The Modern Human Angst
The unconscious reality of the modern human living in modern society is essentially a form of spiritual angst. Many people, especially in Western societies, since early childhood, have been programmed by culture to become disconnected from themselves, torn from their fundamental essential true nature of wellbeing and autonomy in favor of becoming a societal “productivity unit”. They have become fragmented and conditioned to feel a deep feeling of unsatisfactoriness resulting from internalized constant external pressure, a thirst for “more”, desire to succeed and “become”, a feeling of lack, a perception of separation from life and everything and everyone else around them, and the general human suffering we all see and experience. It is not a new thing, nor is it a new surprise.
This angst as I will call it is a human thing. It is built into our biology and psychology as homo sapiens – to have discontent and dissatisfaction with our present reality so that we go out and search for more, try and become “better” in some way or another, and therefore, presumably have a better chance at survival and passing on our genes to our offspring. This survival instinct is built in incipiently to help us avoid danger and ensure survival. However, in our modern age, it is the direct cause of most of our psychological human suffering. It has morphed from prehistoric times when upon seeing danger like a wild animal, we’d go straight into running for our lives to safety into today’s predicament – perceiving danger in ideas, thoughts and credo.
Such potential ideas that arise fear in a modern human include thoughts of scarcity, loss, ending up alone and with no support, and being seen by others as “low status”. Thus, there is the resulting self-preservation pressure to engage in the striving to acquire, secure positions, climb social ladders, accumulate wealth and possessions, dominate others, etc. In modern times, these perceptions of lack and danger in ideas, whether empirically accurate or not, are responsible for most of our personal discontent and the predicament of a life of stress. This is also visible collectively and is the driving factor of how our modern world is structured today, especially in the West. This uniquely human condition is intertwined with our desires, aspirations, cravings, addictions, fears, feelings of lack and a sense of not enough, disconnection, unsatisfactoriness, and well, all human suffering.
Modern societies and those in power have decided long ago to feed and capitalize on this human condition, deliberately ramping it up into “overdrive” through suggesting and confirming the constructed reality assumption that we are actually lacking something as we are. They have tried sufficiently hard to convince citizens of the false promise that the difficult aspects of human experience and life are to be “fixed” through outside means – through “solutions” such as consumerism, acquisition, seeking wealth, climbing social ladders, and seeking power and control over everything. What people in modern society actually need are gentler ways and attitudes to truly understand, remedy, soothe, and uproot this angst and discontent from within.
Historically, however, there have been cultures and religions that have deeply understood the unchecked human condition and decided to investigate its origin and find ways to understand it, navigate it, or have even dared to solve it. Or, at least, move the human predicament in the right direction of making life more joyful and easeful in a more unconditional way. Essentially, these ancient cultures, philosophies, and wisdom traditions had to turn around and go the opposite way of social and predominant societal conditioning, against the grain of how the human mind lies to itself and deceives itself by making wrong assumptions as to where the solution to all human problems lie and how to effectively deal with them.
A person convinced that the answer to their suffering lies in achieving external conditions i.e “The American Dream” and a constructed notion of success usually gets a reality check of continued suffering even after they have achieved this culturally-defined goal.
Eastern philosophies and religions, on the other hand, have understood that the human condition and its suffering is an internally-generated problem that does not go away under “perfect” outside conditions. These ancient traditions therefore have decided to look at the human condition directly in the face and to its depths in the body and mind in order to find insights, novel ways of thinking and relating to oneself, as well as spiritual practices to help alleviate suffering. Or, even to finally provide a real solution and roadmap to endless suffering. Instead of perpetuating the belief and assumption that the answer to human angst is “out there” in conditions like ideal life situations, the right connections with people, materialism, acquisition, they have come to a truer insight – the problem is created within through perception that then shapes actions and choices that will perpetuate the problem in a cyclical loop. Therefore, they have understood that the problem requires a solution that mostly works on the plane of within – of inner reality.
Different practices like meditation, yoga, and the Taoist concept of Wu-Wei have sprung up in the East in the last few millenia, all with the aim to alleviate this human angst and suffering. Religions and wisdom traditions that gave birth to these practices and philosophies that have paved the way for working with the mind like Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Stoicism have all been useful at alleviating suffering. The reality that these religions or philosophies and their teachings were preserved until today and are even well known in the West with Buddhism, Taoism, and Stoicism making their way into the Western world in the last century and are being rigorously studied by science is itself a testament for their efficacy.
What do these religions and their practices like Buddhist breath meditation, the Taoist concept of Wu-Wei, and the stoic principle of Amor Fati do for the human mind and spirit, fundamentally? They not only calm the mind and give it some peace and stability, but also promote direct and clear means of seeing the reality that one inhabits and “swims in”. They also promote the discovery of revolutionary insights about life and the mind and bring acceptance, love, and care to each moment in ways that over time dissolve, understand, bring light to, and uproot the internal angst that pervades the roots of a typical modern mind.
These ancient practices, through balanced effort or effortlessness, diligence, care, simplicity, gentle awareness, meditative practice, and the “doing non-doing” concept of Wu-Wei can systematically and reliably over time lessen the burden of a suffering mind and gently uplift it into states of greater joy, peace, and wellbeing. Over time, if practiced with the right intention, understanding, and a tendency towards balance, they can completely transform a mind into being more unburdened and intrinsically satisfied, content, and peaceful irrespective of external conditions and worldly status or pursuits.
Meditation practice, for example, has already been shown by science to profoundly change the brain by calming the fear centre of the brain called the amygdala, lowering the startle response, enhancing or modulating the production of neurotransmitters like anandamide, dopamine, GABA, and serotonin, change brainwave states, increase connectivity between brain regions, and reportedly substantially improve the quality and experience of life of people who have been practicing it for a longer period of time1.
When a person truly understands and commits themselves to a practice, philosophy, or understanding of reality that does this for the mind and clicks with their individual psyche and temperament, it ultimately leads them to gently (but surely) uproot the angst and conditioning of modern culture while rediscovering true inner peace, radiance, and joy.
The Western Mind Unburdened
As a result of becoming intrinsically and unconditionally satisfied through such practices, the so called modern “solutions” and aims proposed by modern societal structures and institutions such as consumerism, attaining power, climbing social ladders, accumulating wealth beyond true need, constantly striving for more, and the rest of the hallmarks of modern culture simply lose their appeal. These pursuits gradually lose their pull on a mind that has uncovered and learned to inhabit peace, joy, and eudaimonia. These modern cultural pursuits stop making sense and even begin to look silly because the mind has found what it was looking for – the peace and wellbeing that it was mistakenly searching for through modern typical pursuits. Only it has found it within, unconditioned and independent of social status and external conditions.
This is why many people who are into spirituality, meditation, yoga, mysticism, Eastern religions, and self-understanding often live very simple lives. They do not need the grandiose life of a typical Westerner. They are satisfied with little or just enough.
They may still need to work to afford what they need, take care of errands, family, and duties, but they no longer see it as the primary purpose of their lives. They see work as just actions they perform in exchange for their basic needs – nothing more. If the work happens to be meaningful to them, they may see it as purposeful and ideally, enjoyable. But they usually come to choose work that aligns with what they can handle, something that truly matters and is of service to others, often something creative, taking into account the paycheck secondarily. They no longer believe that more in the form of wealth, power, status, or material possessions will ever grant them any more happiness. In fact, they understand that more often comes with the bigger burden of stressful and meaningless work that takes away from their peace and happiness. So, they usually strive for simplicity in their lives and are content with less, embracing minimalism so they can enjoy their lives in peace. This often excludes the types of work and lifestyles that Westerners value and glorify.
Once a human being rediscovers their peace, wellbeing, and their true unconditioned nature through Eastern traditions or some form of an inner process, they often refuse to keep upholding the burdens of the modern world. They come to see through this culture and its promise of happiness or fulfillment through more.
Naturally, such people end up consuming less, spending less, discarding excessive distraction and stimulation, and often spend more time in nature, in solitude, or with people whom they love, doing things they love or can at least tolerate and complete peacefully. They are fulfilled from within and discard the excessive need for material and socially-defined success. The insane modern pace of society, its pernicious discourse, and its false promise is finally seen for what it is – a framework built out of a need to quell the underlying angst perpetuated by culture and its aims. Cultural programming then loses its grip, importance, and allure, leaving one to move towards a simpler, happier, and ironically, more fulfilled life.
