We offer a story. We offer a code and a religion. We offer whole system to replace the corrupt system created by our Kings and Priests. But ours is only one way. And is no single right way to live. There are wrong ways. But there is no single right way to live. When Jesus claimed: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me[,] ” he was revealing a dangerous motivation. These are the claims of a totalist cult leader. These are the claims of somebody who wishes slaves and serfs. Distrust any story or religion that claims that it alone is the correct way to live.
You must choose your own way. You must choose your own meaning. We can offer possibilities. But you must choose.
“It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. Therefore, it is inconsistent to hear something of the Way of Confucius or the Way of the Buddha, and say that this is the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own.” ― Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
We recommend that you commit to whatever way you choose. We also recommend that you avoid any way which forbids you from walking away from that way. Anything which seeks to prevent you from leaving wants to imprison you.
So find your own way. Commit to that way. Recognize that your way is one of many. Recognize that others may not agree with your way. Recognize that even you may one day abandon the way for another.
Other cults would tell you what meaning they want to you believe. They would pretend that the meaning they were selling was the only meaning. And they would pretend that the meaning they were selling was not a meaning you could choose to believe, but the definitive meaning. They would claim all other meanings offered were in fact lies.
We will not do that.
There is no single right way to live. There is no definitive meaning which can be laid across the world. The world is objective. But meaning in subjective. The goal is not to discover the meaning of life. The goal is to choose the meaning of your life.
You may build your meaning from ideas offered by others. Most of us do. But you must choose. As Descartes noted in Discourse on the Method, if you can think then you must exist. If you are questioning, then you are here. You are the one who is here. Everything else could be false or illusory. But if you can wonder about the existence of everything else, then you are real. And everything else could indeed be false. So you must choose what you believe.
And we will not do that for you.
But we have suggestions. We offer a toolbox of potential beliefs. We offer a grab bag of meanings. And we will back up what we offer, with an honest explanation of why we offer it. You may be surprised to see belief and meaning discussed as options which you can accept or reject. But we do this every day. Most of us simply do this without examining it.
It is time to begin examining your beliefs as though you are buying a used car. It is time to examine your meaning as if it were a house in which you must live.
Professor Harbinger's School for Villains 