From snapchat stories to soccer leagues, the world we experience is imbedded with a narrative property. Moreover, every “thing” or event is contextualized as occurring within a greater succession of “things” or events in order to be identified and understood. Thus, in addition to the individual narrative order present in things, there is a greater Narrative in which things occur known as “life”. Because as human being we make sense of things through understanding how they belong to a greater context, the same becomes applied to our existence. Meaning there is both a powerful need to belong and an equally strong need to understand how it is that we belong. Thus, the present paper aims to provide a) an explanation of how Narration is the fundamental construct underlying how humans relate to the world and infer meaning; b) explain how Narration has contributed to the increasing sense of disconnection present within society known as the “Meaning Crisis”; c) examine how Narrative principles differ from Buddhist philosophy; d) give a strong account of how mindfulness mediation and compassion can relieve the Meaning Crisis.
Main Body
Throughout western history Narration has been used to make sense of the world and our place in it as human beings (Vervaeke & Ferraro, 2013), manifesting in three fundamental ways: (a) it enables the creation of identities and sense of self by providing a progressive story line; (b) it embeds the universe with a historical past and future; and (c) it provides stories to contextualized human existence: like the Christian story of creation or the scientific story of evolution. However, there has also been an increasing sense of disconnection with the world and a lack of meaning that has taken over society – This is termed “The Meaning Crisis”. Thus we can define “Meaning” as understanding ourselves in relation to the world in a manner that provides “a sense of place and purpose” (Vervaeke, 2017; Vervaeke & Ferraro, 2013). A crude manifestation of the Meaning Crisis are the 800.000 people who commit suicide every year (World Health Organization, 2017). In order to explain how Narration has reinforced the fundamental sense of separation underlying the Meaning Crisis, we will draw on Buddhist philosophy and examine how the fundamental concepts underlying Narration and Buddhism differ. Finally, empirical findings will be presented in support of compassion and mindfulness meditation as alternative methods for addressing the Meaning Crisis.
The most basic way in which Narration manifests in our lives is through the creation of our identity. Narration enables the maintenance of a sense of self by providing an ongoing story line. However, two fundamental understandings within Buddhism are the “emptiness of self” and the interconnectedness between human beings. Based on which we will argue how creating a narrative-self provides a foundation for the Meaning Crisis. Francisco Varela (Varela, 1999) refers to the “I” as a virtual construct arising from the self-description and narration enabled by language. Langue constantly takes an interpretive stance in parallel to daily activities which gives rise to an ongoing sense of narration and construes a virtual self. A study in 2017 by Simm, Jamieson, Ong, Garner, & Kinsella carried out a Reflective Self Function Scale revealed that individuals with Alzaihmers decease have a reduced sense of self in both personal and social domains. Professor Tanzi at the University of Harvard suggests Alzaimers provides a perfect exemplification of the virtually constructed self (YouTube, 2017). The self relies on a continuous integration of new information with already existing information; in the case of Alzaihmers the latter is no longer retained -explaining why patients lose their sense of identity. Varela further elaborated that language requires a social context in order to be carried out; thus the self is inseparable from social interactions and these interactions act as external reference points which reinforce the sense of self (Varela, 1999). Likewise, according to Buddhism, because there is no inherent self in the first place it is constantly looking for external validation in order to establish itself. The result is an everlasting sense of dissatisfaction and quest for a greater sense of connection (Wolsko, 2011) – being the sense of disconnection at the heart of the meaning crisis. A plausible objection against the “emptiness of self” can be inferred from research having identified associations between self-related cognitive processes and the activation of specific brain areas (Knyazev, 2013). For example, there is an association between self- referential memories and increased activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (Kelley et al., 2002) and between self-recognition (normally of facial images) and the left cerebral hemi- sphere (Heatherton, Macrae, & Kelley, 2004). However, as indicated by Van Gordon, Shonin and Griffiths (2017), the activation of such brain areas provides no indication of a homunculus self or location of consciousness.
Moreover, present in all narrative descriptions of our lives is a distinction between “I” and “other” that shapes the basis of our entire experience. Without this duality, there would be no need to contextualise the meaning of our existence in the first place. Emptiness of self and interconnectedness form the premises of the non-dual Buddhist teachings called as “Dzogchen” and “Mhamudhra”. These teachings suggest that experience is not divided into subject and object, there is no “I” and “other” for non-duality; instead, all which is experienced takes place as one within a context of present awareness. The realization of these teachings are believed to dissolve all feelings of separation as it recognizes that our true nature rests in the interconnectedness of all experience. Moreover, Buddhism suggests that identifying with a distinct self can cause happiness to become restricted to the self’s own satisfaction. The result is a self-driven motivation in all our activities which further impedes us from connecting with others (Varella, 2011) and restricts our opportunities for happiness. The Buddhist method for loosening self-involvement and thus attaining happiness is compassion meditation (Shonin et al., 2014) – compassion meditation involves practicing sympathetic joy for another joy and sadness for another’s and suffering. Likewise, a cross-sectional study showed that nonattachment to self predicted prosocial behavior in adolescents (Sahdra, Ciarrochi, Parker, Marshall, & Heaven, 2015). Recently, research has also found a positive correlation between selflessness and durable happiness (Dambrun, 2017). What is more, there appear to be physical structures in the human body that enable empathetic connectivity (Boukouvala, 2017). Mirror neurons are a subset of neurons found to fire whilst observing another person carrying out an action (Ramachandran, 2010). Furthermore, the neuronal response is indifferent from potentials evoked from actions carried out by the own individual (Alfrod, 2014). Suggesting mirror neurons can provide a simulation of the other person’s experience (Rizzolatti, Fogassi, & Gallese, 2001; Gallese, 2003). Neuroscientists have suggested that experiential simulation can enable a better understanding of the other person’s intentions and as a result promotes empathic connectivity (Rizzolatti, Fogassi, & Gallese, 2001; Gallese, 2003).
The second way in which Narration has shaped our understanding of the world is through establishing an ongoing timeline that extends the consequences of history into the future. Thus, it is understood that there is a cause and effect to human actions on which future outcomes are based. Research has found there is a tendency for people to believe that they will be happier and more satisfied with their lives in the future than in the past and present (Robinson and Ryff, 1999). As a result, there is a distraction from the present moment alongside a separation from direct experience because thought processes become fixated on future hypothetical situations and the means for achieving/avoiding these. According to the Second Noble Truth in Buddhism, the origin of suffering lies in the constant desire of future sates and the attachment to their outcomes. Thus, we become obsessed with scheming and investing in the future to such an extent that we do not enjoy our present experience. Heidegger referred to “the Being of beings as the ground-giving unity”; likewise, Buddhism suggests that the unity between beings can only be realised within the Presence of the Present moment. This is why Buddhism teaches mindfulness meditation – not becoming involved in thought processes allows a return to the present moment. This present moment offers the possibility to connect with others as it is the only moment shared amongst us. Accordingly, research found that spending more time in meditation predicted a greater feeling of interdependence with other sentient beings (Wayment, Wiist, Sullivan & Warren, 2010). To summarise: engaging in a Narrative history causes individuals lose their focus on the present moment and miss the possibility to connect with others; in turn, this results in the sense of disconnection that is so basic to the Meaning Crisis.
Thirdly; through high-jacking the concept of a historical cosmos, humans have established Narrative frameworks which allow to contextualise human existence in the world. Two of the most influential of these narrative frameworks are the story of creation and the story of evolution. Creating narrative frameworks to contextualize human existence is like treating the symptoms without addressing the illness; it doesn’t get to the heart of the matter as it does not provide the means for achieving a true feeling of connectedness with the world and others. Moreover, present in all Narratives dictating “Man’s” meaning in the world is a dualism between “Human beings”, “the world” or “God” which is inherently necessary for a story to be created in the first place but as a result further reinforces the separation underlying the Meaning Crisis. The story of creation is about how “God” created humans, implying that we are inherently different and separate from him. An example is provided to illustrate this point: if during therapy, people suffering from depression are asked to repeat “I am a happy person”; the underlined communication is that they are not happy -because if they were happy they would not need to say the affirmation in the first place. Likewise, the result of a Story of Creation is a superficial and temporary contextualization of human meaning, contrasted by an underlying distinction between God and Humans. According to Thomas Berry, the Story of creation has now been replaced by the story of Evolution. However, the story of evolution doesn’t provide opportunity for a true integration either because consciousness emerges out of nowhere. Once again, reinforcing humans to feel alienated from the world and contributing to the Meaning Crisis. Therma Bikkhu (Bhikku, 1996) in his book "Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon" explains how within traditional Buddhist teachings there is also a basic Narrative order provided by the principle of Karma – “remembrance of previous lives, and insight into the death and rebirth of beings throughout the cosmos”. Moreover, Narration takes place at two levels: a micro personal level (the personal story of rebirth from life to life) and a macro cosmological level (in which Karma is understood as underlying the workings of the cosmos). However, Karma implies relating to the world in terms of self and others; therefore, the Buddha found that in order to become free from suffering and end the cycle of karma he had to transcend the concepts of personal and cosmological narratives. The method he taught was the “entry into emptiness” also known as “radical phenomenology” which involves focusing on events arising in the present moment without identifying the entities causing them and provided the basis for today’s Mindfulness Meditation. Because there is no identification with doer, receiver, self, or other, there is no distinction between “Human”, “Devine” and “world”; thus, the sense of disconnection emerging from the meaning crisis dissolves. Moreover, this approach also explains why human consciousness cannot be found within the story of evolution and provides the means to unite them. Suggesting that it is the other way around, the story of evolution emerges within the present awareness of consciousness.
To conclude, by drawing on Buddhist philosophy we have provided three fundamental reasons why Narration has contributed to the emergence of a Meaning Crisis and further reinforced the feelings of separation underlying it: Firstly, creating a self establishes a dualism with the “other” that promotes a self-involvement and prevents connecting with the other. Secondly, a narrative History obscures the present ground through which we can connect with others because it shifts our gaze to the future. Thirdly, creating narrative frameworks to contextualize human beings does not provide the means for achieving a true feeling of connectedness with the world and others -the Christian story of creation reinforces dualism between “Human” “God” and “Universe” and the story of evolution alienates humans from the current scientific worldview as it does not account for the emergence of consciousness. As a means of reintegrating the sense of meaning back into our lives, we presented the Buddhist techniques of mindfulness meditation and compassion. Firstly, mediation trains to quiet the thinking mind which allows for a much more intimate experience as it enables us to relate directly rather than conceptually. Secondly, compassion loosens the self-involvement and thus enables to relate with the world without trying to attend to our own needs. Empirical evidence is provided by research finding these techniques promoted greater feelings of interconnectedness.
Throughout this essay we have proposed that Narration is not an appropriate means for understanding our environment and inferring meaning. Until now, the most popular method used to to address the Meaning Crisis has been the construal of conceptual frameworks “stories” to understand of our place in the world as human beings. In contrast, we propose the solution to the Meaning Crisis can only be found by dropping the totality of our Narrative conditioning. The implications of this would result in the revolution our entire way of being; however, a shift of this degree is necessary in order to end the Narrative of the Meaning Crisis.