Are You a Something Deeperist?
Dear Reader,
Are you a Something Deeperist? Do you believe that we human beings can have insight into the Truth (aka: the Light, the Holy, Absolute Reality, etc: we’re pointing–imperfectly, but not therefore necessarily inadequately–with words and ideas towards what is ultimately beyond words and ideas); but an insight more poetic than literal (like how a good poem read well recreates the essentials, though not the exact details, of one human moment within another human moment)?
Do you believe that, for example, the various world religions can help practitioners relate their ideas and feelings adequately to the Truth/Light shining within and all through each moment; and that, further, said practitioners reach this laudable goal to the degree they focuses on that Truth/Light–which knows / is the Meaning of life–more than they focus on ideas and feelings about the Meaning of life?
How could you not?
We all know we need dogmas (assumptions about what’s going on, and how we should think and act) to help us steer through this human world (of which idea-based thinking and acting is a necessary part); and we need those dogmas to connect us to a guide that actually knows what’s what (otherwise we flail helplessly about, caught up in xyz not-understood enthusiasm about the meaning of our life and/or xzy not-understood pout about the meaninglessness of our life). But we all also know that ideas and feelings about meaningful/meaningless are not at all identical with what is really meaningful (we know it, but still we have to work constantly to keep that knowledge front and center: look at the way we allow swells of emotion to convince ourselves that this mate, career path, group identity, religious or philosophical answer, pleasant and/or secure arrangement is THE TRUTH; no, but you take a good long look at that!).
Due to this indelible knowledge both of our need for spiritual values (like “It is actually True that we should treat ourselves and others with kindness and respect”) and the danger of confusing ideas and feelings about the True for the Truth Itself (which is deeper and wider than ideas and feelings), we are all fundamentally Something Deeperists. The only work left is to admit where we find ourselves within our thought (in Something Deeperism). To the degree we admit where we are, we are at a starting-point within our own thinking and acting, and we can make progress. What is sadder than a conscious moment unable to perceive and/or admit where within thought and action it finds itself and thus more lost than it even knows, wandering wide but going nowhere?
And so we all pray as one: “Help us make progress in the only possible progress–the only one human minds/hearts can understand/follow/stand: aware, honest, clear, kind, compassionate, effective, selfless, and joyful thought and action centered around the Light/Truth within that alone understands what’s going on and what should be done, and what properly constitutes aware, honest … and what should be done. Help us grow in the one True Faith: the middle way between faith in ideas and feelings and skepticism towards ideas and feelings. Make our ideas and feelings constantly self-evaluating and -evolving ladders to and from the Light–forever mindful their duty to seek and follow that which alone Knows (ie: What Matters / the inner Light / etc), and ever wary of their weakness for imagining themselves identical with Knowledge.”
[Cataloger’s Notes:
Definition of Something Deeferism /Something Deeperism definition/
All religions point to same Light /fundamental agreement between religions/
Theory of the meaning of life: /meaning of life/
“let the spiritual guide your feelings, ideas, words and deeds” theory of the meaning of life: /spiritual should rule/
“translate the spiritual into life” theory of the meaning of life: /translate spiritual into life/
Necessity of dogmas: /necessity of dogmas/
Error of confusing Reality with ideas and feelings about Reality: /Reality vs ideas and feelings about Reality/
We are all Something Deeperists: /everyone a Something Deeperist/
Inborn Indelible Self-Knowledge makes us all Something Deeperists: /indelible self-knowledge = everyone a Something Deeperist/
Only question is how thorough a Something Deeperist to be: /only decision: how thorough a Something Deeperist/
A Something Deeperism Prayer: /something deeperist prayers/
No progress in thought and action unless our hearts and minds can understand, follow, believe-in, stand our thinking and acting: /must understand own thoughts and actions/
We can only understand thoughts and actions that are aware, honest, clear, kind, compassionate, effective, selfless, and joyful, and that are ultimately grounded in insight into the Truth/Light within: /prerequisites to understand own thoughts/ & /prerequisites to understand own thoughts = aware …/
Ideas and feelings as self-evaluating and -evolving ladders to and from the Truth: /ladder to and from Truth/
/no progress without internal honesty/
[Anthologists Notes:
Pretty readable, short.
Somewhat persuasive example of the standard arguments for a more committed and thorough Something Deeperism.
Why didn’t the author(s) give a more careful explanation for why we need dogmas? The fact that we need ideas to steer this human reality is not enough: to show we need dogmas we must show that we need fixed ideas that we accept as adequately-true. Something Deeperists usually give support for that latter claim by pointing to how our ideas slip and slide unmanageably about if we refuse to accept any premises as “adequately true for belief”. And/or they’ll note that as far as they can tell, we cannot help but put faith in some ideas, and either pretending we can suspend all faith or pretending we believe differently than we believe cause one to lie to oneself about where one is, and thus lose any kind of starting point for coherent thought and action.
This could go in sections like: “we’re all something deeperists”; “introductions to something deeperism”; etc]
All these Something Deeperism essays are BW & AMW collaborations. Occasionally other fictional authors (besides BW) participate. On those occasions, we generally mention them at the essay’s close.