#2 Basing life values on your infinite worth.

The world in which we live in today has never been so complex. Never has there been a time in history where we have been so aware of the fact that we are one individual amongst a seeming infinite sea of other individuals thanks to our immediate accessibility to the world wide web of exponentially expanding human information. As soon as we focus our attention, to the exclusion of all other possibilities within our present experience, on our modern hyper-complex personal IT devices, we directly access experiences and values communicated by other individuals and collective groups. Every photo, every video, every post, every comment, every ‘like and subscribe’, every various type of information absorbed and integrated within the individual’s mind upon the interaction with their personal screen communicates explicitly and implicitly certain values. When I say ‘values’ I mean specifically the information that informs the consumer of ‘what is most important in life’ and thus what one’s attention and life direction should be aimed at. Ultimately values influence the shape and form of our identity. The underlying problem that arises from the current state of affairs is that people are more vulnerable than ever to base one’s identity on the belief, communicated by certain institutions via one’s phone / devices and other societal media mediums, that the worth of the individual ultimately boils down to materialistic factors one possess’. Therefore, if one views their own worth as relative to what they are exposed to via social media and, thereby, creating a lack of stability and security in this immensely important aspect of one’s life experience, then it is easy to be lead in life-directions that do not resonate with your nature, unique individuality and expression of potentiality. Ultimately, this can result in individuals forming a lingering contracting presence of self-consciousness and feeling existentially lost.

Of course, these techy devices have an enormous potential to help individuals uncover the truth of their identity, which can lead to the unfolding of one’s own inherently unlimited positive potential. However, it is clear that the influence these modern technological devices have on individuals and the collective at large, in regards to mental health, is creating some serious negative effects. This negativity is evident if we simply look at the statistics of how mental health has been on a steady decline globally over the last two decades. Have a quick search now and the evidence is overwhelming. The World Health Organisation website states “more than 700,000 people die of suicide each year, which is one person every 40 seconds” (viewed 13th Feb, 2022). Even this statistic is likely to be an underestimate, given the lack of reliable information various governments and agencies, especially in developing countries, are able to provide. These horrific statistics of the decline in mental health, especially amongst younger people, are further compounded by the crippling Covid-19 lock-downs many countries have been experiencing on and off for over 2 years now. Of course, there are other reasons why these horrifying stats are so high, however, it is really no surprise to see the increase in suicide, self-abuse, domestic abuse, substance abuse / addiction, screen-addiction, depression, hyper-anxiety and anti-social behaviour increase globally at the same time the power of technology has become a dominant force in everyone’s lives.

What is the logical reason for the emergence of this pattern though? Although most experts and government officials will preface any type of answer to this question with, “well, it’s a very complex problem”, which is true to an extent. When you analyse the situation from a clear understanding that you, as an individual, just like all individuals, are in fact of infinite importance and that your worth, therefore, can never be ‘touched’ by any materialistic measure, then some underlying patterns become clear, giving us ‘simple’ straight forward answers for this extremely important and currently relevant issue. When you know yourself as an expression of ‘infinite worth’, which aligns with the philosophy of ‘Infinite Worth Meditation’ and, therefore, the value you hold towards yourself is directly connected to aspects of reality that are beyond this ‘material world’, you are able to recognise the exact same, not similar, infinite worth in all others. In my opinion, identifying with ‘infinite worth’ is the first step one can take towards developing a ‘true perception’ of reality, as all steps taken ‘in front’ of this step is influenced by this underlying truth of life. This highlights an underlying principle that IWM writing and teachings are based on; the perception you create of the ‘outer’ world is a complete reflection of the ‘inner-identity’ you assume to be. This principle, we are all subject to, largely goes unnoticed in today’s busy rat-race of life, yet can be consciously ‘seen’ and understood with consistent meditative practice. However, the directionality of influence goes both ways with this principle, meaning that which you experience as the ‘outer’ world directly influences how you form an identity towards yourself.

When we peruse the various types of social media platforms that we basically all have direct access to at nearly all times, we are already declaring to ourselves, and any other’s in our presence, that looking at this screen is of highest value to me in this present moment, trumping the value you have towards any present people and indeed towards the many other aspects of the experience you are currently generating. This very act in itself is influenced by implicit consumer-based values one holds, which we all play out to various degrees. The information and subsequent values we are exposed to on these devices reflect various deep implicit philosophical viewpoints on the world, which are communicated consciously but also unconsciously. However, there is one dominant view on ‘what we are' and ‘what the world is’ communicated by most avenues of info found on, not just our devices, but from many societal sources. This particular philosophical view is mirrored by those vested organisations that are most influential in regards to information flow and are the creators of the main social media platforms all of us individuals interact with the outer world through to some extent. To reiterate, this view / assumption held by the gatekeepers of most social media platforms is that we are all limited materialistic creatures who live in a physical world, where one’s worth and, therefore, identity is either inferior or superior to others based measurable material values.

When I say materialistic measurable values I’m talking about the messages we receive from the outer world, which influence the formation of our thoughts experienced in the ‘inner’ world, that communicate the belief that in order to live a meaningful happy life one needs ‘more’, as the implication here is that ‘you are never enough’. One must strive to accumulate more things, more credentials, more physical beauty, more follows and likes, more attention from others and, in addition, all these materialistic aspects of our lives must keep getting better ie better house, better car, better job, better physical appearance etc. Have a look on your phone now and see how so much of what we are exposed to is motivated by the value of ‘materialism’. The continual absorbsion of such info has a huge influence on what you believe yourself to be, as fundamentally the philosophical belief that underlies such messages is that you are a mortal limited finite individual who will existentially end at death with little likelihood you will ever be remembered. Therefore, you must value the material aspects of reality, as your value is relative to these material factors, given that you are fundamentally just a physical ‘thing’. Most individuals, especially younger developing humans, unconsciously hold this philosophical belief. Most who live their life this way will claim they don’t hold ‘beliefs’, but the materialistic approach to life is clearly driven by a belief that individual worth is scalable depending on the quality of one’s material characteristics.

There is also solid materialistic motivation behind corporations, governments and media outlets to push the materialistic perspective of life. The more you believe yourself to simply be a walking sack of biological matter the more consumeristic you’ll be in your behaviour. If your perceived worth is dependent on constantly comparing yourself to ‘how much’ material quality exists in other people’s lives, the urge to consume more and more information and worldy desires in all sorts of unlimited unhealthy directions begins to grow. These modernly common situations can send individuals spinning out of control and collapsing into the underworld of compounded suffering. This spiral is so deadly because, from this perspective, it is believed that, to alleviate suffering, we simply need ‘more’ material solutions, in order to stimulate feelings of short-term superficial pleasure that act to distract from the fact that one’s emotional life is indeed completely lacking balance, leaving one teetering on the edge.

Therefore, it serves the materialistic interests of the dominant information controllers to perpetuate the collective belief in the limited fluctuating worth of the individual. If people consume information that supports this philosophy, motivated essentially by a false sense of limited identity, then the consumer-demand will drive these various markets to continue producing. Thus, I’m not pointing fingers of blame here, as I fundamentally believe the individual is the ‘responsibility holder’ for one’s life and these dominant institutions are simply responding to a mass consumer market driven by a 'materialistic philosophy / belief system', which is the most logical efficient pathway to profit. Their goals to primarily increase profit margins by producing 'goods / services in demand', which is of course, fundamentally a good thing, as 'free markets' clearly create the most materialistically privileged and spoilt generation of humans compared to all who have come before us. All I am making clear is the underlying patterns of belief that are collectively unfolding which are in many ways badly imbalanced with the truth of our inherent individual worth.

I have admittedly focused much of the discussion so far on the negativity associated with ‘materialism’, however one can not escape the fact that, too an extent, we live in a material world where we, as mortal expressions of biological life, will inevitably meet our ‘embodied fate’ in the future. Thus, one can not function or survive without giving some value towards the materialistic aspects of life. Everyone needs money, possessions, consumables and information from the outer world in order to manifest a life in line with their selfish and selfless desires. The point I’m trying to drive home however is that if you only see oneself and the world through a lens of materialistic values then you are ignoring another whole side to reality that is ‘more fundamental’ to the physical realm reality seems to exclusively present itself as. In other words, I’m talking about priorities. If you prioritise the value of one’s own worth and, in turn, notice that same divine spark in all other humans and, in turn, expressions of life, one will also be able to lead a life of material fulfillment also. Essentially I am espousing the need to place the ‘metaphysical value’ of life’s worth beyond ‘material values’. I am not at all suggesting you shouldn’t hold any material values, as that in itself is imbalanced and unrealistic. Instead, it is about being clear with a correctly ordered hierarchy of values you see yourself and the world through.

To notice the presence of the ‘metaphysical’ realm of reality, which is fundamentally the experiential background presence of ‘values’ that your perception of life hinges on, one must take that first step, as previously mentioned, of identifying as unlimited in regards to worth, relevance, importance and, in turn potential. This is of course easier said than done, which is why I've created Infinite Worth Meditation. When you see your worth in the light of truth and can accurately perceive this worth underlying all others in life, one can interact with the world and all its various materialistic messaging with a filter of truth. Without this ‘truth filter’ it is easy to become lost in social games of power, where social-credit is gained through materialistic measures. However, with the knowing (not believing- although that’s a good place to start!) of your infinite worth, one’s emotional life becomes internally fortified and anchored in the wisdom that any sort of messaging that encourages a self-perception of limited worth is futile up against the truth you are constantly uncovering about oneself and the world at large.

This type of perspective also gives you the power to discern, more clearly, information that is subtly driven with the intent to encourage behaviours that align with a ‘materialistic identity’, making it easier to engage with information that supports your internal and external view of the world. You will also naturally attract other individuals and collective groups into your experience of life that share values that reflect the ultimate value of the individual and life as a whole. As a result, you will implicitly communicate this truth to others in ways that the conscious personal mind struggles to comprehend, as our whole emotional experience of life undergoes dramatic transformations the more we expose such inner-truths, which can affect others in unspoken positive ways on levels of emotional communication that are poorly understood in our modern materialistic world. Essentially you become a beacon of ‘love’, as it is this primordial element of the ‘universe itself’ that you relate to the ‘outer’ through. The recognition that love, courage and gratitude have always been the fundamental characteristics of the real you, marks the beginning of a reciprocal Self-love between you as a personal ego-based self and the impersonal infinite Self that your emotions are shaped by. This inner-relationship is explicitly scaffolded by and encouraged during the practice of ‘Infinite Worth Meditation’.

In the next blog, #3 the internal disconnect at the centre of human suffering, we will discuss the reasons why a solely materialistic-focused lifestyle creates a deeply felt disconnect within and how common emotional misinterpretations, in regards to the communication we receive from our centre, compound the experience of suffering in life. Being aware of these 'misinterpretation principles' allow us to accurately discern the true messages being communicated by our emotions that reflect the wisdom of our infinite worth. From here, via a number of blogs, we begin to focus on 5 fundamental philosophical and scientific reasons why you are 'infinitely important.

Here are the titles of the blogs to come.......

#4 Calming the inner judge

#5 You are an infinitely important vessel of pure biological memory

#6 The infinite power of consciousness to create reality

#7 The sovereignty and unique potentiality of the individual

#8 Meta-intention of Infinite Worth Meditation

After blog #8, we begin to focus the perceptual mechanics of meditation and the foundational meditational practice of 'conscious discernment' that Infinite Worth Meditation is based on. We will explore this meditation principle through a number of blog posts and videos and then our focus will turn in the direction of unfolding your uniquely important borderless potential in line with your infinite value. This will involve a series of posts related to looking at how to prioritise the most important aspects of one's life and how you use your time towards yourself and others in order to wholeheartedly 'give' selflessly back to the greater structure of life within and around you.

Click on the link below to watch the video blog.....

(40) #2 Basing life values on your infinite worth - YouTube