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backfromthedead
Activated


Registered: 03/10/07
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: VisualLearner]
#8022627 - 02/14/08 02:18 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I was at a point once where it didn't. I was so disappointed with the things that I was learning about what I thought was truth that I became infatuated with ego death and the death/rebirth experience. Anything to erase what I thought was the problem. Me. Or this ego. Or this mind. I was after the void. Something beyond my own learned behavior. And something learned that would bring me closer to understanding this new reality that I was uncovering. Ego death feels like you are dying. It gives us in this lifetime a chance to really play with this threshold. What else in life could be of such interest?? Death. Raaaaa.
Those experiences have since brought me closer to a state that is easily amazed by this experience of now.
I think the significance is that it what it is. That its even happening.
I think the development of the range of human emotion is very significant. It gives rise to a wide range of human experience, again somewhat significant however seemingly simplistic.
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flangenips
Batshitinsanse



Registered: 01/20/08
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: appleorange]
#8022647 - 02/14/08 02:25 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I answered "some"
The main significance i see is that life is designed only to survive and reproduce. We neglect this significance of survival much these days by abusing our bodies, over hunting/fishing, polluting.
But i am, of course, a hypocrite. I smoke about 3-4 packs a week, eat fish and red meat, and pollute like everyone else. Nihilism is a disease, and the disease's catalyst is life being rather easy. We've got people killing themselves in developed countries, and impoverished and war-torn people doing all the can against the odds to survive in less fortunate countries.
"Why survive then?" you may ask. Because it seems the only thing worth doing, extinction seems less significant.
-------------------- All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher. - Ambrose Bierce
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ToxicMan
Bite me, it's fun!


Registered: 06/28/02
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: VisualLearner]
#8022861 - 02/14/08 03:30 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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In and of itself, no. Nothing in the world has any meaning.
Meaning is what we find or create for ourselves. Meaning cannot be imposed from outside. What you find meaningful others will find meaningless, and vice versa. And none of us is wrong in that belief.
Happy mushrooming!
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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grasshoppa
traveling healer


Registered: 09/03/06
Posts: 59
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: appleorange]
#8023474 - 02/14/08 05:36 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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well the answers to me came quite simply. first off no one can guarantee an afterlife of any kind.our lives only have signifigance while we are alive. now some people can be convinced otherwise probably related to a paranormal expierience or just by looking at all the syncronicities in life as cause to believe in whatever afterlife that person chooses. these people we call believers have it easy.if you are a true believer then what do you really have to worry about? pain? suffering? these things would fade away if I was guaranteed an afterlife of my choosing.
now that would be nice but not everyone is so fortunate. you obviously havent been convinced. and neither have I. not yet anyways. now that is called hope. you can have hope and still not believe. then again mayube we should pitty people who think they have it figured out. what would you have to be uncertain of? how far could your imagination go. things here would seem less beautiful if we knew for sure what happens in death. maybe we were never meant to know.
all I know is that to be happy you have to stand up and make it happen. you take that shit that you have holding you back from being fullfilled in life and you crush it. you have to be fiercely dedicated to enjoy this life sometimes.
so knowing only for certain that we have what we have while we have it then one can conclude what to do and how to make choices and proceed. the question is do you want to be miserable while you are alive or do you want to do something about it?
postscript - it helps me to be greatful by thinking of how so many people have it so much worse than I do. yet they still carry on. it is quite inspiring. actually now that i wrote that down its bullshit. people mainly carry on because they are afraid of there being no afterlife. FUCK. we are living in constant fear of the unknown. i think the outlining of what i said is still in tact though. do you want to be happy or not? if so than you can be. you have to admit that it is at least possible right?
-------------------- THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REIKI Just for today I will not be angry. Just for today I will not worry. Earn your living honestly. Honor your parents, teachers and elders. Show gratitude to every living thing.
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Ginseng1
Elegant Universe



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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: appleorange]
#8023615 - 02/14/08 05:56 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I don't understand the "No, this is a dream" options.
Who's to say that dreams have no significance?
-------------------- Flowing through beginningless time since time without beginning...
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deranger


Registered: 01/21/08
Posts: 6,840
Loc: off the wall
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: ToxicMan]
#8023648 - 02/14/08 06:05 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
ToxicMan said:Meaning is what we find or create for ourselves.
indeed, we are the creators of significance.
if you want to satisfy yourself and bring positive meaning to your life, put yourself in places open for new opportunity to rise... and who knows, anything could happen. sometimes the things we are surrounded with in our current situation pose as barriers for positive change and growth to occur. it would be hard to deal with an std and death of a father, but you can move through it if you try hard enough and practise realizing the many layers of acceptance. letting yourself drown in negative thought loops will just make it harder for positive change in the long run. it takes a decision now. good luck!
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ScavengerType



Registered: 01/24/08
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: deranger]
#8024529 - 02/14/08 09:04 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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It's subjective therefore there is no real answer just each individual's perception. There fore I would say no, and give no reason whatsoever, but still post about it anyway so that others know my views.
-------------------- "Have you ever seen what happens when a grenade goes off in a school? Do you really know what you’re doing when you order shock and awe? Are you prepared to kneel beside a dying soldier and tell him why he went to Iraq, or why he went to any war?" "The things that are done in the name of the shareholder are, to me, as terrifying as the things that are done—dare I say it—in the name of God. Montesquieu said, "There have never been so many civil wars as in the Kingdom of God." And I begin to feel that’s true. The shareholder is the excuse for everything." - Author and former M6/M5 agent John le Carré on Democracy Now. Conquer's Club
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chodamunky
Cheers!


Registered: 02/28/02
Posts: 2,030
Loc: sailing the seas of chees...
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: ScavengerType]
#8024545 - 02/14/08 09:09 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Often I have felt so good and happy that I said out loud to myself "I could die right now with no regrets"... so yes.. life has a gigantic significance to me because I'm lucky that I get to feel this untangible thing called love.
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Archemetis
newbie

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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: MushroomTrip]
#8025026 - 02/14/08 10:46 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
MushroomTrip said:
Quote:
i feel its getting harder and harder for me to accurately communicate my understandings and ideas.
This could be because you're confusing your thoughts with someone else's thoughts in my opinion. Life is meaningless in the end (BTW which of them?) for some and full of meaning for others. For instance you can throw the atomic bomb and this action will make a difference not only for many of the living creatures inhabiting this planet, but for the planet itself... even though it might not matter for this universe and its immensity. Not even for out solar system. But the sun dying would make a difference for the entire solar system. So from whose perspective are you talking?
to be honest i think it has more to do with indifference than anything else. im feeling less and less motivated to even atempt communication. its rare that i feel there is something worth saying. even in my personal life this is so. im watching my personality melt. my freinds probably think im losing it. truth is iv lost it. im more empty than ever, but more calm and centered.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



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Posts: 95,368
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Archemetis]
#8026451 - 02/15/08 09:52 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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sounds like a good thing
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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deranger


Registered: 01/21/08
Posts: 6,840
Loc: off the wall
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Archemetis]
#8027076 - 02/15/08 12:21 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Archemetis said:to be honest i think it has more to do with indifference than anything else. im feeling less and less motivated to even atempt communication. its rare that i feel there is something worth saying. even in my personal life this is so. im watching my personality melt. my freinds probably think im losing it. truth is iv lost it. im more empty than ever, but more calm and centered.
damn, you sound just like me... it's a strange thing, but it sure as hell feels good at times.
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group



Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 45,414
Loc: Under the C
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: chodamunky]
#8027144 - 02/15/08 12:40 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Often I have felt so good and happy that I said out loud to myself "I could die right now with no regrets"...
One day about 13 years ago, I was with my Dad on the east coast of Florida in a little town called Vero Beach. It was early November and 90 degrees - unseasonably warm even for Florida!
The sky was clear and the sun was sparkling and the beach was littered with bikini babes.
My dad and I were body-surfing and as we came out of one particularly nice ride, I was so high on the perfect day that I turned to him and said, "This would be as good a day as any to die."
A short while later, I stepped on a sharp object and my toe started to bleed. I was walking back to our blanket when waves of pain like I have never felt swept over me. Apparently, I had stepped on a sting-ray spike. My body went into severe muscular contractions along with an agony I never knew possible for over six hours. My head swelled up like Jerry Lewis. ARRRGGGGGGGHHHHH! I could not help screaming.
Naturally, I survived, but have never said that again.
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Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Why didn't your father take you to the ER?
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Veritas]
#8027192 - 02/15/08 12:53 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Veritas said: Why didn't your father take you to the ER?
Because his stu_ _ _ son thought it was a good day to die and dad wanted to honor his wish.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group



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Posts: 45,414
Loc: Under the C
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Veritas]
#8027201 - 02/15/08 12:54 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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We checked in with the lifeguards. They see people that get stung all summer. They said there was nothing to be done unless I went into anaphylactic shock. My reaction was extraordinary.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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My reaction was extraordinary.
Wuss
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group



Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 45,414
Loc: Under the C
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Icelander]
#8027260 - 02/15/08 01:10 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Everything about me is extraordinary.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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So I've heard.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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OrgoneConclusion
Blue Fish Group



Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 45,414
Loc: Under the C
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Re: Does life have significance? [Re: Icelander]
#8027305 - 02/15/08 01:20 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I didn't say 'fab-u-loussss'.
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Ginseng1
Elegant Universe



Registered: 09/02/04
Posts: 3,310
Last seen: 9 years, 4 months
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I don't know if life has significance or not, but if you consider the very fact that we exist, and that all life naturaly pushes away death and exhibits many a survival tactic, the evidence would weigh in favor of "life having significance".
We aren't in a position to declare whether life has significance or not in objective terms, but we may speculate as we so please. But do consider the evidence for significance, and that includes emotions (that curve our existance). I think this is why we have to always create a better tomorrow, so that some ass-hats don't destroy us all and deprive us of the true essence of life. We might not know what it is, but that musn't block us off from our imagination and the very fact that we have come to this point in reality. That is enough reason for me to believe that there is significance, and that we should care and embrace all.
I think it's simple; The significance of life is to create your own significance.
-------------------- Flowing through beginningless time since time without beginning...
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