the meaning of life

heavyballs

i would like to share something that happened to me about 5 years ago,has anyone ever experienced anything similiar.
I was doing nothing in particular,just at home on my own when i kind of went into a trance or a simple day dream,but it wasn't a normal day dream.
It semed that in those few seconds i realized the reason I and we as a race are here.In that short space of time everything seemed clear,the mad thing about the experience was that as soon as I had that knowledge it was taken from me.
I hope this makes sence to at least 1 person.

LaLucy

Sounds interesting but I have never experienced it. Maybe the reason is to keep questioning things and never stop wondering.

orestes

There isn't one, sorry

sells

well, the meaning of life, all life is to reproduce and make other life...you never know either, there could be a huge meaning to life too. by the way I had a similar experience but once in a while for about 20 seconds, and I could remember most of it. or as I say to myself, im gettin closer.

heavyballs

sells wrote: »

by the way I had a similar experience but once in a while for about 20 seconds, and I could remember most of it. or as I say to myself, im gettin closer.

the funny thing about the experience i had was that it was at a time when i didn't have any interest in this sort of thing.It was like a bolt from the blue and ever since it happened i can't get it out of my head.

claireycork

Ive experienced this also, it seems to occur when your in a certain state of mind and you seem to feel like you've more answers than you have ever had, things seem so much clearer but when your brain begins to function as normal the answers become vague....That is my experience of it all.

VinnyTGM

If you look at this logically human being's are just organism's that live, reproduce on a bit of rock in space.

Maybe I'm narrow minded when this topic come's up.

heavyballs

VinnyTGM wrote: »

If you look at this logically human being's are just organism's that live, reproduce on a bit of rock in space.

Maybe I'm narrow minded when this topic come's up.

well you probably are narrow minded,but that's the way you see it.There's nothing wrong with having a narrow minded viewpoint,that's why we're all so unique i suppose.

nyarlothothep

Is it possible to use a mechanistic answer-reproduction, to answer a teleological question?

LaLucy

Are the purpose and meaning of something the same?

Dave!

The meaning of life is whatever meaning you give it.

There is no 'objective' meaning of life.

Offalycool

The meaning of life is a tricky one.
I think it comes down to whether or not you believe in the good, or truth.
If one believes in truth one has a meaning. One has a purpose because as a consequence of our belief in absolute truth/good; life, your life, has purpose in a truthful reality.

There are many reasons to be relativist. Truth can be what’s true in my circumstance! I can, for example, claim that it is true that I think I like something, but this says nothing about what you believe you think is true. To be relativist is to be nihilistic, and is an appropriate twenty-first century social point of view.

However, the demise of mass morals does not imply the demise of morality. The ancients understood that man was the maker of a system of morals, but also, that the unifying entity of all morals, the understanding of the term morality itself, was the dichotomy of good and bad. This was the reference points, as it is with our calculation of the phenomena of hot and cold. To love is to be loved, it is the existence of a love that is reciprocated; it cannot exist in a purely subjective sense. The very fact that we can agree that we both like something; to ‘like’ in itself, is to aim towards something that is not its opposite, which is to dislike, or the bad. If we hold the truth to be the good, then regardless of what we both individually profess to be good, as in what is good for you or me; the truth/good exists in itself. We can give numerous reasons why we may agree there is such a thing as good and bad (to say nothing of right and wrong), however, we all believe in the good. Good in itself is good and truth recognises the existence of good.

If the good exists, then a meaning exists. The existence of good, beneath the onion skin of opinion, exists to point the way, as a magnetic force on earth gives man the up and down. If the good does not exist, then nothing exists because in such circumstances everything, absolutely everything is in flux and there is nothing that is not subject to change, the existence of the choice 'good' would not be available. Though we may change our mind as to what is good, be it nice, or clever, or expedient, or love, we regard our choices as bad or good nonetheless. There always exists our conception of something that’s good, it is as certain as a mathematical proof. What underlies every choice you and I ever made is the choice between bad, better and best, and what we always understand the best to be is good. The good gives meaning to life, because the good is the only stable conception of our experience, and provides us with something completely out of character with amoral rationality, yet at the same time, enables rational deduction to exist be virtue of a direction, a goal, a purpose.

Cannibal Ox

Offalycool wrote:

One has a purpose because as a consequence of our belief in absolute truth/good; life, your life, has purpose in a truthful reality.

Your belief is subjective. Your belief in the absolute is a subjective belief. Your truthful reality is a subjective reality. It isn't an absolute. The rest of your argument hinges on this idea that there are universals, which it should be obvious that there aren't. You will not find a version of good that all people will subscribe too. That's an impossibility. There is not a universal concept of good, regardless of the metaphysical doctrine you might be ascribing to.

There are facts, and in that sense, there can be truths. But facts are subjectively interpreted, and in that subjective interpretation truths are produced. How those truths are produced and consumed is an entirely different matter. Saying that doesn't make me a nihilist, and nor does it make me a relativist.

We live, that's a fact, but the truth we produce from that fact is dependant on how we percieve life, and interpret the world around us. The truth of life is rooted in the fact that we live, but is created by us and the world around us. I don't ascribe to the idea that we create our own vision of the meaning of life, but nor do I ascribe to the idea that there is a single, overarching and universal meaning of life for all human beings.

Jakeal

heavyballs wrote: »

I was doing nothing in particular,just at home on my own when i kind of went into a trance or a simple day dream,but it wasn't a normal day dream.

I had a similar experience, but I wasn't doing nothing in particular. I was doing Salvia divinorium. I've done it a few times now, and it seems to have a sort of "memory" of its own. Nearly every time I've tried it, it brings me to a place where I'm a part of a sentence along with millions of people. I have this immense feeling that it's a hugely important sentence which would provide all sorts of answers.

The kick in the crotch is that someone, somewhere is flicking through the sentence. You know like when you take a book by the corner and flick through the pages. So, I'm always desperately trying to read this sentence, before I get flicked passed. Never manage - always ends with the horrific feeling of being stretched and flicked passed. Ah well!

Offalycool

Well.. you have to have a little faith I admit. But I believe in the existence of a right and wrong that is more than subjective, and more than independent of me. I believe in a right and wrong (positive and negative) that is in everything. Only our subjective conciousness regards a thing as individual, and divides one "object" from all other "objects", or everything else. As the conciousness makes more and more finer observations, or divisions, these divisions become meaningless to all but scientific observers in there search for ever finer divisions ad infinitum. Simple curiosity will not reveal any truth. one must share in a little faith.

jady88

Life itself

beks101

'When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion'

- Mr Lincoln.


Sums it up for me.

Valmont

heavyballs wrote: »

i would like to share something that happened to me about 5 years ago,has anyone ever experienced anything similiar.
I was doing nothing in particular,just at home on my own when i kind of went into a trance or a simple day dream,but it wasn't a normal day dream.
It semed that in those few seconds i realized the reason I and we as a race are here.In that short space of time everything seemed clear,the mad thing about the experience was that as soon as I had that knowledge it was taken from me.
I hope this makes sence to at least 1 person.

This happened to me for 12 hours once and it was one of the greatest nights of my life. Good old Lucy.

mega man

I think humans play a big part in the meaning of life.
Whatever created the world must share similar qualities to humans as humans can understand and create in ways other species cant.
its quite amazing.
but i think the meaning of my life is to accumulate as much wealth and power in my life.
imo there is not just one meaning to life
but many meanings, which each individual must discover for themselves.

roosh

heavyballs wrote: »

i would like to share something that happened to me about 5 years ago,has anyone ever experienced anything similiar.
I was doing nothing in particular,just at home on my own when i kind of went into a trance or a simple day dream,but it wasn't a normal day dream.
It semed that in those few seconds i realized the reason I and we as a race are here.In that short space of time everything seemed clear,the mad thing about the experience was that as soon as I had that knowledge it was taken from me.
I hope this makes sence to at least 1 person.

Have you heard of a book called "the Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle?

Based purely on your post above, it might be a worthwhile read, and may put certain things into context.

heavyballs

mangaroosh wrote: »

Have you heard of a book called "the Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle?

Based purely on your post above, it might be a worthwhile read, and may put certain things into context.

thanks,i have never studied or read anything on this subject,that's what for me made the experience a bit more strange than if i was say a philosophy student or something,it has defo opened my mind a fair bit though.

5 and 7

The meaning of life is to continuously distract yourself from the fact that it's pointless.

heavyballs

heavyballs wrote: »

thanks,i have never studied or read anything on this subject,that's what for me made the experience a bit more strange than if i was say a philosophy student or something,it has defo opened my mind a fair bit though.

ta,just got it on Amazon for €4

roosh

heavyballs wrote: »

ta,just got it on Amazon for €4

savage, let us know what you think.

A quiet one

heavyballs wrote: »

i would like to share something that happened to me about 5 years ago,has anyone ever experienced anything similar.
I was doing nothing in particular,just at home on my own when i kind of went into a trance or a simple day dream,but it wasn't a normal day dream.
It semed that in those few seconds i realized the reason I and we as a race are here.In that short space of time everything seemed clear,the mad thing about the experience was that as soon as I had that knowledge it was taken from me.
I hope this makes sence to at least 1 person.

It makes sense; sort of.
I'm in a slightly different boat. Someone asked me the question about the meaning of life and I didn't have an immediate answer other than "I dunno"

Usually, with major questions about an understanding of something like that question, or simply some world shaking event, if I start to wonder about it briefly, I'll have arrived at an answer within 3 days. It seems to be on a 3 day delivery system.
(This question came answered in a matter of hours, so I guess it's not such a biggy.)

I could then retain that information for either a few moments or weeks/months or even until events change over the space of years as to make it's importance redundant.

Trouble is, I don't write theses answers down. At work, I am not ordinarily within grasp of pen and paper; though I have a phone with a notes facility, I'm really slow at texting and I'm simply not at liberty to waste time like that.

I then don't bother when I get home because, to be blunt, there's not going to be anything in it for me. I am not someone of consequence. I have no clout, no "status", no one "needs" to know what I think, and there is no one who is going to be waiting to hang on my every thought. Also, the timing usually sucks (I'll realise something at a time when it's not holding the interest in the general population). I'm invisible. I'm meaningless. There is no sense of a vested interest in others to even acknowledge that I may have the capacity to contribute. And I don't have any relevant qualifications to fight that. I'm not surrounded by people who would appreciate the value of someone amongst them taking down little notes; It would come across as more than a little weird. And there's no point in trying to reach out when telly or internet, or even gossip seem more rewarding to attend to, and all whilst I'm content with the self satisfaction I've derived from having worked out the question.

So, I've now forgotten the answer to the question on the meaning of life even though it was with me for weeks and I had mentally tweaked at it to sharpen up how to express it, but alas... now all gone. Worse still, I can't remember a single occasion when, having thus forgotten something, I was given a second bite of the cherry.

I have a vague memory that the words meaning and meaningless were closely connect (quell surprise!) and how "life" depended on that link to give it a meaningful meaninglessness which was its meaningless meaning.
Life transcends meaning.

Oh well, Ho Hum...

heavyballs

hhmm.that's very interesting,why are you so down on yourself? or is it that you're not down on yourself at all just honest about how people perceive you.
Are you content with your life
The experience i had was a very vivid one,it seemed to me for a second or two that the knowledge i had was so important that i could never forget it,when i think back it's like it was taken away from me by someone
Also,i don't beleive in god so in my mind that theory doesn't make sence

A quiet one

heavyballs wrote: »

hhmm.that's very interesting,why are you so down on yourself? or is it that you're not down on yourself at all just honest about how people perceive you.
Are you content with your life

I'm quite lucky as life goes in many ways, but that's more an attitude thing.
Otherwise, I'm merely been practical.

(I'm new here, so I'm basing the following from experiences elsewhere.)
Also, what you will find when you start to be able to "share" your discoveries is that originality and depth can be like intellectual explosions.

That means that you'll get the odd occasion, rare in fact, where someone will simply respond with a "wow! I'll have to give that some thought" (or similar), or give you some sort of critic perspective of what you have just said, but for the most part, you most prepare yourself for the likelihood that what you'll get is total silence.
It might have been a thread with considerable trafficand suddenly it stops dead in its tracks.

A quiet one

heavyballs wrote: »

The experience i had was a very vivid one,it seemed to me for a second or two that the knowledge i had was so important that i could never forget it,when i think back it's like it was taken away from me by someone
Also,i don't beleive in god so in my mind that theory doesn't make sence

My own frame of thoughts were interrupted unexpectedly, and had to go do something else, so I'll continue...

Your experience was, as you say, a day dream and they can just as effectively turn reality on it's head yet do so in a "it all makes sense" sort of way.
A dream can be a bit like a programme that is able to disable your anti-nonsense firewall.
Then you snap out of it and can't recall because you're back to weeding out the nonsense.

That's why having a thought and deliberating (mulling over it if you like) on it briefly wont show up the flaws straight away; But when you try to express it, the flaws show and if it's actually a load of old cobblers, it's possible that the whole idea suddenly escapes you.

You have to set aside it's importance, or the fact that it's not answering a technical matter.
It was just a dream. No gods were harmed in the creating of it either.

Bugnug

I dont believe that there is any meaning of life as such. I believe that if you can find inner peace and be happy in your own skin, responsible for your feelings and actions and how they affect others then you can live a happy life and hopefully share that happiness with a partner and have a family together. Essentially what I am saying is that if you are searching for the meaning of life you are probably just searching for peace and happiness in your self.

imme

Sounds interesting, not outlandish OP.
Sometimes we come to realisations, maybe consciously or subconsciously, then they're gone.
Maybe the mind isn't able to 'take it in'.

roosh

for anyone who feels that they have had a "moment of clarity", but that the clarity has again been replaced with the "obscured view", it might be worth checking out meditation practice.

It is basically concerned with deepening that kind of insight.

that is of course if you don't already do it.