This question is often asked and, firstly, we should always be skeptical of anyone who says they have answers to the big questions. There is so much that is not known about the entirety of “Life” while we occupy, and are constrained by, the perspective of the small and limited realm of human life. No one who walks this earth has full and complete access to the wisdom of the Universe.
There are people who have had glimpses, through their experience and learning, into realms that are concealed to most of us, and these are people worth listening to. Yet, without personal knowledge of these individuals, how do we know whether they are trustworthy, and that what they say is true? Our feelings and intuition tell us when something is true for us. This is always our first guide. Then we look at how these people live their lives. As biblical wisdom reminds us, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”
In addition to seeking answers from others, we can embark on our own journey to meaning, which can be sought on both a macro and micro level. Because of that other biblical gem: “as above so below,” which is now supported and verified by the quantum physics notion of “entanglement,” we know that on whatever level we seek, and attain, enlightenment and awareness, that knowledge can be extrapolated either up or down. Truth, if it exists at all, must exist at all times, on all levels and under all circumstances. Anything less is mere subjectivity.
When we first set out on our discovery of the meaning of life, we can begin by seeking that which has meaning for us. We can, through our experience, begin to discern the life conditions and experiences that lead us to peace, love and pure joy, and go from there. By paying attention to our feelings and our heart desires, and then by silencing our left brain chatter, that continually throws up obstacles through suggestions that our feelings and desires are not rational or logical, and will not ensure sufficient supply of money, prestige, or security, we can begin to realize what brings us to a state of bliss.
Without even considering the big questions of life, and their ramifications for our lives, we can start to tap into the “feeling” of the meaning of life through doing what we love. When we do what we truly love, that which our heart truly desires, we potentially become so absorbed and engaged that all else is excluded from consciousness, which is what psychologist and academic Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the state of “flow.” In his book “Finding Flow,” he describes it thus:
“Because of the total demand on psychic energy, a person in flow is completely focused. There is no space in consciousness for distracting thoughts, irrelevant feelings. Self-consciousness disappears, yet one feels stronger than usual. The sense of time is distorted; hours seem to pass by in minutes. When a person’s entire being is stretched to the full functioning of body and mind, whatever one does becomes worth doing for its own sake; living becomes its own justification. In the harmonious focusing of physical and psychic energy, life finally comes into its own.”
In this state we have little need for asking the meaning of life. We feel we are living it.
