Recapture The Rapture - Jamie Wheal [Book Takeaways]
“The next Great Awakening would not be led by an individual avatar (a Buddha or a Jesus). Instead, it would take the form of a dedicated community—the Sangha.”
Key takeaways:
Meaning 1.0 is the salvation of organized religions. Meaning 2.0 is the promise of free markets and democracy. In the last century, we’ve seen the collapse in meaning that has led to the rise of nihilism, polarization and mental health crisis. This calls for Meaning 3.0, of which provides us the inspiration, healing and connection from the traditional 1.0 with the inclusive promise of modern 2.0, which is open source, scalable and anti-fragile.
The most potent drivers to help us build Meaning 3.0: respiration, embodiment, sexuality, substances, and music. Each of which is central to our consciousness. Focusing on our body is something that everyone can access and take agency of. The challenge is to engineer Ecstasis without the Crave (addiction to altered states), prompt Catharsis without the Cringe (indulgent self-help), and create Communitas without the Cult (unreliable leaders and followers).
Peak states, moments of awe and mystery are important to help us recalibrate, and remember the profoundness of life when we lose ourselves in the grind of it. The danger is getting hooked to sensation seeking. Most people get 80% of the healing they need through 20% of their peak experiences. Many get disappointed to realize the remaining 80% of their energy is dedicated to gleaning only 20% of more growth and integration. We need to know when to stop rehashing our breakdowns and breakthroughs and to finally show up and do the work in our consensus reality.