Summary of Awakening from the Meaning Crisis by John Vervaeke, Chapters 36–37: Reverse Engineering Enlightenment
The perennial problem at the core of our meaning crisis is that the adaptive, self-organizing machinery of Relevance Realization is the very thing that makes us vulnerable to self-deception. These lectures give an overview and breakdown of the different aspects of our meaning-making machinery, and the perennial problems that beset them in the search for wisdom and enlightenment.
An overview of meaning-making and its perennial problems.
Functional. RR is based on self-organization, self-identification, self-reflection
Undermined by: parasitic processing, modal confusion, reflectiveness gap
Structural. The structure of the meta-meaning, agent-arena relationship
Undermined by: absurdity, anxiety, alienation
Developmental. Character building and maturation
Undermined by: existential inertia, existential ignorance, existential entrapment
Organizing a response
Developing a solution to these perennial problems is tantamount to reverse engineering Enlightenment. Vervaeke proposes a systematic approach based on these specific responses.
Problem: Parasitic processing (past experiences negatively impact future outlook). Solution: Cultivate a counteractive dynamical system, such as the Noble Eightfold Path.
Problem: Modal confusion (approaching Being problems within the Having mode). Solution: Sati / mindfulness to remember the Being mode.
Problem: Reflectiveness gap (balancing the capacity to reflect with the capacity to act). Solution: Flow allows one to seamlessly make and break frame in a dynamic fashion.
Problem: Absurdity (a sense that existence is pointless due to a clash of perspectives). Solution: Prajna / scientia intuitiva. Adopt a perspective of non-duality that aligns individual thought with the cosmic perspective.
Problem: Anxiety (a nebulous dread that is often driven by sense of mortality). Solution: Inner dialogue. Internalizing and indwelling the sage, playing with the sage through dialogue.
Problem: Alienation (inability to connect with others or society at large) Solution: Communitas, the spirit of community that develops through authentic discourse and shared identity.
Problem: Existential entrapment (we don’t know what we’re missing, but we won’t know what we’re giving up). Solution: Gnosis to achieve higher states of consciousness.
It is important to practice all of these solutions in concert within a wisdom framework in order to shape all levels of consciousness simultaneously.
