Many historical thinkers realized that we usually live on the surface of life. Those thinkers, whom we call “transformational philosophers,” noted that our everyday existence is imprisoned in superficial patterns of thought and emotion which engage only a limited part of our potentials. Examples are Plato, the Stoics, Rousseau, Emerson, Nietzsche, and many others. They all argued, each with his own concepts and theories, that life can be made deeper, fuller and freer, usually with the help of philosophy.
Like those traditional philosophers, in Deep Philosophy we realize that everyday life tends to remain on the level of psychological structures, which help us function, but are blind to the fullness of human reality. Our contemplative exercises show us that there are richer dimensions of our deeper being – what we call our Inner Depth – which usually remain inactive, dormant, and virtually neglected. And when an aspect of our being remains inactive, it tends to shrink and decline. Our life is, generally speaking, superficial relative to what it can be. Through Deep Philosophy, especially its philosophical contemplation, we seek to awaken these hidden dimensions and make them active within us.
By practicing philosophical contemplation, we work to awaken our Inner Depth; and we often do so for the duration of the session. This may also have a long-term effect beyond the session. Over time, our Inner Depth may gradually become more active throughout the day, giving us a sense of plenitude and inspiration that accompany our daily activity.
Awakening our inner depth, whether temporarily or for a longer period of time, does not mean abolishing our surface life, in other words our psychological structures and mechanisms. Obviously, we cannot live and function without them. But the awakened Inner Depth can serve as a source of inspiration and plenitude which can orient and even govern, to some extent, our psychological mechanisms.