THE HIGHEST ART
If one word can capture an individual’s response to living today, it is this: busy. Along with pressing responsibilities at work and at home, we live in the midst of an information glut caused by an ever-demanding and attention-getting media. One event follows another—more to think about and try to assimilate. The mind seems to be in a buzz.
The overriding question is this: can it be made to settle down in this fast, sometimes chaotic, time-consuming paced world and discover a sense of meaning? My answer is yes, but only if the present worldview that does not satisfy this quest for meaning is replaced with an alternative vision.
For some fifteen years now, I have sought to do this. Specifically, my approach has been to discover how everything might hang together and how I might be participating in this process, hopefully in a meaningful way. Isn't a good education meant to give us some understanding about how to begin satisfying this goal, that is, to disclose a meaningful vision?
Surely, the topic seems to be a perennial one: what is the best way to educate ourselves? Can we say that this question has been resolved? If so, what kind of education are we talking about? For the education of a child, usually its reading, writing and arithmetic--the three "R"' s. Today we must add a "C" for computer literacy, an "S" for science literacy, and as we get older another "C" for cultural literacy. And with all this accumulated knowledge, now can we say that it is giving us a meaningful world view? In essence, is it really basic enough?
I'm referring to higher learning, college and beyond, though many of the basic ideas could be applied to the earlier years of education both at home and school. Any knowledge that can give us wise guidance can be considered a core curriculum for living our life less frenetically and with a greater sense of meaning at most any age. The central qualifications of this knowledge, however, must be that it is not only coherent but also have direction.
Can we say these qualifications are being met today by our colleges and universities? In my experience, No. From the many studies that I've read on this subject, again the answer is, No. Coherency? Where is it when we get a smattering of history, philosophy, literature, the arts, some of the sciences, etc. without any or little integration of their ideas? And direction? What is this knowledge leading toward? One interpretation verses another interpretation of history, philosophy, literature, and so forth--so many seem to contradict each other.
Is there any meaningful truth that can be discovered amongst all these varied viewpoints, some standard of validity? The post-modernist claim is that there is no standard to go by--no foundation.
Of course all these subjects are very important to study. They challenge and refine our critical abilities, give us more depth and understanding about life. Still, there is no coherent foundation to this education that can lead to what has been called "the highest art." As an old Tibetan saying goes--"The highest art is the art of living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way."
Descriptions of 63 Religions, Faith groups & Ethical SystemsIn certain religions, this usually means to be "born again." After accepting the framework of beliefs of that religion, you are expected to be renewed. Some idea has made you suddenly think and then live differently in an extraordinary way. Coming to feel a greater sense of meaning to your life is the origin of this radical change. A meaningful world view can provide the knowledge for this revolutionary change.
This book is about change, changing our perspectives to view
reality in an entirely different context which can give us the
greatest sense of meaning. It is not, however, concerned about adhering to any particular religion as its source and sustenance. Rather, the focus is on what can be validly said about the understanding of our life in its most basic sense; then, on how this foundational knowledge can make our daily life a more meaningful experience--essentially, coming to be a work of
the highest art. Finding a meaning, something genuinely significant, in life is the primary motivational force for every human being. Without this sense, life can become bland, even depressing. Depression is the major reason why most people consult mental health professionals. It is a feeling of sadness, dejection, and
hopelessness that reigns above marital and childrearing problems
as well as difficulty in social and work relationships. Though
they may lead to depression, they are not essentially concerned
with a sense of meaning in itself.
The love of meaning, the search for meaning,
is the only real, objective force for good in
the life of modern man. Everything else we hope
for and wish for ourselves and our children
depends upon it. 3
Jacob Needleman
The Heart of Philosophy
Living as we do in an information cyclone today where much of the knowledge is fragmented and often superficial, studies have shown that there is an urgent need for meaningful knowledge. Just think about the explosion of knowledge in the media and especially on the Internet.
With such an overload of often disjointed information bombarding the mind, depression can result from a sense of meaninglessness. Do you think this overload will lessen in this new century? More likely, it will increase. The need for a meaningful education will be even more necessary.
Today, in contrast to many educational institutions, most therapies directly attempt to satisfy the need for meaning, for example, psycho-analysis and gestalt, cognitive, primal, logo, autogenic, bio-energetic, behavior, Jungian, rational-emotive, family, client-centered, existential, Adlerian, nude, massage, music, art and dance therapies.
Though helpful in many particular ways, and I present and use some of their insights in this book, on the whole their major problem is that they do not confront the magnitude of what it means to be really alive in a comprehensive and integrated way, similar to the academic educational organizations. As a result, they too fail to provide a meaningful world view. The primary starting point is that You exist! The question that follows is "What does it mean to exist, especially in contrast to not existing?"
Insights from the arts and discoveries in the sciences will be given to offer a feasible answer to that central question. The result is meant to be a superior perception of reality, one that constitutes the most meaningful source of knowledge about ourselves taken as a whole, more than any other therapy or educational program can offer now.
I begin with the initial observation: You become what you
behold. Behold can also stand for
ideas. The import of some of these ideas (superior perceptions)
can affect how you feel and what you may become. The philosopher
Alfred North Whitehead said it most astutely:
The sort of ideas we attend to, and the sort of ideas which we push into the neglible background, govern our hopes, our fears, our control of behaviour. As we think, we live. [my emphasis] 4
In observance of that wise perception, this book focuses on the real basic ideas, certain fundamental and essential knowledge, that can offer us the greatest sense of meaning. Specifically, it comprises a vision of the whole of life and especially the significant part that we as human beings represent and might play in it that can overcome a sense of meaninglessness.
Even in the midst of all the unforseen changes and problematic questions that arise in this technological age, this knowledge of the real basics can disclose a center of psychological security and vitality in each of us that can greatly enrich the living experience. It can do this by freeing us from bondage to an ordinary way of thinking and being.
After all is said and done, no matter what religion, relationship, education or therapy you may be in, isn't that what knowledge is for--the enrichment of experience, not only for yourself, but also for others and life itself?
In the pages ahead, I will seek to define the inherent and
beneficial nature of this knowledge. In Chapter One, it begins
with an explanation of the source from which to cultivate
the highest art, living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
It is the central element of your freedom, self-sufficiency, and
satisfaction that brings forth the meaning of your individual
reality. The real revolution in thinking begins with a more
thorough understanding of this basic knowledge.
Before and throughout each chapter, key concepts and phrases are
listed that concern the subject matter that follows. By
considering these annotations and coming up with your own notions
about these ideas, prior to reading the text, you can be
creatively using your own faculties of reason and imagination. Also, links provided in certain sections can deepen the perspective of the subject matter. Still, a meaningful education is not based upon just reading about or listening to what somebody else thinks. Rather, its guiding philosophy, similar to client-centered (non-directive counseling), existential and logo-therapy, recognizes that there is no substitute for thinking for oneself in the context of one's own individual experiences. Any so-called meaningful or therapeutic knowledge that does not consider the real living experience of another and that does not seek to cultivate a sense of autonomy
in the individual, to think independently, is meaningless.
Autonomy requires freedom, initially to think and judge, then to act. In the next six chapters of Part Two, "Something Worthwhile To Think About," six fundamental categories of knowledge are presented to think about, judge, and then possibly act upon: Space, Time, Mind, Morality, the Sacred, and the Aesthetic. These categories form a transdisciplinary approach to a meaningful world view, one with coherence and direction, than say a core curriculum now being given at a leading university: Moreover, often each educator presenting a part in the curriculum becomes encapsulated by his or her own specialized knowledge, losing the opportunity to take a more meaningful synoptic approach. The six categories of "the real basics" (the seventh, "Eternity," will be discuss later), however, do adopt a universal outlook as the preview of subjects listed below illustrate:
Foreign Cultures, Historical Studies,
Literature & Arts, Moral Reasoning,
Science, and Social Analysis.
These categories do not directly address the full extent of the questions that follow and that I have found are of primary concern to most intelligent people.
(2) TIME: anthropology, archeology, biology, chemistry, chronobiology, ecology, embryology, evolutionary psychology, exobiology, geology, genetics, geography, molecular biology, physics, structural anthropology, ....
(3) MIND: cognitive science/psychology/therapy, evolutionary psychology, eco-psychology, hermeneutics, history, language/linguistics, logic, mathematics, mythology, neuro-philosophy, semantics, semiotics, structuralism, ....
(4) MORALITY: economics, ethics, ethnology, genetics, geography, law, political science, religion, situation ethics, sociology, ....
(5) SACRED: deconstructionism, eco-philosophy, psychological ecology, meditation (silence),
mysticism, mythology, ontology, panentheism (divinity is both immanent in and transcendent to the universe), religion, scientific pantheism, theology, ....
(6) AESTHETIC: aesthetics, art, communications, biology, consciousness, empiricism, epistemology, four-dimensional & theater arts, human anatomy, literature, medicine, music, ontology, physiology, ....
(7) ETERNITY: arts, literature, ontology, philosophy, religion, theology, ....
****
(1) What does it mean to be--to exist, to be alive--in space living on the edge of just one galaxy among billions in what some think is just a cosmic wasteland with no purpose?
(2) And why have so many people throughout history been chronophobics-- despisers or fearful of time? What is the significance, if any, of the term applied to ourselves as being creatures of time?
(3) What is this mind, sometimes called "the spirit," that emerges out of the process of time and that seems to be often at odds with itself and its environment? What is its value?
(4) Since one of the major concerns today is finding a valid and universal system of morality, can this mind, moreover, discover a fundamental moral foundation of ideas to live by?
(5) What about the sacred? Is there anything in our everyday life to worship, to feel its transcendent presence? Must we feel that we live in only the mundane, the ordinary?
(6) Lastly, is there any uplifting, exceptional understanding that can heal the rift that many of us experience between our flighty thoughts and what we may intuitively feel is our true, deepest self?
Finally, in Part Three, entitled "What Is Really Essential?" an additional four categories of knowledge are discussed:
(1) the two worlds we live in--their transcendent powers and limitations;
(2) the significant meaning of eternity and time in our lives;
(3) the way to an all-embracing enlightened love; and then
(4) the perimeters of human knowledge and the liberating attitude that should necessarily develop from this enlarged awareness.
In the conclusion, seven basic principles are disclosed. They summarize the application of "the real basics" in our everyday life.
With these ends now stated, several reservations must be made.
This book does not promise superjoy. Neither is it a course in
positive thinking. Learning how to live a meaningful life, as any
intelligent person well knows, requires more than thinking pretty
thoughts or carrying around inspirational flash cards. Life is,
at times, a struggle with circumstance.
Life is not a problem to
be solved either; it is to be lived as well as we know how.
Self-discipline is required. Robert M. May, in his study of the great
spiritual teachers, emphasizes this concentrated effort that is
necessary as it relates to the spiritual quest:
A normal job may occupy your attention eight hours a day; the spiritual path occupies your attention twenty-four hours a day! I speak in all earnestness that this path is the most all-consuming and demanding work that one can ever engage in. But it is work upon one's self. 5
Working upon one's self is spiritual in that it seeks to discover
and then live according to the highest values. The real basics
aims for the same values by disclosing the most comprehensive truth about who we are and what we can be. Living in this truth,
as well as we can come to understand it, is the ultimate
challenge--to be nothing less than we can be. The authority of
the ancient imperative Know Thyself is still the way to meet this
challenge or, as the mythologist Joseph Campbell said, "The
Kingdom of God is a state of self-discovery--a state of
transformed consciousness."
Any enduring and meaningful renewal of our life, therefore, depends on understanding the nature of the self. The self is our
own unique individuality. What makes it especially unique is that
it is where the revolution takes place--a creative and
intelligent realm where outdated and false assumptions can be
overthrown (rational-emotive therapy--correcting faulty beliefs)
and new, more meaningful, ones arise (logo-therapy--a reappraisal
of what is important in life).
Acquiring basic self-knowledge is
the life-enriching and transcendent educational process that brings forth
this momentous change into a new and enriching worldview. In the next chapter, the extraordinary
nature of this process is explored. In doing so, we will be
going back to "the real basics!"
Chapter 1: The Real Revolution