Here is a journey into the Labyrinth that hopes to help you explore your consciousness and leave you something to think about. Thank you for being here with me.

As many of you might know I’m fascinated by our human desire for myth-making.

As of late, I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading many of the works by Joesph Campbell and Carl Jung, both were fascinated by our meaning-making mechanisms.

But why am I bringing up our myth-making?

Well, for one, I think it’s understanding this very human desire for myth-making that gets at the heart of how we integrate knowledge; it’s…

Zen Buddhism, and the expanding use of mindfulness, continues to spread across Western society. These Eastern traditions are known for catching the attention of those with more secular mindsets. Many have become intrigued by these more inward spiritual experiences in pursuit of finding their own peace during their time here on Earth.

But what about the traditional dominant faith in the West? Christianity.

With the rise of the use of Zen Buddhism and mindfulness, it has also attracted the attention of Christians. There’s a growing group of Christians that consider themselves in a dual religious belonging of Buddhism and Christianity.

…

Something I found fascinating to consider — aliens. They were on my mind this week. I never found myself fascinated by the discussion of aliens regarding whether they exist. I think when we consider the vastness and the mystery we have left around the cosmos…some form of aliens seems simply obvious.

But this had me thinking if aliens came and either visited or contacted us, would they actually be interested in our scientific discoveries?

Considering they would have contacted us…we could probably assume their discoveries in science are more advanced than ours.

So what could they be fascinated by?

I…

We often create this perception of ourselves — this story — we weave all together, string by string, layer by layer until we have a handle on the art piece of us. The art piece that we create within our minds, the story and narrative that creates our image. Maybe this is even our ideal image we hope the world sees us as.

You would see this first-hand if you’ve ever read an autobiography, someone writing their own story, and someone trying to express the image they have of themselves. …

Research tells us we’re more depressed, anxious, and lonely than ever.

Why?

The fact that…

• Extreme poverty rates are declining.
• World hunger is decreasing.
• People in developed countries have more leisure time.
• Cities are trying to become more sustainable.
• Technology is solving many of our problems.
• Life expectancy is rising.
• Child mortality is down.

Should I continue?

There are many more. Our continued societal innovations are solving many of our world's problems. Yet, many of us remain in a depressive state, we are lost, and we feel lonely in a seemingly connected world.

The External World’s Effect on our Internal Mindset

With this continually innovating world we live…

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most famous and most important allegories in human thought. In many ways for its ability to stand the test of time! The infamous allegory is just as relevant today as it is during the times of Socrates himself.

And that’s exactly what I want to focus on, how the allegory relates to our fear of truth. Especially our fear of being shown when we are wrong.

How far is society willing to go in order to avoid being shown they’re wrong?

And consider this question as you read, do you value…

Okay, let’s try to create a space of vulnerability…

I think a major problem in Western culture is our inability to present our vulnerabilities to others. We love masquerading our life through social media. We even do this with our personal interactions and conversations—presenting the illusion that everything is ‘okay.’

So with that in mind, let’s talk about understanding our own inner abyss. In hopes of providing some a potential path for more lasting happiness and peace.

Comfort in Discomfort

Sometimes we become lost, I sure do. …

Back in 2010, a group of researchers conducted an experiment on the intelligence of a type of fungus, slime mold(Physarum).

The slime mold was, “presented with oat flakes arranged in the pattern of Japanese cities around Tokyo, brainless, single-celled slime molds construct networks of nutrient-channeling tubes that are strikingly similar to the layout of the Japanese raise system.”

What does this mean?

Well, a group of engineers had spent countless hours experimenting with the most efficient system for Japan’s rail system. However, the slime mold figured this almost identical rail system out much more quickly.

All the engineers had needed to do was…ask the…