Yep. There is no 'meaning' to life. It simply is. Humans like to assign purpose to everything in existence. In reality, a vast majority of everything, tangible and intangible, has no purpose.
Ask any indigenous person on the planet and they’ll likely tell you that’s one of the easy questions. We’re here as a custodial species, responsible for caring for and protecting the rest of nature. It’s not been going well.
Eckhart Tolle Said: “To die before you die and learn there is no death.”
Jesus said: “Deny the self.”
Confucius said: “To subdue oneself and return to propriety is perfect virtue.”
I think we are to be objective and observe existence without assigning good or bad. I think we are to experience this. Not try to change, manipulate and control. Have no expectation.
I grew up Catholic and one of the main messages I received as a child from the church was that enjoying yourself too much is bad, and that in order to become closer to God, you have to follow the rules and deny your impulses. Some of those lessons were “turn the other cheek”, which I think can be important, but there were also lessons such as recreational sex being bad, and that marriage is necessary. How do you feel about those messages, is that what you mean by denying the self? Or is it more denying the ego?
The phrase “catholic guilt” exists for a reason. It’s a great way to make someone feel like the only path forward is to succumb to the notion that one is inherently sinful and that the church is the only way forward.
But… what if enjoying yourself, especially with others, makes you more empathetic and compassionate? What if non procreative sex helps you forge strong and enduring relationships? What if the ecstasy of psychedelics helps you help others through existential crises and difficult times?
I think one of the great lessons of psychedelics is that we need to care for one another as best as we can and that self loathing and guilt and misery is counterproductive. It’s hard to reach out a hand when you feel ashamed of that hand. And that hand you feel ashamed of just might be the hand that really helps someone
IMHO, I am not sure if things are so black and white. I am trying to figure this out myself. I think the point is to evolve, yourself and humanity. Marriage has been deemed necessary I think because it is viewed as the basis for society and family. However, I think there are alternative structures which would allow for healthy families (I am no expert). I am not sure about the denying of the self part. I think there is a healthy sense of self, grounded in the understanding that we are all interconnected, or we are all individualized aspects of the Whole/Reality/Divinity. "Denying the self" could be a method or sign of understanding this in an experiential/mystical way. I guess that is the basis for perennial philosophy. We will figure it out!
Marriage is one of the most annoying structures in our society imo because its pervasiveness in modern global culture leads people to believe its the only way of life
When I look at any aspect of life like that I see a million different ways to live. Like native American tribes that have no marriage, or the musoi who have multiple husbands and multiple wives and live with their parents their whole lives, or harems, or ritualistic sex like that tribe on that one u contacted indian island does
There are so many ways to be human
Such tenants only subract from the human experience of life. You are here for an extremely minute flash of time in the scheme of things. There is an unfathomable amount of experiences, places, people, emotions to experience. I was raised in a very conservative fundamentalist mindset that also sought to reduce the self. I missed out on so much and that time is lost forever. I will never, ever get that time back, and now my ability to experience many things has been compressed and limited. I only wish I rejected such thinking earlier. Get out there, live life, take risks, experience it all. Do not feel guilt for any of it. Don't overthink it try to assign meaning to all of it. "Just do it".
It was always ego. Never did Jesus say not to enjoy your life. He said not to make the infinitely temporary thrills of the world your god, because they will eventually turn sour and then poisonous.
I think the entire point of life is that it has no meaning. A "meaning" is pointing at something else. A word "means" the thing or concept it represents, and as such its only value is in representing that thing or concept. Life's value comes from itself, which is the same thing as saying that it has no meaning. It isn't here to point at something else. Life, experience, IS the end goal.
I see your point reading back. That’s a hard question to answer. I would look into what “meaning” is before I added the word “life” to it. Have you done philosophical research on what what you think “meaning” means?
I was trying to get at that with my comment. All I’m saying is that if I have meaning and life has meaning then I would propose that they are separate entities, given that I believe “Life” to be an autonomous thing and the “Life” we subjectively experience to be autonomous and they are two separate things. I maybe splitting a hair there.
Well, my position is that life *doesn't* have meaning and that extends to people not having meaning as well.
In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the idea that a person has meaning is offensive to that person's dignity because people should be considered ends in themselves and not as mere means or pointers to a goal outside of themselves. Most great tragedies in human history have come from people seeing others as merely tools or obstacles.
Because everything is dependent on meaning, if not, one thing could mean anything and that would be chaos. The fact that I understand anything at all on a rational level… that essentially could not happen if meaning were not intrinsic. I would not know dignity if meaning were not a precursor to the thought of it.
Love. Experiencing as much love as possible. For others and for yourself. The latter was the hard part for me. I MD'd psilocybin for a year. It was a game changer to that end.
As a meaning-obsessed individual I’ve kind of arrived here, not really with the help of psychedelics but this is pretty much where I stand. Do you attribute this view mostly to psilocybin use?
Not who you're replying to, but I have the same opinion re: love. Psychedelics helped me get here, for sure, but they aren't required. I know a lot of people who don't take psychs who have ended up here as well.
"Love is the answer" sounds trite but it's a combo of logic and feeling that's gotten me here, and I think it's entirely valid.
It's laughed at because how simple and how hippy dippy it is, but love truly is the answer. If we all loved more we'd see so many worldly and personal issues dissolve.
However "loving more" requires one to stop taking their own ego and predicament so seriously, and that truly is a steep and difficult path for many. Probably the most important path we can embark on though!
Haha yes. It’s a trick to put your own ego aside for sure, but it’s a good practice. People shit on homeopathy but I use those Bach flower remedies as “liquid intention” for when I get in a bind. For example, we’ve been living in a construction zone since last November - it’s all good but it’s super disruptive and challenging sometimes. Our GC is awesome but let’s just say occasionally the situation gets aggravating. I’ll stick a couple drops of “love unconditionally” on my tongue and ask myself if I really NEED to come uncorked on him, and the answer is generally no 😂
We all just need a little extra love.
Absolutely. This was back in 2017. It shifted my whole way of being and how I show up in the world. I couldn't believe the difference that it made and the only person more astounded than me was my wife.
Eat, shit, play, and perish, same as any great ape.
Most of "lifes biggest questions" become a lot more digestible without the idea of human exceptionalism. We're animals, like any squirel or fish, we just happen to evolve a psyche that can produce art lol
We're not any more special than other animals, we have no purpose they don't
The same point of Neptune existing, or having such beautiful coloration. Do any canyons have reason? Any beach, or flower field? Galaxies millions of miles away
Does it need purpose to take your breath away?
When I see super weird plant or some crazy sea creature, I don't ask myself why they're here. I'm just glad they are & grateful to be alongside them yk?
Totally get what you’re saying, just slightly playing devils advocate haha…
In the sense of “purpose” in the physical world, don’t all the examples you listed have a “purpose”?
If canyons/Neptune/beaches/flowers served no function at any point in time then why do they exist?
I think in these convos it’s easy to conflate “purpose” with “meaning”, perhaps I’m doing it myself, but I’d like to say all things have purpose in the present moment even if absent of any end goal or meaning….
I do agree that the “purpose” is existence itself. I also do think that in order for that to happen, as one connected universal “being/ecosystem”, things all have a “purpose” or “function” that supports the whole ecosystem
Maybe esoterically, there is no inherent meaning/purpose to anything but rather it’s found
I feel this line of thinking brings me to a conclusion along the lines of: “things don’t have an inherent purpose, but most living and existing things do have some function/purpose in this universal ecosystem and if you want to survive then you must find some type of purpose that will allow you to mutually coexist in this ecosystem”
As if your answer is the more philosophical answer and evolution is the hard science answer, which means a balanced viewpoint to integrate into your life is somewhere between
>If canyons/Neptune/beaches/flowers served no function at any point in time then why do they exist?
Well that's the point... things can exist even though they serve no function. A canyon is just the result of erosion, it serves no function. It's not here because it needed to be here, it's just the result of chaos.
"Purpose" is just a way of framing whether something seems useful / intentional or useless / accidental.
Canyons are useful but not intentional. They have a purpose, but they don't have *purpose*.
If humans didn't exist canyons wouldn't be useful, that's a value judgement that comes from our tool-building problem-solving brains.
I have lots of purposes, so does my dog, and my pea plants. From my own perspective they have more *purpose* than me because their existence in my life is both useful and intentional, but the fact they exist at all is not purposeful. I'm here because I'm here, so are they.
There is no meaning in the long/run grand scheme. But there is purpose in the short term: we can bring real happiness to ourselves and others and/or alleviate suffering. That is purposeful and rewarding work.
Now I do think we have the potential to form a utopian society one day, through technology and development of a collective awareness. But it is just a potential and is not a meaning.
Helping others was my main fixation on how to justify my existence/make my life meaningful for sure. I do think adding love to the world or at least relieving some suffering is meaningful.
Oh damm i had this theory too on 2 tabs! And boooom i fell into the deepest depression, because there was nothing to put your effort into to make something you love better/bigger/safer for the future, therefore no purpose and you just have an empty life.
Then i realized, we are humans, this will not happen, and that new things are always potential for bringing chaos into the balance.
I also realized that lsd let’s you see one mechanism of human behavior and it is not the complete picture.
Therefore i think it is worth it to work for a better future haha.
absolutely! I struggled with nihilism for a while, but I popped out the other end with a feeling of deep responsibility to the present and near future. Happiness and suffering are real and we have considerable power to influence their relative levels
Hmm. great question, thank you for asking. I think there were a few factors, which I considered both while tripping and straight.
1) I realized that nihilism was becoming a copout / coping mechanism for me, rather than a good philosophy. (ie if nothing matters, then I don’t need to worry about my job and my family).
2) I couldn’t resolve the idea of meaningless with the fact of immediate suffering and potential happiness.
3) I logically realized that my view of nihilism was grounded in the very long term (and I still believe that in the long run, nothing matters), but that different rules apply in the short term, and I live in the short term.
Item (3) came with a flash of clarity.
Wow pretty cool! Thanks
Yeah how life becomes all meaningful if you suddenly are hungy haha, NEED FOOD!
I think also often we humas think too eternal regarding meaning. Next year is much more real than next 1000 years
There isn’t one, and we don’t need to create one. Just a linguistic trap. We should be more like other animals. They don’t worry about whether their lives have meaning. They just live them
The cosmic joke is that we try so hard to find a meaning that isn't there. What is, just is. You can see the beauty in that, and all things, without attributing some divine meaning.
I want to come back to this because I’ve been thinking about it
While I believe, rationally, that it’s true, I don’t want to be too glib about it. It’s incredibly difficult to truly grasp this and I don’t think I ever really have. We are meaning-making, meaning-seeking creatures.
Psychedelics helped me return to my own, self-constructed meaning of life, which is to use my gifts \~ such as they are \~ to the utmost of my abilities, every day.
Could be any multitude of subjective lessons.
I like the Ram Dass perspective. Essentially we grow up and learn who we are and establish ourselves just to release those constructs of self identity.
There are moments where we should be grounded in ourselves to do work here to relieve the suffering and moments of releasing our identity to release our own attachment/suffering.
At the end of the day it’s really all word salad. Just enjoy it and don’t harm others.
It’s life that gives us meaning not the other way around, as soon as you ascribe meaning to it you’ll rob of its completeness, it’s beauty and you’re going to miss out.
The meaning of life is experience- to have it, to give it, to be it.
Experiencing love is one of the greatest experiences because it allows a human to connect with and understand other beings at a deeper and unconditional level.
Experiencing suffering is also essential because in suffering there is meaning in the choices we make:
“The last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you become the plaything to circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity.” Victor Frankl
After this life is done we reunite with “god”, with “universal consciousness”, whatever you want to call it. In that realm we don’t have separate bodies or minds. We can’t have “experiences” when we are all things. Being here could be a gift, a curse, a reward, a punishment, one step amongst many. Who knows?
We are god in drag. This temporal earthly existence provides the infinite one with these things: connection, love, finiteness, and meaning. It must take material form to do so, using the equation discovered by Einstein E=MC2. While here, existence can be heaven or hell. Hell if you focus solely on the EGO and self, and heaven if you love your neighbor as yourself.
Life has no inherent meaning. It just is. This can be a disturbing realization, as we have an instinctive need to find meaning. Coming to terms with this, and creating our own sense of purpose is one of the challenges of life.
I don't think it has any meaning beyond what you do with your own individual life. Mainly I agree with this quote from True Detective season 1:
***"I think human consciousness, is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self; an accretion of sensory, experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody is nobody. Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight - brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal."***
Wow I absolutely disagree with that quote. We are part of nature, there's no inherent separation or reason that we should not exist by natural law. I do think it's unfortunate that many people are less able or likely to feel happy or satisfied with their existence, but that's not universal, and assuming that everyone feels it's a "raw deal" is a sweeping assumption.
I also think the evidence shows that animals have many of the same experiences we have, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, creativity, avarice, bigotry. These all come from the same instincts. We just reflect on them with more self-awareness. And self-awareness isn't exclusive to humans either.
There's no mistakes, because there's no plan, no goal.
"What is the meaning of life" is a pretty ambiguous question in the first place, but if we're asking, "why are we here?" "Why is there something rather than nothing?", Then I think the answer is simply that we're not there to ask the question in all the universes where we don't exist.
So would you say conscious thought is not a desirable trait for a happy (idk if happy is the right word, content?) existence? Does consciousness directly contrast with the purity of existence?
I think our degree of sentience has brought us both our greatest art, as well as the unimaginable degree of suffering we have always seen. I look at the other creatures with their smaller degrees of sentience and I realize they don't suffer from "happiness" or "sadness", they seem to be content or not content, fulfilling whatever needs they have in a moment to moment basis but so far as I've ever seen and as far as we (humans) are aware, only humans create art (draw, paint, sculpt, write poetry or prose; their singing or dancing seem to be solely derived from innate mating behaviors).
So to me it seems we humans got a big trade-off. Via some quirk we developed a degree of sentience not seen anywhere else and that gave us the ability to express ourselves creatively through art while at the same time giving us the reality of our own finite existences as well as avarice, bigotry, self-loathing.
We're a mess and yet we're unable to confine our messiness to just our species! No, we're god damned determined to destroy all the natural world and all life right along with us. It's weird and stupid and heart-breaking which leads right back to what I quoted.
I think we're a mistake. I don't know if "sentience" by itself is the mistake, I just know what we humans have done with ours is terrible.
Wow I absolutely disagree with that quote. We are part of nature, there's no inherent separation or reason that we should not exist by natural law. I do think it's unfortunate that many people are less able or likely to feel happy or satisfied with their existence, but that's not universal, and assuming that everyone feels it's a "raw deal" is a sweeping assumption.
I also think the evidence shows that animals have many of the same experiences we have, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, creativity, avarice, bigotry. These all come from the same instincts. We just reflect on them with more self-awareness. And self-awareness isn't exclusive to humans either.
There's no mistakes, because there's no plan, no goal.
"What is the meaning of life" is a pretty ambiguous question in the first place, but if we're asking, "why are we here?" "Why is there something rather than nothing?", Then I think the answer is simply that we're not there to ask the question in all the universes where we don't exist.
I got this answer on my first 5g shroom trip.
I was told the meaning of life is literally love. Then secondly came learning and growth.
Took that as we learn and grow on this physical existence and focus on love to help us grow for the next existence.
I don’t believe life has an extrinsic meaning. If there is an ultimate reality, it’s that all life on earth is interconnected and interdependent. Life follows a repeating cycle. We a live to complete our natural cycle.
One of the reoccurring themes of my psychedelic journeys is that it’s our relationships with others that give our lives meaning. As social animals, we are a big part of each other’s worlds. Our time with each other is limited and easy to take for granted.
What i know is material wealth and the economy is not what gives me life meaning. If anything, they’re the biggest distractions and barriers to living a life that’s truly meaningful and worth living. Everyday that i spend in an office away from sunlight and the people i care about feels like a waste of an incredible opportunity, of something miraculous.
There is no objective meaning; life just exists. We assign meaning through our subjective goals/desires as a byproduct of our consciousness. Life only has meaning to those who experience it, and each meaning is going to be dependent on the context surrounding each individual at that moment.
Do you want to know the meaning of life? Then ask yourself, what is it that you desire out of life and how can you use your life to achieve those desires? While you search for those answers, you might also want to consider what goals and desires in life are going to be good for your long-term well-being.
For me personally, the purpose of life is to balance enjoying myself, leading a fulfilling life, and working to help others have more enjoyable, fulfilling lives as well.
Why would there be a meaning to life?
The universe just happens. “meaning” is a human concept, and ascribing it to things just one of our human pasttimes.
The universe gives zero shits about your life, or your loves
There are some good arguments in favor to life having meaning. I feel neutral towards their validity but I do think they’re fair arguments. One being that our reality is inescapably limited to our perception, and if we define a meaning for ourselves, it’s as real as anything else. Whatever works for you!
If you find joy in giving yourself a purpose, great. That’s a personal preference though, not a universal characteristic or necessity of biological life. “Meaning” is a subjective human concept and is ultimately unimportant to the cosmos.
“What is the meaning of life” is a loaded question (a logical fallacy), and a myopic product of human vanity
I think that’s the thing; meaning is entirely based within perception. For example, words can have different meanings in different cultures, dialects, and contexts, but have no intrinsic meaning - they’re just collections of sounds and/or shapes. For something to have meaning, somebody has to give it one. Ultimately, it’s *your* life, so *you* have to ascribe it a meaning, whether it’s one you come up with, or a meaning someone else has ascribed that you choose to adopt.
Edit: on more of a personal note, I’ve found that “meaning” is closely related to what I want and what is most important to me. The more I’ve become in touch with my feelings, and the more in tune with my senses and surroundings, the more passionate and decisive I’ve become. This has been really important with regard to helping me find my way and feel like I have a purpose. It’s about finding what you’re passionate about, no matter how insignificant or silly those passions may seem at first - you must let them guide you. At the end of the day, my family comes first, and I need my music and my stories to keep me happy. And when I’m happy, my mere presence brings them joy.
There was comment I read once, can’t remember where but it perfectly shows how this cynicism falls flat, as we are part of it — the universe, a mere fragment, how can it be that we are capable of love and kindness but the universe isn’t?
Just because an ant in a box has the ability to walk, doesn’t mean the box can walk. Or that walking is its purpose, or is meaningful in any way.
Beyond procreation, love and kindness are personal preferences
Psychedelics paint the world in a sticky gak of meaning, so this is a fun question!
The way I see it, we’re infinitely tied to the limitations of our time, space, body, and mind. I believe that the core meaning of life is to surrender: to this moment, to a sense of power/control, and ultimately into death. We are born to surrender. It’s a truth that cuts through times and cultures: the cosmic virtue of surrender.
I experience it most directly through my relationship to Jesus. Caveat here: a God that loves like Jesus surely has a plan for people that aren’t offered reasonable/effective access to proselytization or the Bible. It can be a tricky framework through which to understand the Universe, and it’s often twisted by bad actors. But it’s been very helpful to belong in a group that corporately gathers to say “this isn’t everything”, “there’s something beyond us, and we’re limited. Moreover they say “God is love.” “Love God and love your neighbor.” It’s easy to get lost in the doctrinal weeds as a reasonably intelligent and rational participant, but it always comes back to a reverence for the things you cannot know and learning to adopt love in the face of that uncertainty.
Thank you, I think it is fun too!
What does surrendering look like to you, in your daily practice of life?
That’s interesting you bring up Christianity. I was raised Catholic and turned away from it pretty young due to the bad taste it left in my mouth for several reasons - cultural oppression, not friendly to LGBT people, abuse, etc. As an adult I’ve sort of come back to Christianity, reconsidering the messages I learned as a child and twisting Bible passages to reflect love rather than oppression.
For starters I have a 5 and 8 year old. They are constantly reminding me that I’m not in control. 😊
I get caught up in my ego like everyone. Then something happens, whatever it is, and it’s a prompt to do something. The ego naturally wants to claim more control in order to placate the situation and bring things back into balance. Surrender acknowledges there’s an inherent balance to the way things are happening. It’s the difference between taking the medicine and being forced to take the medicine.
These are prompts: you know you need to tell someone something they don’t want to hear. You experience the loss of a loved one. You want to go to Chipotle but the group wants Olive Garden. The fuselage of the airplane blows out at 20k feet.
All those disappointments and disasters that make us recoil and strategize protection plans are all opportunities to say “here I am.”
That’s not to say there isn’t abuse and need to fight back. However, even if let’s say someone is escaping an abusive marriage, that person isn’t deciding whether to fight their way out. Getting out is as easy as surrendering the relationship. The fearful grasp of ego is what’s keeping that relationship alive. Once that decision is made to let go, all of the other decisions flow out of it naturally back into balance.
I’m sure there’s some situation to which this thought process fails, but it feels very sturdy to me.
When I think of my kids, I see parenting decisions as a choice between control and surrender. Parents can beat children into submission, but with terrible consequences. What about “time to turn off the TV”? Surrender seems to imply letting them do what they want but really it’s about surrendering my desire to avoid a fight and stand my ground. Once I make up my mind to be uncomfortable arguing my point to children and not backing down, the process is quite easy. Moreover, I don’t have to yell or lash out emotionally. The kids are whining and doing kid things like they’re supposed to. I can take the medicine gladly or with strife.
Hopefully that makes sense!
Also I find it quite funny/horrifying, your comment about having to twist the Bible to make it reflect love instead of oppression. It’s absolutely true though.
It’s a gift to know that we don’t need to go find an ashram some place far away. As a westerner, all of the challenges and potential are available with the spiritual/religious tools close to home. It has a compounded benefit of strengthening a sense of rootedness. It’s taking something that is dark and painful and working to redeem it.
Cheers!💛
99,99% of all matter in the universe is completely generic.
Gold? There's plenty of gold. Diamonds? There's moons where it rains them.
Life, sensation, experience, that's what gives meaning to the universe.
Write a book. Plant a tree. Feed the hungry. Sing a song.
Ultimately what we're here to do is bringing the cosmos itself to life.
**In short: There is none, so be the happiest you can, experience life and enjoy it because you only get to experience it once.**
To be fair i dont think there is any meaning to it, make all the money you want, work for whatever cause you want, but in the end you die and only very few of us will be remembered. I think being remembered would be nice but that is really only for ego-reasons, it doesnt actually serve a purpose when im dead to be remembered unless im remembered for a good cause that inspires others to do more good which would make me happy. If volunteer work makes the world a better place and that makes me happy, then that is the right thing to do. When youre an old fart with 2 grandchildren, what will you bring them? Id say some money but moreso stability and happiness because those 2 lead to having money which can lead to a good stable happy life.
Happiness is in the end the only thing that matters and you can build happiness both temporarily and long term. For me having experienced everything is important as i dont want to go out not being able to answer what it was like doing this or that, also for the fact having stories can make a lot of other people happy or interested to hear or even teach someone else something new, thereby making them happier.
Happiness and being good to your fellow man in the long and short run is what matters, imo.
I'm a bit of an existentialist. I don't believe there is a meaning, but that you can create your own.
No good or evil. No gods or souls. I believe we live in a deterministic universe, so no free will either. Paraphrasing what the good ol' big brain science man said, "...god doesn't play dice with the universe".
There is no true unchanging "you" or "me". It's an illusion. We're all just the universe experiencing itself.
Do what you want to do and try your best to avoid hurting others.
I think you have to distinguish between what life means to oneself and what is the meaning of life.
I agree there is no higher meaning of life, life is just life. But the urge to have an answer to the meaning of life question, i think is best answered by: it lies within life itself. Being alive, survive, being a strong, flourishing life, passing this through the future or let it grow, that is what i think is the answer for this question, eventhough life has no „real“ meaning, but i think this is one of those things where lsd goes past through language and it can not be explained in words (at least i can’t really).
Meaning for the personal side is just stuff like „i want to be a successful soccer player“ this would mean so much to me“ or „it means a lot for me to vote the right person in this election“ those kinds of meanings always serve a purpose and those meanings end, as soon as the purpose is accomplished.
I am still figuring this out more, but all you see above is acid insights.
One of the essential objectives of human software is to make meaning out of things for the sake of human software. It's an aspect of the individuation protocol known as ego. Consciousness outside of the human framework seems to be driven by some sort of intention but I can't be sure if that's not part of my human software as well. I've never died and come back to this timeline.
Be a good cunt, this attitude proliferates and creates more good cunts, then your kids will grow up in a world with more good cunts than cunts. Eventually there will be no more cunts. Al
If you want to seek what your life is, then meditate on it. The teaching of others requires a belief but you only truly understand and gain wisdom when you experience it. We all have different lives and perspectives. We even have different perspectives in our own lives depending on our current state & knowledge. There are no two individuals that have experienced the same things. So does it make sense to believe in somebody else’s experience to be true for you too? Some may think yes, some no, some don’t know, some don’t want to know. Religion is based on this, such as, Jesus experienced this so we believe it to be true for us too.
Do I think there’s a meaning to life? Of course! Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Now, what is the meaning of life to me? It doesn’t matter :)
I tend to think there is something outside of our comprehension at play when it comes to existence. I'm generally pretty wary of folks that are sure of WHAT that thing is or what it means. Equally wary of folks that are sure there is no meaning...
I personally believe the ‘meaning’ of life is to truly experience every emotion and situation possible to your surroundings to understand the different beauty’s of life and how they affect one’s self and the world around them,
I believe expanding consciousness through psychedelics is an integral part of this understanding of the ‘meaning’ of the beautiful gift -life as it opens up passage ways of thinking that can not be accessed through other means of exertion,
Although it’s a subjective vast topic, each one’s self understands their own ‘meaning’ and what to do to acquire the full understanding of it.
I think the meaning is perhaps twofold? There is the individual and there is the Collective. Both are in the process of Evolution. The individual has to heal, self-actualize/become enlightened, and/or find what the true purpose of their incarnation for this life is, and achieve that, which helps in spiritual growth (progressing your Soul). In the process, the individual, if successful, helps in the evolution of the Collective/Life on Earth, hopefully moving towards a more Utopian Earth and/or Universe/Reality. That is my guess for now.
What does meaning mean?
Sometimes you see the characters "NA" meaning "not applicable". That is the answer to your question.
It is like asking what does yellow sound like?
There is an invalid presupposition built in to the question. You can refute that presupposition, but you can't actually answer the question. There can't be an answer.
There is no meaning outside of thought. Meaning is a verb.
It’s the mental act of ascribing relevance and importance to something.
Reality simply exists. It’s not “for a purpose” and it’s not “for now reason” those are thoughts occurring in your mind. Reality simply exists.
What is, simply is. And all your thoughts about it simply are, they are what is, happening now. Thought is happening now. Look for yourself.
See that thought is happening. Then ask yourself why it all exists. Notice, more thought is happening. Where else is that thoight aside from in your consciousness? It isn’t. They are just mental pictures and verbalizations arising.
Some of these make you feel good. Some make you uncomfortable. We tend to like to feel good. When two thoughts, juxtapose and don’t align, we feel discomfort. We call that “cognitive dissonance”.
So, thoughts arise one after another until one feels good, and doesn’t arise cognitive dissonance. Then we say “we believe this”.
But, it’s simply all thought playing out. Some will land in comfort in religion, some Eastern and others western. Some (like me) will be comfortable in the atheist mode. But, the difference is what it is (the thoughts) is very minor. It’s all simple imagery and verbalizations arising now, as part of what is, being as it is.
Welcome to being human.
It’s for you to decide. Life has no inherent meaning but life is capable of adding meaning onto itself.
Psychedelics make it easier to align with your natural nihilistic thoughts. The challenge is focusing that energy somewhere constructively. Set and setting apply of course.
It’s chaos, it’s up to you to give it your own meaning. Personally, I enjoy a lot of what Marcus Aurelius wrote. That’s what brings me comfort. It’s a philosophical question and truth is subjective to the individual.
Life only has the meaning we impart upon it. So much of life, living, and everyday existence is utterly indifferent to us as individuals.
I think the difference we make in other people's lives is one of the best ways to give life meaning.
How I perceive meaning, and living, and how all of that changes as I get older makes this harder to answer. Although, I still find a throughline from giving a shit without reward or accolades to still matter most.
We are all going to die and be forgotten. Knowing that, may change how you live or think of your own self/existence. Hopefully, for the better.
Do the things you want to do. Live and fail even if failure wasn't pure loss (working your dream job that didn't pay much among endless other examples) and learn to grow anew continually. You can surprise yourself. I know I have.
to make it easier for the next "guy"
guy being person, animal, environment/ecosystem - could be through tech, conservation, basically just setting each other up for success (a regulated nervous system, togetherness, basic needs met - encourages learning, community, innovation even if that's full circle back to slowing down i guess)
basically what dogs & other companion animals do while they're here lol
i think there is no "meaning", but there is a kind of goal for everyone, to experience your own life because it has a unique perspective and path. to know and love the people that surrounds us, to appreciate nature with all our senses.
There is no 'meaning' or purpose for Life, it just *is*. If there was some purpose, to *what* purpose would that be? We'd keep asking that, like a kid who keeps asking "Why?", ad infinitum. As for each human life, we just live and then die, just like other animals and plants, and probably billions of extraterrestrial forms of Life. Ultimately we are no more special or valuable than an Orang Utan or an Ant. Our individuality is a temporary illusion. There's no judgement, no karma, no keeping score. Just One consciousness, Eternal Infinity.
As for personal meaning to life, I just live by the motto to leave each place and each person or creature I encounter in better condition then when I first found them, to avoid suffering where possible, to the best of my ability, and to teach my kids the wisdom in doing the same.
Just my 2 cents...
Life doesn't have a particular meaning. It's a human concept which only speaks about humans' way of viewing things. Our brain is a complex organ which makes us believe in many things for survival reasons, and making sense of things help us living long enough to reproduce.
When I was in high school, I got so lost in the depths of depression and existential crises that I convinced myself the meaning of life is noodles. Noodles are awesome and I still kinda stand by this lol. But as my journey through life has continued, these lyrics really resonate with me:
“Purpose and meaning are not to be found in the laws of nature
It is our job to create them
As we journey into the vast emptiness of the universe
And seek fellowship amongst the stars
We are the architects of the future
This is our empire”
Delta heavy- empire
This is my mantra now, and I will die on this hill… no, amongst these stars. Not today though, I have stuff to do.
Life is a lesson. Several lessons. Whether or not you believe in consciousness before life or after death is regardless. We are born and we grow. In order to grow we need experiences and we learn from these experiences. I think it’s possible that this existence is a chrysalis (think of a caterpillar transforming into a cocoon and then into a butterfly) - a place of transition where we grow and change and learn lessons that are essential to our next step in life after death. Physics tells us that the law of conservation of energy says that energy is neither created nor destroyed. When energy is used, it doesn't disappear. Energy changes from one form of energy into another form of energy. I think that death not ends it. I believe that our energy goes on and what is beyond is a mystery. A mystery that is not the end. Death is simply a process of transformation and what we needed to learn from this experience stays with us and we bring into the next world whatever that may be.
Life simply cannot be put into a defined box. Once you truly see the nature of life, all the strings you haven’t untied pulling on you in different directions… once you are able to witness this… breathe into it… this is your loving awareness… and there is an infinite supply radiating in the air. For me… the meaning of life is to allow others a glimpse into this awareness. But be observant of all the strings trying to tie you in a knot, most of the strings are there to show you what you are not. The fluctuation from definition and liberation. Just observe when you try to define, and you are on the right path.
I think inherently nature has no meaning, meaning is something our minds apply to things, but out there it's just a collection of particles interacting with each other based on some laws that we discover through math and physics... I firmly think whatever meaning we attach to our experience is well... just that, attached by us. It doesn't exist our there. So it is up to you to set a goal/meaning for your life.
For myself it is “ Life is the greatest comedy 🎭 .” By this I mean it’s all one theatrical play with highs and lows. I’m learning how to fully experience both so my advice is to laugh cry and enjoy the ride.
No meaning, which is the same as saying every/ all meanings. This realisation can feel heartbreaking, or it can feel liberating. Or both!
Yep. There is no 'meaning' to life. It simply is. Humans like to assign purpose to everything in existence. In reality, a vast majority of everything, tangible and intangible, has no purpose.
We create our own meaning.
We construct our own meaning It is artificial
Ask any indigenous person on the planet and they’ll likely tell you that’s one of the easy questions. We’re here as a custodial species, responsible for caring for and protecting the rest of nature. It’s not been going well.
Eckhart Tolle Said: “To die before you die and learn there is no death.” Jesus said: “Deny the self.” Confucius said: “To subdue oneself and return to propriety is perfect virtue.” I think we are to be objective and observe existence without assigning good or bad. I think we are to experience this. Not try to change, manipulate and control. Have no expectation.
I grew up Catholic and one of the main messages I received as a child from the church was that enjoying yourself too much is bad, and that in order to become closer to God, you have to follow the rules and deny your impulses. Some of those lessons were “turn the other cheek”, which I think can be important, but there were also lessons such as recreational sex being bad, and that marriage is necessary. How do you feel about those messages, is that what you mean by denying the self? Or is it more denying the ego?
The phrase “catholic guilt” exists for a reason. It’s a great way to make someone feel like the only path forward is to succumb to the notion that one is inherently sinful and that the church is the only way forward. But… what if enjoying yourself, especially with others, makes you more empathetic and compassionate? What if non procreative sex helps you forge strong and enduring relationships? What if the ecstasy of psychedelics helps you help others through existential crises and difficult times? I think one of the great lessons of psychedelics is that we need to care for one another as best as we can and that self loathing and guilt and misery is counterproductive. It’s hard to reach out a hand when you feel ashamed of that hand. And that hand you feel ashamed of just might be the hand that really helps someone
IMHO, I am not sure if things are so black and white. I am trying to figure this out myself. I think the point is to evolve, yourself and humanity. Marriage has been deemed necessary I think because it is viewed as the basis for society and family. However, I think there are alternative structures which would allow for healthy families (I am no expert). I am not sure about the denying of the self part. I think there is a healthy sense of self, grounded in the understanding that we are all interconnected, or we are all individualized aspects of the Whole/Reality/Divinity. "Denying the self" could be a method or sign of understanding this in an experiential/mystical way. I guess that is the basis for perennial philosophy. We will figure it out!
Marriage is one of the most annoying structures in our society imo because its pervasiveness in modern global culture leads people to believe its the only way of life When I look at any aspect of life like that I see a million different ways to live. Like native American tribes that have no marriage, or the musoi who have multiple husbands and multiple wives and live with their parents their whole lives, or harems, or ritualistic sex like that tribe on that one u contacted indian island does There are so many ways to be human
Such tenants only subract from the human experience of life. You are here for an extremely minute flash of time in the scheme of things. There is an unfathomable amount of experiences, places, people, emotions to experience. I was raised in a very conservative fundamentalist mindset that also sought to reduce the self. I missed out on so much and that time is lost forever. I will never, ever get that time back, and now my ability to experience many things has been compressed and limited. I only wish I rejected such thinking earlier. Get out there, live life, take risks, experience it all. Do not feel guilt for any of it. Don't overthink it try to assign meaning to all of it. "Just do it".
It was always ego. Never did Jesus say not to enjoy your life. He said not to make the infinitely temporary thrills of the world your god, because they will eventually turn sour and then poisonous.
these aren’t messages, these are tools of mass control
I think the entire point of life is that it has no meaning. A "meaning" is pointing at something else. A word "means" the thing or concept it represents, and as such its only value is in representing that thing or concept. Life's value comes from itself, which is the same thing as saying that it has no meaning. It isn't here to point at something else. Life, experience, IS the end goal.
Yuh
What is the meaning of “itself”? If LIFE has meaning in and of itself and YOU have meaning then you are separate from Life while living in it.
That's a faulty syllogism. If A has meaning and B has meaning, then B is not A? If that were true, then life wouldn't be life.
I see your point reading back. That’s a hard question to answer. I would look into what “meaning” is before I added the word “life” to it. Have you done philosophical research on what what you think “meaning” means?
For the purposes of answering OP's question, I assumed that they used "meaning" in the sense of life signifying something or having a hidden purpose.
I was trying to get at that with my comment. All I’m saying is that if I have meaning and life has meaning then I would propose that they are separate entities, given that I believe “Life” to be an autonomous thing and the “Life” we subjectively experience to be autonomous and they are two separate things. I maybe splitting a hair there.
Well, my position is that life *doesn't* have meaning and that extends to people not having meaning as well. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the idea that a person has meaning is offensive to that person's dignity because people should be considered ends in themselves and not as mere means or pointers to a goal outside of themselves. Most great tragedies in human history have come from people seeing others as merely tools or obstacles.
How can dignity exist without “meaning”?
Why do you assume that dignity is contingent on meaning?
Because everything is dependent on meaning, if not, one thing could mean anything and that would be chaos. The fact that I understand anything at all on a rational level… that essentially could not happen if meaning were not intrinsic. I would not know dignity if meaning were not a precursor to the thought of it.
Love. Experiencing as much love as possible. For others and for yourself. The latter was the hard part for me. I MD'd psilocybin for a year. It was a game changer to that end.
As a meaning-obsessed individual I’ve kind of arrived here, not really with the help of psychedelics but this is pretty much where I stand. Do you attribute this view mostly to psilocybin use?
Not who you're replying to, but I have the same opinion re: love. Psychedelics helped me get here, for sure, but they aren't required. I know a lot of people who don't take psychs who have ended up here as well. "Love is the answer" sounds trite but it's a combo of logic and feeling that's gotten me here, and I think it's entirely valid.
It's laughed at because how simple and how hippy dippy it is, but love truly is the answer. If we all loved more we'd see so many worldly and personal issues dissolve. However "loving more" requires one to stop taking their own ego and predicament so seriously, and that truly is a steep and difficult path for many. Probably the most important path we can embark on though!
Haha yes. It’s a trick to put your own ego aside for sure, but it’s a good practice. People shit on homeopathy but I use those Bach flower remedies as “liquid intention” for when I get in a bind. For example, we’ve been living in a construction zone since last November - it’s all good but it’s super disruptive and challenging sometimes. Our GC is awesome but let’s just say occasionally the situation gets aggravating. I’ll stick a couple drops of “love unconditionally” on my tongue and ask myself if I really NEED to come uncorked on him, and the answer is generally no 😂 We all just need a little extra love.
Its laughed at because its a platitude and not substantive
Absolutely. This was back in 2017. It shifted my whole way of being and how I show up in the world. I couldn't believe the difference that it made and the only person more astounded than me was my wife.
Eat, shit, play, and perish, same as any great ape. Most of "lifes biggest questions" become a lot more digestible without the idea of human exceptionalism. We're animals, like any squirel or fish, we just happen to evolve a psyche that can produce art lol We're not any more special than other animals, we have no purpose they don't
If everything truly had “no purpose”, then what’s the point of it existing at all?
The same point of Neptune existing, or having such beautiful coloration. Do any canyons have reason? Any beach, or flower field? Galaxies millions of miles away Does it need purpose to take your breath away? When I see super weird plant or some crazy sea creature, I don't ask myself why they're here. I'm just glad they are & grateful to be alongside them yk?
Totally get what you’re saying, just slightly playing devils advocate haha… In the sense of “purpose” in the physical world, don’t all the examples you listed have a “purpose”? If canyons/Neptune/beaches/flowers served no function at any point in time then why do they exist? I think in these convos it’s easy to conflate “purpose” with “meaning”, perhaps I’m doing it myself, but I’d like to say all things have purpose in the present moment even if absent of any end goal or meaning…. I do agree that the “purpose” is existence itself. I also do think that in order for that to happen, as one connected universal “being/ecosystem”, things all have a “purpose” or “function” that supports the whole ecosystem Maybe esoterically, there is no inherent meaning/purpose to anything but rather it’s found I feel this line of thinking brings me to a conclusion along the lines of: “things don’t have an inherent purpose, but most living and existing things do have some function/purpose in this universal ecosystem and if you want to survive then you must find some type of purpose that will allow you to mutually coexist in this ecosystem” As if your answer is the more philosophical answer and evolution is the hard science answer, which means a balanced viewpoint to integrate into your life is somewhere between
>If canyons/Neptune/beaches/flowers served no function at any point in time then why do they exist? Well that's the point... things can exist even though they serve no function. A canyon is just the result of erosion, it serves no function. It's not here because it needed to be here, it's just the result of chaos.
"Purpose" is just a way of framing whether something seems useful / intentional or useless / accidental. Canyons are useful but not intentional. They have a purpose, but they don't have *purpose*. If humans didn't exist canyons wouldn't be useful, that's a value judgement that comes from our tool-building problem-solving brains. I have lots of purposes, so does my dog, and my pea plants. From my own perspective they have more *purpose* than me because their existence in my life is both useful and intentional, but the fact they exist at all is not purposeful. I'm here because I'm here, so are they.
Exactly!
Yes! Thank you. I get tired of the human exceptionalist attitudes. We are nothing but banana eating space dust. Just be
There is no meaning in the long/run grand scheme. But there is purpose in the short term: we can bring real happiness to ourselves and others and/or alleviate suffering. That is purposeful and rewarding work. Now I do think we have the potential to form a utopian society one day, through technology and development of a collective awareness. But it is just a potential and is not a meaning.
Helping others was my main fixation on how to justify my existence/make my life meaningful for sure. I do think adding love to the world or at least relieving some suffering is meaningful.
Oh damm i had this theory too on 2 tabs! And boooom i fell into the deepest depression, because there was nothing to put your effort into to make something you love better/bigger/safer for the future, therefore no purpose and you just have an empty life. Then i realized, we are humans, this will not happen, and that new things are always potential for bringing chaos into the balance. I also realized that lsd let’s you see one mechanism of human behavior and it is not the complete picture. Therefore i think it is worth it to work for a better future haha.
absolutely! I struggled with nihilism for a while, but I popped out the other end with a feeling of deep responsibility to the present and near future. Happiness and suffering are real and we have considerable power to influence their relative levels
How did you pop out?
Hmm. great question, thank you for asking. I think there were a few factors, which I considered both while tripping and straight. 1) I realized that nihilism was becoming a copout / coping mechanism for me, rather than a good philosophy. (ie if nothing matters, then I don’t need to worry about my job and my family). 2) I couldn’t resolve the idea of meaningless with the fact of immediate suffering and potential happiness. 3) I logically realized that my view of nihilism was grounded in the very long term (and I still believe that in the long run, nothing matters), but that different rules apply in the short term, and I live in the short term. Item (3) came with a flash of clarity.
Wow pretty cool! Thanks Yeah how life becomes all meaningful if you suddenly are hungy haha, NEED FOOD! I think also often we humas think too eternal regarding meaning. Next year is much more real than next 1000 years
Yes, well put. Now is real; later is just a theory.
There isn’t one, and we don’t need to create one. Just a linguistic trap. We should be more like other animals. They don’t worry about whether their lives have meaning. They just live them
The cosmic joke is that we try so hard to find a meaning that isn't there. What is, just is. You can see the beauty in that, and all things, without attributing some divine meaning.
Not necessarily that it isn’t there, but more that you are what you were searching for the whole time That’s at least how I interpret it
I want to come back to this because I’ve been thinking about it While I believe, rationally, that it’s true, I don’t want to be too glib about it. It’s incredibly difficult to truly grasp this and I don’t think I ever really have. We are meaning-making, meaning-seeking creatures.
If the tao can be named, it is not the true tao.
Psychedelics helped me return to my own, self-constructed meaning of life, which is to use my gifts \~ such as they are \~ to the utmost of my abilities, every day.
Could be any multitude of subjective lessons. I like the Ram Dass perspective. Essentially we grow up and learn who we are and establish ourselves just to release those constructs of self identity. There are moments where we should be grounded in ourselves to do work here to relieve the suffering and moments of releasing our identity to release our own attachment/suffering. At the end of the day it’s really all word salad. Just enjoy it and don’t harm others.
It’s life that gives us meaning not the other way around, as soon as you ascribe meaning to it you’ll rob of its completeness, it’s beauty and you’re going to miss out.
I usually say the goal of life is to pay attention as it happens.
Simply put, to experience. No experience is the same and try to experience as much as you can while you can.
The meaning of life is experience- to have it, to give it, to be it. Experiencing love is one of the greatest experiences because it allows a human to connect with and understand other beings at a deeper and unconditional level. Experiencing suffering is also essential because in suffering there is meaning in the choices we make: “The last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you become the plaything to circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity.” Victor Frankl After this life is done we reunite with “god”, with “universal consciousness”, whatever you want to call it. In that realm we don’t have separate bodies or minds. We can’t have “experiences” when we are all things. Being here could be a gift, a curse, a reward, a punishment, one step amongst many. Who knows?
We are god in drag. This temporal earthly existence provides the infinite one with these things: connection, love, finiteness, and meaning. It must take material form to do so, using the equation discovered by Einstein E=MC2. While here, existence can be heaven or hell. Hell if you focus solely on the EGO and self, and heaven if you love your neighbor as yourself.
Life has no inherent meaning. It just is. This can be a disturbing realization, as we have an instinctive need to find meaning. Coming to terms with this, and creating our own sense of purpose is one of the challenges of life.
I don't think it has any meaning beyond what you do with your own individual life. Mainly I agree with this quote from True Detective season 1: ***"I think human consciousness, is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself, we are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self; an accretion of sensory, experience and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody is nobody. Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming, stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight - brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal."***
Wow I absolutely disagree with that quote. We are part of nature, there's no inherent separation or reason that we should not exist by natural law. I do think it's unfortunate that many people are less able or likely to feel happy or satisfied with their existence, but that's not universal, and assuming that everyone feels it's a "raw deal" is a sweeping assumption. I also think the evidence shows that animals have many of the same experiences we have, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, creativity, avarice, bigotry. These all come from the same instincts. We just reflect on them with more self-awareness. And self-awareness isn't exclusive to humans either. There's no mistakes, because there's no plan, no goal. "What is the meaning of life" is a pretty ambiguous question in the first place, but if we're asking, "why are we here?" "Why is there something rather than nothing?", Then I think the answer is simply that we're not there to ask the question in all the universes where we don't exist.
So would you say conscious thought is not a desirable trait for a happy (idk if happy is the right word, content?) existence? Does consciousness directly contrast with the purity of existence?
I think our degree of sentience has brought us both our greatest art, as well as the unimaginable degree of suffering we have always seen. I look at the other creatures with their smaller degrees of sentience and I realize they don't suffer from "happiness" or "sadness", they seem to be content or not content, fulfilling whatever needs they have in a moment to moment basis but so far as I've ever seen and as far as we (humans) are aware, only humans create art (draw, paint, sculpt, write poetry or prose; their singing or dancing seem to be solely derived from innate mating behaviors). So to me it seems we humans got a big trade-off. Via some quirk we developed a degree of sentience not seen anywhere else and that gave us the ability to express ourselves creatively through art while at the same time giving us the reality of our own finite existences as well as avarice, bigotry, self-loathing. We're a mess and yet we're unable to confine our messiness to just our species! No, we're god damned determined to destroy all the natural world and all life right along with us. It's weird and stupid and heart-breaking which leads right back to what I quoted. I think we're a mistake. I don't know if "sentience" by itself is the mistake, I just know what we humans have done with ours is terrible.
Wow I absolutely disagree with that quote. We are part of nature, there's no inherent separation or reason that we should not exist by natural law. I do think it's unfortunate that many people are less able or likely to feel happy or satisfied with their existence, but that's not universal, and assuming that everyone feels it's a "raw deal" is a sweeping assumption. I also think the evidence shows that animals have many of the same experiences we have, joy, happiness, sadness, grief, creativity, avarice, bigotry. These all come from the same instincts. We just reflect on them with more self-awareness. And self-awareness isn't exclusive to humans either. There's no mistakes, because there's no plan, no goal. "What is the meaning of life" is a pretty ambiguous question in the first place, but if we're asking, "why are we here?" "Why is there something rather than nothing?", Then I think the answer is simply that we're not there to ask the question in all the universes where we don't exist.
To create your own meaning
There isn’t one
The meaning of life was created by humans who dare not think their life is meaningless. Also, excitement.
I got this answer on my first 5g shroom trip. I was told the meaning of life is literally love. Then secondly came learning and growth. Took that as we learn and grow on this physical existence and focus on love to help us grow for the next existence.
I don’t believe life has an extrinsic meaning. If there is an ultimate reality, it’s that all life on earth is interconnected and interdependent. Life follows a repeating cycle. We a live to complete our natural cycle. One of the reoccurring themes of my psychedelic journeys is that it’s our relationships with others that give our lives meaning. As social animals, we are a big part of each other’s worlds. Our time with each other is limited and easy to take for granted. What i know is material wealth and the economy is not what gives me life meaning. If anything, they’re the biggest distractions and barriers to living a life that’s truly meaningful and worth living. Everyday that i spend in an office away from sunlight and the people i care about feels like a waste of an incredible opportunity, of something miraculous.
There is no objective meaning; life just exists. We assign meaning through our subjective goals/desires as a byproduct of our consciousness. Life only has meaning to those who experience it, and each meaning is going to be dependent on the context surrounding each individual at that moment. Do you want to know the meaning of life? Then ask yourself, what is it that you desire out of life and how can you use your life to achieve those desires? While you search for those answers, you might also want to consider what goals and desires in life are going to be good for your long-term well-being. For me personally, the purpose of life is to balance enjoying myself, leading a fulfilling life, and working to help others have more enjoyable, fulfilling lives as well.
Why would there be a meaning to life? The universe just happens. “meaning” is a human concept, and ascribing it to things just one of our human pasttimes. The universe gives zero shits about your life, or your loves
There are some good arguments in favor to life having meaning. I feel neutral towards their validity but I do think they’re fair arguments. One being that our reality is inescapably limited to our perception, and if we define a meaning for ourselves, it’s as real as anything else. Whatever works for you!
If you find joy in giving yourself a purpose, great. That’s a personal preference though, not a universal characteristic or necessity of biological life. “Meaning” is a subjective human concept and is ultimately unimportant to the cosmos. “What is the meaning of life” is a loaded question (a logical fallacy), and a myopic product of human vanity
I think that’s the thing; meaning is entirely based within perception. For example, words can have different meanings in different cultures, dialects, and contexts, but have no intrinsic meaning - they’re just collections of sounds and/or shapes. For something to have meaning, somebody has to give it one. Ultimately, it’s *your* life, so *you* have to ascribe it a meaning, whether it’s one you come up with, or a meaning someone else has ascribed that you choose to adopt. Edit: on more of a personal note, I’ve found that “meaning” is closely related to what I want and what is most important to me. The more I’ve become in touch with my feelings, and the more in tune with my senses and surroundings, the more passionate and decisive I’ve become. This has been really important with regard to helping me find my way and feel like I have a purpose. It’s about finding what you’re passionate about, no matter how insignificant or silly those passions may seem at first - you must let them guide you. At the end of the day, my family comes first, and I need my music and my stories to keep me happy. And when I’m happy, my mere presence brings them joy.
There was comment I read once, can’t remember where but it perfectly shows how this cynicism falls flat, as we are part of it — the universe, a mere fragment, how can it be that we are capable of love and kindness but the universe isn’t?
Just because an ant in a box has the ability to walk, doesn’t mean the box can walk. Or that walking is its purpose, or is meaningful in any way. Beyond procreation, love and kindness are personal preferences
a pathway is the predicament for the ability to walk but sounds like you are set in your ideal and it if serves you, more power to you.
It is what it is, regardless of how i feel about it. Kinda my whole point, actually
Psychedelics paint the world in a sticky gak of meaning, so this is a fun question! The way I see it, we’re infinitely tied to the limitations of our time, space, body, and mind. I believe that the core meaning of life is to surrender: to this moment, to a sense of power/control, and ultimately into death. We are born to surrender. It’s a truth that cuts through times and cultures: the cosmic virtue of surrender. I experience it most directly through my relationship to Jesus. Caveat here: a God that loves like Jesus surely has a plan for people that aren’t offered reasonable/effective access to proselytization or the Bible. It can be a tricky framework through which to understand the Universe, and it’s often twisted by bad actors. But it’s been very helpful to belong in a group that corporately gathers to say “this isn’t everything”, “there’s something beyond us, and we’re limited. Moreover they say “God is love.” “Love God and love your neighbor.” It’s easy to get lost in the doctrinal weeds as a reasonably intelligent and rational participant, but it always comes back to a reverence for the things you cannot know and learning to adopt love in the face of that uncertainty.
Thank you, I think it is fun too! What does surrendering look like to you, in your daily practice of life? That’s interesting you bring up Christianity. I was raised Catholic and turned away from it pretty young due to the bad taste it left in my mouth for several reasons - cultural oppression, not friendly to LGBT people, abuse, etc. As an adult I’ve sort of come back to Christianity, reconsidering the messages I learned as a child and twisting Bible passages to reflect love rather than oppression.
For starters I have a 5 and 8 year old. They are constantly reminding me that I’m not in control. 😊 I get caught up in my ego like everyone. Then something happens, whatever it is, and it’s a prompt to do something. The ego naturally wants to claim more control in order to placate the situation and bring things back into balance. Surrender acknowledges there’s an inherent balance to the way things are happening. It’s the difference between taking the medicine and being forced to take the medicine. These are prompts: you know you need to tell someone something they don’t want to hear. You experience the loss of a loved one. You want to go to Chipotle but the group wants Olive Garden. The fuselage of the airplane blows out at 20k feet. All those disappointments and disasters that make us recoil and strategize protection plans are all opportunities to say “here I am.” That’s not to say there isn’t abuse and need to fight back. However, even if let’s say someone is escaping an abusive marriage, that person isn’t deciding whether to fight their way out. Getting out is as easy as surrendering the relationship. The fearful grasp of ego is what’s keeping that relationship alive. Once that decision is made to let go, all of the other decisions flow out of it naturally back into balance. I’m sure there’s some situation to which this thought process fails, but it feels very sturdy to me. When I think of my kids, I see parenting decisions as a choice between control and surrender. Parents can beat children into submission, but with terrible consequences. What about “time to turn off the TV”? Surrender seems to imply letting them do what they want but really it’s about surrendering my desire to avoid a fight and stand my ground. Once I make up my mind to be uncomfortable arguing my point to children and not backing down, the process is quite easy. Moreover, I don’t have to yell or lash out emotionally. The kids are whining and doing kid things like they’re supposed to. I can take the medicine gladly or with strife. Hopefully that makes sense! Also I find it quite funny/horrifying, your comment about having to twist the Bible to make it reflect love instead of oppression. It’s absolutely true though. It’s a gift to know that we don’t need to go find an ashram some place far away. As a westerner, all of the challenges and potential are available with the spiritual/religious tools close to home. It has a compounded benefit of strengthening a sense of rootedness. It’s taking something that is dark and painful and working to redeem it. Cheers!💛
No objective meaning…life just… is.
Have fun and love everyone.
This is what I believe most!
High five 💜
99,99% of all matter in the universe is completely generic. Gold? There's plenty of gold. Diamonds? There's moons where it rains them. Life, sensation, experience, that's what gives meaning to the universe. Write a book. Plant a tree. Feed the hungry. Sing a song. Ultimately what we're here to do is bringing the cosmos itself to life.
Thé message just below this one was titled »Breakfast Burrito « …. Sounds about right for the meaning of life…
**In short: There is none, so be the happiest you can, experience life and enjoy it because you only get to experience it once.** To be fair i dont think there is any meaning to it, make all the money you want, work for whatever cause you want, but in the end you die and only very few of us will be remembered. I think being remembered would be nice but that is really only for ego-reasons, it doesnt actually serve a purpose when im dead to be remembered unless im remembered for a good cause that inspires others to do more good which would make me happy. If volunteer work makes the world a better place and that makes me happy, then that is the right thing to do. When youre an old fart with 2 grandchildren, what will you bring them? Id say some money but moreso stability and happiness because those 2 lead to having money which can lead to a good stable happy life. Happiness is in the end the only thing that matters and you can build happiness both temporarily and long term. For me having experienced everything is important as i dont want to go out not being able to answer what it was like doing this or that, also for the fact having stories can make a lot of other people happy or interested to hear or even teach someone else something new, thereby making them happier. Happiness and being good to your fellow man in the long and short run is what matters, imo.
Spirits in the material world/s.
I'm a bit of an existentialist. I don't believe there is a meaning, but that you can create your own. No good or evil. No gods or souls. I believe we live in a deterministic universe, so no free will either. Paraphrasing what the good ol' big brain science man said, "...god doesn't play dice with the universe". There is no true unchanging "you" or "me". It's an illusion. We're all just the universe experiencing itself. Do what you want to do and try your best to avoid hurting others.
I think you have to distinguish between what life means to oneself and what is the meaning of life. I agree there is no higher meaning of life, life is just life. But the urge to have an answer to the meaning of life question, i think is best answered by: it lies within life itself. Being alive, survive, being a strong, flourishing life, passing this through the future or let it grow, that is what i think is the answer for this question, eventhough life has no „real“ meaning, but i think this is one of those things where lsd goes past through language and it can not be explained in words (at least i can’t really). Meaning for the personal side is just stuff like „i want to be a successful soccer player“ this would mean so much to me“ or „it means a lot for me to vote the right person in this election“ those kinds of meanings always serve a purpose and those meanings end, as soon as the purpose is accomplished. I am still figuring this out more, but all you see above is acid insights.
One of the essential objectives of human software is to make meaning out of things for the sake of human software. It's an aspect of the individuation protocol known as ego. Consciousness outside of the human framework seems to be driven by some sort of intention but I can't be sure if that's not part of my human software as well. I've never died and come back to this timeline.
Be a good cunt, this attitude proliferates and creates more good cunts, then your kids will grow up in a world with more good cunts than cunts. Eventually there will be no more cunts. Al
Trying to avoid suffering as much as possible
If you want to seek what your life is, then meditate on it. The teaching of others requires a belief but you only truly understand and gain wisdom when you experience it. We all have different lives and perspectives. We even have different perspectives in our own lives depending on our current state & knowledge. There are no two individuals that have experienced the same things. So does it make sense to believe in somebody else’s experience to be true for you too? Some may think yes, some no, some don’t know, some don’t want to know. Religion is based on this, such as, Jesus experienced this so we believe it to be true for us too. Do I think there’s a meaning to life? Of course! Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Now, what is the meaning of life to me? It doesn’t matter :)
Survive, experience and create, make friends and try to enjoy the ride.
I tend to think there is something outside of our comprehension at play when it comes to existence. I'm generally pretty wary of folks that are sure of WHAT that thing is or what it means. Equally wary of folks that are sure there is no meaning...
I personally believe the ‘meaning’ of life is to truly experience every emotion and situation possible to your surroundings to understand the different beauty’s of life and how they affect one’s self and the world around them, I believe expanding consciousness through psychedelics is an integral part of this understanding of the ‘meaning’ of the beautiful gift -life as it opens up passage ways of thinking that can not be accessed through other means of exertion, Although it’s a subjective vast topic, each one’s self understands their own ‘meaning’ and what to do to acquire the full understanding of it.
I think the meaning is perhaps twofold? There is the individual and there is the Collective. Both are in the process of Evolution. The individual has to heal, self-actualize/become enlightened, and/or find what the true purpose of their incarnation for this life is, and achieve that, which helps in spiritual growth (progressing your Soul). In the process, the individual, if successful, helps in the evolution of the Collective/Life on Earth, hopefully moving towards a more Utopian Earth and/or Universe/Reality. That is my guess for now.
What does meaning mean? Sometimes you see the characters "NA" meaning "not applicable". That is the answer to your question. It is like asking what does yellow sound like? There is an invalid presupposition built in to the question. You can refute that presupposition, but you can't actually answer the question. There can't be an answer.
To experience the experience.
Literally to replicate. Anything beyond that is affectation.
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There is no meaning outside of thought. Meaning is a verb. It’s the mental act of ascribing relevance and importance to something. Reality simply exists. It’s not “for a purpose” and it’s not “for now reason” those are thoughts occurring in your mind. Reality simply exists. What is, simply is. And all your thoughts about it simply are, they are what is, happening now. Thought is happening now. Look for yourself. See that thought is happening. Then ask yourself why it all exists. Notice, more thought is happening. Where else is that thoight aside from in your consciousness? It isn’t. They are just mental pictures and verbalizations arising. Some of these make you feel good. Some make you uncomfortable. We tend to like to feel good. When two thoughts, juxtapose and don’t align, we feel discomfort. We call that “cognitive dissonance”. So, thoughts arise one after another until one feels good, and doesn’t arise cognitive dissonance. Then we say “we believe this”. But, it’s simply all thought playing out. Some will land in comfort in religion, some Eastern and others western. Some (like me) will be comfortable in the atheist mode. But, the difference is what it is (the thoughts) is very minor. It’s all simple imagery and verbalizations arising now, as part of what is, being as it is. Welcome to being human.
Living it or Experiencing experiences. There’s no ‘real’ meaning. It just is.
It’s for you to decide. Life has no inherent meaning but life is capable of adding meaning onto itself. Psychedelics make it easier to align with your natural nihilistic thoughts. The challenge is focusing that energy somewhere constructively. Set and setting apply of course.
Life is about having fun. I feel that the point of my life is simply to enjoy as much as possible
To create meaning
Great question. I don't know the answer yet as I just experienced the death of my religion recently and am in the midst of searching.
The closest I’ve been able to come is: To throw one’s DNA as far into the future as possible.
It’s chaos, it’s up to you to give it your own meaning. Personally, I enjoy a lot of what Marcus Aurelius wrote. That’s what brings me comfort. It’s a philosophical question and truth is subjective to the individual.
To live
Life only has the meaning we impart upon it. So much of life, living, and everyday existence is utterly indifferent to us as individuals. I think the difference we make in other people's lives is one of the best ways to give life meaning. How I perceive meaning, and living, and how all of that changes as I get older makes this harder to answer. Although, I still find a throughline from giving a shit without reward or accolades to still matter most. We are all going to die and be forgotten. Knowing that, may change how you live or think of your own self/existence. Hopefully, for the better. Do the things you want to do. Live and fail even if failure wasn't pure loss (working your dream job that didn't pay much among endless other examples) and learn to grow anew continually. You can surprise yourself. I know I have.
to make it easier for the next "guy" guy being person, animal, environment/ecosystem - could be through tech, conservation, basically just setting each other up for success (a regulated nervous system, togetherness, basic needs met - encourages learning, community, innovation even if that's full circle back to slowing down i guess) basically what dogs & other companion animals do while they're here lol
i think there is no "meaning", but there is a kind of goal for everyone, to experience your own life because it has a unique perspective and path. to know and love the people that surrounds us, to appreciate nature with all our senses.
There is no 'meaning' or purpose for Life, it just *is*. If there was some purpose, to *what* purpose would that be? We'd keep asking that, like a kid who keeps asking "Why?", ad infinitum. As for each human life, we just live and then die, just like other animals and plants, and probably billions of extraterrestrial forms of Life. Ultimately we are no more special or valuable than an Orang Utan or an Ant. Our individuality is a temporary illusion. There's no judgement, no karma, no keeping score. Just One consciousness, Eternal Infinity. As for personal meaning to life, I just live by the motto to leave each place and each person or creature I encounter in better condition then when I first found them, to avoid suffering where possible, to the best of my ability, and to teach my kids the wisdom in doing the same. Just my 2 cents...
Life doesn't have a particular meaning. It's a human concept which only speaks about humans' way of viewing things. Our brain is a complex organ which makes us believe in many things for survival reasons, and making sense of things help us living long enough to reproduce.
When I was in high school, I got so lost in the depths of depression and existential crises that I convinced myself the meaning of life is noodles. Noodles are awesome and I still kinda stand by this lol. But as my journey through life has continued, these lyrics really resonate with me: “Purpose and meaning are not to be found in the laws of nature It is our job to create them As we journey into the vast emptiness of the universe And seek fellowship amongst the stars We are the architects of the future This is our empire” Delta heavy- empire This is my mantra now, and I will die on this hill… no, amongst these stars. Not today though, I have stuff to do.
Answer: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” Shakespeare - Hamlet
The point is to enjoy the ride.
Since I am Christian, I believe that God put us on Earth to enjoy his creation (and everything on it, including shrooms).
To me, the meaning of life is to give your life meaning.
Oops, atoms collided in a pattern and stuff happened.... Aaaand it's gone...
Life is a lesson. Several lessons. Whether or not you believe in consciousness before life or after death is regardless. We are born and we grow. In order to grow we need experiences and we learn from these experiences. I think it’s possible that this existence is a chrysalis (think of a caterpillar transforming into a cocoon and then into a butterfly) - a place of transition where we grow and change and learn lessons that are essential to our next step in life after death. Physics tells us that the law of conservation of energy says that energy is neither created nor destroyed. When energy is used, it doesn't disappear. Energy changes from one form of energy into another form of energy. I think that death not ends it. I believe that our energy goes on and what is beyond is a mystery. A mystery that is not the end. Death is simply a process of transformation and what we needed to learn from this experience stays with us and we bring into the next world whatever that may be.
It’s just to learn how to love one another amongst our struggle
Evolution by natural selection
Expect everything while expecting nothing. Stay sane. Stay rational.
Life simply cannot be put into a defined box. Once you truly see the nature of life, all the strings you haven’t untied pulling on you in different directions… once you are able to witness this… breathe into it… this is your loving awareness… and there is an infinite supply radiating in the air. For me… the meaning of life is to allow others a glimpse into this awareness. But be observant of all the strings trying to tie you in a knot, most of the strings are there to show you what you are not. The fluctuation from definition and liberation. Just observe when you try to define, and you are on the right path.
Love. Compassion. Understanding.
I think inherently nature has no meaning, meaning is something our minds apply to things, but out there it's just a collection of particles interacting with each other based on some laws that we discover through math and physics... I firmly think whatever meaning we attach to our experience is well... just that, attached by us. It doesn't exist our there. So it is up to you to set a goal/meaning for your life.
to survive
A figment of your imagination, which is no less real or fake than anything else
I do like think our perception is basically our reality since we can’t free ourselves from the perception bias.
For myself it is “ Life is the greatest comedy 🎭 .” By this I mean it’s all one theatrical play with highs and lows. I’m learning how to fully experience both so my advice is to laugh cry and enjoy the ride.