I recently attended a meeting with a high-minded group of people searching for spiritual truth, and their meeting was similar to a college group’s meeting I attended last year, whose members encourage “eager minds, thick skins, logical reasoning and rational judgment.”

Both groups were sincere in their efforts, and I hope they continue. Fortunately, I have finally succeeded in acquiring a worldview that makes sense to me, so my search is over — to some extent. However, the process of getting to this point made me realize that achieving any meaningful understanding of the scheme of things is something we can only do for ourselves as individuals. Although we use the ideas and experience of many other people, we must eventually learn to trust our own judgment.

A synopsis of my present understanding includes the Big Bang, whose energy is outwardly manifested as matter and life, which I believe is activated by the nature of intelligence and the force of emotion. Matter was produced by the intelligent laws of physics, and through the results of cause and effect, certain combinations of matter became infused with a will to live that is motivated by the emotional fears and desires of life. The fears and desires of life evolved into the physical sensations of taste, touch, sight, sound and smell, which make the basic foundation of man’s self-conscious mind. The immaterial thoughts and feelings of man established a human inner-self that is not subject to the laws of physics; therefore, when a person dies, his or her non-physical inner-self becomes a soul in a spiritual realm of existence — where it seems likely that reincarnation enables a soul to continue acquiring human knowledge and emotional experience. More simply put, the evolutionary results of cause and effect brought about the mind of man and the cultural institutions (economics, education, science and civil law) that established modern civilization. In a manner of speaking, evolution “created” man, and human culture provides for our survival and well-being. Although there is no divine purpose for our existence, we should continue doing what human beings have always done — employ the use of reason toward our survival, take care of our loved ones and seek to fulfill the inner longings that give us a personal reason to exist.

However, life is not free because we owe a debt of gratitude to our ancestors for the cultural “blessings” we are born into. The best way to honor their legacy is to participate in the well-being of our community and contribute to the good of our descendants. It behooves us to follow the example of past generations, as well as to learn from their mistakes. We can also add to the quality of our present existence by increasing our personal knowledge and expressing our heartfelt inner feelings.

As for the teachings and beliefs of organized religion, I have come to realize — and honestly accept — that religion is a necessary part of human life. Religion is our culture’s way to introduce the realm of spirituality to the bulk of humanity. Religion began with primitive ideas about “spirits” that were later redefined by prophets and priests. In spite of many “extracurricular” beliefs and activities, organized religion impels its members to acknowledge the existence of a higher plane of being. However, there are many levels of mental capacity, and nobody really knows who is ahead of whom in regards to spiritual understanding. Religion opens our mind to a spiritual realm, but we can only speculate about the business of the souls who inhabit it. Perhaps we should concentrate more on living well in the here and now, and let the soul contend with the hereafter.

Except for life’s ever-changing conditions and the certainty of physical death, there are no guarantees for human beings, but even so, we all experience pain and sorrow, as well as pleasure and joy. Even though we can only speculate about it, it seems the emotional experience we accumulate throughout our lifetime should help our soul to better understand the full spectrum of emotion that is slowly being revealed through the vicissitudes of human life.

Assuming that our personal identity survives after death, the afterlife is likely to be an interesting “place” to spend eternity.

Art Carney is a resident of Wasilla.