The discussion highlights a key debate: Is the sacred an "eruption" of a deeper reality, as Mircea Eliade argues? Or is it a social construct that communities create to provide meaning and protect against the chaos of existential meaninglessness, as sociologists like Peter Berger suggest?

Purpose isn't a pre-existing truth you find, like an archaeological dig. It's something you actively build, like an architect. You choose an area of interest, invest energy to build skill, and it transforms into a passion through a feedback loop of personal fascination and external validation.

Even non-religious people designate certain places—a birthplace, a scene of first love—as uniquely sacred. These "holy places of his private universe" represent a form of crypto-religious behavior, revealing a persistent human need to find the sacred in a secular world.

Mircea Eliade contrasts the traditional view of a house as a sacred microcosm of the universe with the modern, functionalist view of a "machine to live in." This shift contributes to a sense of rootlessness, as our most personal spaces become devoid of deeper meaning.

Instead of actively 'finding' meaning, undertake a pilgrimage—a long, difficult journey away from distractions. The physical and mental strain weakens your defensive crouch and opens your mind, creating the conditions for your purpose to be revealed to you, rather than discovered through force.

Instead of focusing on external achievements, consider that life's core purpose is optimizing your inner self. This requires a continuous balancing act between "order" (structure, habits, thoughts) and "vitality" (energy, spontaneity, emotion). True well-being emerges from this equilibrium.

A purposeful life can be framed as one that actively creates order and value (e.g., knowledge, peace, beauty) in a universe naturally tending towards chaos. Our best "mattering projects" align with this cosmic, counter-entropic struggle, giving life meaning.

Awe is not just appreciating beauty; it's a cognitive process defined by encountering vast mysteries that require a "need for accommodation." This means you must rearrange your existing knowledge structures and mental models to make sense of the new, incomprehensible experience.

Paradoxically, achieving a deep sense of personal significance requires experiences of awe that make you feel small, like studying astronomy or being in nature. This shifts your perspective from the self-obsessed 'me-self' to the transcendent 'I-self,' which is the source of true meaning and peace.