The existential framework: a summary

MOVED TO GOOGLE DOCS 07.02.2020

In this piece I outline the Existential Framework in terms of its two constituent models in an easy-to-understand format. This work is not intended to give a full account of the subject matter, but rather a condensed summary highlighting key concepts. Sections are regularly updated to include relevant links to additional pieces that will illuminate some of the more difficult concepts. Note that this page is actively managed by the author as the theory evolves.

Why is this important?

We hurt. The pain is sometimes so great it threatens to swallow us whole. We have tried everything to feel better, but nothing works. The sense that something is fundamentally wrong persists and we want the pain to end.

There is something wrong with life. We have been deceived from the beginning, convinced that the relief we search for is around the corner. That is a lie we have been telling ourselves for years, and we all know it. There is no relief here, and the pain will always outweigh the rest until we confront it.

To reduce the pain we must understand what is causing it. The Existential Framework is one sufferer’s effort to methodically understand his pain, and it starts with one admission: we are lost and we don’t want to be here. We woke up here one day and no one knows where we are or why. Yet we ignore that and focus on distractions to dull the pain.

We are lost and we want to go home. Life itself is the source of our pain and once we accept this we can finally begin the long journey back with purpose.

The Existential Framework

The Existential Framework (EF) is an effort to simply define and contrast the two modes of experiencing existence. Every person has their own version of an existential model, which includes their beliefs, lived experiences, and how they view and conduct themselves in relation to the greater world. There are two broad models:

Existential Observer Model (EOM). Adherents are called ascentists. In this model, we are co-participants in, and observers of, a larger outside world. Generally, we view life as something that should be preserved and extended, and death as something to be feared and avoided.
Existential Creator Model (ECM). The proposed alternative to the EOM, adherents are called descentists. In this model, we are the creators of the world we experience and we see life as something that should not be preserved or extended beyond our demise. The descentist believes that he is lost in life and his principal purpose is to efficiently return to the pre-life state (read: The Existential Creator Model: A System Analysis).

Ascentism is the default worldview and includes all religious, spiritual, and secular views which implicitly assume the existence of an enduring external world and the value of life. There is great variety in the ascentist worldviews, but they generally share a perspective of learned optimism, life-based goals, and practiced ignorance of the source of their pain.

Opposite the ascentist, the descentist rejects these core assumptions in favor of propositions he can directly validate through contemplation. He understands that life itself is the source of pain, and consciously chooses to re-align around his original purpose to return to the state before life. The descentist intentionally aims to deconstruct the EOM in his life and replace it with the ECM.

The Ubiquity of the Observer Model

Before proceeding further, it is important to understand that this world thrives on unrestricted growth and proliferation. The principal value that life must continue is only matched in strength by the conviction that death is to be feared. Anything that challenges this narrative is a mortal threat and will face ferocious opposition.

Life is beautiful! Keep going! You can do it! Life is what you make it! Be positive! Don’t be afraid to dream! Live your best life!

These are manipulations to hide the truth that we exist in a chronic state of pain; that hidden beneath the years of accumulated suffering are the agonizing screams of our newborn selves to return from where we came. Everything we do here is designed to smother those screams and obscure that truth, ensuring endless replication and unending pain, in turn.

The Existential Framework challenges these assumptions and exposes an alternative path to understanding and then deliberately ending the pain of life. It is written in a format which makes sense to rational adults, and while it may proceed dispassionately at times, it is an ardent call to wake up and confront the lies upon which our lives are built.

The Essential Condition of Life

Every person theoretically occupies a place in the Existential Framework according to their view of life. The starting point is how the individual interprets and acts on the shared experience of gradually awakening to being alive. How one answers the question “what is life and why are you here” determines their orientation within the Existential Framework. There are four essential orientations:

Orientation 1: The purposefully alive. You can confidently define the condition of life, your purpose within it, and have aligned your beliefs and actions according to that definition.
Orientation 2: The unknowingly lost. You cannot confidently define the condition of life, but do not acknowledge that you are lost. You experience existential pain.
Orientation 3: The knowingly lost. You know that you are lost and experience existential pain.
Orientation 4: The purposefully lost. You know what the condition of life is, that you are lost here, and have taken steps to find your way out.

Existential pain is a foundational concept within the Framework. In the EOM it cannot be reliably traced to any internal or external source, and is generally referred to as “depression”. Those who acknowledge having this condition are treated as if they have a mental illness. The susceptible descentist may not be satisfied qualifying it as a “disorder”, while the practicing descentist sees it as an authoritative and guiding voice (read: Depression as a Worldview).

Anyone can ask and answer the question: what is life? The diagram below is admittedly vague and simplistic, but at a high level it reveals how we might arrive at an orientation for ourselves.

The ascentist will experience life as one of the first three orientations, while the descentist would describe himself as purposefully lost (i.e., Orientation 4). Those who are both unknowingly and knowingly lost are susceptible to descentism, but those of Orientation 1 will reject descentism because of its defiance of their core assumptions of life.

Why Descentism?

The ascentist life is one of pain, conflict, fear, loneliness, and confusion. Suffering is suppressed with distractions such as work, goals, games, socializing, relationships, consumerism, spiritual services, and even medical treatment for “depression”. Unless thoroughly distracted by imbibing a diet of exaggerated positivity refuting our suffering, dissatisfaction will evolve into acute despair and suicidal ideation.

The ECM is a pragmatic method for alleviating existential pain by rediscovering true existential purpose beyond one’s professional services to society. The descentist starts by confronting the essential question and realizing that returning to the state of non-life is his original, persistent, and enduring desire. By integrating this truth into his life rather than fearing it, he is able to exist purposefully, progressively alleviating his existential pain through to his final disengagement (i.e., death).

The descentist transitions from the Observer to the Creator model by seeking symmetrical disengagement in the pursuit of existential alignment. Symmetrical disengagement is the intentional and gradual withdrawal from the EOM-based life, while existential alignment is the positive reorganization of life by easily-validated principles. If one has not inquired about life or found an answer of some sort, they cannot possibly be in alignment because they are ignorant of their essential condition.

According to the ECM, asymmetric disengagement (aka, “suicide”) is the decision to abruptly disengage made by those who are either knowingly or unknowingly lost. Unfortunately, asymmetric disengagement is not an useful shortcut. In confronting and embracing his inevitable destiny, the descentist will come to understand why, and consciously choose to disengage symmetrically even if the call to suicide was once captivating.

The Disengagement

Disengagement is the method of the ECM and the objective is existential alignment which proceeds as a transition from the Observer Model through contemplation, reflection, and practical action. Rather than focusing on esoteric, inaccessible rhetoric, rituals, and the exaltation of others, the ECM is presented in modern, relatable terms with lessons that can be self-validated. The process will start the same for everyone, but quickly become a personal journey with landmarks familiar to all adherents.

The disengagement starts with reflection on our shared essential condition: what is life and why are we here? There will be many answers but the question will reveal one’s existential orientation (see above). Aspirants without a solid and defensible answer will face the opportunity to admit they are lost, acknowledging the essential absurdity of continuing lives anchored to nothing.

One who is knowingly lost behaves differently than one who is not. The aspiring descentist who accepts that he is lost will begin his transformation into an active seeker of existential alignment. His essential purpose will become clear: to find his way back home. Matters once thought to be important will lose their significance as he opens to his true purpose and the joy that brings. Dramatic life changes will follow.

In his efforts to get home, the descentist will rediscover his most powerful tool: his free will to believe whatever he wants. While the ascentist will view this as a tool for perceiving some objective reality outside of himself, the descentist will learn how to use it to disengage from the EOM. He will start by affirming the malleable nature of his beliefs by examining the following:

My agency to believe whatever I want is an important tool.
My beliefs have an observable, measurable impact on how I experience existence.
Believing something I cannot myself validate dis-empowers me.
My existential model is built on concepts I cannot validate and which dis-empower me.

Existential alignment is the reorganization of our beliefs toward a purposeful existence through intentional action. Our convictions of what is real reinforce our values, which support practical goals and meaningful actions. When all of these are aligned, we are prepared for our descent to the original state.

While the ascentist is entangled in a dissatisfying existence of his own creation, descentism is a practical set of questions to help us find our way out. By recognizing life as an undesirable condition, ourselves as lost in it, and then purposefully re-orientating toward our own eventual demise, we will once again find our purpose, understand and reduce the pain in our lives, and move confidently toward our destiny.

The descentist embraces the concept of the existential body to rationalize experience and construct a map to exit the EOM. Ideas, beliefs, or frameworks which he cannot directly validate are reclassified as peripheral within the ECM, an exercise which returns tremendous self-control and power to the practicing descentist. The descentist realizes that his beliefs can be the bars of his prison or the tools for existential alignment.

The ECM is a transformative view of reality which offers purpose as the cure to existential suffering. It doesn’t operate through the memorization of rules, but by taking action to create a supportive environment where one can induce introspective breakthroughs that compel purposeful change in our lives. Descentism is a private path, but practitioners may seek each other’s company in order to further their journey. The understanding of and decrease in dissatisfaction with life is the net gauge for its effectiveness, and the periodic experience of existential euphoria is to be expected.

As an active seeker of truth my entire adult life, I can say with certitude that everything written herein has been said before. And while the idea of creating our own reality is nothing new, the problem is that we dream of transendence when our true purpose is descendence. We aren’t here to build castles, real or imaginary. We are here because we are lost, and our only purpose is to get home.

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