[FULL] The Meaning of Life? - Deep Therapy for Existential Crisis and Despair - Non-Dogmatic

This is the main content from Session 1 of Charles' Eisenstein's course "Metaphysics & Mystery" exploring the nature of reality, the meaning and purpose of life, and why are we here?

Join the course, offered in the spirit of the gift, at CharlesEisenstein.org/metaphysics

Exploring the intimate relationship between self, story, and reality.

About This Course
In investigating anything about our world, the mind tends to lead us into deeper and deeper questions. We might start out trying to understand politics, or money, or ecology, and if we are humble, each new insight brings up new and deeper questions. Contradictions and paradoxes arise that point to an incompleteness in our knowledge, propelling us into deeper inquiry. Eventually we reach questions like, “Who am I?” “What is real?” “Why am I here?” “Why is the world?” “What does it all mean, if anything?” “Is there a God?” This course aims to be part of that inquiry. We explore insights into these questions that may seem original or unorthodox; even, sometimes, outrageous. I, Charles, do not claim to be an authority on any of these. I am not a trained philosopher, nor have I been trained in any mystery school or wisdom lineage. I claim no authority here. Yet, when Lauren and the rest of the team sat me down and started asking questions, and we recorded all the responses that came through, we all agreed that some profound and original material was coming through. So, we decided to develop it into an online course.

Whom this course is for…
It’s not for everyone! There are many ways to engage the questions “Why am I here?” “What does it all mean?” and so forth. We can engage them through the body, for example, through dance, through music, through plant medicine, through theater, through animals, through meditation. And, without devaluing any of these paths, we can also engage them through the mind. This course is for people who delight in that kind of inquiry. It is for people who examine their beliefs and are disturbed by the loose ends and internal contradictions. You might say that this course is a kind of intellectual yoga: stretching, rewiring, taking apart and reassembling core conceptions of self and world. It is for people who are encountering the deep questions and trying to make sense of life and the world. And, quite likely, you will find that it changes the way you think, see, and experience.

Session Information
You can do this course in one of two ways. Many people will want to simply go through the videorecorded material and do the meditations and practices suggested as homework. For a deeper engagement, you can also join our online forum and small group discussions, so that you can work the material together.

We will release one course session each week. Five of the sessions are prerecorded (video and audio) footage of Charles responding to Lauren Buckley’s metaphysical questions. In addition, after the third session and again after the fifth, we will add further material in response to your questions and comments. Depending on demand and necessity, we may add an eighth session. You can plan on the course lasting 6-8 weeks.

Each session will also be accompanied by some kind of practice — a meditation, an awareness practice, or something more relational — to experience the core ideas in a different way.

Some Questions We’ll Explore
Here are some of the questions that germinated this course:

Why am I here?
Do we have to stop trying to explain the nature of reality with the mind?
Is it possible to have certainty about the nature of reality?
Amidst this great mystery, how do we best make decisions?
What science supports the story of a living universe?
What makes mainstream science a religion?
What metaphysical assumptions is mainstream science operating on?
What’s your definition of spirituality, and why do you refrain from using that word?
What is consciousness?
Are rocks conscious?
Do we have souls, do plants have souls?
Have you ever had the feeling of suddenly migrating into a different reality? What do you think is happening there?
How can little tiny me, in my little corner of the universe, with my big dreams, fit into something that matters?

Program Fees
Upon registration, you will choose a fee that feels right to you, any amount. We cannot really put a number value on this course, because we know the value is unique to each participant. Therefore, we offer the course as a gift, and you decide what (if any) return gift (course fee) feels good, right, and clear to you. Whatever you choose, all content will be fully available to you.