As many people know, I have been unable to find solid ground in my philosophical quest. I have found no certainty about what words are, nor have I found a firm foundation for thinking.
Therefore, there is no choice but to learn to cope with "not knowing" and "emptiness."
When I expanded my search to areas often related to religion, such as dream-images with monsters, angels, and a wild range of creatures. I found no answers there either.
There, too, the "not knowing" of the meaning of those images was omnipresent.
The same applies to other religious concepts, such as surrender and love. Surrendering to "not knowing" is certainly possible, but it provides no basis for knowing.
In any case, I came to the same conclusion philosophically and religiously. I understand very little about it. However, I need ways to cope with that uncertainty.
Whether those ways are traditionally seen as religious or philosophical.
This is why I believe my personal philosophy, Mirdan, is also my personal religion. It is a not knowing religion.
Soft
The Mirdan methods for dealing with not knowing are not based on certainties; they have no foundation. They are personal, changing, temporary methods. They are floating constructions. They interact with each other and form a floating platform that allows you to deal with both emptiness and what daily life demands of us. Partly in language, partly in images. Part philosophy, part religion.
But it is a whispering, gentle religion. If you encounter a certainty or a belief, Mirdan disappears. In that area, there is no longer any need for methods to deal with not knowing.
Conversely, when you have another belief or certainty and you start to doubt, nothing happens at first. Only when that doubt troubles you so much that you need ways to deal with it, then Mirdan may be able to help. And you may temporarily benefit from Mirdan's concepts of not knowing. Or you may find other concepts of not knowing.
And if your doubts disappear because of a new certainty or belief, then Mirdan will also disappear.
Mirdan is the cautious, supplementary religion.
Society
I can envision a community. People working together on their own solutions for dealing with unknowns and emptiness. Where you can come together, temporarily or otherwise, to share experiences, learn from each other, and encourage each other. Or simply share life with all its doubts and impossibilities.
What role would a not knowing religion play in society? Isn't it too loose and individualistic? Won't society fall apart as a result?
I don't have any certainties about this (of course not). My preliminary idea is that it might not be so bad. The not knowing people realize that everyone has their own set of methods for dealing with the world. With different values, different solutions. They will seek compromise and consensus in order to get things done. Without the coercion and obligation that comes with certainty. Democracy seems to be a good solution for individuals who approach not knowing seriously and perhaps even religiously. It could even give democracy a new depth.
Mirdan?
And why is it called Mirdan? As the name for my not knowing religion?
I can't answer that. I simply don't know. The name just came to me.
If you suffer from not knowing and you want to do something about it, and you have heard of Mirdan and the Mirdan concepts and you start working with them, then you belong (a little) to the Mirdan religion.
If you are done with it, for example because you use other concepts or because your not-knowing has changed into some kind of knowing, then you are automatically no longer a Mirdanist.
At Mirdan, we work with handling not knowing and emptiness. In the beginning, you learn about the Mirdan ways of dealing with it. You then make them your own in your own personal way (or you disagree with them and don't use them, that's fine too). And at some point, you notice whether the indefinable “Mirdan” still fits with you or not.
Other religions
But aren't there other religions that focus on not knowing? Buddhism, Taoism, or Hinduism, for example? Yes, there are certainly similarities between them and Mirdan. One difference would be that in Mirdan, not knowing or emptiness is a given, a result when you seek certainty or a foundation. It is not a “solution” to the human condition. It is something you have to learn to deal with rather than a goal or ideal (or a state of enlightenment). Can experiencing “emptiness” be positive? Certainly, but it can also be negative. (Or an experience of neither, if you have lost the concepts of positive and negative through the “emptiness”).
I think that more not knowing religions are being developed at the moment. These can coexist perfectly well alongside each other. If you know of any, let me know. I would be very curious to hear about them. Here's to a broader religious/philosophical movement of not knowing.
