The Neuro-Existential Architecture System (NEAS): A Predictive Processing Framework for Meaning, Criticality, and the Spiritual Master Prior

Background: The search for meaning (Logos) is widely recognized as a primary determinant of resilience. However, current psychological models often fail to account for the metabolic cost of maintaining coherent narratives in high-entropy environments. Objective: This article introduces the Neuro-Existential Architecture System (NEAS), a unified framework synthesizing Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy with the Free Energy Principle and Spatiotemporal Neuroscience. We aim to demonstrate how the "Spiritual Self-Pattern" functions not as a metaphysical add-on, but as a thermodynamic necessity for optimizing the brain's predictive dynamics. Methods: Integrating the Resonance-Inference Model (RIM) with theories of Affective Criticality (Tucker & Luu) and Population Clocks (Buonomano), we distinguish between two hierarchical modes of regulation: a semantic Master Prior (Logos) that operates via belief updating, and a structural Master Prior (Spirit) that operates via precision control. We operationalize the spiritual dimension using Michael von Brück’s definition: "consciousness becoming aware of itself."(Brück, personal communication). Results: We identify that while Logos provides the vector of resilience (direction), it remains metabolically expensive and falsifiable. The structural integration of Spirit (awareness of awareness) shifts the system into a state of "Affective Criticality," optimizing information processing and minimizing allostatic load. This integration prevents pathological states defined as "Frozen Priors" (fanaticism) or "Decoupled Narratives" (depression). Conclusions: Meaning is a bio-energetic imperative. The NEAS provides a mechanistic grammar for understanding spiritual practices as "technologies of enactment" that train the brain to maintain viability at the edge of chaos.