What is the meaning of life?

[thepaulo]

I have had the answer for many years and am more convinced of it every day.
Most people won't like the answer I have, so come up with your own answer.

[GvacMobile]

Yesterday you admitted to all of us that you were mentally unstable & now you want us to believe you have deciphered the meaning of life?

I knew I liked you for some reason!

[Barroom Hero]

Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.


Exec #3: What was that about hats again?

[MadMatt]

42

[thejives]

I know the secret of life too, Paulo.
And the one I know is better than yours.
But I'm not telling either.

[Earlshog]

here it is


http://youtube.com/watch?v=tmB2q8vKxPg

[King Hippos Bandaid]

I'll tell you, but for a price

go to http://www.hipposmeaningoflife.com (http://www.hipposmeaningoflife.com/) for $49.99 you will have it all answered

and a free Baconwave for the first 40 purchases

[Marc with a c]

have as much sex as possible

edit: with girls

[Gvac]

have as much sex as possible

edit: with girls

So you're saying your life is devoid of meaning?

[Marc with a c]

So you're saying your life is devoid of meaning?

yup

[Thebazile78]

42

Duh.

Everybody knows that.

And, as I recall, people were pissed about that too.

Logically it follows that the meaning of life is an answer that pisses people off.

[thepaulo]

Bono and Edge were giving an interview at Sundance about their next album which is about numbers.....then Edge started talking seriously about the scientific significance of 42.
So obviously Edge thinks he's on to something.

[bobrobot]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OcTHBOjnUss

The Galaxy Song

E7 A Amaj7 A6 A
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
A A6 E7
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,
E7 Bm7 E7 Bm7
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,
E7 Bm7 A
A sun that is the source of all our power.
A Amaj7 A6 A
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
F# Bm7
Are moving at a million miles a day
Bm7 Ddim A F#
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,
Bm7 E7 A
Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'.

Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side.
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick,
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide.
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point.
We go 'round every two hundred million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.

The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.

[Thebazile78]

Bono and Edge were giving an interview at Sundance about their next album which is about numbers.....then Edge started talking seriously about the scientific significance of 42.
So obviously Edge thinks he's on to something.

That's interesting, much like the religious significance of pi. (It's not just a movie.)

Of course, Edge could be deadpanning about 42. (I could explain, but it's much more fun thinking I managed to pick up on a reference that most of you either let go or didn't quite catch.*sigh*)

[spoon]

I have had the answer for many years and am more convinced of it every day.
Most people won't like the answer I have, so come up with your own answer.

Ill go with quitting the board and calling us all assholes only to come back as if nothing ever happened about two days later! I guess we really are like a family!

[thepaulo]

awwwww....that's so sweet.

[spoon]

awwwww....that's so sweet.

Well we all know too well...I'm a sweetie! :wub:

[Furtherman]

I have had the answer for many years and am more convinced of it every day.
Most people won't like the answer I have, so come up with your own answer.

Ok, I'll bite.

What is your answer?

[tupper65]

http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/images/movie/small/Monty_Python_meaning_of_lif.gif

[mendyweiss]

http://trybecca.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/l_ron_hubbard.jpg
Wanna see a movie ?

[FUNKMAN]

L - Love

I - Inspire

F - well we all know what f is " Fuck " as much as you can

E - expire

[led37zep]

"eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we will die" - dave matthews

[Cleophus James]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkY--mEUBH0

[Dougie Brootal]

hidden tracks.:smoke:

[MobCounty]

Everyone says 42, but I argue for 43.

[Cleophus James]

Everyone says 42, but I argue for 43.
42 I don't know, but I do know its NOT odd.

[silera]

I'm pissing on the meaning of life in the coolest of ways.

[thepaulo]

I never got around to mentioning what the meaning of life was but it's pretty simple....
If you're an atheist, there is no meaning to life.....you can try to pretend that morals and ethics and love and doing the right thing will have meaning after you cease to exist...but it doesn't.....
If you believe in the afterlife then life's meaning is in preparing for it.....
then love and morality and ethics and improvement of the spirit and the body has meaning....
Life itself is only important in advancing toward the goal of improving toward a lasting eternity....
the most important thing to understand is how little we know and that there is nothing but an infinity of room for improvement in every human being.....
We cannot improve enough....the greatest human being who ever lived is insignificant, small and unimportant in the great scheme of things.....and none of us know what that is.....
Every source we can go to is flawed and limited.....
Anyone with intelligence will tell you the Bible is just a group of stories that are meant to guide us....
it is obvious much of it is not rooted in any kind of reality....
The funny thing is that doesn't mean that God didn't have his hand in every word.....
it's just part of an unknown plan......
The scions of science tend to be arrogant in the certainty of knowledge but any intelligent person knows that science is just scraping along trying to piece together little bits of information....ultimately we don't know that much......
We allshould simply try to add to the collective knowledge and try to improve ourselves so we can be ready for the day we die.....
because ultimately the meaning of life is to make yourself ready for what comes next after the moment that you die.

[Gvac]

Very nice words, Paul.

I don't agree, though.

[thepaulo]

....don't agree? with what exactly.....
the Bible is just a series of stories.....that atheists have no meaning....
what particular statement rankles you?

[LaBoob]

What a beautifully worded answer, Paul... I wish I believed there was something after this life. I think it would make things simpler. I do however, believe that life has very little meaning, and it's truly what the individual makes of it. It's all about experiencing as much as you can experience, and taking advantage of the little time we have here. We are all part of a bigger something... but in terms of the universe, not a higher power. We are but tiny specks in a sea of beauty and wonder...until a few short decades ago we were so much more vulnerable than we are now. We have luxury, ease, and safety, and have built our world up so much that we wound up believing we were so important... I don't believe we're important at all, in the grand scheme of things. We're a blink of an eye. We're molecules floating around space bumping into each other and thinking we're so important, and that where we have to go is so much more important than the next group of molecules. I think that true happiness, for me, is in humility.

[thepaulo]

I follow parapsychology and metaphysics and (para and meta...hahahaha)
but there is something there......take that and real science and religion and the little pieces start to come together....we are more than random molecules.....

[Gvac]

I think LaBoob answered better than I ever could.

What she said.

[Bob Impact]

....don't agree? with what exactly.....
the Bible is just a series of stories.....that atheists have no meaning....
what particular statement rankles you?

I disagree with the idea that atheists have no meaning.

The meaning of my life is the journey, and my own happiness.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

Wow, Paul. That was great and from the heart.

Personally, I'm going with Monty Python (from The Meaning of Life, my favorite Python movie)

Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.

And, finally, here are some completely gratuitous pictures of penises to annoy the censors and to hopefully spark some sort of controversy, which, it seems, is the only way, these days, to get the jaded, video-sated public off their fucking arses and back in the sodding cinema. Family entertainment? Bollocks. What they want is filth: people doing things to each other with chainsaws during tupperware parties, babysitters being stabbed with knitting needles by gay presidential candidates, vigilante groups strangling chickens, armed bands of theatre critics exterminating mutant goats. Where's the fun in pictures? Oh, well, there we are. Here's the theme music. Goodnight.

I adhere to the first paragraph. I wholeheartedly support the second. :clap:

[thepaulo]

Impact.....the journey and happiness are what you need to explore....But why be so certain about the impossibility of the continuation of the human spirit.

Fuzzybutt....the Pythons and Doug Adams are both interested in this subject....as they toy with it and joke with it.

[FUNKMAN]

to just be

most people, rich, poor, healthy, sick, regardless of their circumstances cling to life and don't want it to end

[thepaulo]

I think therefore I am.....but if you exist....it is your obligation to examine your existence.....

for human beings...it is not enough just to be........

[FUNKMAN]

it is your obligation to examine your existence.....



says who?

[thepaulo]

What are you worried about....you probably have a very nice existence?

[Badinia]

The existentialists said that an unexamined life is not worth living...but they were, you know, kind of French...

[thepaulo]

French people can't help it if they're born French...besides they were very helpful to us during the American Revolution...unfortunately they couldn't help themselves during the French Revolution.

[Bob Impact]

Impact.....the journey and happiness are what you need to explore....But why be so certain about the impossibility of the continuation of the human spirit.

Fuzzybutt....the Pythons and Doug Adams are both interested in this subject....as they toy with it and joke with it.

I never once said that I am "certain about the impossibility of the continuation of the human spirit". I say that God is an impossibility on every metaphysical plane possible, that is what makes me an atheist. Although that is not what drives me.

[thepaulo]

God's existence is not an impossibility but a mystery.....
Atheists simply cannot know much as believers cannot know......
it may be a cheat but there is hell to pay if you're wrong about the God thing.

[Gvac]

To deny the existence of something greater than humankind is foolish.

To spend your life in fear and awe of it is folly.

[FUNKMAN]

What are you worried about....you probably have a very nice existence?

yeah but I never get on the show like you... and my " touch football " movie is just a dream

[thepaulo]

I'll go along with that.

[~Katja~]

If you're an atheist, there is no meaning to life.....you can try to pretend that morals and ethics and love and doing the right thing will have meaning after you cease to exist...but it doesn't.....
.

I thought that's where I fit in... but I learned that the meaning of life is ever changing....

life meant a whole lot of different to me yesterday than it did to day... the thruth to this may also lay in the vodka I am drinking tonight ;)

[EliSnow]

The answer to this question was provided over 20 years ago:


To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.

[LaBoob]

To deny the existence of something greater than humankind is foolish.

To spend your life in fear and awe of it is folly.

True... this reminds me...I joke sometimes, but am actually completely serious about this... my last, dying words or thoughts will most likely be... "here's hoping". I don't really believe in "Heaven" and "Hell", but do hope for some kind of afterlife. I think strong faith in an afterlife can stop some people from living to their true potential here on Earth. People spend so much time preparing for the afterlife, making sure they'll be in God's good graces, but I can't help but feel like it's time that could be spent living, or being charitable towards others, or spending quality time with your family (or your dog). I know this is part of what the church does, but I have some issues with the rest of it.

I was raised in a very religious family and we attended church several times a week. Long ago I realized I was fighting for faith and it wound up being a fight against all logic, for me. My parents are still just as involved in their church, even more so now. When I go on the occasional holiday I can't help but feel very, very uncomfortable. I feel like the part where the Pastor reads something out of the bulletin and then the congregation reads something out of the bulletin in response is very weird. It's like the congregation is just reading... not really thinking about what's being said, at least not being able to think about it before they say it, which isn't really being honest. I can't look at it without asking myself, what does this really say? What does it even mean? Some of the words are barely even a part of the English language anymore. This is one of the ways I feel people are wasting their time. I'd rather see someone, say, climb a mountain for God than spend a Sunday repeating what's written on a peice of paper for them.

I also think it's more meaningful to study religion as a whole, not just focusing on the religion you were raised in. For me, it's not which religion you choose, it's more important to get the overall message... to love and respect each other and live your life purposefully.

[Mike Teacher]

also we tend to take for granted some things as we dive into deep philosophical questions, but what about:

Why is there life, at all?

It's a lot easier for the universe to not produce life. Life takes a lot energy and time; why do the atoms of the universe assemble into things that sit in front of computers asking what is the meaning of life? Sheould we have evolved? I have a ton of evidence that says, no way. A ton that goes just as strong the other way. Which to trust? How to measure what is *real* and what is conjecture.

Many state the goal is to get to that *real* person, to strip away something so that the *true* you exists. I am not convinced that person exists. Maybe its an utter unattainable ideal, and we're all wannabes just talking the talk.

Some might say were a glorious accident, some might say we were destined to be, either one is staggering, with implications as big, but we seem to take just being here for granted. Not us individually, but that *anything* exists.

Including the universe. Why a universe at all? Hawking or someone else asked:

Q: Why does the universe bother to exist at all? Why is there Something, as opposed to Nothing?

So maybe to find the meaning of life, we need to first nail down the origin, nature and purpose of life. Three biggies still under debate.

=

Yeah, its raining out and I'm supposed to be doing work.

[CountryBob]

The meaning of life - ahh... that is the question and possibly the answer as well.
Do you think that an ant ponders this question as he is sqwashed by a shoe? Does the cow eating grass ponder this question before being led to slaughter? Why, i dont think so.

The only reason that we ponder this question is that we have the ability to reason and comprehend our mortality. I believe that this ability is divine but some think that it is just the luck of evolution that humans ended up with.

I believe that the "meaning of life" is to live a "life worth meaning". Make a mark on as many people as you can and share the joys and experience as you travel along...and remember - I'll be seeing you in the next one.

[Furtherman]

French people can't help it if they're born French....

No one can help where they're born. Random as the molecules and protein building blocks that make up our bodies. We're a blank slate. Nurture and nature and hopefully no crossed wires takes care of the rest.


it may be a cheat but there is hell to pay if you're wrong about the God thing.

You're assuming that a god has jealously, feels betrayal; is a sore loser. These are human qualities. What would a god be with human qualities? Human. The same species that invented the gods. Don't get caught in that silly cycle. Break free.

[Mike Teacher]

it may be a cheat but there is hell to pay if you're wrong about the God thing.

This is called Pascal's Wager.

Pascal argued it would be better to believe in God 'just in case' he existed, reasoning it better just to believe he did exist and not risk the eternal lake of fire.

I find the wager flawed.

[Bob Impact]

This is called Pascal's Wager.

Pascal argued it would be better to believe in God 'just in case' he existed, reasoning it better just to believe he did exist and not risk the eternal lake of fire.

I find the wager flawed.

I believe people feel this way, although I don't think it is a product of their reason, more so a choice to ignore reason. To me religion is a control mechanism. What better way to scare the masses then to talk about something they cannot know? What better way to control then to convince the world that they are being judged with the verdict as an unprovable entity? You can't be sure so you choose to ignore your mind in favor of fear. Rand called it the Morality of Death, and a moral inversion where morality is based the unknown (what happens after death) rather than the known (life). The meaning of life is thus inverted to preparing for the afterlife in place of living a moral and happy life.

[thepaulo]

Since Religion and Science are both inadequate in answering these questions....I usually seek solace in a third alternative.....first hand experience about encounters with spirits and apparitions.....I have no first hand experience myself but have talked to countless people who have given stunning first hand accounts. Some of the ones that I have heard are not so easy to explain away...it is the easy way out to be skeptical and assume that there are other answers for things like that.

[midwestjeff]

This is called Pascal's Wager.

Pascal argued it would be better to believe in God 'just in case' he existed, reasoning it better just to believe he did exist and not risk the eternal lake of fire.

I find the wager flawed.

Isn't the beauty of Pascal's Wager that it is logically indestructable?

[Furtherman]

Since Religion and Science are both inadequate in answering these questions....I usually seek solace in a third alternative.....first hand experience about encounters with spirits and apparitions.....I have no first hand experience myself but have talked to countless people who have given stunning first hand accounts..

Well then tune into those embarrassing Ghost Hunting shows.

[DJEvelEd]

There is a reason that we remember nothing before our birth. It is important that we are given a fresh start at birth. We need to have a new fresh perspective on life so when we are finished we can go back with a different look and a different lesson. God started at 0 and became 1. For God to learn, we must learn because God is us and we are God. This is our plan for ourself.

Between each second (what humans percieve as seconds) there is an infinite amount of time. We exist infinitely in this dimension between seconds. You have died already infinitely and have been born infinitely. As the atom and nanometer are explored, we will find smaller and smaller things until it opens up to the point where implosion and explosion (contraction & expansion) are one in the same. As the universe expands, eventually it will get so large it will be small. This is the loop or circle we just don't understand.

We are all connected in this loop through vibrations, frequencies, superstrings etc....

Everyone's perception is important because everyone is correct no matter how different our perceptions are.

These are some of the bigger points of my theory. Hard to write a few paragraphs that contains all of it without lots of pot to smoke.

[thepaulo]

Pretty cool theory.

[CountryBob]

Since Religion and Science are both inadequate in answering these questions....I usually seek solace in a third alternative.....first hand experience about encounters with spirits and apparitions.....I have no first hand experience myself but have talked to countless people who have given stunning first hand accounts. Some of the ones that I have heard are not so easy to explain away...it is the easy way out to be skeptical and assume that there are other answers for things like that.


My beliefs in the afterlife were well solidified by growing up in a haunted house. My family experienced years of interaction with apparitions as well as a very bad poltergeist. We rode it out for 7 years but was finally forced to move when things became too violent. I have seen things that I wish I would'nt have and talked with a spirt (was recorded). It is a wonder that I grew up sane. But, i have noooooo doubt that there is something beyond the grave for all of us. It gives me peace to definately know that.

[thepaulo]

love it....you are not alone believe me...I've spoken to hundreds.....I only wish I was so lucky....

[Furtherman]

You have spoken to hundreds of people who thought, in their own minds, that they spoke to dead people. They really haven't.

[thepaulo]

NoNo No....I've spoken to people who've seen dead people.....I said I wish I were so lucky.

[Furtherman]

NoNo No....I've spoken to people who've seen dead people.....I said I wish I were so lucky.

I edited my response. I read it wrong the first time.

[thepaulo]

Much better.....I have had no extraordinary experiences of any kind but I believe the sincerity of many of the people I have talked to.....their experience have often been vivid and detailed.
I know there are no end of skeptics.....I am very open minded, but no, I have never encountered anything resembling proof myself.

[Furtherman]

The mind is a sensitive device. Out of body experiences and hallucination of both sight and sound can be recreated in the lab. That's all these people experience. To them it may seem as real as anything, but with closer examination, it'll be debunked. I wouldn't go as far as to fault them for it, but how they were nurtured and circumstances allowed it.

As long as their not ripping people off, like psychics and ghost whisperers and such.

[thepaulo]

Sure hallucinations....but these first hand occurrences happened in many different circumstances and in many different ways.....Many things have been debunked but I can't say I'm totally convinced either way....but I have an open mind.

[AKA]

http://weblog.muledesign.com/42.gif

[Gvac]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c34/Gvac/42Puzzle.jpg

[Mike Teacher]

Since Religion and Science are both inadequate in answering these questions...

At the time, science struggles with these, yes, but give science some time. Questions we thought we could never answer are now common knowledge due to science.

Not sure what Qs religion has answered that have revealed the nature of the universe and why people do what they do.

As to skeptics; there is healthy and unhealthy skepticism. Asking for evidence isnt too much, and when this happens, things fall apart.

Of course, the Million Dollar Challenge remains for Anyone, who can show Any psychic ability, heck any paranormal ability. Whatsoever. Any. One proven instance of say a haunted house, or a voice from beyond. One, and the $1,000,000.00 is yours.

The challenge has been up for years [decades?] and someone tell me; why has no one even come close? If you think the test is biased by its maker [James Randi], he's taken himself completely out of the decision process to make sure it's fair. And it is.

Are there things out there we cant explain? Yes, about 99% of the Universe. Thats different from paranormal claims...

The Million Dollar Challenge:

At JREF, we offer a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event. The JREF does not involve itself in the testing procedure, other than helping to design the protocol and approving the conditions under which a test will take place. All tests are designed with the participation and approval of the applicant.

Link, Rules, Application HERE (http://www.randi.org/joom/challenge-info.html)

[thepaulo]

I don't ever expect the $1,000,000 to be won.....I think these occurrences are incredibly rare and even people who live in houses that have repeated incidences they still probably don't happen that often....I can't imagine ghostbusters would be lucky enough to have a ghost who could easily appear.....
I once saw Carl Sagan describe our perception of another dimension.....
this is a little confusing...so bear with me if I don't explain it clearly.....
we are three dimensional but imagine we live on a flat two dimensional surface.....
then Sagan put an apple on the the flat surface and the apple exists in the fourth dimension.....
imagine if our perception of the fourth dimension was only those spots where the apple touched the surface.....

[Mike Teacher]

PaulO YouTube is our friend

Carl Sagan Describes Flatland and the 4th dimension (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KT4M7kiSw)

[can someone else post this with the link embedded, and tell me how please]

[GvacMobile]

[can someone else post this with the link embedded, and tell me how please]

All you have to do is copy the embed code (to the right of youtube vids) and paste them in your reply.

[CountryBob]

The mind is a sensitive device. Out of body experiences and hallucination of both sight and sound can be recreated in the lab. That's all these people experience. To them it may seem as real as anything, but with closer examination, it'll be debunked. I wouldn't go as far as to fault them for it, but how they were nurtured and circumstances allowed it.

As long as their not ripping people off, like psychics and ghost whisperers and such.

This is probably the explanation for most occurances - but this dosent apply in my situation.
I have multiple relatives that witnessed apparitions at the same time - over many times.
One of many examples:
My aunt was entering the bathroom and was startled to see a man without a shirt and had a towell rapped around his neck while covered in blood. She ran out the door into the den area screaming her fuckin head off. At that time, her husband heard her screaming bloddy murder and came into the same bathroom through the bedroom and saw the guy standing there as well. The guy did not notice them until my uncle yelled at him to get the fuck out. The ghost then turned, smiled and vanished. My Aunt and Uncle immediately left and never set foot back into that house again. None of our relatives would ever come back to our house but at the time we were too poor to move.
In my case, I dont care if anybody believes this or not, but I lived with this type of shit from preschool to about 5th grade. It really can happen

[Furtherman]

The oracles in ancient Greece use to see visions and apparitions. They're caves were on fault lines leaking fumes that caused this. Your house may have had the same situation. At least they told you that. And what of your recording? Let's hear it. You can make a cool million too. Again, the mind can show you a lot. If you grow up believing in ghosts - you're gonna see them. I can remember seeing ghosts coming through my wall as a kid... but that was my imagination running wild because I was taught that they were real.

[Gvac]

This is probably the explanation for most occurances - but this dosent apply in my situation.
I have multiple relatives that witnessed apparitions at the same time - over many times.
One of many examples:
My aunt was entering the bathroom and was startled to see a man without a shirt and had a towell rapped around his neck while covered in blood. She ran out the door into the den area screaming her fuckin head off. At that time, her husband heard her screaming bloddy murder and came into the same bathroom through the bedroom and saw the guy standing there as well. The guy did not notice them until my uncle yelled at him to get the fuck out. The ghost then turned, smiled and vanished. My Aunt and Uncle immediately left and never set foot back into that house again. None of our relatives would ever come back to our house but at the time we were too poor to move.
In my case, I dont care if anybody believes this or not, but I lived with this type of shit from preschool to about 5th grade. It really can happen

Wow!

Where are you from Bob?

OHHHHHHHH........ :tongue:

[thepaulo]

It doesn't make you a bad person.

besides I'd like to get hold of some of the fumes those Oracles were huffing.

[thepaulo]

It sounds like Mike the Teacher has become obsessed with the meaning of life.

[Mike Teacher]

First, Paul-O glad to see you up and about.

Obsession? You could be right.

We've all had the experience, I think, somewhere in life we see something, hear a song, read a book, see something on TV, a movie, and like a lightning bolt, we stop and the penny drops and you go:

Wow. This is what I want to do. This gives me purpose and meaning. This rings true to me. This I wanna know more about.

Some take up whatever they take up and some dont; I just want to know more about the Universe. Thats it. Given how little we know, or how much we know we dont know, finding out the nature fate origin of said Universe interestes me.

So does the fact that the atoms of the Universe assembled into us. A series of miracles, or an inevitablility.

Theres just so much to think about.

[jimmyolsenblues]

the meaning of life is to leave the universe better than when you came.

[thepaulo]

My problem is I want so much to be open.....to let the mysterious parts of the universe in but I think I have zero extra sensory perception...or at best 1%.
I believe that some people are more sensitive to....something......
what....I don't know?

[docgoblin]

Sometimes I'll be outside barbecuing, which I do very often once the weather allows (usually late February thru November here on Long Island). This is the time I really just reflect on things. I find myself looking at the stars and the various configurations. That's when I believe that there has to be something much bigger than us out there. I'm not really a religious type, but I don't discount it altogether (I do my church visits a few times a year during the major holy days). Having said that, I don't think the question has merit. Life is what it is. Why must there be a 'meaning?' You're born and you die. What happens in between is really pot luck for the most part. There are so many variables, from the environment in which you live to whether you were born with some kind of handicap. If you're able to sit at a computer and type these little ramblings then I figure you're doing pretty well for yourself. I Try to make the best of it while I'm here. I know I could be gone tomorrow. Like Ronny says, a nice long dirt nap wouldn't be the worst thing. Let the gas company try to get money from me then!

[buzzard]

yer here for a time and then yer not.Leave a mark so as to be remembered favorably...something like that.

[MobCounty]

Our lives are a white ember of conciousness speeding along the razor edge of time. The cooling trail of the spark is our fading memory. Eventually the light of the ember will blink out. This fact is only a distraction. The point of life is not to watch the space or time around the ember, but to foster the ember itself.


MC

[Mike Teacher]

My problem is I want so much to be open.....to let the mysterious parts of the universe in but I think I have zero extra sensory perception...or at best 1%.
I believe that some people are more sensitive to....something......
what....I don't know?

Just reading on the boatloads of stuff out there on the whole range of scientific/philosophical will open windows in the brain, no 'extra' needed, just using our inherent brains I think is plenty, considering how far the species has gotten recently on finally getting some less then totally nebulous answers to the big Qs; origin, nature, and fate of universe/humanity/tatum oneal.

Paul-O you should read the NY Times Sunday Op-Ed. Its by Mr. String Theory himself, Brian Greene, I'd quote it here but its long. Its about the best article I've read in years on why science is so vital not because of all the high tech stuff, but on the more esoteric levels, how 'just' thinking on things is transformative and among the greatest of human experiences. Einstein said the ability to think about the Universe and think up things was, more then anything; 'a Liberation'.

Its not like studying this stuff could change the world.

Brian Greene: Put a Little Science in Your Life (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/opinion/01greene.html)

=

"But here’s the thing. The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional.

To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth — not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences." -Greene, from the article

[Thebazile78]

....

Paul-O you should read the NY Times Sunday Op-Ed. Its by Mr. String Theory himself, Brian Greene, I'd quote it here but its long. Its about the best article I've read in years on why science is so vital not because of all the high tech stuff, but on the more esoteric levels, how 'just' thinking on things is transformative and among the greatest of human experiences. Einstein said the ability to think about the Universe and think up things was, more then anything; 'a Liberation'.

Its not like studying this stuff could change the world.

Brian Greene: Put a Little Science in Your Life (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/opinion/01greene.html)
...

Did this run this past Sunday? (6/1/08)

Then it coincided with the first annual World Science Festival in NYC.

I wish I had gone, but since it was so successful that they had to turn people away, there will be another one next year.

Brian Greene was one of the key organizers of the event, which explored science and how we as human beings relate to it in different ways. It wasn't just a slate of lectures and panel discussions ... it included dance and choral performances, a street fair and activities for people on all levels of understanding, from children to adults.

It was very exciting to learn about ... and disappointing not to go!

[thepaulo]

yeah, I saw Brian Greene on one of the talk shows pushing the science fair....he's a funny guy.....Science is great but we have so far to go.....science is still in it's infancy.
To throw the conversation in a silly direction, I saw an obscure college comedy called
Bickford Smeckler's cool ideas.....
in it Patrick Fugit is trying to retrieve his book about a unified theory on everything....
It's a typical frat comedy with some heady pretensions.....but someone said it was inspired by another book...
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/

[ahhdurr]

I don't think we're allowed the answer - it would be tantamount to retirement.

We're part of something that is growing and evolving. It's massive and intelligent beyond reckoning.

The diversion from the painful lack of answers is to surf the wave of life beautifully and with equilibrium. I guess I believe in an absolute truth that is determined by something infinitely greater - and which is also in flux.

I also tend to approach this question in a deconstructionist sense where I question the inquiry's validity. It's commonly held that there is a Meaning. So what is this thing we call meaning? In what context is it applied? Is it culturally specific? We can't even agree politically on what life is. Your ultimate answer paulo is based on belief in an afterlife which I respect, but I haven't had any experience that leads me to be certain of the existence of an afterlife personally.

Is this question like saying What is Infinity? You have to assume the existence of Infinity which is beyond limited human comprehension.

I'm not trying to be esoteric, just that I've turned the question over in my head during my own lifetime that I started to think that we've asked ourselves a simple koan.

(you guys realize this type of discussion whittles down your prospects for neighbors - and you're all evangelists right? <a href = "http://ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1788804#post1788804">I hope you drink.</a>)

Well - I hope you've enjoyed this mismash of pishposh.

[thepaulo]

taking the idea that we are just biological accidents.....then you can live your life one way....
If we are part of something greater which gives each of us some measure of immortality in some form...then you live your life another way.....

[barjockey]

Sometimes I'll be outside barbecuing, which I do very often once the weather allows (usually late February thru November here on Long Island). This is the time I really just reflect on things. I find myself looking at the stars and the various configurations. That's when I believe that there has to be something much bigger than us out there. I'm not really a religious type, but I don't discount it altogether (I do my church visits a few times a year during the major holy days). Having said that, I don't think the question has merit. Life is what it is. Why must there be a 'meaning?' You're born and you die. What happens in between is really pot luck for the most part. There are so many variables, from the environment in which you live to whether you were born with some kind of handicap. If you're able to sit at a computer and type these little ramblings then I figure you're doing pretty well for yourself. I Try to make the best of it while I'm here. I know I could be gone tomorrow. Like Ronny says, a nice long dirt nap wouldn't be the worst thing. Let the gas company try to get money from me then!

I'm a fellow Long Island griller and tonight I saw a couple of shooting stars. There is definetly something or someone else out there.
Peace.

[Vodka Mule]

"Have a good time, all the time."

[thepaulo]

Speaking of staring at the stars....I feel, when you are in your spirit form, you should have no problem entering Black Holes and other dimensions....

(okay, now I'm just being weird)

[thepaulo]

I love the ending of American Beauty.....


LESTER (V.O.)

I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die.



EXT. SKY - DAY



We're FLYING across a white blanket of clouds.



LESTER (V.O.)

First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time...

LESTER (V.O.)

I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...



EXT. - ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - DAY



We're FLYING once again over Robin Hood Trail, ASCENDING SLOWLY.



LESTER (V.O.)

...and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life...

(amused)

You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry...



FADE TO BLACK.



LESTER (V.O.) (cont'd)

You will someday

[DocSavage]

"...at least I don't work for Jews" :happy:

from Monty Python's Meaning of Life

[thepaulo]

Ron torturing Fez again today about the afterlife.
I Just read some excerpts on MSN from a psychic who talks to dead but I can't find it....
so try this instead....
http://www.near-death.com/

[Furtherman]

Ron torturing Fez again today about the afterlife.
I Just read some excerpts on MSN from a scammer who talks to dead but I can't find it....
so try this instead....

Fixed.

[thepaulo]

Hey I can't talk to the dead...you can't talk to dead....so what do we know.

[Furtherman]

Hey I can't talk to the dead...you can't talk to dead....so what do we know.

We know that we can't talk to the dead. And when I say "we", I mean everybody.

[thepaulo]

another religious show spurred by the Shirley Phelps Roper.....
There's a nice little movie out now called Henry Poole is Here which involves a man who lost hope and then the face of Jesus shows up on his house.....
It reminded me of a show from the 70's called Insight....
lots of stars showed up to essay stories of struggle, pain and loss of faith.....
love to be able to see them again.....It was introduced by a priest but I'm sure the protestants had their own version.

[stonesean]

Ron torturing Fez again today about the afterlife.
I Just read some excerpts on MSN from a psychic who talks to dead but I can't find it....
so try this instead....
http://www.near-death.com/

Just google "James Randi" or "Carl Sagan", read what they have to say, and then take comfort in reality....instead of superstition.....

Believe it or not, life becomes easier when you free yourself from living in terror of punishment from a magical man who lives in the sky.

[Sue_Bender]

Outliving those who disgust you.





Lock it up!!

[ahhdurr]

Eat sleep go fishing

Die!

[thepaulo]

Just google "James Randi" or "Carl Sagan", read what they have to say, and then take comfort in reality....instead of superstition.....

Believe it or not, life becomes easier when you free yourself from living in terror of punishment from a magical man who lives in the sky.


If I truly believed that I might become an agent of chaos like Keith Ledger's Joker....
actually Sagan had a great description of the 4th dimension which is where I think a lot of really cool stuff takes place.

[bobrobot]

“Our lives are without reason, nothing outside the individuality.” ~Alfred Jarry

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/throwero/uburoi.jpg

[MIKEYDAKEN]

Art is the proper task of life.
Friedrich Nietzsche

[thepaulo]

The ending line from Wim Wender's The Million Dollar Hotel.....


"Wow, after I jumped it occurred to me life is perfect, life is the best, full of magic, beauty, opportunity... and television... and surprises, lots of surprises, yeah. And then there's the best stuff of course, better than anything anyone ever made up, 'cause it's real..."

[yojimbo7248]

I'm a big Kurt Vonnegut fan and pretty much agree with him on philosophical issues. I have been trying to create an actual Church of God the Utterly Indifferent like the one in Sirens of Titan for years. Not many takers.

I like KV's quote:

"While an indifferent universe may confirm no purpose in our existence, we can give meaning to life by the way we lead it."

Sure, it's simple and doesn't say a whole hell of a lot. You are absolutey free to and responsible for coming up with your own meaning of life. If you don't actively think about the meaning of life, like 90% of people, you create the meaning by how you conduct your life.

I was going to make a joke by quoting Neal Peart but I think it has been done on this thread already.

[timhorton]

"While an indifferent universe may confirm no purpose in our existence, we can give meaning to life by the way we lead it."



I like that...... In that it speaks to our freedom and our responsibility

[Sue_Bender]

Ladybugs are nice.

[thepaulo]

http://http://www.aolhealth.com/health/what-happens-when-we-die/1


Really didn't answer anything.

[angelinad128]

What a beautifully worded answer, Paul... I wish I believed there was something after this life. I think it would make things simpler. I do however, believe that life has very little meaning, and it's truly what the individual makes of it. It's all about experiencing as much as you can experience, and taking advantage of the little time we have here. We are all part of a bigger something... but in terms of the universe, not a higher power. We are but tiny specks in a sea of beauty and wonder...until a few short decades ago we were so much more vulnerable than we are now. We have luxury, ease, and safety, and have built our world up so much that we wound up believing we were so important... I don't believe we're important at all, in the grand scheme of things. We're a blink of an eye. We're molecules floating around space bumping into each other and thinking we're so important, and that where we have to go is so much more important than the next group of molecules. I think that true happiness, for me, is in humility.


Wow, perfectly said.

[thepaulo]

I love the ron and fez look at religion shows.

[midwestjeff]

I love the ron and fez look at religion shows.

Yup. Me too.

[thepaulo]

Science vs. religion thread kind of relates to this thread.

http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=80361

[thepaulo]

life has no meaning without an afterlife

[realmenhatelife]

life has no meaning without an afterlife

I cant say I agree with this at all. That would mean nothing has its own objective meaning, and meaning would be completely dependent on its judgement after the fact. So does that make life meaningless while you live it, but meaningful after you're dead and can look at it from a new point of view? I also imagine the afterlife is a completely transformed state, not just a continuation of our lives now, so how and why would you try to relate to your life after you've transcended it?

I think there would seem to be way less of a meaning of life after you're mixed into eternity.

[thepaulo]

I cant say I agree with this at all. That would mean nothing has its own objective meaning, and meaning would be completely dependent on its judgement after the fact. So does that make life meaningless while you live it, but meaningful after you're dead and can look at it from a new point of view? I also imagine the afterlife is a completely transformed state, not just a continuation of our lives now, so how and why would you try to relate to your life after you've transcended it?

I think there would seem to be way less of a meaning of life after you're mixed into eternity.

I can say I agree with you...ideally the afterlife is a completely transformed state, but back to that in a minute.
I think life is a limited but unigue experience.
We struggle with memory and meaning and signifigence.
We live and die and that's it. Why bother?
But if we die....and the afterlife is a transformed heightened state as you imagine...
then we can spend thousands of years cherishing a moment.
We can be freed of the petty constraints of our living, breathing world and allow
the heightened conciousness of our spiritual being to explore the imaginations of our craziest dreams.

[realmenhatelife]

I can say I agree with you...ideally the afterlife is a completely transformed state, but back to that in a minute.
I think life is a limited but unigue experience.
We struggle with memory and meaning and signifigence.
We live and die and that's it. Why bother?
But if we die....and the afterlife is a transformed heightened state as you imagine...
then we can spend thousands of years cherishing a moment.
We can be freed of the petty constraints of our living, breathing world and allow
the heightened conciousness of our spiritual being to explore the imaginations of our craziest dreams.

I think you limit yourself by conceiving of an afterlife using the language and senses of corporeal life. If I spend a thousand years reliving or reminiscing on an experiance I had, say the best meal I ever ate, without actually eating the food, does that have any kind of meaning? If I think about time I spent with someone, wouldn't that turn into longing? Wouldnt meditating on the experiences of real life make me resent the experiences I can no longer have in the afterlife?

I think even the best attributes of our physical lives would be petty in the afterlife. Being free of need and constraint is also being free of pleasure, satisfaction, comfort and relief. If you're transcending humanity these become abstracts.

[thepaulo]

I think you limit yourself by conceiving of an afterlife using the language and senses of corporeal life. If I spend a thousand years reliving or reminiscing on an experiance I had, say the best meal I ever ate, without actually eating the food, does that have any kind of meaning? If I think about time I spent with someone, wouldn't that turn into longing? Wouldnt meditating on the experiences of real life make me resent the experiences I can no longer have in the afterlife?

I think even the best attributes of our physical lives would be petty in the afterlife. Being free of need and constraint is also being free of pleasure, satisfaction, comfort and relief. If you're transcending humanity these become abstracts.

IIn the afterlife our experiences as pathetic humans will be novel and endearing. Sure, we will have transcended the pettiness but we will still look with egoless interest at the beauty that was our lives.

[StanUpshaw]

Do you read any philosophy, Paul? I mean besides Christian doctrine?

Surely the existentialists could help you out more than some dopes on the internet.


For what it's worth, this dope thinks the question is a nonstarter.

Every shred of evidence we gain points to life itself being nothing but a happy accident. To ask the question if there's meaning to a man's life, it requires you to ask if there's meaning to an ape's life; if so, how about a squirrel's life; a minnow's life; a spider's life; and so on until you're down to bacteria, viruses, RNA, amino acids, and finally mud & lightning.

Humans are just the happy accident of the course of life on earth. Any individual is just the product of the actions that preceded it. It's all cause and effect, all the way back to the big bang. The real question, of course, is what caused that.

It's a futile question, but if that's how you like to spend your time, knock yourself out. I'm going to watch some movies.

[realmenhatelife]

IIn the afterlife our experiences as pathetic humans will be novel and endearing. Sure, we will have transcended the pettiness but we will still look with egoless interest at the beauty that was our lives.

That notion is egoless to you? It seems like patronizing yourself to me. My first rule of the afterlife is complete annihilation of the self.

[thepaulo]

That notion is egoless to you? It seems like patronizing yourself to me. My first rule of the afterlife is complete annihilation of the self.

you may be right. I certainly expect the unexpected. I don't think there are any preset certainties. I think depending how evolved you are in life determines your afterlife.

[thepaulo]

Do you read any philosophy, Paul? I mean besides Christian doctrine?

Surely the existentialists could help you out more than some dopes on the internet.


For what it's worth, this dope thinks the question is a nonstarter.

Every shred of evidence we gain points to life itself being nothing but a happy accident. To ask the question if there's meaning to a man's life, it requires you to ask if there's meaning to an ape's life; if so, how about a squirrel's life; a minnow's life; a spider's life; and so on until you're down to bacteria, viruses, RNA, amino acids, and finally mud & lightning.

Humans are just the happy accident of the course of life on earth. Any individual is just the product of the actions that preceded it. It's all cause and effect, all the way back to the big bang. The real question, of course, is what caused that.

It's a futile question, but if that's how you like to spend your time, knock yourself out. I'm going to watch some movies.

I don't spend much time pondering it because I've already made the decision to believe. I know none of us know anything for sure. To say life is a happy accident is far too easy and simple an answer. I certainly think there are endless possibilities and I find plenty of shreds of evidence pointing to that. I'm certainly not arrogant enough to say that science or religion has all the answers. They have answers that lead to a million questions which are unanswered. I watch movies because they expose me to endless variations on existence.
But if life is a happy accident, shoot me now.

[realmenhatelife]

you may be right. I certainly expect the unexpected. I don't think there are any preset certainties. I think depending how evolved you are in life determines your afterlife.

Are you talking exclusively about humans? This also sounds a lot like Defending Your Life.

[thepaulo]

Are you talking exclusively about humans? This also sounds a lot like Defending Your Life.

First of all, I am marginally aware of all philosohies and religions. They all contradict each other but they also share some ideas.

The only thing I know for certain is that whatever God you believe in, he doesn't speak to us anymore.
There is no burning bush. There is no wheel in the sky. There hasn't even been a Fatima or Lordes for a while. The last people to talk to God were Steve Carell and Jim Carey.
So I don't know what to believe. Jesus is a good place to start because he is pretty down to Earth and benign. Almost all philosophies agree Jesus is cool.
But the religious landscape is a nightmare. The decision to follow a religious belief is a crapshoot. You do it for various reasons. That's why I go with the Jesus thing...for various reasons. But clearly many people are actively atheistic because they think there is no God.
They feel certain.
There is no way they can be certain. They are foolish to think they know anything with certainty. That is the simple truth.
We don't know anything.
We can only make a decision to believe or not to believe.
That is all.

[jimmyolsenblues]

think and do for others than yourself is the meaning of life.
the more you do for others the less selfish you are the happier you will be.
That is why we are all miserable because our lifestyle and society promotes helps yourself.

[thepaulo]

think and do for others than yourself is the meaning of life.
the more you do for others the less selfish you are the happier you will be.
That is why we are all miserable because our lifestyle and society promotes helps yourself.

If you do it right, that is a good life.

[CountryBob]

First of all, I am marginally aware of all philosohies and religions. They all contradict each other but they also share some ideas.

The only thing I know for certain is that whatever God you believe in, he doesn't speak to us anymore.
There is no burning bush. There is no wheel in the sky. There hasn't even been a Fatima or Lordes for a while. The last people to talk to God were Steve Carell and Jim Carey.
So I don't know what to believe. Jesus is a good place to start because he is pretty down to Earth and benign. Almost all philosophies agree Jesus is cool.
But the religious landscape is a nightmare. The decision to follow a religious belief is a crapshoot. You do it for various reasons. That's why I go with the Jesus thing...for various reasons. But clearly many people are actively atheistic because they think there is no God.
They feel certain.
There is no way they can be certain. They are foolish to think they know anything with certainty. That is the simple truth.
We don't know anything.
We can only make a decision to believe or not to believe.
That is all.

Yeah - it sure would be alot easier if God just showed up and let the world know that he really does exist (ala George Burns). I sometimes wish that he would just talk to me once and point me in the right direction. I feel like I have been running around in circles my whole life.

[realmenhatelife]

Isn't this just a question thats too general to answer in the first place? It seems built for failure to me. Well actually it seems more built for contemplation, and you're suppose to be at peace with not being able to answer it to satisfaction, but we dont really accept that and we get all bent up about it.

It's like when people bitch about not understanding Lost. You're not going to get an answer if you say "What does Lost mean?"

[TripleSkeet]

Sorry to hijack your thread Paul, but wasnt there a thread on this forum titled "Bully" ? I cant seem to find it, I thought it may be about a movie a cinematographer friend of mine just recently made.

If you know what Im talking about point me in the right direction please. If not just go on about your business. Thanks.

[Furtherman]

The only thing I know for certain is that whatever God you believe in, he doesn't speak to us anymore.
There is no burning bush. There is no wheel in the sky. There hasn't even been a Fatima or Lordes for a while..

There never was. Any respectable man of the cloth will tell you those were just stories told as metaphor. Fatima and Lourdes have been debunked as exaggerations and out-right lies, even by theologians.

There isn't anything to speak to us, other than ourselves.

[StanUpshaw]

I don't spend much time pondering it because I've already made the decision to believe.
Why? What are your criteria for a worthwhile belief? Do those beliefs ever change? If you change your beliefs, does that make you more or less certain of any subsequent beliefs to hold?

I know none of us know anything for sure.
No one knows anything? Does that include your knowledge of that fact?

To say life is a happy accident is far too easy and simple an answer.
What is an acceptable level of complexity for you? Do you consider the notion that "God did it" to be more or less easy and simple?

I certainly think there are endless possibilities and I find plenty of shreds of evidence pointing to that.
Like what? Do your endless possibilities include things that break the laws of physics? If you have such evidence, why haven't you let the rest of us know?

I'm certainly not arrogant enough to say that science or religion has all the answers. They have answers that lead to a million questions which are unanswered.
Unanswered or unanswerable? Is there a difference?

I watch movies because they expose me to endless variations on existence.
What is your definition of "endless"?

But if life is a happy accident, shoot me now.
Open casket or closed?






http://imgur.com/jm3Tp.jpg
Socrates. Face.

[thepaulo]

Why? What are your criteria for a worthwhile belief? Do those beliefs ever change? If you change your beliefs, does that make you more or less certain of any subsequent beliefs to hold?


No one knows anything? Does that include your knowledge of that fact?


What is an acceptable level of complexity for you? Do you consider the notion that "God did it" to be more or less easy and simple?


Like what? Do your endless possibilities include things that break the laws of physics? If you have such evidence, why haven't you let the rest of us know?


Unanswered or unanswerable? Is there a difference?


What is your definition of "endless"?


Open casket or closed?






http://imgur.com/jm3Tp.jpg
Socrates. Face.

I hve borrow a computer in poor light for the next few days,,,so I can only dash off a few impressions.

1) I believe "facts" are subject to change

2) as complex as things seem, they are a million times more complex

3)rhe laws of physcics can be broken outside our known universe (I include black holes as being outside our universe

4) yes

5) 5,897,674,903

6) large caliber to the chest

[thepaulo]

I see Julia Sweeny has devoted the rest of her life to the meaning of life.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842140/

http://juliasweeney.blogspot.com/

I identify with her struggle to do the right thing in this world.

Unfortunately most people don't care

[thepaulo]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027091/

Her second concert film with God in the title.

[realmenhatelife]

I see Julia Sweeny has devoted the rest of her life to the meaning of life.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842140/

http://juliasweeney.blogspot.com/

I identify with her struggle to do the right thing in this world.

Unfortunately most people don't care

Is it that people don't care, or that they're too busy with the rest of their lives?

Jill Sobule deserves a higher profile.

[thepaulo]

Is it that people don't care, or that they're too busy with the rest of their lives?

Jill Sobule deserves a higher profile.

http://www.jillsobule.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Sobule

[thepaulo]

Is it that people don't care, or that they're too busy with the rest of their lives?

Jill Sobule deserves a higher profile.

The problem is most people are not so involved with introspection.
They're more interested in jetskiing.

[realmenhatelife]

The problem is most people are not so involved with introspection.
They're more interested in jetskiing.

I dont think it's anyone's duty to be introspective. Is there value in it, or is it really introspective at all, if you need to be compelled? And if I'm introspective, and noone else around me is, what does that matter? I can't gain from their introspection, they cant gain from mine.

I also think someone might jetski, or work with their hands, or raise their kids or whatever people do that fills up their lives to gain a languageless insight. Some understanding may be unexpressable, or unapplicabale to anyone else but you.

If I think expressing my free will is the meaning of life, then not being introspective has a lot of meaning.

[thepaulo]

I dont think it's anyone's duty to be introspective. Is there value in it, or is it really introspective at all, if you need to be compelled? And if I'm introspective, and noone else around me is, what does that matter? I can't gain from their introspection, they cant gain from mine.

I also think someone might jetski, or work with their hands, or raise their kids or whatever people do that fills up their lives to gain a languageless insight. Some understanding may be unexpressable, or unapplicabale to anyone else but you.

If I think expressing my free will is the meaning of life, then not being introspective has a lot of meaning.

Lots of ways to look at things.
One way is to say to live life mindlessly enjoying physical activity will make you happy.


Fuck happiness.

[parkway_jesus]

me

[Jayw]

There is no meaning. It is simply staying alive. Whether you do it well or badly. Survival of the fittest and if you want to live in luxury you work for it. Other than that life is pretty gay. So what I am about to graduate from one of the top colleges in the nation and then do what. Get a job and waste my life away.

Now grow up on an MLK street or asia or comlumbia, or any where you can die DAILY.

Be thank ful that the shit we can bitch about is the gas prices going up or waiting in line. 25 White bachelors How much lucky could I be without given a choice. I was one lucky fucker.

Spoiler alert: Ther is no god/allah/jewgod. But if you need that to make you feel better and be a better man then I support you.

[KC2OSO]

There never was. Any respectable man of the cloth will tell you those were just stories told as metaphor. Fatima and Lourdes have been debunked as exaggerations and out-right lies, even by theologians.

There isn't anything to speak to us, other than ourselves.

wow :down:

[thepaulo]

Scientists have yet to prove God does not exist.
They're just too lazy

[StanUpshaw]

Burden of proof, Flanders.

[thepaulo]

To very interesting films about the supernatural
one suggested by the athiest futherman
Man From Earth
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

and another I just saw

The Skeptic

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493451/

[StanUpshaw]

Since I can't disprove that somewhere there might be a caveman who became a college professor, does that make it true?

[disneyspy]

i played golf well this evening and my friends payed me money,thats the meaning of life

[Jayw]

i played golf well this evening and my friends payed me money,thats the meaning of life

I think your fairy ass is on to something. Winning any bet/wager or sport is the actual meaning to life. That is why the dinosaurs went extinct. And losing a bet/wager/sport in constant succession is the leading cause of depression, suicide/work and school shooting, and 9/11.

[Jayw]

For example yesterday after hitting a par 5 green in two(putting eagle) and then ending up having to put for fucking par which I missed, I almost murdered my father. Theory proved.

[thepaulo]

Since I can't disprove that somewhere there might be a caveman who became a college professor, does that make it true?

You are trying to confuse me with your twisted logic.