A universal framework, not a replacement
The Puzzle is compatible with all faiths and philosophies
I have talked a lot about zen buddhism because it’s the best tool I’ve found for presence. I want to talk next about the best tool I have found for self-reflection, the other side of the coin, the exhale, the waning, the yin (kinda maybe), the back to center part of of the intention/attention cycle used to build our best Puzzles.
But I want to pause to make sure I’m not advocating for these tools to replace any part of anyone’s belief system. The Puzzle is not just compatible with all faiths and philosophies, it can be used to strengthen your connection with your faith. It doesn’t ask you to abandon anything about your beliefs, in fact it invites you bring them all together to better build your future.
In my 20s, after my traumatic brain injury robbed me of my memories I went on a journey of discovery from a place of naivety. I was not trapped by my memories of faiths instilled in me by my upbringing, though they were still there as an emotion. I attended different churches for several months at a time, I explored spiritual belief systems and the people who advocated for them. I went on a deep dive into the brain as I tried to heal it.
I had a blast! The energy of Zionist churches, driven by their belief the return of Christ is imminent, is pretty infectious. Unfortunately ones that wanted to find concrete instructions/answers from prior texts usually fell on the judgmental and fire/brimstone side of things and felt less connecting. Most churches wanted to bring people together and use the energy of the crowd to help the crowd come closer to their beliefs - Experience their God. I found it very inspiring. I, personally, never found any description of God using words to be compelling. I could not, in good faith, join their beliefs.
Self-reflection oriented philosophies were fascinating and taught me much about myself and people. They helped me find connection to the universe, but they lacked the connection to people I craved and their presence exercises were usually dissociative from the world.
The problem I found with everything that I explored was that at some point most faiths and philosophies either must devolve into reductionism or turn into a journey to infinity. Certainly amazing personal growth available that could take decades, but from an ROI perspective on studying the actual philosophies/faiths there is real diminishing returns.
Some organized religions just answer everything with ‘God’s will’ and that was supremely unsatisfying to me. It reminded me of determinism - just cause something CAN answer all questions doesn’t mean those answers are valid for everyone. People who are drawn to less choice and less confusion could find a real home there.
Other philosophies have had great minds spend their entire lives trying to explain and articulate only to find each explanation now required more explanations. As soon as I felt like I understood something, it would open up more questions. I would look at the future of continuing that cycle and usually decide I didn’t have time for it nor would it be satisfying.
So I’m a jack of many philosophies and a master of none. I don’t desire to be a master of any. It doesn’t seem useful to me. I wanted the kind of guidance I could use in my life as it was. Starting from my station at that time, what could I learn from them all to help me be a better person and navigate the human condition?
Unless you desire to bring to light some unknown corner of your faith/philosophy, I’m not sure studying deeper and deeper will bring more of anything to your life. Using tools of reality like The Puzzle to enrich your experience in the world, to bring you closer to your beliefs, now that’s something I can advocate.
If God created your Puzzle, great - use The Puzzle to bring yourself closer to God. Build your Puzzle in His image. Use presence and self-reflection to uncover the steps in the path God created.
If you want to use your spiritual beliefs to open up yourself to the universe or what unifies us all, awesome - use The Puzzle to build your spiritual stamina and depth of connection.
The Puzzle is not a belief system, it’s a lens to see your life more clearly through your experiences. And the word choice around vision is no accident. We are visual beings, first. Our largest reality is the visual world. Having a simple visual representation of life as a tool to explore your immense non-visual reality could be extremely powerful. It has been for me.