and finally THE most important question of all

[MoreMisfortune]

You guys, first off let me tell you Thanx for repling to this wich is the MOST IMPORTANT thread of all times.
I got plenty o time on my rights exaclty right now since i got no bloody hell shy to do anyways...
Ill try to reply how i can

Originally posted by joedoe
I once read a theory that kind of appealed to me. Life is like a classroom for souls. Our souls are trying to attain perfection, but to do so they have to learn lessons about compassion etc. and the best way for them to do this is through living a human life. So, our souls are reincarnated multiple times to learn different lessons, until eventually they attain perfection and join with God/The Omega/whatever.

Just a theory but I liked it

Dude thats cool... but how does anyone ever prove or know for sure that there is such an evolutionary soul-system (assuming that there is a soul)? How can i ever be convinced without proof?

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by Toby
There is no meaning. Our "purpose" is to procreate and ensure continuation of the species. That's all. Guess you'd better start talking to girls, hey Xebs?

Well Toby... i dont think it is.
First of all, why would i want to continue the species? Why should i give a da.mn about my species everlasting?
Second of all, if that was the case I could easily go out and rape a good number of women and inseminate them... and basicly just wait for the results since aborption is illegal here so only a few of those women will even try to go to an illegal clinic and face the danger of the procedure. The law says a woman can try to make a legal aborption if she was raped, but in most cases it doesnt happen. Its quite uncommon for legal aborption to be accepted/done. Its fine if you say that wont work - i can donate my sperm to sperm banks. Or better, i can hold some women captive and perfectly inseminate them, no worries. There you go, all my purpose is done and it doesnt matter if i live or die... right? Hmm i guess not.

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by FngSaiYuk
If you're suffering and struggling, stop. Get up and find what it is you really want out of life and do it. There doesn't need to be a meaning for existence, you already exist, make the most of it.

If there is absolutely no way of stopping the suffering, well, mebe the simple self-inflicted death WOULD be better?

Maybe its easy for you to ignore the fact that a lot of people go through a load ass more suffering than we can imagine... for years... maybe even their whole life... and i am saying a lot more suffering than me too of course
I wont bother to give examples right now, i assume you can think of many horrible ways of life that people can not escape from, most the times inflicted by evil or careless people.
I dont really understand what you mean by making the most of it... would you care to further explain this "most"?

Yes, indeed there is a real possibility that self-inflicted death could be better. Euthanasia (sorry if misspelled) on other animals is not a rare procedure, for example.

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by Toby
He wants, nay needs, sex. Problem is, he refuses to talk to girls and his other recent thread showed he may have some problems communicating even if he did approach any.
Dunno that encouragement helps Xebs. I sometimes get the impression he's treading on thin ice.

Actually i have "communication issues" (as todays society would put it) with people in general, not just girls.
By my definition i am in fact, everyday, treading on thin ice, but thats not just me - for more info on this look for stuff about what the buddhists call impermanence and how death can come at any time be it expected or not.

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by FngSaiYuk
Perhaps he does need sex, but mebe not from a girl? There's always that to consider...

As contrary to the belief of some i am not Ho.mosexual nor Pansexual nor Bisexual nor Trisexual.

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by Radhnoti
What is the meaning/reason of life?

You can pick your own reason. Each individual could have a different reason, if they've bothered to find one at all. Sometimes, as time flys by, the focus of your life will change slightly or even radically.

I think, for me, it's important just to have one...the focus might be trivial in some folks opinion but just having a focus/reason keeps me sane.

At one point in my life I was just living to play tennis. It was all I cared about...and one of the least stressful times I've had in my life. I wasn't even really THAT good, but my life had a fantastic clarity with such a simple "reason to be".

I agree with you about the importance of focus - i crave for focus hence i created this very MOST IMPORTANT THREAD OF ALL TIMES.
Contrary to popular belief, my point of existance is not "to have a woman". In fact, i consider that not enough for me. I would consider life ultra-pathetic if it was based simply and only on that.
But if we all can pick our reasons (that is, if we want) - then that means we are completely free from "right" and "wrong"? What are the results of each path? Is there definately no good path and bad path at all? And how does one prove or demonstrate such?

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
The true meaning of life!:

Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia. Also, people aren't wearing enough hats.

I like hats but i never had one, exepct for the cap type (that i do not like much). I would wear some cool hats, if they were more socially acceptable where i live.
I agree that there are fields we cannot percieve (for example, certain wave frequencies), but that doesnt mean their existance cant be proven, since it has been proven as a matter of fact. However this such refered to as "soul" (be it whatever it is) has not been fully proven nor have the processes surrounding it...
Should i simply accpet that what is told to me just becouse some acient tradition said so? I think not...

[FngSaiYuk]

MM, have ya by any chance gone to a dr or therapist? Might be a good idea to find a good one in your area...

This is just based on the stance you present in these recent replies and your notion that you're constantly on 'thin ice' and that a meaningless life may drive you to acts which would not only violate accepted social behaviour, but may have rather negative consequences. This is all putting things VERY mildly.

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by FngSaiYuk
MM, have ya by any chance gone to a dr or therapist? Might be a good idea to find a good one in your area...

This is just based on the stance you present in these recent replies and your notion that you're constantly on 'thin ice' and that a meaningless life may drive you to acts which would not only violate accepted social behaviour, but may have rather negative consequences. This is all putting things VERY mildly.

I havent been to any dr nor therapist
I am unsure about how they can/cannot help
You see, and btw... hmm i think my health plan doesnt cover this and i so if i wanted to go to one id have to get money from my parents
Ill have some moloko plus now

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by TaiChiBob
Greetings..

"In the beginning" there was only One thing (pick a name, its of no material consequence).. as the ONLY thing it had no feedback, no thing to interact with, no mirrors.. just itself and the Void (two things, Yin and Yang).. now, it began to wonder "what am i?".. and, in the event we conceive as the "big bang", the One thing became many things.. it sent itself out as a universe of possibilities and sent with it the Prime Directive: Go ye therefore into the Void and have experiences.. and through the inherent connection between the parts and the One, the One could begin to understand what it "is" through the experiences of its "parts"..

So, the purpose of life is to have experiences, to be the "senses" for the One and provide feedback as to what the One "is".. the One was more clever than us, its parts.. it didn't say have only a special kind of experience, it knew that to fully understand itself it must have ALL the experiences, good and bad.. Yin and Yang.. it is only our arbitrary labels of desirability that separate experiences into categories.. otherwise, they are just experiences with consequences.. and desirabilities change over time and between differing cultures..

So, enjoy the experience, it is why we are here....... (or not)..

Be well..

PS: Energy is energy.. it is only our limited perceptions that separate into particles and waves.. (actually, it is a wavicle)..

Hmm having experiences... sounds cool. But dont they come to an end before biological life expires? I ask this since i see really really a lots and lots of old people are so da.mn stagnated in every aspect of their lives.
And what does those who are deprived of their senses do since they cannot use their senses to have experiences? Should they be removed since their power to interact has been sucked?

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by SPJ
Life and everything are in movement and changing.

What people are looking for is the stillness or something constant.

Life is day and nite, sunrise and sunset, heat and coldness, scorching and freezing, happiness and sadness, togetherness and loneliness, etc.

So the "meaning" of the life is the stillness or something constant/permanent we are seeking.

The religion, pholisophy, Do/Dao/path/way, love, etc.

Yes, you find your goals or your definitions and you mold your self to be in stillness or constant.

It is like a Bansai tree. You attend to it everyday. In the "end", it is "you" represented by your goals or definitions or a Bansai tree.

Im not sure if i understand what you be saying. Care to give some more details if possible?

[MoreMisfortune]

Originally posted by fa_jing
Xebs, have you read existentialism? Have you read Betrand Russell (pragmatism)? I'll summarize for you, since both provide a similar alternative to the Bible-based religious viewpoint. Man is the sole source of meaning to his life. He should be proud of that. Meaning is not universal and does not come from the outside. It's a human concept, a byproduct of language and the idea that some kind of "meaning" could or SHOULD come from a source external to us is silly. If God exists as a thinking spirit and also has the concept of "meaning," then it doesn't relate to us and we couldn't understand it anyway in a typical human sense.

As Russel pointed out, fear of death (due to old age) is silly too. It probably arose through evolution in order to provide impetus for procreation and living long enough to do so. There is no reason to fear what comes after death any more than to fear what happened before we were born. All this talk about what's going to happen in 8 billion years to the Earth is BS too, no human sincerely cares about what is going to happen 1000's of years in the future. We are not designed to do so by God/Nature.

Be the human that you were designed to be. Live your life according to your own wishes (but be careful, don't be impulsive, don't do things that you will regret later). Live for your own reasons, that is Nature's design. As far as a Universal "meaning," that is up to God for himself.

(no offense to the more religious among us)

I havent read any o those guys. The few philosophy classes i had were pretty pathetic.
I can see the idea that meaning is a human thing... but... then how come so many people are swallowed/sucked in by the external (from other people) idea that they exist to have a family, a house, a good paying job and thats it? And when you try to pry their eyes open to other possibilities they anger go defensive. They have indeed taken something external and shoved in their interior... keep it to themselves and act violent if anyone even exposes the idea of removing it or changing for something else.
I mostly agree with the rest of what you posted... but i do still wonder, cant help but wonder what the hell happens when we die -> since all my life i heard several theories about what happens from several sources...
All this be causing a pain in me gulliver

[FngSaiYuk]

Originally posted by MoreMisfortune
And when you try to pry their eyes open to other possibilities they anger go defensive. They have indeed taken something external and shoved in their interior... keep it to themselves and act violent if anyone even exposes the idea of removing it or changing for something else.

Good rule of thumb is, if they get angry & defensive, you've hit something they're very unsure about. They prolly DON'T have a good idea on what they want out of life.

I mostly agree with the rest of what you posted... but i do still wonder, cant help but wonder what the hell happens when we die -> since all my life i heard several theories about what happens from several sources...
All this be causing a pain in me gulliver

Yep, most everyone would like to know for sure what happens after, and the idea of there being NOTHING after tend to mess w/our natural reasoning faculties.

I'm under the impression that you're seeking some sort of value to your life. The only real measurable value you can compare peoples lives with is the effect they have on other lives. So rather than being distracted so much with what possibly happens to YOU after you die, you may have an easier time figuring out the kind of effect YOUR life has on others particularly after your physical body has expired.

[Chang Style Novice]

cant help but wonder what the hell happens when we die

Centuries of observed evidence suggest that we turn into maggot chow. Some don't find this very comforting, but I rather like the idea.

[FngSaiYuk]

Originally posted by Chang Style Novice
Centuries of observed evidence suggest that we turn into maggot chow. Some don't find this very comforting, but I rather like the idea.

I'd much prefer someone vengefull turn into maggot chow after their death than to cling to enough of their life force and manifest their vengeance on the material world.