Filling the Void in the Human Psyche
By: Bradley Tucker
Tags: Universe, Experience, Belief, Humanity, Life

Humans have been trying to find a way to fill this deep void that exists within us, namely our intrinsic need for purpose and meaning, since the dawn of time with religion or some form of spirituality. The mental health movement is largely about addressing this ‘hole in our soul’. That’s not to say that we’re incomplete in the physiological sense, but that a significant primal part of us is covertly searching for answers to the more profound questions around our own existence.

The algorithms of our search engines have undoubtedly convinced a large troop of self-proclaimed internet gurus and philosophers that there is a huge market for their services. I am not here to point fingers. I am as conflicted as the rest of us. Just when I feel like I’ve cracked some hidden meaning about my place in this reality, an idea takes root and I find myself back down the rabbit hole. This is not a new phenomenon. Ancient civilizations invested a dizzying amount of their time, energy and resources in building awe-inspiring religious structures to give a face to their beliefs, many of which still stand today. Belief and meaning were of such paramount importance that the costs involved could sometimes lead to a society’s own demise.

The profound question of our coming in to being, in which science plays a pivotal role, is essentially part of this quest for meaning. Meaning is the fuel of the human spirit. Meaning is everything because it fundamentally defines the way we behave on this planet — the way we live our lives and where we are going next as a species.

Atheists will be quick to argue that there doesn’t need to be a meaning to live a fulfilled life on this planet but every human on this planet has already drawn conclusions on what the nature of this reality is — that it isn’t the product of a computer simulation for example. Just because the currently accepted view of things is the most rational, doesn’t make an atheist a non-believer. As the French philosopher Rene Descartes famously stated, “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things”. Descartes’s philosophical wonderings eventually led him back to religion but we are all similarly inclined to look for ways to justify our own beliefs. We cannot know beyond doubt the nature of what we are experiencing. Atheists just follow a naturalist belief favoured by most scientists. If you can see it, you will believe it, but even those same scientists will admit that our senses are limited and so is our view of things as they really are.

Arguably, if you take time out of the equation then we are already living a predestined journey of entropy in the universe. We are but an infinitesimal part in the wider expansion of the universe from a single point of the big bang to an infinite number of separating parts. The same cells that make up our complex human form also fill the cosmos. Our DNA is encoded with certain rules which thankfully keep the cells that make up our bodies connected and continuously replicating rather than disintegrating.

Bringing things back to the question of how we are currently approaching this very human matter, I will propose that society at large, outside of the major religions and indigenous cultures of the world, are currently living their lives according to two opposing ideas.

The first idea can be thought of as Daoism, the spiritualistic ideal of non-action or non-doing from Ancient China which implies living in alignment with the cycles of the natural world or the Dao. The first approach is Buddhist in nature and has risen in popularity over the past century thanks to New Age philosophers such as Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle. Overthinking and humankind’s tendency to overemphasise the importance of thought is seen as a barrier to the natural flow of nature. Instead, ‘effortless action’ is the desired outcome or rather allowing yourself to flow downstream with the current.

The second idea can be defined as anything that falls under the umbrella term of Neurohacking, reengineering the mind’s conditioning through mindful practise, chemical aids and cultivating positive thoughts, actions and beliefs in order to change the mind’s perceived compulsive negative patterns. This approach also has ancient roots. Ancient Greek philosophers were famous for extolling the power of thought and compulsive habits. Whereas Daoism’s Wu Wei points towards the idea of ‘letting go’, Neurohacking emphasises ‘more control’ and responsibility over one’s self.

Both approaches have gained serious traction in the information age. They both require intense ‘inner work’ to be able to benefit. There are, however, fundamental differences between the two ideas. The first approach requires one to believe that we are living in a friendly universe and that if we place our trust in it, it will largely have our back. Neurohacking instead follows a more realist outlook, that if we live without awareness, then we will inadvertently fall victim to our mind and society’s benevolence. As Einstein famously put “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe”.

Our increasing intellectual and religious freedom throughout much of the world has brought home the profound questions that science has yet been unable to answer. The discovery of quantum physics, black holes and dark matter has created a world that really is stranger than fiction. Our collective over-stimulated imagination is grappling with the implications of everything new science brings to the cosmic mix. At the same time, it is important to realise that these two divergent approaches to the eternal question are the refurbished products of ancient civilizations, highlighting our tendency to revert to ancient ideas and beliefs when unsatisfied with modern explanations.

The renaissance of psychedelic exploration as a means to treat mental health is another ancient tradition that has grown incredibly popular in recent decades — another example of our high regard for ancient wisdom and the esoteric over hard science.

Maybe all of these age-old philosophies are finally gaining the recognition they deserve. Maybe it will pave a way for humanity to access a higher level of consciousness so that we can finally be satisfied with our place in all this. Or maybe once they’ve outlived their usefulness, they too will be discarded to make room for a revival of other ancient ideas and practices, like waves that fall in and out of fashion.

After all, all we have are the stories we tell each other.