Metaphysics & Mystery

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

Session 1: Why Am I Here?

“Why am I here?” is a question deeper than the words used to ask it. It is the fundamental driver of a person’s yearning to make meaning of the world. Different cultures provided different answers; the answer that science provided was a non-answer: our existence is the end result of a chapter of accidents, and meaning and purpose are but human projections onto a random world. That is not an answer; it is a denial of the question. It does not satisfying the longing for a why, not just a how. What we seek may be clothed in concepts, but it is fundamentally nonconceptual: a feeling of alignment with a purpose and of belonging in the universe. And so begins our journey….

Session Videos

Session 1.1: Why Am I Here?

Session 1.2: Why Am I Here? – Follow-Up

Session 1.3: Invitation – Looking for Evidence

Session 1.4: Invitation – The Next Step Toward Life

Review of This Session’s Invitation

Here we are playing with an answer to the sponsoring question of this dialog, Why am I here? And the answer is “To serve life” or “To contribute to the universe becoming more alive.” But don’t take my word for it! The invitation here is to examine yourself for evidence of that. What choices give you the feeling, “This is why I am here”? What actions make YOU feel more alive, more fully yourself, when you take them? The invitation here is to gather evidence for an understanding of why you are here, that fits into an emerging new story-of-the-world.

Audio & Transcripts for This Session

Many thanks to Aaron Grubbs and Patsy Eisenstein for their audio prep, and to Grimm Culhane for his time transcribing this session!

Transcripts:

Session 1.1 – Why Am I Here? (transcript)

Session 1.2 – Why Am I Here? – Follow-up (transcript)

Session 1.3 – Invitation – Look For Evidence That You’re Here to Serve Life (transcript)

Session 1.4 – Invitation – Notice Excitement For the Next Step Toward Life (transcript)