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What is the meaning of life?

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Helmut

The meaning of live is to find out what the meaning of live is!
As long as I AM not certain, I do just this.

Hold on
Helmut.

And of course a little practice may help.
And what details? One persons experience is another persons belief system. Your Question is so deep, you will never get a satisfying answer on this forum, just a range of other persons believes.


PeacefulWarrior

Thanks for your thoughts...and don't worry, I am not looking for the answer to this question, I just wanted to hear other peoples thoughts and beliefs.  I feel that I have found the answer, at least the answer for myself.

I am more interested to hear what answers to this big question others have found during OBExperiences and the like.

Grace by grace, principle by principle, we strive towards perfection.  

Il mio maestro e' colui che era perfetto, il stesso che ha datto la sua vita per noi.
We shall not cease from our exploration, and at the end of all our exploring, we shall arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot
---------------
fides quaerens intellectum

Bhikku

I think that the purpose of life has changed and evloved over the years/ decades/ millenia. Early on I believe the point was to evolve- to gain some control on the earth and set up structure a for a peaceful existance. Well, since this didn't turn out right, today we exist for another reason. I think that it is a test- a test to see if we fall into all the bull S*** that we created for ourselves, or to see if we can overcome and see the real meaning- peace and love. I know this sounds a little campy, but if this is what the world revolved around, there would be such a great sense of being from everyone. Everyone would be so spirtually advanced- there would be no concerns of war, dying, jobs, and of course the root of all evil, money. We have to try to see through the TV's and cars, money and entertainment. Unfortunately, most people are already too far sucked into that trap to ever come out, and they will pass this way of living on and it in itself will evolve into a more henius way of life for their children to follow. So I guess the point of life, from my perspective now, is to try to educate, spirtualize, and set free these "drones" and their way of life. After all, if they knew what we knew- they wouldn't be watching TV so much. :)

-Sorry if this was a ramble that makes no sense to anyone, for I am an artist, and my punishment for that was a lack of writing skills. ;)

"Look within, thou art the Budda"

n/a

Interesting....

Meaning of Life could be.

  To experience all you can. The joys, the emotions, places and people. The feelings when your dad took off your training wheels
for the first time and set you free.. The birth of your child. It
is all here to feel and see. Fill your senses with all this human
experience has to offer.  

Don't get trapped into the woe's and why nots...  Look into yourselves and pull out the joy and bliss of every waking moment you have.
Otherwise, like the masses, your soul will not come to life!

    {hard to put into words...


lateralus897

I totally agree with Bhikku. There's actually a certain band who changed my perspectives on life and introduced me to all this. They're Tool if anyone's curious. They have quite a few songs about how the world is bull**** and how we need to change. There's also a song about the 46 and 2 theory, and that centers around our evolution. It's really interesting to me. Anyways yea, i support Bhikku's ideas.


Rob


I think
the purpose of life is to live it, to love and learn from it while helping others to do the same. To grow and then, one lifetime, to expand and evolve yourself so much that you leave this plain of existance, as the ultimate goal. And maybe, we will take more out that we begun with, that first morning aeons ago.

peace and flowers and bunnies!

ps lateralus - tool.....worry me, eg faip de oiad (think thats how you spell it, the last track, which I deleted only a few days ago) is very nasty, creates serious negativity in me - does me'nut in ! But the cover of lateralus seriously rocks!!!

(!!!Formerly known as Inguma!!!)
You are the Alpha and the Omega. You are vaster than the universe and more powerful than a flaring supernova. You are truly incredible!!

muzza

I agree with nightflier101. I think the meaning/purpose of life is to experience. Whether it be good or bad it all adds to our knowledge and I believe this is how we evolve as individual people and as the human race 'collective'!



-- Muzza

Klaus S

One of the meanings of life -- is life. In the deep-quality sense of "aliveness".

Klaus S


MJ-12


muzza

The meaning of life.....

42!

Sorry....had too! hehehe

-- Muzza

Kevan

The meaning of Life?  Buggered if I know.
I've been asking myself the same question for years.

Why is it that some people seem to cream through life with everything they want,(in all ways), and others simply exsist, with all the crap in the world being thrown at them.
I would say that we are here to learn, but why do most of the lessons in my life have to be so hard? If living a life of dead-ends, flustrations and angsiety (spell check), means I will become a better or more understanding person next time round - it would be helpfull if we could remember the previous lifes lessons.

Every positive has a negative, every action causes a re-action, but not every question has an answer..

What is the point in knowing where we come form, if we dont know anything about it. Why know where we go if we can take nothing with us.??

I still remain hopeful.




Tir13

The meaning of life?  Simple, to live it.

Ciao.

Jason


n/a

Another direction>>>>

  What about my kids?  I look at them and I wonder,"should I tell them about all these things?  As in the reality of having a seperate energy body;
Being able to travel and aquire information without the human body?
That life after death is a fact?   That government and religeon are out of touch with reality?  

So, Is this what the meaning of life is?  To teach my kids the reality of what I know so they can pass it on to their kids?  And if I don't, have I failed?  That is the question.
I see it maybe as not just a personal goal to enlighten ourselves,
cause I get this gut feeling that I'm supposed to pass this knowledge on to the next in line.  I think it completes the circle of life.

    Ok, maybe I just need a nap...


jo

I couldn't agree more, Focus 15.In my personal opinion, and in simplistic terms, I believe the soul has an opportunity to experience, thru a temporary inhabiting of the denser, physical body, the "lessons" it needs to evolve as a balanced entity. The physical, "human" experience offers endless opportunities to grow thru physical hardship, emotional turmoil, mental conflict and spiritual ethics. On less dense planes, the "lessons" would be quite different. Someone once said that Planet Earth is the University of Hard Knocks.I guess the hardest thing to do is create a balance between the physical and the spiritual but I think that's what it's all about.And another teacher once said...just paraphrasing here (can't remember exact words)..."The soul does not grow through lotus eating alone."

jo

PeacefulWarrior

jo- Hey, I really enjoyed your last post.  I too believe that this is a school of "hard knocks" and one thing I had to face is that although our spirit bodies are wonderful, the physical body is just as important.  We need to find balance and that's why we have both.

In fact, I and my associates take it a step further.  First of all we believe that even spirit is matter (everything is matter), just a less (much less you could say) dense form of matter...and that it's indestrcutable...although it could possibly be disorganized to the point that we might consider it "destroyed" although it would still exist...well, you get what I am saying hopefully.  Anyway, we also believe that the spirit, after death, will be reunited with the body, but this time a perfect and eternal body.  This doesn't mean we will have all of the same restrictions, etc. that the physical body means for us here.  I think, for example, that even with the new body we will be able to appear anywhere we want, or be every where at once, but through the power of the mind.

Anyway, just felt impressed to share that!
DT

We shall not cease from our exploration, and at the end of all our exploring, we shall arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot
---------------
fides quaerens intellectum

reclining orb

The meaning of life can be accessed through the goal of life.

The goal of life is to be and to do everything that you desire-- without making your situation worse.

It's always that clause at the end that gets you.

Edited by - reclining orb on 05 April 2002  20:43:44

Violet

Dear Daniel,

Toughest question in the book!  Sweat! Okay what the hick I'll take a stab at it.

I think we are here on earth to learn to become independent, sensible, responsible, loving, reliable co-creators.  

Every parents dream hopefully is that their child will grow up to be strong, confident, loving, humain, independent adults.  Why would God wish anything different for us.  The toughest thing in life is our feeling of separation from God.  But perhaps this separation is crucial for our development. Hard to see the big picture when I am just a small part of it. Well, that is just my guess at it.

Never stop asking the tough questions or trying to answer them Daniel because someday you might just figure out the answer.
Love and Light to you,
Violet



PeacefulWarrior

Greetings Violet and All!

Of course this is a question that is answered throughout our entire lives, but I believe exactly what Violet has written.  This was the conclusion I came to long before I ever even found this site and posted the question.  I believe firmly that we are here to learn to become co-creators.

A little snippet from a source I would rather not disclose:

I don't know the vernacular of 3rd, 4th, 5th dimension, for I
have not studied the same books that Susan has.

Sterling put it into more LDS religious terms: Telestial, Terrestrial andCelestial.   The LDS, along with many other religions,  also
acknowledge that we are several entities in one though they differ in
their names:  we are our physical bodies, as well as spiritual children ofGod and existed as intelligence's.  Some would say we are spirit, souland body.

We all understand that there is a light spectrum and that we see only apart of it.   The part that we see is the 3rd Dimension, physical reality. The 4th dimension is also very real, entailing more of the light spectrumand often can be captured with cameras especially infra red ones.   It isthe realm most people see in near death experiences, astral travelingand think of as Heaven/Hell.  Duality still exists there.  It is also therealm of imagination and thought.  Recall that in the LDS templeceremony we are told that everything is first created spiritually (fourthdimension) then temporally (third dimension).  Our thoughts literallycreate our third dimension reality.  When we are unawares and asleepspiritually, our thoughts simply attract and we are attracted to certaincircumstances and people.  We are unconscious creators at that point. The point of our being here is to become conscious co-creators.

Fifth dimension is the first level where we are at ONE, unified.  It is theSource Light for everything that exists.  It is pure Light, pure Love. Behind our 3rd dimensional heart lies one pure atom whose center
exists in the fifth dimension, our Heart of Hearts.  It is our literal
connection to God, our umbilical cord to our Source.   Our egotistical
natural man hides it from us and tells us to look outside ourselves to
find God.  Our veil of forgetfulness is literally our bodies surroundingour Heart of Hearts.  Our atrophied Pineal Gland cannot communicatewith the other dimensions in this state of deep slumber.  In reading or feeling truth and opening our hearts to it we increase our capacities forcommunication with other dimensions.  Deep contemplation andmeditation will also increase our capacities.
People who have seen beings in all their glory have seen beings whose
Heart of Hearts is allowed to expand to its full stature and encompass
the individual.  The natural man is no longer the master but the
servant.  Jesus Christ shone brightly when he transfigured.  His Heart ofHearts was no longer a light hidden under a bushel, but was allowed toshine forth.  If we are to follow Him we are to transfigure also and bringour Heart of Hearts out of hiding.
If we stay stuck in third dimension exclusively we do not have full
access to the palette of colors to create from, we are severely limited. Christ showed us the way.   He had full access to everything and we callthem miracles.  Other Masters have evolved and have also given us anexample.  We live in the end times, the Omega time.  Our earth willsoon pass from third dimension into fourth dimension.  If you have notraised your body to that level, you won't be coming along, but will startover at the beginning of another 26,000 year Third Dimensional cycleand will stay there until you learn to freely move from one dimensionto another with your body.
NOW is the time to prepare to meet God, not after you die and leave
your body behind.   It is not some far off moment when you can start tobecome a co-creator with God.   YOU ALREADY ARE.  It is simply time
to become a CONSCIOUS co-creator with God.   Your Natural Man is
ready to spout rule after rule after rule.  You will notice you never
really change following the myriad rules. You don't see many angels
nor are you especially wise.   The "trick" is to "not know."   Don't try andfigure out if ANY of this is right or wrong.  Allow it as a possibility. Try it and see what happens.  "I command my Heart of Hearts to be incharge of this body and to align each part of me with the Light."  

Quietly think of all the miracles that you know of that Jesus and othermasters performed.  Feel how thrilling it is to be a part of God's work. Feel the love growing in your Heart of Hearts.  Recognize that you are a part of God and He is a part of you.  Feel the joy growing within you.

When the Natural Man starts to spout his rules at you, tell him thank
you, you will listen later.  Repeat to yourself, "I command my Heart ofHearts to be in charge of this body and to align each part of me with theLight."  (or some other phrase that you like, but leave in the commandpart, that's the free agency part).  I have been doing this off and on for 2-3 weeks and I have seen my own miracles.It really works for me.
Good luck and God Bless, Susan
_________________________________________________________________

The next exerpt is actually from:

http://ldsfaq.byu.edu/emmain.asp?number=93
 
                                 Godhood


Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy
all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term "godhood" denotes the attainment of such a
state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a
state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings (see Deification; Eternal
Progression; Exaltation; God; Perfection). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They
will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness,
power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless
lives. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ attained godhood (see Christology) and that he
marked the path and led the way for others likewise to become exalted divine beings by following
him (cf. John 14:3).

The LDS conception of godhood is central to their understanding of why God creates and acts.
Latter-day Saints believe in a God who "cleaves unto" other eternal intelligences (D&C 88:40)
and wants to make them happy. Joseph Smith observed, "Happiness is the object and design of
our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is
virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God" (TPJS, p.
255). Happiness is the goal of existence, and God created this world in order to promote
happiness (2 Ne. 2:25). Because he loves the world, he gave his "only begotten Son" (John
3:16). God gives commandments to help mankind achieve happiness. Joseph Smith wrote: "In
obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed; and as God has designed our
happiness—and the happiness of all His creatures, he never has—He never will institute an
ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote
that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and
glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances" (TPJS, pp. 256–57). The
Book of Mormon refers to God´s Plan of Salvation as "the great plan of happiness" (Alma 42:8).
In this sense, God creates in order to increase the total happiness in the universe.

As the Supreme Being in the universe, God has the greatest capacity for happiness. Thus, to
maximize joy in others, God desires them to be as much like him as possible. "For behold, this is
my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39; cf.
Ps. 16:11). This latter-day scripture is understood to mean that God´s goal is to help men and
women share in the kind of eternal life he lives. Joseph Smith wrote: "God...was more intelligent,
[and he] saw proper to institute laws whereby [his children] could have a privilege to advance
like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge.
He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with
himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory,
and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits" (TPJS, p. 354).

All of God´s spirit children have within them a divine nature with the potential to become like him.
To become more like God, individuals must gain increased light and truth and follow all the
commandments that God has given. They must know God (John 17:3; D&C 88:49) and see him
(1 Jn. 3:2). Those who achieve this level of perfection will become joint-heirs with Christ: "For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.... And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also
glorified together" (Rom. 8:14–17). "All that [the] Father hath" shall be given to them (D&C
84:37–38). In biblical terms, those who are worthy to share in all the power and glory that God
himself has are called "gods": "Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High" (Ps.
82:6; John 10:34–38). Latter-day scriptures refer to several persons, including Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, who once lived on earth and who are now resurrected beings and have become gods
(D&C 132:37).

Most people are accustomed to using the term "God" to identify only one being, the Father. But
the scriptures sometimes use the term to designate others as well. In this sense, while the faithful
worship only one God in spirit and in truth, there exist other beings who have attained the
necessary intelligence and righteousness to qualify for the title "god." Jesus Christ is a God and is
a separate personage, distinct from God the Father (see Godhead).

People qualify themselves for this rank and degree of exaltation by bringing themselves fully in line
with all that God has commanded them to do: "Here, then, is eternal life-to know the only wise
and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests
to God,...namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a
great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of
the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit
enthroned in everlasting power" (TPJS, pp. 346-47).

Joseph Smith also wrote, "Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a God to his dominions"
(TPJS, p. 374). This does not mean that any person ever would or could supplant God as the
Supreme Being in the universe; but it does mean that through God´s plan and with his help, all
men and women have the capacity to participate in God´s eternal work. People participate in this
work by righteous living, by giving birth to children in mortality and helping them live righteous
lives, and by bringing others to Christ. Moreover, Latter-day Saints believe that those who
become gods will have the opportunity to participate even more fully in God´s work of bringing
eternal life to other beings. God is referred to as "Father in Heaven" because he is the father of all
human spirits (Heb. 12:9; cf. Acts 17:29), imbuing them with divine potentials. Those who
become like him will likewise contribute to this eternal process by adding further spirit offspring to
the eternal family.

Latter-day Saints believe that God achieved his exalted rank by progressing much as man must
progress and that God is a perfected and exalted man: "God himself was once as we are now,
and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil
were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds
and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today,
you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as
a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received
instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes
with another" (TPJS, p. 345).

Much of the LDS concept of godhood is expressed in a frequently cited aphorism written in
1840 by Lorenzo Snow, fifth President of the Church. At the time, Snow was twenty-six years
old, having been baptized four years earlier. He recorded in his journal that he attended a meeting
in which Elder H. G. Sherwood explained the parable of the Savior regarding the husbandman
who hired servants and sent them forth at different hours of the day to labor for him in his
vineyard. Snow continued, as recorded in his sister´s biography of him: "The Spirit of the Lord
rested mightily upon me—the eyes of my understanding were opened, and I saw as clear as the
sun at noonday, with wonder and astonishment, the pathway of God and man. I formed the
following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown me.... As man now is, God
once was: As God now is, man may be" (Eliza R. Snow, p. 46).



K. CODELL CARTER

Bibliography

Snow, Eliza R. Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow. Salt Lake City, 1884.

Snow, LeRoi C. "Devotion to a Divine Inspiration." IE 22 (1919):653–62.

fides quaerens intellectum

Edited by - daniel on 08 April 2002  09:08:43

Edited by - daniel on 08 April 2002  09:13:06
We shall not cease from our exploration, and at the end of all our exploring, we shall arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot
---------------
fides quaerens intellectum

Nimzomyth

Why is life and nature so cruel at times then?

Nimzomyth


starider

·   Words are defined  by meaning,and unfortunately,most people,imho, use words and terminology  of which they have NO understanding whatsoever.They "parrot" false beliefs based on preconceived ideas of traditional teachings, and are unable to defend their own thoughts.
 POETRY;however, is a useful tool for expressing ORIGINAL thought and gaining an understanding of the abstract nature of  PHILOSOPHY , which in turn helps you to discover  an understanding  behind the meaning of the WORDS you choose to express  your  OWN thoughts.When  you begin to understand your OWN thoughts,then and only then  can you begin to understand the MEANING of life.
   WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE,YOU ASK?????
   In my opinion ,the MEANING of life is uniquely what you CHOOSE it to be,based on your OWN individual experiences,of which,like fingerprints,no two are alike...
   Based on my my OWN experiences from writing poetry,the meaning of life, for ME,varies from one moment to the next,it continuely  unfolds as a "JOURNEY" as opposed to a "DESTINATION"....
      Writing poetry has forced me to ponder the meaning of EACH word I choose,as I integrate it into the WHOLE composition.If you  casually use a word of which you do NOT fully comprehend its full meaning,then you disrupt the balance and misrepresent the MEANING of the thought or message which is trying to be expressed...
       This writing process  disciplines the mind and prepares you for "figuring -out"the MEANING OF LIFE  for YOURSELF,and not by ADOPTING someone else's beliefs as your OWN...  
       As William Shakespere once said "TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE"!!!
   With this said I would like to close this "editorial" with  a few of my poems . Keep in mind these are MY TRUTHS, take them for what they are worth,I am quite aware that poetry is not everyone's "cup of tea", but for me  I can best express my thoughts through poetry... I try to take the opposite approach of CONFUCIOUS ,who says"one picture is worth a thousand words"....   My contention is that in poetry, "ONE WORD  CREATES or PROJECTS A THOUSAND IMAGES" .... I am a believer in the "ZERO_POINT_FIELD"  theory of the universe,by which ALL things are connected; physical "LIFE" is but a RELATIVE term....

**********************************************
CONSTANT OF THE UNIVERSE
*******************************
Surreal journey,
Along life's road.
Wandering-exploring,
Adventure and gold.

Passions and lust-
Mysteries of sex.
The human animal,
Is so complex...

Good or bad,
Evil or divine?
Freewill determines
Your state-of-mind.

Material wealth-
Trappings of crime.
The only real thing of value
In life is TIME...

Notes of the chord,
Rhyme and verse.
Together they form,
A constant of the universe...
                                                starider 9/4/99
**********************
MORNING LIGHT
*********************
Canopy of stars,
Parallax view.
Senses alive,
In the morning dew.

Another sunrise,
A new day has begun.
Feel the warmth,
Of the morning sun.

Calm reflections-
Keen insight.
Pondering life,
In the morning light.
starider   9/4/99

(not enough room for all the poems I wanted to include in this post,will continue into next post, LOL)....
Thank you for your indulgence...,Starider  8/02/02




..."It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave,so keep on thinking free"...

starider

Here are the rest of the poems,about the Meaning of Life that I wanted to share from my earlier post..... starider8/02/02
************************
IT'S ABOUT TIME...
************************

Ponder life's mystery
with ambivalent thought...
Accept or question
the reality taught.

Shadow defines light,
with shades of gray...
Night divides
each passing day.

Constant motion,
repeating event...
A dynamic journey
from past to present.

Life and death,
connected together...
Continuing cycle
invisible tether.

Spiritual connection,
human mind...
Time and infinity,
remain undefined.
                             starider 4/1/00


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEFINED BY MEANING...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conceptual thinking,
abstract and oblique,
requires understanding,
unbiased and deep...

Communication needs
a sender and receiver,
perception gets distorted,
by both skeptic and believer...

Words manifest our thoughts
from far within,
the collective-consciousness,
where ideas begin...

Ambiguous , subjective,
illusive and misleading,
language is limitted,
and defined by meaning...
                                               starider5/30/00


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MYSTERY OF WHAT IS...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alone with your thoughts,
beyond tangible things;
see the flickering flame,
of candlelight dreams...

Suspend your disbelief,
beyond the night;
make the spirit-connection
to voices of light...

Natural energy,
natural law;
the cycle of life,
freeze and thaw...

Tidal forces,
midnite-noon;
universe is calling,
grandfather-moon...

                      starider 10/16/00


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LENSE OF PERCEPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The spiritual-world
of infinity and time,
has a language of light,
which bridges our mind...

The dynamics of perception
illuminates the path,
with  optical reflections,
and flaws in the glass...

The material-world
that is perceived to be,
becomes a paradox of conceptions,
and a mystery to me...

As I learn and grow,
I find this life hard to understand;
Why is there so much cruelty and hatred
in man's inhumanity towards man?...

The unitive consciousness of love and compassion
doesn't really seem to matter,
when lust, money,and power,
is all that we are after...
               
                                                     starider 3/3/02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... Thank you for your indulgence...

"BE GENTLE,
  LOVE LIFE,
 &TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER"!

A FREETHINKER,
                        Starider  8/02/02




..."It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave,so keep on thinking free"...

clandestino

I'm not sure there is actually any "meaning of life", or as the original question said "purpose" of life.

Why must it have a meaning ?! because we all say so ??!!!! i don't think so.

In that case....what is the meaning of stone ?! what is the meaning of fish ?

I'm not trying to denigrate the value of life here; I just think that mankind wrongly believes everything exists for a reason, as part of a great big masterplan.

The questioner also asked : Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?

My personal beliefs, for what they are worth, are that the essence of our "spirit/soul/etc" has been around for all eternity, though we haven't necessarily kept the same complete "spirit" along our journey. Our "spirits" are one with everything, and are merely existing. They may be going through "changes" (re-incarnation.....progressing to "higher" or"lower" levels), but there is no significance in this !!! It is US who have put it on a pedestal. It is ourselves who have deemed this spiritual quest to be overly significant, when it is merely a part of life / existance in the universe that we do not yet fully understand.

To anyone who thinks "god, this guy must be a bit of a nihilist " - nah, im not.

I'll Name You The Flame That Cries

Josh Redstone

Heres the way I see it.
If we got here naturally, not put here by any creator, than our purpose here is for us to decide. we havent been given a meaning to seek, we must seek our own meaning.
If we were put here by god or a creator, than we should have a purpose right? Right, but do you think we'll discover it in a mere 100 or less years on this planet, no.  If there is an afterlife, I would think we would find out there, but we'd be dead, so it wouldn't do me or any one else much good, would it.
I tend to go with the former on this one.


Arie

Great discussion everyone!  Personally I think that there are an infinite number of meanings/purpose of life.  Right now I believe the purpose of human life is to know God and to help other people.  Ofcourse that can change as I progress spiritually. :-)  

Love and Light.

"I hear and I forget... I see and I remember... I do and I understand."

Blossom

Simple question..

The purpose of life "is to learn".. Learn from your mistakes, learn from your joys, learn from your heartaches, learn from your children, learn from your tears, learn from your parents and learn from others. Everyday is a learning experience. Our only choice is "What do we learn today?" We are our own directors.

As far as the meaning of life: That will always be open for debate which strikes me as very ironic as the meaning of life is individualized and based on what we have decided to learn as we found or looked for our purpose in life.  It is therefore unique and personalized for each individual based on life choices..  

Sincerely,
Blossom

~~Blossom~~

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"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
In Alice in Wonderland by 'Cheshire Cat'