The Two Core Questions

Humanity, we presume, is the pinnacle of intelligence on Earth, and from this high place of intellect and understanding, humanity finds itself confronted by the mystery of its very own conscious existence. This mystery by virtue of its great complexity and extreme level of detail is very intimidating to the point it seems to be unapproachable

To consider the overwhelming enormity of this problem all at once is beyond the ability of human intelligence. The problem is, however, manageable when it is reduced down to its most elemental forms that are still sufficiently detailed to develop a clear understanding of everything hat really needs to be considered. The secret to solving this great mystery lies in finding this optimal level of simplification that addresses the problem without all the incredibly overwhelming details. 

This simplification must reduce the matter down to its core elements without the unmanageable burden of all the other details that only clutter the big picture we seek.  At its most basic level, the great human conundrum is driven by the two facts that we are 1) consciously aware and 2) surrounded by an elaborate combination of things in the surrounding physical world.   These two core components inspire in everyone the two fundamental questions of: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What is going on around me?’. 

The ‘Who am I?’ question is the basis of our unending search to discover the who, what, and why of our personal existence. This line of questioning exists because we are consciously aware beings trying to figure out the nature of our conscious experience in a physical environment. Initially, this question is focused on the topic of our physical body, but progresses more to the conscious experience of our existence as our understanding matures. 

The ‘What is going on around me?’ question is posed by the physical challenge presented by the hostile physical environment around us that cannot be ignored. This question exists because our conscious awareness is constantly being challenged in a complex physical reality of forms with which we must interact in order to survive and hopefully even thrive. The most prominent of those physical forms is the human body directly connected to our individual conscious experience. 

The human life experience is above all else a journey of spiritual discovery. In this spiritual journey every thought and every action no matter how coarse or misguided is driven by a core primitive impulse to understand the personal true of ‘who am I?/ and the everything else truth of ‘what is going on around me?’. The short term goal of spirituality is to define your conscious identity in terms of functioning in the physical world (i.e. ‘who am I and what do I want to do?’), but its ultimate goal is to develop the conscious spirit to its highest potential and live life to the fullest possible extent. 

 With the passage of time, these natural occurring and seemingly superficial discoveries driven by the core primitives eventually become more clearly recognizable as spirituality, the only path to the ultimate truths. Every individual interpretation of spirituality is different based on their particular level of spiritual evolution and their special interpretation of their surrounding reality. 

From these two fundamental questions, all further human inquiry ensues.

Off-the-Shelf Solutions to the Human Conundrum

Everyone must face the same Great Human Conundrum, but how we each individually approach it is a matter of personal choice from a spectrum of options.  The low effort required end of this spectrum is for those who choose to know only the minimum amount required by their immediate circumstance.  At the high effort required end of this spectrum is for those who want to know it all.  The majority of humanity tends toward the low effort end.

The choice to subsist on knowing only what is needed to just get by seems sufficient in one’s early years, but as time passes and the trials of life beset us, the answers to these more difficult questions become a greater priority. Eventually, everyone wants more than just the bare-bones survival this basic understanding of these immediate surroundings is able to support. They also want to be happy and content, and they eventually realize more knowledge enables this better quality of life.

One approach frequently used by those who want to prolong their avoidance of these most difficult questions is to adopt some of the many off-the-shelf solutions that are readily available. These off-the-shelf solutions are offered as a one size fits all solution to large portions of the conundrum problem, but all too often, the material in these all inclusive declarations is actually wild speculation that is glossed over as fact. Another common problem with them is the fact that they don’t suitably overlap with other off-the-shelf solutions about other parts of the problem. In most cases, they generate more darkness than illumination. 

The time comes when these off-the-shelf solutions don’t really address a particular life situation. These times are generally the result of some situation, usually traumatic in nature, that forces deeper consideration of these difficult things. It is in those trying moments when we desperately need the answers to some of these hard questions and that we are willing to accept just about anything to find comfort. It is so much better to have considered them properly in advance.

Considering these seemingly imponderable things is not just an intellectual folly. It is a necessary choice to optimize success in life. In fact, it is the only choice that will lead you to the ultimate truth about life and the liberation that truth entails. Simply accepting what someone else claims to be true is not enough. These questions actually need to be personally considered by everyone who really wants to know the truth.

The matter at hand here, the all-that-is of reality, is a vast concept beyond comprehension in all its detail, and language is not sufficient to describe it. The words chosen by one person to describe it might not be the same words that someone else would choose to describe the same thing. These words can convey an impression of their understanding of the all-that-is and a description of the methodology they used to approach the concept of the all-that-is.

The truth of enlightenment is not a concept to simply be intellectually understood. It is a state of being that is comprehended by experiencing it. From these impressions and application of the methodology share through the words of others, someone else can position themselves to see it for themselves and choose their own words to describe it. The only way to know it is to personally consider it and derive a personal understanding of the all-that-is.

The material offered in this discussion is not meant to be taken as yet another of these off-the-shelf solutions. Rather, it is meant to illustrate the process of considering these seemingly unapproachable questions and offering some possibilities to consider in one’s personal quest for answers. The real intent of this discussion is to prime and fuel this personal consideration. The answers to these questions are truly meaningless unless you have really consider them for yourself.

When it comes to understanding your own personal truth, there are those who can assist you, encourage you, and inspire you, but no one can give you with your personal truth.  You travel that path alone. 

The Great Human Conundrum

Everyone is eventually confronted by the great mystery of their very own conscious existence, but the importance of our conscious existence is initially overshadowed by another priority that must be considered first. Our conscious existence is embedded in an elaborate combination of things including our own physical bodies that makeup the world of things around us. Establishing some measure of rapport with this physical world must be considered a first priority to simply engage in the basic aspects of survival. The extraordinary fact of conscious existence is not even immediately recognized by most as a specific matter requiring consideration. That consideration comes later.

Our preoccupation with the physical world is further complicated by the more superficial matters of being happy and content in the context of living in this external physical world. An elaborate array of feelings are generated in our conscious existence by physical sensations originating from contact with objects in this surrounding physical world. These sensations when properly chosen entice this intangible happiness and contentment out of the two sensation extremes of pleasure and pain. Initially, it seems that this surrounding physical world is the source of both our survival and our happiness and contentment.

These two separate and distinct things, our conscious existence and the elaborate combination of things in the surrounding physical world, are the core components of the great human conundrum of life. No one is immune to the effects of this conundrum, and it is impossible to ignore. At a minimum, a sufficient understanding of our immediate surroundings is required to survive the many challenges that our very existence forces us to face, but ultimately beyond simple survival, our conscious existence’s nagging anticipation to be happy and content is what keeps forcing us to deal with this human conundrum.

A common approach to the most puzzling of these questions is to defer considering them in our initial rush to be blindly engaged in this great celebration of life. Such is the case with the whole matter of our conscious existence. Most don’t consider this for years. Some don’t consider it until they are near death. The key to really understanding the human conundrum is to recognize early on that there exists two different but interconnecting pieces of 1) a physical world with its pleasure and pain and 2) a conscious existence with its desire to be happy and content. These two things need to be considered together to be successful in life.

The choice to subsist on knowing only what is needed to just get by seems sufficient in one’s early years, but as time passes and the trials of life beset us, the answers to these more difficult questions become a greater priority. Eventually, everyone wants more than just the bare-bones survival this basic understanding of these immediate surroundings is able to support. They also want to be happy and content, and they eventually realize more knowledge enables this better quality of life.