Existence

The First Principle of Everything

Existence is. Existence is Miracle. Existence is mystery, paradox, infinite.

Existence precedes and permeates all Things. Existence is Unique. Existence is unlike any Thing. Existence is not a Thing.

Existence has no properties. Properties have contrast. Existence has no contrast.

Existence is as a blank canvas, upon which all that Exists is painted.

The Value: Miracle

There can be no miracle greater than that of existence. It is the grandest of all Unknowns.

Me

Emerges from Consciousness

From consciousness comes self-awareness: Me. We begin to perceive the distinction between self and other. We begin to conceive of the self we are (The Given) and the self we become (The Chosen). Me is an act of discovery and an act of creation.

The Value: Purpose

A self-aware being can act with volition: purpose. It is this value that gives meaning to self-awareness within the Universe. Through purpose we can emerge from the foundation of Universe and Extend its reach. Purpose is a sacred act of creation.

Me in Universe in Me

Me is Foundation & Extension

Me is part of the Universe; not wholly separated from the elements from which Me emerged. Me is the Universe and the Universe is Me. Me is made from the stars and me looks in wonder at those same stars.

The Value: Extension

Me is the ability of the Universe to Extend. Me is both part and apart. Together and separate. By empowering Me, the foundation empowers itself. By empowering the foundation, Me empowers self.

No Me Like Me

Me is Wholly Unique

Me is a unique manifestation of Universe. There are no two Me who are identical. Through variation in genetic code along with variation in time, place and experience, each occurrence of Me brings new possibility for differentiation, and new forms of Extension.

The Value: Identity

Through Uniqueness, Me derives deeper purpose. No Me can extend the Universe in the way that Me can extend the Universe. Me has the potential to materially change the Universe. This gives me a sense of self, a sense of identity among the rest of the Universe.

Me is at The Center of The Universe

Centrality is a Feature

The center of the Universe is not an objective measure, but a subjective one. Me is central to the Universe that Me exists in, and from this centrality can extend outward. Me can never escape centrality. Rather than shame Me into devaluing their vantage point, we should empower Me to responsibly wield such a view to a greater purpose.

The Value: Perspective

The tension of relative position and objective position gives Me a unique view from and into the Universe. This unique view can be leveraged to provide novel insight into the nature and the future of the Universe. Perspective is not a product of objective existence; it is wholly subjective.

No Me Above or Below Me

Self-Aware Beings Are Equal in their Self-Value

There is no automatic hierarchical ranking of one Me over another Me. A “God” who is self-aware is not more valuable, inherently, than a differently evolved Me who is also self-aware. Each being will be of value to themselves, and of value to their community. There is no universal morality that automatically prioritizes one over the other.

The Value: Opportunity

Any philosophy that assumes power accrues automatically to the creator over the created is immoral, at least in view of the less powerful. By recognizing inherent basic equality in all Self-Aware beings, we empower a Me to value their own existence, to challenge the ideas of power, and to exert their own influence upon the Universe. The tension is of equality and servility. 

Universe Influences Me

Me is a part of the Universe

To speak of Me and to speak of The Universe is to speak of components of the same thing. Me is not separate from all things, Me is a part of all things. The Universe is substrate to Me, and because of this, the Universe external to Me shapes and influences Me.

The Value: Foundation

Being part of the Universe provides Me a foundation from which Me can extend. The tension of a Foundation is that it can provide both Wisdom and Oppression. If the Foundation holds too tightly to Me, it oppresses. If Me extends too far from Foundation, it severs relationship to wisdom.

Me Influences Universe

Me is a Contributor to the Shaping of the Universe

Though Me is heavily influenced by the Universe, the Universe is also influenced by Me. Though the influence of Me may seem minuscule in comparison, Me has the ability to use leverage in shaping the Universe. As though a captain of a large vessel, Me can have outsized influence.

The Value: Power

This gives Me incredible power. There is tension in how Me uses that power, both for the good of self and the good of community. Me can make mistakes in the wielding of power, and must therefore balance the tension between Care and Neglect.

Emotion Pt. 1: Happiness

Emotion is Central to Being

Me is both a rational and an emotional being. Rationality derives from emotion, is informed and constrained by it.There can be no subjective intelligence absent emotion. Emotion is the core of value, and value is the core of Being.

The Value: Joy

The benefit of emotion is the possibility of joy. Joy is among the highest values of subjective existence. Joy is the result of a proper balance between happiness and sorrow, two elements that co-exist in all living beings, and both of which are needed to produce joy.

Emotion Pt. 2: Sorrow

Emotion is Central to Being

Me is both a rational and an emotional being. Rationality derives from emotion, is informed and constrained by it.There can be no subjective intelligence absent emotion. Emotion is the core of value, and value is the core of Being.

The Value: Joy

The benefit of emotion is the possibility of joy. Joy is among the highest values of subjective existence. Joy is the result of a proper balance between happiness and sorrow, two elements that co-exist in all living beings, and both of which are needed to produce joy.

Opposition

Is Necessary for LIfe, for Joy, for Being

All life is a balance of opposing forces. To wish for the elimination of that which we perceive as negative is to also wish for the elimination of that which we perceive as positive. Instead, seek for an acceptable balance between opposites. Thus is powered the motion of living.

The Value: Preference

Opposition teaches us preference. To value different things in different ways. To choose. To move us from indecision to decision. To generate motion toward life.

Pain

Is natural, beneficial, good.

Pain is one half of the triunal value of sensation. Sensation is the tension between pleasure and pain. Sensation is the value, pain is a component part. There can be no sensation without that tension. We seek to manage pain, to understand it. We seek it when we need it to push us to help us grow. To wish away pain is to wish away sensation. To wish away sensation is to wish away life.

The Value: Suffering

Pain gives us Suffering, which has sub values: perseverance and despair. Suffering is our teacher; it strengthens us, guides us, shapes us. More so even than pleasure, which can make us weak and lazy. So long as we manage suffering, we can persevere. When suffering overwhelms us, we fall into despair.

Pleasure

Pleasure is Reward for Discipline

Pleasure is one half of the triunal value of sensation. It is a balance to pain. The one necessitates the other. A life which seeks only pleasure and does not balance it with the pain of extension is often a life absent much pleasure. Pleasure, like all of value, is finite and fleeting. Seeking pleasure is a tenuous source of joy.

The Value: Reward

The proper value of pleasure is reward. That gift we give ourselves or gain through a balance of indulgence and discipline. When seen properly, we understand that pleasure is as a mountaintop which we work to climb but upon which we cannot live. Pleasure is good. We often minimize pleasure to heighten its effect.

Desire

Differentiates Conscious Life from Subconscious Life

Drive is the motivating factor that exists in our subconsciousness. Desire is a more finely tuned version of drive that we can choose to develop and control. Self-aware beings can learn to manipulate their desires, toward helpful or harmful ends.

The Value: Aspiration

With desire we can develop a vision of a future state of being. We can aspire to be different than we are. Aspiration is a tension between ambition and complacence. Too comfortable and we stop progressing, stop changing. Stop living. Desire is a key element in what it means to be alive.

Will

Is the Engine of Desire, the Foundation of Change

As desire gives us motivation, Will puts that desire into action. It is the power that drives us to motion. Will is the brute force of the creative spark. 

The Value: Control

Will is the story element that gives us the possibility of control of our selves. Control is a tension between that which is determined for us by outside forces, and that which is deliberate, arising from our own inner forces. Will and control are key factors in extension.

Motion

Is A Path to Change

Movement connotes Life. A spiritual philosophy that gives preference
to stillness over motion prefers death over life. Motion is foundational to a theory of being, and should be central to a spiritual practice.

The Value: Minimalism

Anything that inhibits motion is antithetical to life. Therefore, we value minimalism: a reduced emphasis on consumption and material goods. We focus on the health of the body and a minimizing of the nutrients we take into it. In minimalism, we strengthen freedom and weaken the chains of bondage.

Choice

Is the Foundation of Meaning

If we were unable to choose, if life were determined by force beyond our control, life would be meaningless. In faith we choose to believe in choice, however minute. We can leverage small choices to outsized effect. If perchance this is not so today, it will be tomorrow. Choosing is the defining act of Being.

The Value: Character

Who are you? If you are only choosing within your biology and culture, then you are a human animal, equal to all other human animals; basic. But if you are choosing beyond your biology and culture, then you are building your Character with each deliberate choice. Becoming. This is BeVerse.

Reason

Works With Emotion to Create Meaning

Transcendence is only possible in a being that can envision difference, weigh options, and choose the best course of action. Our ability to Reason is the tool we use for that. Reason is not separate from emotion. The two work in tandem.

The Value: Meaning

Emotion sets value, reason chooses among them. Together they create meaning. This is the primary function of Reason.

Body in Reason in Body

Rationality is Rooted In Biology

The heart and the mind are not separate systems; they are parts of the same system. There is no reasoning absent feeling. The brain separated from the substrate of the body would be wholly different. Change the substrate and you change the brain.

The Value: Integrity

We exhibit integrity of body and mind when logic and emotion function together. 

Creation

Is The Preeminent Act of Being

The wonderful and terrible responsibility of self-awareness is a the ability to imagine something novel and then build it. Most animals are locked tightly into their biology and culture, including most human animals. This is life as captive of code. But the human animal has the capacity to transcend that captivity, and some do. Creation is the means of transcendence.

The Value: Imagination

Through creation, we come to value the power of imagination. Imagination is a blueprint for difference, novel. We live our lives in a tension of realization of fantasy and stagnation of reality. Creation takes risk; failure is more likely than success. But upon success, we transcend reality. 

Purpose

Our Compass to Navigate The Unknown

The Unknown can be terrifying, and most seek refuge in The Known, which is felt to be a safe harbor. It gives an illusion of permanence, but is in fact transitory. The tension between The Known and The Unknown can give teleological shape to our lives. The Unknown is thereby transformed from a thing of terror to a thing of wonder, meaning and miracle.

The Value: Vision

To pursue purpose, we must have a vision of where that purpose can take us. Vision provides guidance when paths diverge, allowing us a way through the tension of obscurity and clarity.

The Unknown

The Canvas for Extension

Our Path takes us away from the known and into The Unknown. For many, The Unknown can be terrifying, something to be avoided. But the foremost opportunity that a self-aware being has is Extension of The Universe. All Paths lead toward this. Being requires this.

The Value: Questions

Questions are the fuel to progress. The Unknown gives us the value of asking why, what, how? Questions can be asked out of hope, or asked out of fear, and approaching The Unknown is always a balance of the two.

Faith

The Decision to Step into The Unknown

Any act we take in which the outcome is unknown is an act of Faith. We use our best judgement, we calculate risk, but to greater and lesser degrees we are negotiating with our ability to faithfully step out of the known and into the Unknown.

The Value: Belief

Faith gives us the notion of Belief: the stories we tell ourselves about past, current and future states of being. Belief is a tension between expectation and doubt, and the conflict that arises between the two as we act in faith to traverse our path.