"purpose in life" is critical for me, otherwise, i spend 100 some odd years of my existance sitting on my ass watching TV. fine for some, i suppose. Meaning in life, (vs., meaning *of* life - which does have a definiation, and a precise one at that), is critical to find for yourself, or you will feel wandery in a negative way. That isn't to say "wandering" can't be your personal meaning. But meaning should come from that which bring you "pleasure" or "happiness" or even just a reason to get up every day. Oddly, meaning in life for people like Emelie Dickenson was hardly "happy" or "pleasurable", but it was what she had to do each day -- WRITE.


Why are you here? Why are you working so hard? Ultimately, unless your efforts are for you, as selfish as that is, of course they will be wasted. you cannot live to produce something that will "last", especially in the simulacrum of modernity were nothing has real substance nor sustenance but only mirage, reflection, and recreation.

Start inside, then think outside, would be my answer for you. and remember, the roles that are "usual" or "typical" or "ascribed by society" may be the most natural for the vast majority - but may not bring you any fulfillment on a personal level at all.

Just remember the answer to What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? Is 42

Tribe Leader, at the risk of stating the obvious you sound like you are suffering from depression. We all have down days, but if you feel like this pretty consistently then it may be time to look into counseling.

The good news is that there are things you can do to increase your level of happiness. There has been quite a bit of respectable academic research on happiness in the last 30 years or so. For example www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/lif...9839.ece I recommend Martin Seligman's book "Authentic Happiness" as an introduction to this research and how to apply it to your life. www.amazon.com/Authentic-...709-0988904

Some of the things that help with happiness are having an active and extensive social life--the happiest people all have lots of friends who they interact with regularly. It helps to commit oneself to a "higher purpose" or something "larger than oneself." That could be religion, art, a political goal, advancing human knowledge through some science, or just about anything - the point is to get your mind to not focus on your ego, but something greater and more important. This gives life meaning.

The idea that life has some grand meaning that is the same for everybody is in my opinion not only false but dangerous. Psychologically we are not the all same, we do not care about all the same things, thus we do not derive meaning from all the same things. Personally I get meaning out of playing my guitar, but that doesn't mean everybody else will. You have to find what makes you stoked. The hedonists are wrong. These usually aren't things we would call "pleasure" in the traditional sense - rather they are what we think of as "flow," activities where we get in the zone, lose track of time and self, become completely absorbed in what we are doing, and feel a sense of accomplishment later.

Each of us has our own set of strengths - things that come naturally to us, that make us feel energized. For example If two people are given a writing task, afterwards one might feel drained and the other recharged. You can find out what your personal strengths are using the "VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire" at this website: www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/ I think you have to make an account, but it doesn't cost anything. Seligman's theory is that you will feel happier and your life will feel more meaningful the more you use your personal strengths each day.

Another trick to improve happiness is to exercise gratitude as much as possible. If someone does something nice for you, make sure they know how much you appreciate it. At the end of every day you can come up with at least 5 things that happened that you felt thankful for. It could be something simple like getting a really good latte, an accomplishment like finishing a research paper, a great conversation you had, a realization, a romantic encounter, a new possibility, or whatever.

Another reason for optimism is that we are living at a time of great scientific progress. There are more practicing scientists now than ever before in history, and some of them are working on longevity research. Slowly we are learning what kinds of foods and behaviors promote longevity. There is also extensive work being done on drugs to increase our lifespans. We don't have anything too great yet, but if you're a junior in college, you're probably young. In the next 30 years or so we may have drugs to extend life by decades, and eventually maybe centuries. Nobody can say how likely it is, but it's not inconceivable that you may still be around in a couple hundred years.

The real you, deep inside of you, is infinite and immortal and exists before and after your body. This immortal you has no reason for existing on it's own. The infinite immortal you exists without cause. Meaning or reason implies a cause or an impetus for beginning. That which is infinite has no beginning and therefore has no reason or meaning or even conciousness for that matter unless it is able to see what it is not. There is another you, the finite you. The finite you definetely has a reason for existing and that is to define and reafirm the infinite immortal you. The infinite immortal you is able to give it's unending life and ability and meaning and reason to the finite mortal you, and the finite mortal you is able to give reason and meaning to the infinite immortal you by receiving these things. These two sides of you walk through eternity together, forever holding hands, comforting each other, and giving and receiving unending fulfillment from one another. The meaning of life is to give and receive unending fulfillment.

Decadence and more decadence.

Decadence and restriction of decadence which is power.

One word: Power.

I think that you are respopnsible for what type of impact you have. If you want to sit in front of youor TV, go ahead. Personally, i don't even own one, so I don't just sit there. I do get out and talk to folks. I work. THe last big project I did here, was to help build the new Children's hopsital here in Denver. My name isn't on it, but if they save a future Maqtrin Luther King, and keep him alive to do his work, well, I had a small part in making that possible. I give to charity, that helps folks. I get involved in my community. I might not beremembered in even 50 years, but that's okay, since I am satisfied with my life. And I think you're wrong. If you really want to be remembered in 50 or 500 years, get out and DO something. All you can do is strive to have an impact. Become active in any of dozens of different issues, whichever ones feel important to you. Or not. it's your choice, you aren't locked into a future course, unless you were to kill yourself.

In the end, you have to do what gives you the most satisfaction, and enjoy your life.

I have also myself this question many times (I think we all do). I was raised as a devote Catholic. When I started to pick at some of the inconsistencies, I found it scary to try to think on my own. Very simply, we will never really know with certainty whether or not there is anything on the "other side of life". The only thing we can be certain of is the "here and now". I would rather spend what time I have working on something that can either benefit me or others. You do leave a legacy if you touch or inspire even one other person. I believe that this has a ripple effect. You also leave a legacy if you contribute towards a body of knowledge that can help advance humankind. So, working towards goals that have a purpose (from your personal perspective) gives life meaning for you.

Hello. I scanned through the post and place that train of thought to be elemental. Your thinking like the fire element. The thing that kept everyone warm and did its best to be here but is surely going. Its part of life to think in numbers and duration of existance with undefined purpose. I guess I have no defense but to put the age one. When one is about thirty the paradox of the work starts. You have to realize, they are going to work for me. If I am putting a number towards this to maintain life than I will recieve my numbers in the form of currency to spend on my life. If they do not honor this, you will master them, or not associate. Philosophy.

I think this is a good question. I know that when I meet with folks and when we discuss these sorts of topics seriously, it is one of the most valuable kinds of conversation to me, personally. In the end, I'd say to take these questions and develop them - explore and express them. Dialogue with people you respect about them. You said you don't want your efforts to be wasted. I'd also suggest looking at this time of questioning as something else not to be wasted!

Now, another way to approach an answer to the question is to admit that yes, it could be imagined that all things are meaningless (including my life) in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, what stops us from supposing the exact opposite, that all things are meaningful (including my life) in the grand scheme of things? I don't see conclusive arguments that show that either option is somehow impossible or incoherent but there's also a similar lack of evidence to show that either of them is true!

So, we're left in sort of a muddle, and I think this is where you took up the question. What is the point? Why am I here? What is really important? What do we make of the existence that we find ourselves participants in? Again, this is a muddle worth exploring. In fact, I'd say its an ancient condition for beings like ourselves. To be sure, periods of darkness and questioning are features of our lives, just as times of happiness and commitment are also parts of our existence.

I'd also point out that any questions and any answers you entertain are part of the whole enchilada (the universe) since they are part of your life and your life is part of the whole enchilada. Thus, your condition (whatever it is) resolves something about the character of existence.

Does that count as an answer? Pardon me if that was unclear.

Tat tvam asi.

Well I know this is a long post (its an essay from my blog integralscience.motime.com) but I thought I would share it as a pretty original answer to your question. It could uses some updating but I stand by the gist of it. So here are my thoughts for what they are worth :

GOOD SENSE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
© 2004 by Piankhy Thompson (aka Kevin Thompson)

THE MEANING OF LIFE

Whether or not we choose to accept it, we are all Philosophers and have some working hypothesis regarding the Meaning of Life that, however unconsciously, guides our actions. To regard Life as “meaningless” is as much a philosophical and even religious position as any other on the subject. To say that the question is unimportant is to make a value judgment that is guided by some conception of Truth, importance, reality, and meaning. Perhaps we avoid going into the matter because of the dread that our working answers to such questions of ultimate meaning are not substantial or sturdy enough to withstand much scrutiny and that the real Truth about the matter (which we all think we “know” at some level) is unbearable. And perhaps some eschew or abandon conscious inquiry because an intuitive despair of finding an answer that would make any difference or do any good. But, as we will see, Integral Science, involves a theory as to this question of the Meaning of Life that is not only intuitively, emotionally, and empirically obvious, but surprisingly has much potential for making a difference and doing some good.

“When the shoes fit, the foot is forgotten; when the belt fits, the belly is forgotten. The essence of this observation by the Taoist sage Chang Tzu, when translated into the cognitive idiom of the West, is the concept of “Wholesthesia” or the relative silence of health. As with the shoes and the belt, so with a well “fitting” or functioning organ, muscle, or cell in a living human being. The conscious awareness or sensation of any such parts of ourselves is usually (though not always) a sign of some relative problem or malfunction in that area. All of this is a fact or every day experience.

Why not call this state of affairs “Homeostasis” as modern medicine does, and drop the neologism? Because the concept of “Wholesthesia” points up, in its logical implications, profound and until now, collectively unconscious truths that the other terminology obscures. The word “wholesthesia”, which has the etymological meaning of “complete” (“holos”) sense perception (“aesthetikos”) reveals, like some proof of socio-psychoanalysis, the Freudian –or perhaps I should say “Jungian”—slip of our collective unconscious involved in the currency and use of word “anesthesia”. This word has the etymological meaning of “without” (“an”) “sense perception” and relates to what might be called the “relative silence of sickness.” This is because the lack of feedback involved is, far from being a sign of health, usually a suppression of information to the contrary.

What can we make of these concepts and how can we relate these two phenomena? Well, in modern medicine there is the recognized (though of course dreaded) progression of local anesthesia to general anesthesia and possibly leading to coma and even to death as numbness and the chemicals inducing it, is made or mistakenly allowed to effect progressively deeper levels of the organism. This, of course, is a dynamic of disintegration.

It is possible though, through recourse to the “opposing” concept of Wholesthesia, to map out a dynamic or process of integration in the opposite direction through a kind of inverse analogy:

The phrase “Local Wholesthesia,” to begin this analogy, is meant to describe the relative silence of health, as it exists in all of us, as described above, in those local and relatively circumscribable areas of our bodies of which we are relatively unconscious. A relatively healthy liver, for example.

From local wholesthesia we can infer the possibility of “General Wholesthesia”. This refers to a general state of physical “Lightness” and effortless functioning that begins to involve the whole of the physical organism in a more inclusive way. To be sure, the experience of this rare state in comparison to a previous one of less than healthy functioning will be very noticeable at first. However this awareness and appreciation is up held more by memory and imagination, and by its alterations with local Wholesthesia, than by any essentially “positive” quality of the state of being itself, and my be expected to pass after a given time.

Just as the application of General Anesthesia can go awry, so that the patient in an operation slips into coma or “sleep”, so can the state of General Wholesthesia, as it penetrates more deeply into the nervous system, lead to what may be called “Phenomenesthesia” or “Awakening.” I infer this state to be sense of the totality of phenomena from a center, which has ceased to be the relatively unconscious one of the ego-body and to have become the relatively conscious one of the Soul-Body. I write Soul-“Body”, in order to suggest that, to the same extent that the true personality or soul of the individual is now awakened, transcending and changing the nature of the ego, so too has his or her physical body been transcended and changed in nature. As the ego is to Soul and Soul is to Self so the body, is to “Body” and Body is to Nature. And the reverse is true as well, so that alienation of the physical body from Nature is symptomatic of a corresponding unconscious alienation of ego from Self, with the loss or sleep of Soul-Body that this implies. Since am as yet at a loss as to what else to call the physical aspect of the soul, which, it is at this point no longer any more only a “body” than the Soul is the same as the ego, (nor is it quite “Nature” with a capital “N” --the Nature that is really SelfNature), I speak of “Soul-Body” with a Capital “B” and some times also of Soul-nature with a small “n”. In all three cases (that of ego-body, Soul-nature or Soul-Body and SelfNature), I choose the unity/duality of the nomenclature in an attempt to be more accurate or at least more appropriate to our time and Idiom.{see also footnote}

But to extending our inverse analogy; the chief difference between coma and Death is that coma is a possibly reversible state of affairs whereas Death—at least usually—is not. Precisely the same distinction can be made between Phenomenesthesia (or “Awakening”) and Numinesthesia (or “Life”). The experience of awakening can be temporary. The individual may fall back into a closed egoic-personality state and forget his or her Soul-Nature almost completely. But the conscious experience of Life is understood as an abiding sense of the Numinous “Whatness” of Being that is somehow permanent and irreversible. To be alive is to be in the presence of The Ultimate, The Holy, in a conscious way. A state of mystical awareness is being experienced by the soul that is paradoxically consistent with the limitations of everyday life. This is to Live out of in ones Soul-Body.

And does the process end there? The state of conscious awareness of Spirit, of the Presence of “God” is not the same as Union with that Presence. Soul-nature is not the same as Self-Nature and even this is not quite Freedom or Spirit. In this manifestation of SelfNature, both the body and the soul are presumably fully realized and transcended leaving only that which is purely Self and so also Purely Nature and which is the individuation of the Tao, the Great Mystery, The Freedom which transcends even the Whatness of existence and nonexistence. Freedom is arbitrarily predicable and it is unpredictable and yet Freedom and Life are the “strange attractors” and final cause of all evolution and of the world itself. And to say even this about it is perhaps to say too much.

To summarize so far: just as there is a progression from local Anesthesia, to General Anesthesia, to Coma, to Death, so also is there a progression from Local Wholesthesia to General Wholesthesia to Awakening (Phenomenesthesia) to Life (Numinesthesia). And beyond (as well as within) all this there is Freedom or Spirit as something like the immanent/transcendent final cause and ultimate source of all of the above. To experience mostly only ego-body is to be only unconsciously aware of all of this. To be in any given moment consciously aware of all of this is to be, relatively speaking, in ones awakened Soul-nature or Soul-Body. To be stabilized in this Soul-Nature is to be Alive. To progress in ones Soul-nature is to progressively realize (or be realized by) SelfNature, which is the Door to Spirit or Freedom itself.

GOOD SENSE

In the light of all this we might regard our normal state of being as manifestly somnambulant amnesia, dissociation and only rudimentary consciousness. We exist for the most part in an unhealthy and unconscious “synthesis” of the “thesis” of anesthesia and “antithesis” of wholesthesia, which is, not stable synthesis but rather dialectic of progressive degeneration. To become conscious and sensible of this condition is already to partially transcend it and enter a dynamic of integral, conscious, and healing synthesis, which is also of both wholesthesia and anesthesia. This sensibility intuits, feels, and understands the reality of Life and Freedom as ultimate goals as well as their reality in the here and now of a specific situation. It is a progressive intellectual moral and physical reorientation and an indwelling confirmation of Healthy Knowledge. This sensibility and understanding is the opening of the ego-body to the Soul-nature that is none other than the Good Sense of our title.

If Anesthesia is “Nonsense” and Wholesthesia is “Complete Sense”, than “Good Sense” (or “Callesthesia”), is that sensibility that recognizes and welcomes them both and yet distinguishes them from each other. It does this in the context of what we have said of their ultimate implications all well as in the context of everyday life. It is the innate understanding of the Soul-nature active in the ego-body in each real and definite everyday situation. Good sense includes and does not exclude, nonsense (anesthesia), which it intuitively understands as a necessary and even essential aspect of what is recognized to be the souls journey to Spirit. It is the healthy instinct/intuition to aim for an over all predominance of wholesthesia over anesthesia in the context of the peculiarities of the individual Soul-nature and situation. Abstractly and morally, the intention is to move toward greater wholesthesia and Life. Practically and ethically the dynamic is more sophisticated and evolves a kind of tacking and a balancing of exigent “weaknesses” and limitations against strengths and possibilities in an ultimately progressive way.

This more sophisticated existential dynamic involves the coordination and balancing of attention to the future, the past, and the eternal with and in the present moment. It is an improvisational sensibility that makes good use even of mistakes, which are in fact indispensable to its manifestation. For without the recognition of the redeeming complementarity and preexistent paradoxical synthesis of nonsense and complete sense in real experience, Awakening, Life, and Freedom would be Meaningless, even as the ideal orienting types. Good Sense is this sense of the mutuality and presence of the remembering of Healthy Knowledge even within our forgetfulness of it, and as such it is the integral crossroad of the categories and the back beat of the Life-Dance itself.

And of course, as with all the Theories of Integral Science, we all really already know all of this, at least deep down in our souls we do. That is just the point. Nevertheless, we seem to need a more formal reminder every now and then, and that is what this essay and the rest of Integral Science are for.

The relatively unconscious, relatively anesthetic (Mal-aesthetic really) nature of the modern/post-modern diet, medicine, architecture, -- of the modern/post-modern world in general-- is too much to go into in a brief essay. But the prescription for all of these disintegrating fields of activity is the same; it is that of Good Sense in the light of Healthy Knowledge. By such Good Sense I mean the sense, not only of the current numbness under which the jewels of Life and Freedom are buried but also the equally strong sense of the very real presence of the jewels there nevertheless (And be assured that they are there, for if they were not within us at some deep level then we would literally be dead) and the gratitude and resolve that come with this. And by such Good Sense I mean a consciousness and embracing of our sick knowledge and our sick culture that can only be effected by truly Healthy Knowledge and Healthy Culture. Such Good sense is the balanced dance of awareness-even of welcome of-- both realities in the service of progressive healing and aliveness.

And such Good Sense also implies Good Taste, or the ability to discern the relatively beautiful, healthy, and appropriate in the context of Mutuality and of Ultimate as well as more immediate truth.

And it implies Good Will, which is a will to Life and Freedom in the light of Truth that implies conscious understanding and moral commitment to the great Theme of our collective existence as well as its variations in cultural and individual manifestation.

And it implies Good Faith, which involves a constant checking of any Belief (including the theories of Integral Science) against the inner consensus of ones intuition, heart, mind and body as to its Living Truth and value, with an eye to either its reformulation or its replacement with something else. It is faith in the existence of some healing and useful shared understanding of reality and a commitment to critical participation in the best that we have yet found.








The role of Death in evolution is to provoke individuals and species toward Life and Freedom. We are going to die anyway but be are not going to “Live” anyway, in the present (new and also very old) sense of the word. To seek death is to be in a state of unconsciousness that is not worthy of our humanity—it is to seek nothing at all. To seek Life and Freedom with humility, humor, wonder, and gratitude is our common privilege as beings that are going to die. Whether or not we succeed in taking advantage of this opportunity is ultimately not in our hands but to make the attempt is the only gesture that is consistent with sapience, with true happiness, and with Good Sense.



Footnote: This use of the word “soul” may seem inconsistent with its use in the concept of “Individual Personhood”, since in that context it relates to one of the “horizontal” or social aspects (or ”roles”) of the Identity of “Individual Living Person” while the present use of the word seems to relate more to the “vertical” Individual/Individuating aspect of Individual Personhood. Similarly, the way I am defining Life here seems to differ from the way I use the world “Living” when I contrast it with “surviving”, as in “Individual Living Person”. I acknowledge these difficulties and ambiguities in terminology, yet let them stand for the now, since I have not yet resolved the problem and know no better way to refer to the experiences in question. Somehow I feel that its solution will likely be very fruitful for the theory and practice of Integral Science and Healthy Culture as a whole.

On the purely physical level, life is a self-organizing system. The meaning is to live, to continue organizing and balancing the homeostasis of the system. On an experiential level, life is about incorporating the experiences of the moment into long-term understandings and awarenesses. We build who we are with every perception. On the spiritual level, I am tending to think that we are each born with a purpose, a mission if you will. Most of us probably never realize what that mission is. It could be as simple as being in a specific place at a specific time when a specific event is occurring, as complex as creating world peace, or as normal as being a parent.

My suggestion to everyone, whether your life has self-defined meaning or not: find that passion, that which brings you alive. It will sustain you through the times of meaninglessness and give you the best opportunity for a life of joyful moments stretching out into joyful years. Perhaps your meaning until then can be the search for that passion.

Peace,
libramoon

When people ask "What is the meaning of life?"
they usually mean "What is the meaning of MY life?"
I do not know the meaning of YOUR life
since i barely know the meaning of my own.
I do think I have an answer to the meaning of ALL life.
- perpetuation of the species -
All life hinges upon that instinctual will to survive beyond itself.
Flowers polinate to make more flowers.
Animals have babies to carry on their kingdom.

Years ago I would have said - reproduction -
was the meaning of ALL life, but that is only part of it.
Some animals kill their young to preserve their habitat
in a Darwinistic survival of the fittest competition.
This ensures that only the best survuve to continue on the legacy.
Some animals abstain from sex if they feel their tribe is too large.
There are cases where frogs in a pond with too many males
have literally changed sexes to create more egg spawners.