Process Thought Helps Us Live a More Abundant Life
I have long been drawn to religion, psychology, and the arts—fields that have deepened my perception of the world and nourished my soul. Yet earlier this year, two friends challenged my perspective. One, a staunch materialist; the other, a liberal rationalist—both insisted that science is valuable because it is falsifiable, while the areas I cherish are, to them, no more than “metaphysics” in the pejorative sense.
Though these experiences bring me profound joy and insight, I found it difficult to convey—on their terms—how such “unverifiable” domains enrich life so deeply. I was left with a quiet sorrow: Why is there no philosophical framework broad enough to affirm the full spectrum of human spiritual experience and elevate it to a form of shared wisdom?
That is, until this summer in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, where I participated in the 18th Process Summer Academy hosted by Zhejiang Normal University. There, I encountered a framework that offered a new kind of answer, one rooted in the vision of Alfred North Whitehead and fellow process thinkers.
Happy Hour at 18th Process Summer Academy
The Heart of Process Philosophy: To Live, To Live Well, To Live Better
The phrase that struck me most in process philosophy was: “To live, to live well, to live better.” This is not a search for static truths, but a call to participate in the ongoing adventure of life, to grow creatively in a dynamic cosmos. But how do we live better? Process philosophy offers two foundational concepts: relationality and relevance.
Relationality suggests that the essence of things is constituted by their relations. Nothing exists in isolation, and the nature of any entity emerges through its web of relationships. It is not that essence precedes relationship, but that relationships constitute essence. A teacher is not inherently a “teacher”—it is through the interaction of teaching and learning that the identities of both teacher and student arise. This challenges the modern, alienating metaphor of life as a playground and others as NPCs. Instead, process thought calls us to respect the subjectivity of every being we encounter, never reducing others to mere objects of utility.
Scene from a Classroom
Relevance, in turn, refers to the deep interrelatedness of the universe. Nothing is separate. Whitehead proposed that all real and potential entities are implicated in the concrescence of reality—the coming together of elements into new, meaningful unities. Every event draws on what came before; no novelty emerges from a vacuum. Thus, we ourselves are nodes in the great becoming of the cosmos. To live better is not merely to fulfill personal goals, but to take responsibility for contributing positively to the unfolding of life itself—to become a “healthy cell” in the body of the universe, nourishing the whole with upward motion.
The author in conversation with Prof. Justin Heinzekehr from Goshen College
Rethinking Body and Mind: The Body Knows More than the Brain
Process philosophy also upended my assumptions about the mind-body dualism. Whitehead emphasized that every act of experience includes both a physical pole (the raw data of the world) and a mental pole (the valuation and interpretation of that data). In this view, the body is not a passive vessel, but an active participant in cognition.
In conversation with a dancer, he said: “When I react from my head, I’m just repeating old habits. But when I let the body slowly sense the moment, my movements express something beyond rational understanding. Sometimes, it takes a month for words to catch up with what the body already knows.” His words echo philosopher Eugene Gendlin’s process model of experience, which rejects rigid mind-body divisions. Gendlin proposed that the body carries implicit complexity—unformed knowledge that emerges only through felt interaction with the world. Meaning arises not from fixed categories, but from the interactional flow between self and environment. Real change unfolds through embodied steps of felt experience.
This helped me understand that to live more abundantly means trusting the intuitive wisdom of the body, not merely clinging to rational structures. To prehend the world—to feel it into being—is to open ourselves to a richer, more creative self.
Some Academy participants visiting Amor Eco-Farm, Jinhua, Zhejiang
Stability Is a Slow Decline; Evolution Is the Essence of Life
Whitehead’s words in The Function of Reason struck me like a revelation:
What looks like stability is a relatively slow process of atrophied decay. The stable universe is slipping away from under us. Our aim is upwards.
In process thought, stability is not the goal; it is an illusion masking decline. The true nature of reality is creative advance. To choose upwardness is to participate in the world’s ongoing creation—to be a vessel for novelty, not stagnation. This is not moral idealism, but a return to life’s essence. Only through constant connection, renewed perception, and creative action can we truly “live better.”
Participants visiting Yiwu Small Commodities Market
Conclusion
Process philosophy has taught me not just concepts, but a way of being: to honor the web of relationships that forms the fabric of our lives; to resist instrumentalizing others; to trust the body’s wisdom over outdated rationalist models; and to embrace evolution, knowing that stability is only the slow erosion of vitality.
And perhaps this is the most meaningful answer to those who dismiss what they call “metaphysics.” Science pursues truths that can be falsified; philosophy seeks to understand what it means to exist meaningfully. In the vision of process philosophy, the transcendence of religion, the expressiveness of art, the healing of psychology, and the reason of science are not opposing realms—but diverse faces of the universe’s creative unfolding. A truly inclusive philosophy must point us toward the fullness of life.
Kylie Bao is an accomplished international educator and innovative curriculum designer specializing in economics, business, and critical thinking, with expertise in project-based learning and learning experience design (LXD). She is also a certified healing practitioner, trained in NLP and hypnotherapy, with a focus on trauma transformation—including inner child work and belief reprogramming. Bridging education and holistic well-being, Kylie integrates transformative methodologies to foster both intellectual growth and deep emotional healing.