The Loop

Warning: the confrontation with this book

For many readers, reading this book will be one of the most confronting experiences of their lives.
Prior to starting to read it, please have a source of psychological and/or emotional support lined up – whether this be a professional therapist or just someone you can talk to.
I do not recommend that you read this book with a partner as the danger is that at least one of you will start trying to talk the other one out of reading it (as a way of talking themselves out of reading it).
There is no correct order in which to read the books of The Meaning of Life Project. Nevertheless, many – perhaps most – people are better off reading There has to be more to life than this prior to reading this book. That book explains the way out of The Loop: the way out lies through a confrontation with meaninglessness. Indeed, if you are not currently in confrontation with meaninglessness, this book may propel you into one. This is why I recommend that you have a source of emotional or psychological support lined up before you read further.

Introduction: The Loop

This book is about the psychology of normality, the psychology of everyday life, the psychology of pseudo-meaningfulness. 

It is about you.

Every person living inside the Loop is trying to create meaning inside themselves and inside their lives. They do this by propping up a disconnect between who they are and who they think they are. Most people are impressively clueless about who they are but they latch on to a concept of who they are and they play out this role trying to convince themselves and others that this act is the reality. Meanwhile, deep down, there is an inner ache of dissatisfaction whispering to them that there is more to them than this act, that there is more to life than this. But they block out this disturbia by running a Mental Loop. This Mental Loop tells them that, no matter however deficient they suspect they are, at least they are – in some way – better than that other person and therefore their lives must have some meaning, mustn’t they? They run a Mental Loop: Mine is better than yours. My knowledge/intellect/pain/suffering/morality/status/whatever is better than yours.

The Mental Loop supports the person in staying in the gray loop of normality, of pseudo-meaningfulness.
People are also supported inside the Loop by other people inside the Loop. These others reassure them – by example, by word, by deed – that life inside the Loop is the best of all possible worlds.

Even when one of their number is suddenly overwhelmed by meaninglessness – perhaps depressed or even in despair – other people in the Loop will encourage them to “get better”, “get stronger”, “seek help”, “toughen” and get back inside the Loop.

The faultering fellow looper just needs to get better at living in the Loop.

In order to convince themselves that they are not in a largely pointless Loop, people latch onto something – almost anything – which seems to not be looping but “progressing”. This could be their children, their possessions, their stamp collection, their church, their “career”, their resume, their sexual conquests, their health, their business, their country, their religion, their political party, their fame, their ‘knowledge’ – something – almost anything – that is “progressing” (it is isn’t it?) and not looping. Like a heroin injection, this perceived “progress” gives a temporary hazy inoculation against the creeping inner shadow of meaninglessness.

Most people live their entire lives in the Loop. They start their lives off wrinkled, almost helpless, desperately needing support. They end their lives wrinkled, almost helpless, desperately needing support.

– Gospel of Thomas 28

Spiritual masters tell us that lifetime after lifetime can loop.

– Shvetashvatara Upanishad I:6, p.218.

There is a way out of the Loop. It lies in a confrontation with meaninglessness. But this is not the subject of this book. This book is about the psychology of normality; it is about life inside the Loop. It is about you.