p.

The Way of Being

Contents
[ essential reading is starred ]

Into the way	4

What is the way of being?*	4

Aim of the way*	4

What kind of activity is the way?	5

About this essay	7

About ideas and action*	8

Essence of the way of being*	8

Preliminary concepts	9

Foundation—the ideas	13

How to develop a foundation for knowledge of the real	13

Being and beings*	13

A fundamental principle*	14

About precision	15

We are experiential beings	15

The universe*	17

Paths to the ultimate*	18

A framework for truth	20

Doubt	21

The nature and form of the ultimate	23

Real metaphysics*	24

Dimensions of being	24

Realization—a path of action	27

A project of realization	27

Everyday program*	27

Universal program*	30

Planning	31

Affirmation*	32

Dedication*	32

Resources*	33

The return*	34

Index of main concepts	35

THE WAY OF BEING
[ the way of being will be abbreviated to ‘the way’ or ‘TWB’]
[ bold text indicates essential material ]

Into the way

What is the way of being?*

THE WAY OF BEING is a search for meaning and realization, its outcome, and its narration. Its SOURCES are (i) history of ideas and action, eastern and western, (ii) search beyond common paradigms of the real, (iii) experience, action, and reflection.

Aim of the way*

The AIM of (the way of) being is shared realization of the ultimate for, in, and from the immediate. There is no minimization of either the immediate or the ultimate, which mesh and cannot be disentangled.

The nature and accessibility of the ultimate is not presumed at the beginning of discovery.

What kind of activity is the way?

Reflection guides ideas, ideas guide action, and action informs reflection and ideas.

The ideas have sources in philosophy, science, reason, and the motive to symbolic religion but not from religious dogma.

The ideas accept science as pragmatically true partial knowledge of the immediate world, i.e., of our cosmos. But science does not limit the entire world (the universe) to this domain; that there is a limitless world beyond the current borders of experience (observation) is consistent with but, of course, does not follow from science.

Though religion may talk dogmatically and without rational basis of a domain beyond current experience, to reflect on that domain is a valid, meaningful, and significant endeavor.

How can we talk of (i) the entire domain that is consistent with science and (ii) what part of that domain is real?

The consistent domain is—whatever is self-consistent (logically) and agrees with observation and its coding in the valid science of our cosmos, in our cosmos. That is, our science is not assumed to project beyond its empirical boundaries.

From an analysis of beings (what there is), everything (the universe), and nothing (the void), we will find that that entire consistent domain is real. What this means for the nature and extent of the universe and for human destiny and consequences for action are explored. Particularly, it is seen to follow that we are eternal and merge with the ultimate in peak phases of the universe. It also follows that there are effective paths to the ultimate. It is the real but not absolute nature of the limits of our present state of being that make all this difficult to see.

There is and ought to be doubt. Doubt and responses to doubt are explored.

The Way of Being develops a picture of the world which, it is argued, is a rational metaphysics with an ethics and a program of action. The metaphysics is argued to be perfect in the following sense (i) it has a framework that is a perfect representation of the universe (ii) it is filled in with the valid pragmatic knowledge of our traditions that, as representation, has incompleteness and imperfection (iii) yet the entire system—the framework and the pragmatic fill in—is perfect in that it is the in-process best there can be, relative to realization.

However, readers are asked to accept the view only to the extent that they agree with the argument; thus, while it has a program of action, it is neither political nor religious dogma.

About this essay

This work is the preview to the longer essay (see the introduction in the resources, p. 33). It is a brief account of the way of being (TWB). Its purpose is quick use and reference. What it sacrifices in explanation is detailed in the main essay and other resources.

About ideas and action*

The ideas are developed in the foundation, p. 13, and a path and program of action is developed and laid out in realization, p. 27.

Some familiarity with the ideas is essential to the way. However, full familiarity is essential to those who want to further develop the ideas or pathways (or to whom such knowledge is important).

The pathways of action are intended to serve as a guide rather than as prescription.

Essence of the way of being*

The essence of the way is (i) the universe is realization of the greatest possibility (ii) relative to the universe, limits are manifestations of limited time and space horizons (iii) in eternity, all beings are limitless; birth and death are real but not absolute limits (iv) there are effective and positive ways to realize the ultimate.

Preliminary concepts

‘THING’ and ‘EXIST’ are used in their most inclusive senses. For example, entities, processes, and relationships, whether concrete or abstract, are things (sometimes ‘object’ is used for this meaning of ‘thing’, but note that there are more inclusive uses of the term that are not pertinent to the preview). Similarly, existed, will exist, exist, exists, and supratemporal existence will all fall under ‘exist’.

Something is POSSIBLE if its existence is neither self nor world-contradictory. If is not self-contradictory, the possibility is COHERENT POSSIBILITY (also ‘LOGICAL POSSIBILITY’). If it is not universe contradictory, the possibility is ‘REAL’. REAL POSSIBILITY presumes coherent possibility. Therefore, the GREATEST POSSIBILITY is coherent (logical).

The discussion of possibility is incomplete in that we never know anything without a concept (i.e., percept-concept) of the thing and therefore “its existence” at the beginning of this item ought to be replaced by “its concept”.

Thus, logic is not an object but a formulation of a limit on understanding and description of objects that is necessary for existence.

The term EXPERIENCE is not used in the sense of ‘experience of’ but in the more general sense of awareness in all its forms and levels. The terms ‘mind’ (or psyche) and ‘matter’ are not used except as labels for two related aspects of experience, to be described later.

The terms ‘being’, ‘universe’, ‘void’, and ‘law’, are defined below. Their meanings, particularly as distinct from received meaning, have been selected by design, so as to avoid characteristic errors and limits in the history of thought, up to the present time. These terms are used with a range of shades of meaning in common and philosophical use. These shades often go unnoticed, which results in their use being vague, and conclusions imprecise. This may be acceptable in everyday life but may result in a metaphysics that is worthless. Therefore, readers may need to train themselves to follow only the given meanings.

The way has sources in eastern and western thought; one difficulty in reading it may be that some of the deepest problems of thought may be implicitly addressed but explicitly glossed over. The preview will not take up problems of philosophical thought.

One non-philosophical problem will be mentioned, that of the idea of perfection suggested in some life-ways. It has names such as ‘bliss’, ‘heaven’, ‘moksha’ (in some systems of Hinduism and Buddhism); which translate as perfection, freedom from pain, freedom from the eternal cycle of birth and death (Hinduism and Buddhism). In the way of being, there is no final perfection or eternal freedom; rather, joy, pain, and imperfection remain eternal and perfection needs a new meaning—our best shared attempt at continuing on with peak and dissolution of being, while attending to pain as best we can, without stopping to wait for it, except where there is no alternative.

That is, TWB does not aim at bliss or perfection in any received sense. The peak and the way to and from it in and from the immediate are the focus. On the way the aim is neither joy nor release from pain; nor are they to be avoided; they arise naturally in effective everyday and universal path negotiation (pp. 27 and 30, respectively).

We are now at a point where we can take up the main part of the preview. As noted earlier, the foundation, p. 13, emphasizes ideas; realization, p.27 , emphasizes action.

Foundation—the ideas

How to develop a foundation for knowledge of the real

Materialism, idealism, and process philosophy are the names of some common approaches to foundation. These approaches make unfounded assumptions about the nature of the world. On the other hand, a foundation in ‘being’ (defined shortly) makes no assumption. Further, foundation in being will emerge as powerful.

With ‘being’ as foundation, the concepts of ‘universe’ (everything) and ‘void’ (nothing) may be conceived with precision.

The analysis from being is at such an elementary and precise level that ordinary logic (e.g., the propositional calculus) may be used with precision.

Being and beings*

Anything that exists is A BEING (plural: BEINGS); BEING itself is existence (this is not circular, for it stands in place of an ostensive definition, i.e., definition by pointing at rather than a verbal definition).

The UNIVERSE is all being(s). The VOID is the being that contains no beings.

Existence and nonexistence of the void are equivalent; therefore, it is valid to assert existence of the void.

A LAW or limit of nature is a being.

The void has no laws or limits.

A fundamental principle*

In the greatest sense of possibility, all possible beings emerge from the void, for the contrary would be a law.

Therefore, the universe is the greatest possible. This demonstrated statement is the FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF METAPHYSICS, or FPM.

About precision

Review of the concepts of being, universe, void, and law, shows that they are at such a level of abstraction that aspects of the respective objects that are refractory to precision have been filtered out. Thus, the foundation to the present point is perfect.

Subsequently, ‘pragmatic concepts will be introduced’, for even though they may lack precision, they are essential. This destroys precision the sense of perfect correspondence between concepts and objects (and even that such correspondence has meaning). However, we will develop a sense in which the perfect foundation so far filled in with pragmatic concepts is perfect relative to the ideal of realization of the ultimate.

We are experiential beings

We are experiential beings; two aspects of experience are ‘experience of’ and ‘the experienced’—an as if mind and an as if matter side, which are related in or by experience itself.

‘Mind’ (or psyche) and ‘matter’ are not used except as labels for these two related aspects of experience. This use gives no support to the idea of mind and matter as independent object kinds or substances. Instead, support is given to the thought that they are approximations to aspects of experience. That we experience our experiencing, shows that mind and matter cannot be distinct object kinds.

If we think of these aspects of experience, as if matter and as if mind, as two terms that begin a series, we may ask what terms or kinds continue the series. As matter is object-like and experience relationship, a next term, relation of relation, would be experience, itself.

Therefore, let us suggest that, there may be lesser and greater varieties – lower and higher forms of experience, but nothing beyond experience, itself.

If our cosmos were constituted entirely and strictly of matter, there could be no experience. Therefore, if the cosmos were of a kind of thing, that kind would have to be experiential. However, from the fundamental principle, p. 14, the universe cannot be of a kind. Yet, in that there is experiential, the universe has experientiality. But in that the capacity for (very low level) experientiality must project to the most elementary beings, the universe may be said to be experiential – beings may have no experientiality but not null experientiality, which would be a lack of a capacity for experientiality.

The universe*

The universe is experiential—it has identity; and from the fundamental principle, p. 14, and—

The universe and its identity are limitless in variety, extension, duration, and peak of being, and phases in and out of the void state; its cosmoses are limitless in number, magnitude, complexity, and variety (e.g., of physical law), which may be temporarily isolated, but are in communication with one another and the void over eternity.

We have seen that we are experiential beings; all beings merge as one in peak being; and though not necessarily in the interval between our birth and death, in eternity we know the limitless universe with transparency; we become it with fluidity.

Paths to the ultimate*

There are intelligent, effective, and enjoyable pathways to peak or ultimate states, which may be realized in ‘this’ life, but, if not, are realized and eternally re-realized in eternity. In our present form we generally do not see these ultimate states; they are therefore hard to conceive; but their existence follows from FPM, and their realization is available as—

continuous transition from our present form beyond birth and death, understandable in terms of the continuity of our being(s) with all being

discrete transition.

If ENJOYMENT, the appreciation of our experiential nature, is a prime value, it is imperative to be on a path.

There are traditional prescriptions; however, it is in our essential nature to negotiate, share, and develop paths (metaphorically, we are all Buddhas).

While perfection (moksha, bliss) is a traditional value, and will be attained, its attainment is impermanent. It is not an ultimate value.

It is of permanent value to be in intelligent, shared, and caring process toward and from the ultimate.

Pain is unavoidable, not solvable by salves or suicide; an optimum resolution of pain is to combine being on a path with the best therapy of the time; it is the responsibility of the more fortunate to help the less fortunate.

Though caring is of value, the world is not intrinsically or always caring; this ought to be acknowledged and approached accordingly. When needed, we will approach conflict without stepping back.

The permanent way is a MIDDLE WAY between perfection and pain, seeking and contentment, intelligence and chaos, certainty and doubt, individual and sharing, thought and action, and logic and paradox.

Being on a path is intrinsic entertainment; ‘mere entertainment’ is not to be avoided, but path aware performance may be most entertaining.

A framework for truth

Whatever is true in our thought,

whatever is true in religion,

whatever is true in science, and philosophy,

whatever truth is conveyed by art,

whatever is true of action and agency,

is framed by these ideas,

but not generated by them.

The ideas constitute an IDEAL METAPHYSICS.

The generation of truth begins in our world and crests in peaks of being, which are without end.

It is a process without end.

Doubt

It is expected that there will be DOUBT in thinking and reading these thoughts (they arose in response to criticism of received thought and the revisionary thought of this work).

Doubt ought to arise regarding

the demonstration,

consistency of the ideas (rationality) and their mesh with the world (empiricism),

the magnitude of the conclusions, particularly whether there are peaks of being to which there is path access.

In response it may be noted that

the demonstration is unusual in nature— the crucial point being the existence of the void; however alternate demonstrations can be given (see the resources, p. 33, for the way of being).

the ideas consistent in themselves and while they may contradict some projections from knowledge of the world, they do not contradict that knowledge itself,

the magnitude and question of significance of the conclusions are reasons to entertain doubt but do not constitute invalidation of the demonstration or conclusions.

However, doubt will remain as residual and as it is in our nature and response to such existential doubt may be

existential—it may be energizing to live with absence of certainty or in absence of guaranteed eternity of pleasure—there is meaning in moments of pleasure and pain. The fundamental principle (all possibility is realized) may be regarded as an existential action principle. As such, it complements an existential attitude toward life. And if it should be said that it might promote nihilism, that would also be an existential issue (that truth promotes nihilism is never the case; rather it is some extra-alethic attitude—one not having to do with truth—that may promote nihilism),

scientific—the principle may be regarded as a postulate rather than as demonstrated,

practical—from the metaphysics under development, the structure of the universe may be further developed, to see how paths may be forged and negotiated.

The nature and form of the ultimate

It is a worthwhile project to sketch the form of the ultimate and to locate the place and significance of moksha within it.

Real metaphysics*

The MEANS of realization begin with the ultimate picture above. It illuminates the peak, but not the way.

The way starts in the immediate world and our knowledge of it—knowledge both material and spiritual. While the ultimate picture is perfect representation, our knowledge of our cosmos is at best pragmatic.

However, since the pragmatic (in process) is all we have, when the perfect and the pragmatic are joined, they are perfect in another, yet ideal sense— the perfect shows the ultimate ideal, and the pragmatic together with the perfect make the best instrument of realization— the perfect illuminates and guides the pragmatic, and the pragmatic illustrates and is instrumental toward the ideal of the perfect; their union is named the REAL METAPHYSICS (RMP).

Dimensions of being

Paths will use and address DIMENSIONS OF BEING.

The PURE DIMENSION is that of our experiential being with two sides—‘experience of’ (as if psychological, subject, intrinsic, and immersive) and ‘the experienced’ (as if material, object, instrumental, and manipulative) which are related in ‘the experience’ itself (which transcends the divide as experience recognizes experience).

Experience is called ‘pure’ in the absence of an immediate object.

The PRAGMATIC DIMENSIONS are chosen pragmatically, e.g., from western thought.

One system of pragmatic dimensions is—

NATURE or natural (material, living, psychological),

SOCIETY (beings, groups, institutions, economy, politics, culture – secular and transsecular views and ways, recording, development, and transmission of knowledge; and technology; universal culture— culture unbound, trans-limit, as in real metaphysics),

UNIVERSAL (defined by the greatest possibility, as elaborated above).

Realization—a path of action

A project of realization

A project of realization may have two programs—
(i) action now (‘everyday’) and
(ii) action toward the ultimate (‘ultimate’), which will mesh.

(The way of being in the section on resources, p. 33, has more on the programs. These programs began as personal programs, honed by experience, expanded in view of the real metaphysics, abstracted and generalized in terms of the dimensions of being, p. 24, to be applicable to a wide range of personal and societal contexts.)

Everyday program*

The EVERYDAY PROGRAM will emphasize daily routine at home and away, attitude—limitlessness, dedication, overcoming, relationships, personal activities (work, school, play, spiritual—yoga (see the resources, p. 33), relationships, health (diet, physical activity, sleep) and mesh with the universal.

The everyday may be manifested in a routine that is flexible enough to be adjustable to different life situations, personality styles, and individual and societal needs and opportunities.

Planning

Select activities,

Set up a daily schedule, perhaps in a table,

Enhance the schedule by introducing flexibility. Given access to software with programming capabilities, automation of the schedule may be introduced (e.g., with Microsoft Word).

Sample schedule

First things 2:00 am

Awake early—review-plan life, TWB, the day affirm-dedicate.
Set attitude—focus self = Brahman; relate positively
if blocked, feel, accept, relax, accept, meditate, move on.

Rise 2:00 am—treatments, nature, breakfast, short walk, alarms.

Realization 4:00 am (+2)

Foundation – develop the way, edit (find an editor), publish.

Ground life essentials—finance, place work / school, discipline.

Transformation immerse-act (nature, society, universe), yoga, share.

Activities of the day 11:00 am (+9)

Tasks 11:00 am (+9)—daily, as needed: weekly plus (Thursdays); lunch.

Exercise 01:00 pm (+11)—two hours+; excursions – photo essays.

Evening 3:00 pm (+13)—rest review life, the next day (set focus); the way, network, relations, entertainment, meditate, sleep early (5:00 pm, +15).

Universal program*

The UNIVERSAL PROGRAM will emphasize individual and shared involvement in the way and pure and pragmatic dimensions of being, p. 24. Choices from among the dimensions will be according to personal ability and temperament, occasion and need, and time and other resources. The choices will be woven into the everyday, according to a life or long-term plan.

It is intended that the planning should include planning that is for and by society as a whole.

Outcomes and life are not expected to go as planned, but planning—conceiving the future—is essential, as flexible and adjustable planning is a critical aspect of communication between ideas and world in process.

The universal may be manifested in personal and societal mid to long range plans in interaction with action and learning.

Planning

Review phases of life, reflect on possible emphases for life and the phases.

Asses current phase and select activities of focus.

Review and plan daily, short, and long term aims and possible activities.

Include time-frame to execute and then review, assess, renew, and alter plans.

Build these elements into everyday planning (above).

Affirmation*

AFFIRMATION—the view of the immediate world as being of particular kinds, with many beings, has truth but is not absolute; in the ultimate there is one peak being, which we all are, and which has no kind except that it is that which is, and has experience and agency.

Dedication*

DEDICATION—we dedicate our being to living in the immediate and ultimate as one;

to shared discovery and realization of paths on the way to the transparently limitless ultimate;

to shedding the bonds of limited self, particularly the blocks of fear and pain, so that we see the way so clearly that life is flow rather than force;

to realizing the ultimate in this life and beyond—a process version of living in the immediate and ultimate as one.

Resources*

Start with https://www.horizons-2000.org, and follow the links near the top left, (i) HOME has main resources and sources (ii) this essay is a preview in the INTRODUCTION, which is a longer version of this essay; (iii) RESOURCES is a longer list of resources.

The return*

Life is reflection and action. A phase of reflection, though not of inaction, comes to fulfilment; it is now time to RETURN to an emphasis on action—a phase emphasizing immersive action and commitment, though not of unreflective life.

Narration will continue in-the-world and its foci shall be improvement of the way via imagination and criticism, an issue of what I have not seen due to focused seeing in some regions of the real, and universal narrative—i.e., collapsing the essential history of narrative and thought so as to extract what is essential and to have balance against tendencies to infinite detail and the sheer weight of the cumulative record.

Death will be unremarkable in itself, but, if, at death, one is incompletely realized, it will be a gateway to the ultimate.

Index of main concepts

[ bold terms occur in essential parts of the text ]

A being, 13

Affirmation, 32

Aim, 4

Being, 4, 13, 24

Beings, 13

See A being, 13

Coherent possibility, 9

Dedication, 32

Dimensions of being, 24

Doubt, 21

Enjoyment, 19

Everyday, 27

Everyday program, 27

Exist, 9

Existence

See Exist, 9

Experience, 10

FPM

See Fundamental principle of metaphysics, 14, 18

Fundamental principle of metaphysics, 14

Greatest possibility, 10

Ideal metaphysics, 20

Law, 14

Logical possibility, 9

Means, 24

Nature, 25

Possibility

See Possible, 9

Possible, 9

Pragmatic dimensions, 25

Pure dimension, 25

Real, 9, 24

Real metaphysics, 24

Real possibility, 9

Return, 34

RMP

See Real metaphysics, 24

Society, 25

Sources, 4

The way of being, 4

Thing, 9

TWB

See The way of being, 4, 8, 12, 29

Universal, 25, 30

Universal program, 30

Universe, 14

Void, 14