Science agreed with *some* of Religion. Kids' wellbeing can profit.

The prevailing scientific paradigm that suggests life’s emergence is a random occurence devoid of meaning is being challenged by cutting-edge findings. They are happening at the intersection of physics, biology, neuroscience, and information theory - generally referred to as “complexity science.” Some adults are already benefitting from the insights. From what I can see, the majority remain unaware.

I am going to summarise this emerging worldview from a position of an agnostic simpleton. For those interested in delving deeper, references and links are provided at the end. I will then explore how the emerging perspective relates to the well-being of children.

The key realizations emerging in the scientific community can be summarized as follows:

1.     There is an “intelligence” and it is expanding.  There is an underlying process involved in the ongoing creation and complexification of everything, despite it sometimes seeming random.

2.     We/you/me are all part of this process and an expression of this intelligence. What's fascinating is that our cognitive development mirrors and interacts with the evolutionary development of the universe itself. This is different from traditional religious view, where an external “entity” is passing judgement on what is good and bad. No one seems to have a good explanation how come the bad actions of the “devil” (who is in fact also created by God, the almighty), are also not a creation of God? Did “God” just put on a massive theatre production? For what purpose - joy and experience? Or God (an entity somewhere out there) is not almighty and not fully in control?

3.     The expansion of the intelligence/universe happens at the border of order and chaos, coined “the point of criticality”. To progress and grow, species, human lives, the universe, and individuals must challenge themselves by confronting chaos without succumbing to it.

4.     Many parts and clues to the functioning of the ‘Intelligence’ can be observed. Aspects of this intelligence can be discovered by those who ask questions and seek to understand it firsthand. In fact, nothing you read will likely convince you as much as going out in your own sincere exploration of the intricate workings of this “machine”.

5.     There exists an optimal way to interact with this intelligence. It enhances the quality of life and unlocks creative capacity. The non-optimal interactions are not “bad”, there is no judgement of Good/Bad by the Intelligence, there is only Effective/Not Effective, the act either contributes to expansion or not. Understanding and integrating these optimal interactions into one's life is a complex subject, but more resources and insights are available now than ever before.

6.     Discovering the optimal way to participate is a personal journey. Some are already on the path. Many are unaware of the possibilities. Part of the population is still relying on the remainders of the package that was taught in traditional religions: the idea of judgement and punishment as a necessary way to keep imperfect minds from descending into brutality.

Religion has lost its appeal to many because it often appears as a simplistic narrative attempting to influence behavior. A child today, can justifiably ask: “ If it is all God’s will and you really believe in the power of God, then why are you depressed and anxious so often?”

So, how does all this relate to children’s well-being and flourishing?

Please look at this picture. The majority of the population seems stuck somewhere between 0 and 2.

Even if you are seriously religious, your teenager might participate and tell you he is onboard, but in truth, his cognitive capacity is much higher than the kid from 100 years ago. He is just not going to have ‘full buy-in’ into the idea of “God”. He will go through the motions, do the expected, but he will not have the benefits of full' ‘buy-in’.

True “buy-in” happens not by instruction or manipulation, but through own discovery.

Someone might wish it was different or have someone to blame, but we cannot reverse or stop the complexification of the universe and general level of cognitition.

Non-religious families, while avoiding the negative side effects of religious indoctrination, may inadvertently throw the baby out with the bathwater. The baby being a sense of vitality, wonder for life, resilience, purpose, meaning and a sense of conviction that all is well (at some level). Plenty of useful qualities that can power things like Love of learning, creativity, focus, a healthy balance between confidence and humility.

The lack of full buy-in into the idea of some form of order or an underlying intelligent design is contributing to the crisis observed in both teens and many adults (those who are between 0 and 2 on the image above) . Various degrees and sources of anxiety, sense of meaninglessness, fears - all are preventing real focus on own creative pursuits... As traditional religion’s influence is waning, many are trying to replace it with various types of spirituality, meditation, chanting, mental health classes in school where you get the repeated mantra of ‘Stay Positive’ and the like… All with varying degrees of ‘success’. Most of this will be akin to applying a bandage to a wound in need of surgery.

“Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes, or film-stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.” - C.S. Lewis

We are at a point where cognitively we need to push through, start on the path from 2 to 3 on the picture above. The way to do this, is to point the kids nonchalantly to the minimum skeleton of the emerging world view. Help them develop their own capacity to ask the right questions, so they can find out for themselves what’s true or not and how to use it for their benefit. The skeleton can be the bold bits in 1-6 points provided at the start of the article or something like this:

“Evolution being accidental is not the real story. Religious stories were an interesting temporary solution to the minds of their time, but are also not to be relied on as true representaiton of rality. There IS intelligence/consiousness, it is very cool and more complex than we can understand for now, but we are learning more as we go. You are a part of it all. Go and find out if you want. Just be aware - society will try and sell you fables and quick solutions. Explore and question everything.”

Getting stuck on morality or going on and on about your latest magical or spiritual belief without ‘evidence’, will lose them. Just as organized religion did.

At the same time, developing an independent, questioning mind, a sense of wonder and exploration, is hard when your schedule is filled to the brim by others and outside influences are everywhere. The traditional education system is not using the methods that are most effective to bring about real academic learning and mastery (I will write more on this in the future and the alternatives happening now). Then there is the online world optimized to steal all the remaining time and attention you have. I am absolutely not surprised about the feeling of emptiness, purposelessness, lack of confidence and confusion many young people experience.

These are some of the reasons I started rimastery.com. The aim is to create a learning community for kids and young adults. The focus will be on mastering the foundational skills to become truly futureproof, self-acting and antifragile .

I believe these skills are aquired through learning Risk-Taking (in life), Introspection and Relevance Realisation. I want to bring upon a sense of meaning, curiosity and ability to find own Why’s. The ability to use the knowledge we have available to us, without indoctrination and/or a slide into excess spirituality/ magical thinking. Guide them to discover “the God within” through finding and fearlessly pursuing their passions., without talking about “God”. This powers all the futureproof abilities so in demand nowadays.

Any real learning happens through asking good questions , through metaphor, through relevance and the ability to observe cause & effect. Some people arrive at it through math, science, some through trading .. It works in mysterious ways! The key is the degree of passion and seriousness of the pursuit.

To conclude, what is happening:

The ideas of the emerging worldview are not new for everyone. The science, that adds some missing puzzle pieces for the vast majority, is. The insights are no longer limited to traditionally considered ‘fringe’ groups, but are being embraced by respected, succesful, some ‘corporate’ individuals.

I want to narrow the divide between those who benefit from it and those who don’t. That is one more big divide in quality of life we don’t need. Really ‘getting it’ takes time.

The time is now because we have a meaning and mental crisis as complexity is scaling up…

I am going to start by doing a free online workshops for 14-18 year olds on the subject of practically “Getting from “Simple” Interests to Dream Profession.” If you have any access to youth / youth groups who you think could benefit – please send it on. Earlier and later age groups will be added later.

References for those eager to explore further:

• Brett Andersen’s blog Intimations of a New Worldview summarizes and presents the research in a coherent form, in a format accessible to both scientists and the intellectually curious.

• The Everything Answer Book: How Quantum Science Explains Love, Death, and the Meaning of Life by nuclear physicist Amit Goswani Phd.

• An explanation from quantum physics that aligns with Buddhism, showing how ‘Thou are That’ and there is, in the end, only 1 mind: https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/08/27/notes-on-complexity-neil-theise/

• John Vervaeke Phd .His series on awakening from the Meaning Crisis and After Socrates offer compelling insights . He coined the term “Relevance Realisation” which is observable in several fields. One is basically —the process by which we decide what matters in any given situation. This resonates with the process that is going on in biology and in our brains. Relevance realization brings a solution to a pervasive problem in cognitive sciences, through which a new framework for this field is emerging, described in his paper here - http://www.ipsi.utoronto.ca/sdis/Relevance-Published.pdf

• A good synthesis on how Jordan Peterson’s meta-mythology and John Vervaeke’s relevance realization are in alignment with the modern science of consciousness:

Consciousness Emerges at the Border Between Order and Chaos

• Psychiatrist and neuroscience researcher Iain McGilchrist looks at the neuroscience and different worldviews of the two hemispheres of the brain, and the means to truth (similar to Finding God): attention, perception, judgement, apprehension, emotional and social intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and creativity. Yes, going to church is not the only way. His latest book, " The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and The Unmaking of The World will in the future likely be seen as a key turning point in our understanding of ourselves and the world..

• The best description of the matter in funny (and sometimes pretty somber) metaphors is done by the fictional writer ‘Jed McKenna’ in his ‘Enlightment’ Trilogy (his finest work) and his book that outlines The theory of Everything . His writing pushes the boundary between order and chaos (with valuable effect for some readers). However, it's worth noting that this is likely not be the most suitable starting point for the explorer, 18+.