I was debating this a while ago, and thought to myself all the different opinions and beliefs people have about our being here, the hows and whys, what it all means, etc, etc.

I realized that it's never really brought to our attention, that regardless of how the world works or what this life is really made of, that we don't actually pay attention to the guy working backstage, pulling all the levers and working the lights...

..And I'm talking about meaning.

That`s such a tricky thing to think about, we could say the world is this or the world is that, or stomp our feet and claim that jesus will come and save us all, but underneath all the differing minds is the commonality of meaning, that pushes the mind forward, to act based on beliefs..

And I realized that that probably is the reason human beings showed up with their imaginations in the first place, we find ourselves in this conundrum of being, and we don't really know why, it is a mystery, not an unsolved problem..

..And those of us that accept the mystery, and see the world for the strange ambiguity that it presents us with in our day to day lives, those of us that accept this work towards a better humanity by behaving with integrity towards ourselves, nature, and the planet; I behave with integrity beceause I know that when I leave this planet I can have the faith that I was a good person, and don't have anything to fear..

..But those of us that shy away from the mystery, just become jerks. They get caught up in the con game, chasing dollars, the cars, etc etc..

..But even so, the jerks still hold meaning in their posessions and fashions, they hold them so high in their lives..

..And maybe this is really what it's all about, to convey meaning, to feel love, compassion, passion, desire, lust..

..And in order for us to feel love, we also have to be able to feel hurt, hate, pain..

Does anybody sort of get what I'm saying? I didn't quite articulate it as well as I thought, but human beings and the imagination is a relatively new thing to the universe, we still don't know what it's about..

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Maybe human beings came along, because nature senses that our sun will eventually explode, and the natural response is to create something permanent that will not fade off into the starry night sky when the sun does go off..

..Human beings seem like a perfect candidate for this scenario, give a mammal an internal memory with a huge data bank, bootstrap it with an imagination, let it soak up all the data and information of this world, and then when the moment comes when the physical world of this planet goes up in flames, the human imagination will go in in another domain of space and time, with all the accumulated knowledge of our species and the planet itself.

Hmmmm?

I occasionally find myself thinking about the why of our existence. It is indeed very strange that one has to exist without knowing why. If we don't know our purpose, how are we expected to fulfill it? And if we don't even know if there is a purpose, are we expected to look for it?

At the end of the day, this will probably remain a mistery. Maybe we can get an answer after we die, maybe not.

From our very limited point of view, it's like playing a game endlessly - once someone wins the game, it starts all over again, with different players (ie people die, other people take their place - nothing happens).

We did not ask to be born into this life, yet we were. I just find it hard to conceive that the vastness of the universe, our self-awareness, etc serves no purpose, other than to let people live an average of 80 years and then die, to be replaced by other people in an endlessly repeating cycle.

I feel like there must be a bigger purpose for it all. Or maybe I'm just a hopeless dreamer.

universalshaman - you're right - it IS hard to articulate this stuff

It's unfair in a way. It's like here's life, and there is no manual. No answers to the odd numbered problems in the back of the book. No rules, no guidance, and no knowledge of a reward. Just (to me) a seemingly pointless existence. I tried reading the bible for perspective and it seems ridiculous. Just a bunch of stories put there to keep people giving money to a church. Even ayahusca and dmt only give more questions.

There are fleeting moments when I feel the holy gift of experience here. The raw power, the emotions, the connectedness. But they answer nothing.

the meaning is to live. The point is that. We are here to live and experiment. We are the life!

We have to live it as much as we can. Some people thinks that what they need is power or lust, some think that they need to be happy and healthy, some think they have to be a good citizen. there is no good answer. well there is but yes indeed its hard to make sense of it all, especially in our society, where we obviously CANT be ourselves. What I mean by ourselves is being us, monkey. Follow your instinct. Make every action as if it was your last. Taste, listen, feel as much as your body can, thats how to live! Life make sense if we stop trying to figure it out, there nothing to figure out! Everything is so obvious: life is there to be lived.

cheers

Maybe we are like bees, but instead of honey we stockpile gold and other precious materials. And it's just a matter of time before something comes to harvest the hive, so to speak. I don't believe that, but it is an interesting idea to ponder, because it seems to fit so well with how some people behave. My personal mission is to experience and to learn.

I believe the 'meaning' of life is simply the result of our extremely capable, but complex minds. Just as religion is...

There is no universal meaning to life, we live simply because the situation on mother earth harbors the ingredients to sustain life... However, a meaning to our lives is created by each individual themselves, and carried out by them alone as well.

Suggesting that there is a universal meaning to life, is reverting back to the psychological inquiry of the ancient Aztecs or any other pre-classical civilization. I believe that this route ultimately leads to the mental construction of a supernatural being, or god.

That is a good theory i hadn't thought of it that way.

It is true though we as humans cannot help but to label things and place meaning on them naming things equating problems with solutions.


I think life is to be lived in harmony with our mother EARTH, to do what makes us happy and individual together.


Here is proof that we have design to make sense and meaning.

That is a good theory i hadn't thought of it that way.

It is true though we as humans cannot help but to label things and place meaning on them naming things equating problems with solutions.


I think life is to be lived in harmony with our mother EARTH, to do what makes us happy and individual together.


Here is simple proof that we have design to make sense and meaning.
********************************************************There is no real square just illusion.

I dont understand what you mean by illusion. what is a illusion?

Sorry, you see the black pacman things, and inside looks like a square.

There is no drawn square, only four black circles with a triangle removed from each and placed neatly, to trick the mind into seeing a square.

It is a test in psychiatry or something

“My voice speaking is a monkey's mouth making little mouth noises that are carrying agree-upon meaning, and it is meaning that matters. Without the meaning one has only little mouth noises ” ― Terence McKenna, The Archaic Revival

I'm with murphythecat on the point of life being to live life, without any arbitrary constraints from the interior or exterior of reality. Any meaning created by a sentient being, animal, or god; only pertains to the lifetime or experience of the creator of the meaning. It can never encapsulate the whole of spiritual and material existence.

Meaning is a way of organizing experience into a personal gestalt. But the whole of experience is meaningless or a mystery.

I wonder what meaning would be like for a being that was not impermanent, would it evolve and change like human created meaning or would it be static and absolute?

So, if the late great Bill Hicks is right:

All matter is merely energy consensed to a slower vibration, we are all one consciousnesses experiencing itself subjectively. There is no death, life is but a dream with an imagination of ourselves. Here's tom with the weather...

Could that, possibly, imply that there are no other life forms like us, or that we are the first? Or is this the one millionth matrix trying to fix the dominant seeking traits of mammals?

But, animals are conscious. They show affection amongst other things. But all plants and animals are needed to give the human experience. Why be human? That's a lot of work to make humans. Why not just energy?

If all life had ego and logic, would the universe be monarchal like earth?

Is it an isolated experiment of free will?

Of course there is only one way to know for sure. And that isn't even guaranteed. Death.

But on the other hand people behave differently when there is a timeline or fixed goal.
When it seems like you have all the time in the world, behavior changes. So do morals.

Suffering / reward based thinking. People think they have to suffer to get something great. Were taught to work hard, go to school, made mom and dad proud. Blood, sweat and tears if you want to be happy. Work your ass off to buy that car, then the house. Then kids. Their schooling, and cars. Teach them how to be like you, to work until you might retire a few years before death. When there is so little of you left you don't have the energy to live the way you once dreamed.

Im obviously not satisfied with the human condition, at my current age in life & state of mind. I want more. I don't know what that is. Maybe if I wanted nothing I would be happy. I've accomplished my realistic childhood dreams and more. Now what?

I have no idea where I'm going with this,