist in the void of unknowing. I find there are fewer and fewer things I actually need to have an opinion about. When it is necessary for me to form an opinion I start by experiencing absolute truth through meditation and then from the void of unknowing start with first principles.
The first principle for me is always that all is one experiencing itself as multiplicity, and that the heart is wiser than the intellect because it remembers the unity of all things. From there I proceed upward and/or downward until the proposition and my first principles are connected by a cord of reason, with a bias towards the understanding that the simplest explanation is usually the most accurate.
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