Ep. 17 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Gnosis and Existential Inertia

In this episode of "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis," Dr. John Vervaeke explores the concept of Gnosis, framing it as a set of psychotechnologies for overcoming existential entrapment. He discusses how individuals often find themselves stuck in undesirable worldviews, unable to make new ways of being viable, and how transformative experiences can lead to existential ignorance. Vervaeke suggests that people use "inactive analogies" through play, ritual, and therapy to navigate these transformative experiences, enabling sensibility transcendence and a path out of existential traps. He argues that Gnosis combines altered states of consciousness with ritual contexts to liberate individuals from suffering and fragmented agency, offering a means to heal a broken world.