The industries that do often focus on the human condition-philosophy, psychology, art, literature, self-help, etc.-lie more on the periphery, with their work often fragmented from each other. The major institutions in the spiritual arena-religions-tend to focus on divinity over people, making salvation the end goal instead of self-improvement.

Society at large focuses on shallow things, so it doesn’t stress the need to take real growth seriously. In the last post, I described the way my own path had led me to be an atheist-but how in my satisfaction with being proudly nonreligious, I never gave serious thought to an active approach to internal improvement-hindering my own evolution in the process. You do all kinds of life things-you buy groceries, read articles, get haircuts, chew things, take out the trash, buy a car, brush your teeth, shit, sneeze, shave, stretch, get drunk, put salt on things, have sex with someone, charge your laptop, jog, empty the dishwasher, walk the dog, buy a couch, close the curtains, button your shirt, wash your hands, zip your bag, set your alarm, fix your hair, order lunch, act friendly to someone, watch a movie, drink apple juice, and put a new paper towel roll on the thing.īut as you do these things day after day and year after year, are you improving as a human in a meaningful way? You get a job, achieve things at the job, gain responsibility, get paid more, move to a better company, gain even more responsibility, get paid even more, rent an apartment with a parking spot, stop doing your own laundry, and you buy one of those $9 juices where the stuff settles down to the bottom. You go to school, study hard, get a degree, and you’re pleased with yourself. The mind…can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.

Note: If you want to print this post or read it offline, the PDF is probably the way to go.

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