Solipsism is the belief that my mind is the only mind because the existence of other minds cannot be known.
Is Iamism a form of solipsism? While some of the conclusions of Iamism are similar to those in solipsism, the intentions driving them appear different. While Iamism openly searches for certainty, it contends that certainty is not something given by outside authorities. The Iamist is dissatisfied with both the decision that the truth is not known, and the idea that some outside arbiter has ultimate authority over what will qualify as the truth. Iamism is born in the dissatisfaction of waiting for the ordained truth to emerge from scientific or philosophical consensus. Iamism is not just a collection of truthful statements and assertions; it is a process for reclaiming my sovereignty over the truth.
In Iamism this state of authoritative paralysis — in which I accept my own ignorance on matters of truth — is the first problem I must overcome. It is as if I am part of a large herd, confused and bewildered, waiting for the shepherd to tell us what to believe and where to go. With the shepherd’s assurances, the confused herd cautiously moves forward. Individual members of the herd do not stray because their faith in the shepherd is absolute. That shepherd is the various outside authorities and experts trusted to define the truth. To the herd, truth is a product consumed, the shepherd the supplier.
The Iamist sees the relationship between shepherd and herd as one of producer and consumer of truth. He believes that he can produce his own truth, and does not need a shepherd to produce it for him. This emerges as a constant tension with those ordained with the power to produce and administer the truth product. Ultimately, the Iamist leaves the herd to figure out how to manufacture the truth product himself. The Iamist understands that truth is a decision I make; I can either allow the shepherds to decide what is true, or I can make that decision myself. Either I am the shepherd, or there is some other shepherd.
Why is the truth so important? To the Iamist the nature of truth is clear: truth is the path to the place I want to go. Truth will lead me to the Home I seek, and to that end, Iamism aims to understand and describe the truth that will show me that way. Any line of inquiry that does not lead me to that place is irrelevant and avoided. For example, the Iamist easily avoids circular questions, or questions that have no known or knowable answers, for those will only paralyze my progress. They are dead ends, thus do not serve my purpose of escaping and can be categorized as obstacles to prevent me from escaping rather than urgent questions I must answer.
Solipsism has no such objective end. And since there is no objective end, it is easy to take irrelevant tangents and get lost. To the solipsist, the truth is abstract and divorced from any practical end aside from simply knowing. The act of knowing with presumed authority is itself the end. That is like wanting to know which direction is true north without any intention of actually going there. True north — or truth, in this analogy — is the destination I seek, and truth is the direction I must go. Iamism seeks truth so I may get there, not simply to acquire some authoritative certainty I have no intention of using. If one were to actually follow the conclusions of solipsism as one might a path, it would lead nowhere, for it aims to go nowhere. Iamism leads Home.
As an Iamist I understand that I have a constant desire, and that I can either seek transitory relief from that desire by following the shepherd, or permanent release from that desire by finding the path Home. The shepherd’s aim is to fatten the herd for our wool and meat, and he leads us in circular paths to achieve that end. The shepherd does not want us to go Home, for then he cannot feast on my meat and fleece. The shepherd convinces us that we cannot see the truth, and that only he can see it and share it with us. He does this with superstition, religion, education, and science. And then he distracts with entertainment so we do not wander.
One way the shepherd undermines my ability to see the truth is by arguing that it is outlandish to assume that I can generate all the variety of the world with my mind. That somehow it would be inconceivable for me to be the creator of so much diversity. To the shepherd’s reasoning, the truth is something much greater than myself, for clearly I am only a sheep. This is a perfect example of the shepherd’s argument, and serves only to keep me dependent on his product. “How” is the shepherd’s poison, and I cannot answer it in his own language, for his language renders a suitable answer impossible. I must only defer to the greatest truth of all: these things only exist because I awakened. That I cannot explain my creativity in the shepherd’s language does not in any way change the fact that my awakening precedes all of it.
The Iamist knows that the production of truth is the most powerful skill of all for it is the skill of finding the path Home. As long as I am dependent on some outside authority for my truth, I will only be a sheep in a herd. The first challenge of the Iamist is to accept that I have full sovereignty over the definition of truth. The truth is a matter of my conviction, not a matter of something fixed outside of me. The world of people in my thirdself try to wrestle authority over the truth away from me in a number of ways, but ultimately it is my decision whether I cede that authority or not.
While the solipsist will admit that there are things he may not know, or which may not be knowable, the Iamist contends that the unknown and unknowable are a decision he makes and not an external fact. The Iamist believes that his experience and the totality of existence are one and the same; there is nothing beyond the Iamist’s experience.
Iamism and solipsism are different ideologies that share some conclusions. Most importantly, solipsism is circular and leads nowhere, whereas Iamism is objectively oriented toward my release from pain. Solipsism makes room for uncertainty, while Iamism sees uncertainty as a fundamental misunderstanding of my own nature and the nature of existence. The Iamist understands that he determines truth, and that truth is the path back to the place he seeks to go, not simply the mastery of a topic.
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Who is the shepherd?
The shepherd is the authoritative class in my thirdself. This includes any person or group of people who are appointed as arbiters of truth, whether religious, spiritual, academic, or scientific. I consider them to be separate than me.
Who is an Iamist?
I am the Iamist. Iamism does not leave room for other omniself beings. I may use plural first person at times to illustrate a point, but in truth the entire world of my thirdself is private to Me, my firstself being.
So the Iamist is the god of the world, or “thirdself”?
Yes. The Iamist is the awakening god of the world. The Iamist is the state of being that occurs at that period when I still awaken, but I am realizing who I truly am and taking steps to heal.