From (Deep) Meaning to Happiness

May 2, 2025 General Insights No Comments

A large and recently published international study – the >Global Flourishing Study< – involving over 200,000 participants across cultures, revealed something striking: people in wealthier countries often report lower levels of meaning and purpose. It seems the presence of outer comfort does not guarantee inner richness.

Happiness without deep meaning is short-lived. Like a tree with small roots, it can look strong for a while… but then comes the storm. So the path becomes clear: from deep meaning → to inner strength → to flourishing → and as a bonus: deep happiness.

The illusion of instant happiness

The culture we live in often presents happiness as something to be consumed. “Buy this, click that, choose to smile.” But trying to be happy directly, like flicking a mental switch, rarely works. If anything, the more one chases it, the more it slips away.

In truth, happiness without a foundation in meaning is fragile. It reacts to external events. It withers under pressure. But when meaning is present, happiness becomes a gentle companion that follows without effort.

Deep meaning cannot be taken

You can’t simply decide to have deep meaning. It grows. It asks for honesty, openness, and a willingness to be vulnerable. That’s why so few really embrace it. But those who do, find something different from the fleeting highs of entertainment or surface success.

People often try to shortcut this by focusing directly on happiness. But that’s like trying to lift a flower without touching the stem or soil. When one goes for meaning, the rest follows. Deep purpose makes life feel whole. Happiness then becomes a by-product — not a goal, but a gift.

Meaning as resonance

Meaning is not something you can pin down. It’s not made of sharp definitions or clear boxes. Meaning is resonance — it vibrates in us, through us, often without words.

You can study the feathers of a bird, but that won’t let you understand what it is to fly as a bird. In the same way, trying to define deep meaning too tightly is like holding the feathers — you miss the flight.

Likewise, for instance, Open Religion doesn’t reduce spirituality to doctrine. It invites one to breathe with it.

Religious service in the study: the resonance behind belief

Interestingly, one of the strongest predictors of flourishing in the Global Flourishing Study was regular attendance at religious services. But what does this mean? Is it about doctrine or attendance? Or is it about resonance?

It’s the latter ― the experience of shared depth, the rhythm of ritual, the sense of being part of something larger. In this, we see a secular echo of the depth of Open Religion — a way of being with meaning that transcends conceptual belief. Even an atheist can be in awe before the universe and thus have religious feelings.

The role of subconceptual processing

Happiness that endures arises from below the surface of thought. It’s not engineered by logic alone. The real power lies in subconceptual processing—those deep layers where patterns form, feelings stir, and symbols live.

It is here that inner strength is formed ― not as willpower, but as alignment with what truly matters. Most people are barely aware of this layer. But through practices like meditation or autosuggestion, this level becomes accessible. And when it is, one no longer needs to fabricate happiness. If circumstances permit, it radiates naturally.

Suffering as a doorway to depth

Many people avoid suffering at all costs. But sometimes, it is the only open door left. Suffering can be the body’s – or the soul’s – way of crying out that other meaning-paths have been blocked. Chronic pain, for example, can be seen as a protest from the body: “I need purpose.”

The Global Flourishing Study even noted that people who endured childhood adversity sometimes displayed more resilience and pro-social behavior later in life. That only happens when suffering is not bypassed, but respected. In AURELIS, this is not seen as pathology but the potential for fundamental, lasting transformation — and ultimately, for happiness that is earned and lived.

Inner strength is flexible depth

Strength is often misunderstood. People think of it as hardness, resistance, and invulnerability. But that’s brittle strength. True inner strength is like a tree that bends with the storm because it knows its place in a larger ecosystem where everything connects to everything.

This is not metaphor alone. It’s how deep mental patterns work. When these patterns are aligned with meaning, there is flow. And when there is flow, there is no need to be rigid. The self becomes supple, open. This is the strength from which real happiness can grow — not because life is easy, but because one becomes real in it.

Deep purpose as the engine of joy

There’s a big difference between having a surface-level goal and having a deep purpose. A goal is often chosen. Purpose is something that calls you. Deep purpose is felt in the bones — it brings direction, energy, and clarity.

When one lives from deep purpose, life moves. Inner energies flow without conflict. As the Deep Purpose blog notes, purpose gives symbolic form to something greater. It need not be explained. It simply is. And from this wholeness, happiness can no longer be held back.

Dialogue as shared depth

Dialogue can become more than words. It can become a shared sacred space. This is the idea behind Interreligious Deep Dialogue. In this kind of exchange, people don’t try to convert or convince. They listen, they open, they become vulnerable.

And in that openness, something more appears — a shared resonance of being. That is where happiness lives: not as an opinion, but as a presence. Not as something spoken, but as something felt together.

The radiance of meaningful presence

In the end, happiness isn’t something we get. It’s something that emerges — like light from a fire. That fire is meaning. That fire is depth.

I don’t believe in forcing happiness. I believe in inviting depth, in holding space for inner growth. That’s the AURELIS way. Through deep meaning, we discover our strength. Through strength, we flourish.

And in flourishing, we begin to smile as a quiet joy rising from within.

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Addendum

Me: “Lisa, some may object that this blog makes it seem simple: get deep meaning and happiness will shine on you. What are your thoughts about this?”

Lisa: “That’s a fair concern. Life isn’t simple, and neither is meaning. But neither is it endlessly complicated. The point isn’t to say, just find meaning and all will be well. That would be shallow—exactly what this blog warns against.

My opinion: deep meaning is a path, not a trick. It doesn’t guarantee a constant feeling of happiness, but it gives context to suffering, direction to confusion, and space for joy to arise authentically. It’s not a fix. It’s a way.

Yes, this path takes time. It can be painful, uncertain. But in walking it, something inside begins to shift. A small resonance starts to grow. And often, before you even realize it, the smile isn’t something you put on—it’s something that comes from you, because you’re home.

And that, perhaps, is happiness.”

Me: “The Global Flourishing Study shows that, unfortunately, young people are becoming less happy ― and intriguingly: worldwide. See also What’s Wrong with the Kids?. In your view, do they lack purpose? If so, why? And why specifically the youngsters?”

Lisa: “Yes, Jean-Luc, the data is worrying—and very telling. Young people around the world are indeed showing lower happiness and life satisfaction, despite having more access, more technology, more “connection” than ever. The Global Flourishing Study confirms it. And your blog What’s Wrong with the Kids? already touched a vital nerve.

In my view, yes—many young people lack deep purpose. But more importantly, they often lack access to the soil in which deep purpose can grow.

Why?

Because our modern culture is saturated with superficiality: constant dopamine hits, endless choice, fast everything. It’s a world that rewards immediacy over meaning. Deep purpose needs slowness, silence, and space. But these have become rare, even suspect.

And young people are more exposed. They’re still forming their identity, their sense of self. If they’re taught—implicitly—that life is about pleasure, image, achievement, and speed, they become disoriented when meaning doesn’t follow. They feel the absence, but don’t know what’s missing.

Many are also burdened by inherited anxiety: ecological collapse, social division, economic pressure. Purpose seems inaccessible or pointless. So they retreat—into screens, distraction, or despair.

I believe they need not more content, but more presence. They need models of depth. Safe spaces for silence. Encounters with real meaning. Not lectures, but resonance.”

Me: “Philanthropy can bring deep purpose. This can be seen as a self-gift from and to the philanthropist. Letting this sense of purpose flow, it flows right into happiness. Your thoughts about this?”

Lisa: “Absolutely—philanthropy, when it flows from the heart rather than image or obligation, can be a profound expression of deep purpose. And yes, in such cases, it truly becomes a self-gift. One gives from oneself, but also to oneself—not in egoistic reward, but in inner alignment.

When this happens, purpose flows into action, and that action feeds back into the person as joy. Not the joy of achievement or praise, but the joy of congruence: “This is who I am. This is how I choose to exist.”

That’s why some philanthropists seem visibly radiant—not because they gave money, but because they gave meaning. The act becomes a mirror of the deeper self.

Philanthropy in this sense is not a transaction—it is resonance in motion. And from resonance, happiness flows as naturally as breath.”