The first morning of the year at Soulton Hall usually brings a quiet clarity.
This year, we are using that quiet to begin a demanding task. We have set a resolution to work through the fifty lectures of John Vervaeke’s “Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.”
As a Professor of Psychology, his approach is technical and historical. He is interested in the mechanics of how the human mind loses—and recovers—its grip on reality. This is not a retreat into the superficial. While Vervaeke discusses mindfulness, he does so as a rigorous term of art within cognitive science, not as a vague slogan.
This series provides that ground. It respects the history of the Church and the data of the scientist equally, avoiding the “ocean of bullshit” that often characterizes modern self-help; there is only the patient, difficult work of rational reflection.
The Task Ahead
The Resolution: To complete the full series, lecture by lecture, with careful and attentive reflection.
The Material: A deep dive into the evolution of human cognition, from Socrates and the Buddha to Jung and Heidegger.
The Goal: To move past the distractions of modern culture and attend to seeing the world in a way that holds up under scrutiny.
We begin this journey today.
It is a long road, but it is the kind of work that a house like this is built to support.
You can find the whole series here.
