Imagine a data or decision tree like the one above, but with infinitely more datapoints. Each of these points exists in one of three states: true, false, or unknown. These datapoints influence each other, especially the unknowns, which are in limbo, waiting to be shaped by new input or deeper understanding.
Now imagine you're presented with a new circumstance, an unknown future datapoint of massive significance. At first, it’s just another hazy marker in a vast web of mental information. But this is where epiphanal thinking comes into play.
Picture your mind as a vast 3D map of thoughts, memories, experiences, and even gut feelings, augmented by trustworthy input from people you know. Most of the map is fairly defined, but there are foggy zones, hazy patches where understanding hasn’t fully crystallized. Think of it like a massive, multifaceted diamond with a few cloudy inclusions. These areas start to clear up when connections are made, insights emerge, or new information resolves old ambiguities.
Epiphanal thinking is the process of connecting these scattered fragments, linking seemingly unrelated memories, past events, fleeting intuitions, and present realities to bring clarity. It’s not just insight; it’s structural. A realization here shifts the alignment of something over there. And sometimes, a single connection can ripple outward, turning multiple unknowns into knowns.
You might be thinking, “This sounds absurd.” And to that, I say: “Good. I hope it does.”
It’s not meant to sound simple or entirely rational, because reality, especially internal reality, rarely is. I think this way because for much of my life, my understanding of reality felt fractured. But this approach, this way of letting connections form organically across time, has been invaluable.
When you start to understand your past by filling in its gaps, you also begin to see how the future could unfold. That’s the quiet, surprising power of epiphanal thinking.
Flip the switch! Realize where and when you are alive. What actions can you make to make the best of this wild, crazy, exciting, amazing time in human history?