Meaning of life???

[Guest_322]

Hi everyone,

I have just been thinking and being naturally curious (ahem, nosy), I'm wondering what life means to you on a personal level? Also, what makes getting out of bed worthwhile for you each day?

Of course there's no right or wrong answer as it's completely subjective. If you're still figuring it out, feel free to say that you're not sure.

My own answer to both questions is "I don't know" and "I don't know." Definitely still figuring it out.

Happy to hear from anyone.

Dottie x

[Just Sara]

Hey Vorbis; (and Dottie of course!)

Done the science thing to death I'm afraid. Then I discovered I had a body too! Who would'a thunk?? While research and experimentation is a stimulating blast, it does tend to drain the brain, especially after my brain broke and I couldn't read anymore.

I once thought the meaning of life was to critically analyse everything to find inner peace. What I discovered, was peace came when I 'stopped'. (looking for it)

As for time travel, being in the moment is so under-rated by science. It's a shame really, that energy and money could go into healing our planet.

My hypothesis? Peace brings calm; calm brings balance. So searching for the meaning of life is about attaining balance...simple? Quality of life depends on balanced Eco-system, food, water, environment, thoughts, actions, beliefs, goals, sex, family etc, etc, etc...the big Yin/Yang.

Unfortunately, it's stumped by our cravings for all things 'easy'. So we keep chasing our tail and complaining we can't understand what we're doing here instead of getting back to basics...just breathe

Anyway, I think I need to go to bed; my recovering brain needs re-charging.

Good to chat...

Sara

[Guest_322]

Hi Vorbis,

What an intriguing response. Thank you.

I hadn't really given much thought about our human ability to move backwards and forwards through the physical space around us. It's always been something that I've taken for granted, and I appreciate how you drew my attention to it.

As for reincarnation, it's clearly something that you've dedicated much thought and research into exploring. While I have to admit that exploring the possibility of reincarnation isn't something that I can personally relate to, I appreciate that it is something important to you. To each, their own 😊

I like your concept of self mastery and hope you don't mind if I borrow the term. Admittedly, I'm probably interpreting it- or applying it- slightly differently to you.

Ah, yeah, parenthood duty calls you out of bed each morning. Life huh?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Dottie x

[Guest_322]

Hi Sara,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and offering another perspective.

I know you've come a long way and have now come to terms with how you're both a physical and intellectual being. Not one or the other but both. Props to you 😊

I like how your back to basics- breathing or call it what you will- is a gentle reminder to be "present." Thanks Sara. In saying that, I personally think it's equally okay to "breathe" as it is to "analyse."

I think it depends on your temperament, personality, current circumstances, interests, thinking style, etc. Some people are more okay with "just being" and others are less so. I don't think one is more valid than the other- just different. I definitely belong more to the second group ha, ha.

There's beauty in appreciating the moment but there's also beauty in analysing and trying to understand the seemingly impossible. As you said, balance right?

Anyhoos...I always appreciate your insight. Thanks for sharing.

Dottie xxx

[Vorbis]

Hi Sara!

I haven't found inner peace, so I'm not sure what the path is to it. Except to say I guess I'm not on it, so you may be right 😃

I'm not sure I'm driven to look for inner peace. I really like the idea of it. I admire the Dalai Lama more than most men alive, because of his dedication - he spends at least two hours meditating on compassion each day, which sounds incredibly challenging but rewarding. Inner peace comes from inner certainty, and is earned I suspect.

On a different note, time crystals are slightly different to time travel. I put a link to an article, not remembering that we aren't allowed to do links lol.

With a regular crystal, you have atoms forming a lattice, yeah? So atoms of the same type all line up in an orderly manner, repeating again and again, and it forms a cool structure.

Time crystals have atoms that form a repeating pattern but not in space - in time. It's a new stable phase of matter. Very cool.

I'm not sure we'd ever have realised that nature had these properties without putting money into the research. I think science research is very much living in the moment. Just, in every moment. If you find something new about the properties of matter, it's not just true now. It's true in every now, for all time to come. Those eternal truths are very valuable to me.


I think I've had times in my life when I had everything in balance, and things felt really good. It doesn't give me a meaning of life though. Just the meaning of a moment. "Things feel really good" kind of feels like an end point to me. You've done it, ticky box, you're done. What's the benefit of adding another forty years on top of it? To just keep seeing how long you can live approximately the same moment over and over?

I don't object at all to it being other people's meaning of life. But when I pursue it myself it just feels like I'm wasting resources. I've already achieved everything I want to in life and I'm now just stretching it out - better to leave the earth's resources for someone who still needs to find that, or is going to do something else with them.
It's an unhappy mental slope for me and I need to find something more to keep me wanting to stay alive.

[Vorbis]

Thanks Dottie

You've got a very calm and supportive nature, much appreciated. Like a kindly primary school teacher *grins*.

I think I tend to have a very sideways way of seeing life. It's not a way I like. I spent a lot of time being jealous of the other kids when I was younger because they seemed to find a human-centric way of thinking so natural. Their whole lives, all their triumphs and disappointments revolved around what they thought about each other.

And I was always a step behind, trying to mimic them. Everyone's thoughts here are different, but kind of similar you know? There's a very strong sense of certainty in them, that when they wake up they're inside their own body and their job is to get through each day in the best way they can.

I want that, so much.

But I have to work really really hard to wake up feeling inside my own body. I tend to float, disconnected from myself, noticing the patterns of the world around us. It takes a special sort of effort to notice humans in particular, instead of say geometry.

Shapes and other people are equally interesting to me. Or time, or 3D space. Which feels wrong, because I know other people don't see the world this way. They might find it interesting, but they've still got a core which says 'people'. Try imagining you feel the same way about shapes as you do the people around you. I feel the same pressure to find out what makes atoms tick as I do what makes the people around me tick.

Embarrassing, but there you go. So yeah, reincarnation. I think it's unlikely. But it feels like the sort of thing you should try to prove mathematically before you die, if it's an option. I feel a sort of loyalty to my atoms, including the ones that were part of my body when I was a child and no longer are. I'd like to know if they still have some sense of identity or if they're happy being dirt now.

I feel like I've digressed massively here. Self mastery! Can we talk about that instead?

Partially *because* I suck so badly at just being human, self mastery is huge for me. It covers a huge spectrum, from being able to make my body strong and fit, to controlling my temper, to keeping my house clean and tidy when I'd rather have a nap.

I find when I can choose what I want to do and how I want to behave I am happiest. I'm least happy when I'm reactive, being prodded by circumstances and having no control over what's going on.

How do you interpret self mastery?

[Just Sara]

Hey again Vorbis;

Psychiatry is a science too!

You've stated you have mental health issues, why aren't you focusing on that frontier? Why is quantum mechanics and time travel so important to you?

I'm interested in your concept of 'life' in general; singularity vs part of the whole. Even an atom has rights! Ha ha...

Sara​

[Just Sara]

Hi Dottie!

Big thankyou for your lovely synopsis of my post. There are a lot of key words and phrases that resonate.

The way I see it, 'breathing' is life; that's why our lungs are the most precious organ in the body. It all begins there; when we're born our first breath shows we're truly alive; (though some may debate this in specifics) meditation focuses on breathing; our breath can save our sanity through mindfulness; asthma is one of the biggest killers of humans.

Breathing is the foundation of survival on our planet. So, to continue breathing could be seen as the meaning of life? Without our breath, there's no mind, body or soul, yes?

Just food for thought...

I've been learning as I write, we do that sometimes eh? Good when it happens.

Sara

[Vorbis]

Hey Sara

Psychiatry is certainly interesting. I like learning more about it, but I've never felt drawn to it the same way I do quantum mechanics.

I think it's all what you're exposed to very young. When I was in about grade three we got taught about evolution, and about the dinosaurs, and from then onwards I've just thought of humans and myself as fancy monkeys. And our current dominance of the planet just a thing that happens to be temporarily happening, that will end in its time. Presumably the dinosaurs had culture too.

I can't hold onto time the way other people can. I see all the people around me being 'how do I get the job I want, how do I get people to like me, I want to travel..' etc, and I desperately want to feel that feeling of being inside my body in this time and having the little dances that people do with each other around me be the whole world.

But it seems inconsequential, and the time of the dinosaurs seems just as much 'now' as now does. And my seven year old self is still alive 'now', because I was her. Which makes my ten years from now self alive too, now.

I suspect my depression comes from being so different from other people. It's biologically stressing to be isolated, yeah? Most of my energy gets put into trying to human well. I don't think I've spoken like this, just saying what's on my mind without thinking about it, for nearly a decade. The things I really think and feel aren't acceptable.

I don't feel like I'm wrong. I just feel like I'm extremely outnumbered. Finding people who tick like me and are relaxing to be around is hard. I know they exist - Elon Musk, for instance - there just aren't nearly so many of us.

[Guest_322]

Hi Vorbis,

It must be tricky/frustrating/tiring navigating this world when you see the world through a different lens to most people. What others take for granted, you have to work hard to achieve.

You're just innately more captivated by geometry, physics, etc than the human condition and humans in general. I don't think there's anything necessarily right or wrong with your thinking. The main drawback would be the associated emotional struggles like isolation, frustration and feeling like a square peg in a round hole (basically what you said.)

If you feel strongly about researching reincarnation and mathematically supporting your findings then by all means go for it! It's clearly something that you're very passionate about.

Thanks for elaborating on self mastery- appreciate that. I wouldn't personally agree that you "suck" at being human. Maybe you just can't be the kind of human that most people can relate to, that's all. Different isn't a bad thing but it can mean loneliness and misunderstandings.

My take on self mastery? I see it as challenging and pushing myself. To not get too comfortable or be complacent, you know. Now to what end? I'm not 100% sure at this stage but I do struggle immensely with boredom and emptiness.

Kind of like enjoying a good meal but then as soon as I've finished, I'm empty and bored all over again. Sometimes I'm even bored during the meal.

Anyway...

You sound happiest when you can live life and make choices on your own terms as opposed to caving to societal/Family/other pressures. Maybe there's a middle ground. Maybe there's isn't a middle ground. But for your sake, I hope you get some moments of reprieve to do what you truly want to do.

Dottie x

[Guest_322]

Hi Sara,

Lovely to see you here again. Cool, thanks for clarifying what you meant by breathing. Oops...it seems you meant it more literally than I initially interpreted (sorry, my bad).

That's an interesting take on meaning of life. Perhaps key in your personal understanding of life (?)

On a completely personal level- I'm only speaking for myself and no one else- I see breathing as a biological function. But it doesn't make my (own) life purposeful or give my life meaning.

In saying that, I can also appreciate how breathing- a foundation of life of sorts- can be the meaning of life for some people. I mean, not everyone thinks like me, which is probably a good thing too 😉

Thanks again for your perspective. I enjoyed reading your post and looking at things from a different viewpoint.

Dottie xxx