I really do not understand the point of life if once we leave here we’re suppose to have some deep understanding of why everything is the way it is. If we already knew this before we came here then why the hell were we put here? Perhaps to make connections  that already existed before we came here, or maybe learn life lessons? If so, this also doesn’t make sense because we would have already achieved the state of knowing before being put here. Imagine being able to know everything. This could range from how many strands of hair exist on our heads to something miraculous like the cure for cancer. I guess what I’m trying to come to conclusion to is what purpose do we really serve? No one can ever seem to answer this question.
16 comments
There isn’t a point. There is life, and then there isn’t.
The question “what purpose do we serve?” is invalidated by the fact that it begins with an invalid assumption that we serve a purpose, when there is no discernible reason to assume or insist that, aside from being misguided by paradigms designed by other humans with the intention of manipulating us all through deception and misguidance.
There is no “purpose.”
You simply exist, and that is all there is to know. Either do something with it while you can, or don’t. It really is that simple. Choose to do what you want; choose not to do what you don’t want. That’s all there is.
I think this goes both ways. How can you assume that there isn’t a purpose since this isn’t “validated” either.
I don’t think there is any universal purpose written on stone tablets somewhere. Purpose by it’s very nature is something that yields from the agent itself, not from the outside world.
What I mean is that purpose is similar to morals or principal values.
Actually, if your looking for an Answer, it’s because of duality. According to spiritual teachers (new age theolgians, that I’m presuming you are basin your information off of) duality is the ultimate form of spiritual growth, and from going from a complete omniscient experience to one of ultimate separation from source (God) it gives your soul more spiritual advancement and more rich lessons being in this state of duality, and thus when you return to source (aka death) your soul would have evolved more, spiritually in comparison to staying in your safe-zone connected to the source. I hope that answered your question, I’ve done lots of reading on new age teachings and spiritual teachings. (I’m 15, and have BDD and depression so my thoughts wonder lots)….
I’ve read accounts on this theory (NDE to be exact.) I have to accept that we aren’t suppose to know the full spectrum everything. Some things are not made to be understood in this lifetime.
It doesn’t go both ways. Time moves one way, and is linear. All we know is from the past, and in all we are able to know, we are able to identify patterns, and able to make reasonably accurate predictions about things we can’t directly test.
People like to say “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” but in many cases, indeed it is. Absence of evidence /indicates/ absence, even if it doesn’t always absolutely /prove/ absence.
So we have to take an honest look at all available indications, and then another honest look for anything that might contradict those indications.
There is *nothing* to indicate that any god or afterlife actually exists, and *nothing* to contradict the absence of those indications, aside from fictitious stories composed with an agenda based on controlling the populous.
Bottom line: people invented the ideas of gods and afterlife. According to observable reality, those things do not actually exist, but are merely products of the mind.
I think most people’s issue with not understanding what i’m trying to express here, is that they’re not actually trying to figure out what is actually true, but instead, are trying to find a way to believe something they want to believe, instead of what they are afraid might be true (or know “in their bones,” already is).
And this is one thing that causes insurmountable impedance to communication… which is one of the primary causes of my generalized avoidance of all people. They’re not listening, they’re not even trying. They’re looking for someone to say what they want to hear. If what they want to hear also happens to be true, then everything’s fine. But when what they want to hear is not actually true, they want to hear what they want to hear, instead, even if it’s not true.
Much energy is wasted, and many unnecessary and entirely avoidable problems are caused, by such things. And most people who cause such things, seem to reject any opportunity for corrections. This is one of the main reasons why life sucks so much for so many people.
I see your POV. Don’t avoid all people though because that makes everything worse. I know that there are like minded individuals out in the world that you can connect with even if very few. I’m working on this myself (not on this topic though.)
Glad you at least “understand” my position on this…
“Don’t avoid all people though because that makes everything worse.”
People say that, but i find it to be untrue. If all i ever meet are people i’d rather not associate with, then allowing myself to encounter them, allowing them to influence my life, in any way, would actually be worse than simply refraining from interacting with anyone; the ratio of people i don’t want to know, to people i might like to know, is very high. It’s unlikely that i will find anyone worth having to sort through all the people i already know i don’t want to interact with, in order to find them. Too much hay, not enough needle. And what am i going to do with that needle if i find it, anyway? I don’t even remember why i went looking for needles in the first place.
“I know that there are like minded individuals out in the world that you can connect with even if very few.”
I don’t actually know this, though i admit it as a valid possibility.
So, sure, it’s possible a few needles exist, somewhere out there, in all that hay… but i have no way to bypass the hay, and there’s so much hay that i’m just tired of dealing with, that the possibility of finding a needle, has become less important than cessation of sorting hay… especially with such “statistically long odds” of ever finding a needle… that i wouldn’t even know what to do with, at this point. I can poke myself with hay just fine. Maybe i don’t need a needle. And if i don’t need a needle, i definitely don’t need to continue digging through all that endless hay.
Or maybe the needles don’t exist? Maybe the story-of-needles, is just a clever way to trick people into sorting the hay… like a mule led by a carrot on a stick; he’ll never get the carrot (at least until the job is done), but as long as he believes he might just reach it, he’ll keep going, past the agony of perpetual physical exhaustion, until he literally cannot take another step.
I’m like a mule who… both cannot take another step, and no longer believes the carrot can be reached. I see the carrot, and i have questioned its existence, but it’s unlikely a mere illusion, but is rather more likely a real thing used as a simple trick to motivate me to keep going until i can’t, but which will never be attained, no matter how far or long i manage to continue.
But, you know, i’m sure it’s different for other people. Some people get the carrot without much effort. Some people find the needle in their first haystack. But it’s those people who tend to expect things to work out similarly for others. They don’t realize or appreciate just how lucky they really are… for something so simple as ONE carrot, ONE needle, ONE haystack. And those same people tend to react rather dismissively and trivialize the burdens of others who will never reach the carrot, or find their needle, no matter how hard or long they keep trying.
You might even say i “understand” their point of view, due to their relative lack of difficulty in successful endeavors… and that is why i know i don’t want to encounter them. And since i don’t “know” i will ever find the needle or reach the carrot, and since i’m so tired of trying to reach something i no longer believe i can… i’d rather not work for something i’ll never receive. I just want to be comfortable and relaxed, and die in peace. Someone else can pull the plow and hunt the needles.
Are you completely comfortable with being alone though? I know that for certain people it’s inevitable that they spend the rest of their lives alone, and that’s okay too. I think it’s a part of life. The chance of being forever alone that is.
“Are you completely comfortable with being alone though?”
Usually… but if you mean 100% comfortable being alone 100% of the time, then no, obviously not. It’s just that there’s nothing i can actually do about it, since all possible solutions are controlled and restricted by others.
It’s basically a type of prison. I can do whatever i want in the confines of my own mind, and while alone, am free from the requirements of unpleasant interactions.
And really, i can say i avoid everyone, but it’s actually more accurate to say that i don’t even have to try to avoid anyone; i merely allow them to “avoid” or remain apart from me. I can simply go with the flow, and that keeps me alone, as any who may seldom arrive, will soon go. I don’t have to try to be alone. All i have to do is stop trying to not be alone… which is incredibly easy for me; much easier than trying to find needles in haystacks.
As long as i have nothing anyone wants, being alone is the default. As long as i lack the means to change that, it won’t change.
I swear that loneliness is one the strangest emotions a person could feel. I don’t feel it too often anymore but when I do I go straight into “distract myself with everything in sight” mode. To me it sounds like you’re a true introvert because you have mastered being alone without being lonely. You should really appreciate this trait because not many people have the ability to not feel that type of void.
Thoughts on the before/afterlife aren’t meant to have a logical foundation that can be confirmed by our observations which is why they require a leap of faith. We shouldn’t feel the need to justify our decision either way. It’s a personal choice. If someone wants to believe in fairies that’s fine with me.
It’s not that i’m “not lonely,” but rather that i got used to it after realizing it’s not in my power to change. Being around people i don’t like, or who don’t like me, doesn’t make me less lonely, but does make me more agitated. I’d rather be neutral than angry or sad, and happiness isn’t part of the spectrum anymore. I don’t think i’d use the word “comfortable.” But it’s not the worst thing ever, and there are some clear benefits usually only available through isolation and solitude.
I also wouldn’t say i’ve “mastered” anything. The internet (particularly this site) helps keep me from going stir-crazy… but there’s only so much you can do, once you’ve worn out all available distractions. Once you reach the point where all you can do is accept it and wait for time to pass, or sleep… but then you reach a point where you really can’t sleep yet because you’re too restless, not even tired… all you can do is accept it and “ride it out.” Time slows to a crawl, silence is deafening, and the despair is thick like a block of cheese.
But if you “just wait…” time doesn’t stop, it keeps going, and the spikes of intense longing will subside, and recede back to normal and somewhat manageable levels, for a while. It’s better, for me, to just try to stay relaxed and wait it out, because there’s nothing i can do about it anyway. There is no one available. There is the internet… but even with that, i haven’t been able to find anyone “mentally compatible,” let alone anyone to share anything physical.
So, when the distractions stop working, i usually come here first. When i get frustrated or overwhelmed, i close the browser and go “brood” outside with a smoke. If i’m still not ready to get back to whatever distraction, i’ll go lie down and just “space out.”
I didn’t mention that i have a dog, which helps quite a lot… (you can get pretty far with dog/internet/gaming) but there’s still a massive void in my life that i will never be able to fill.
And for a very long time, all i’ve wanted is to NOT feel that void… and subsequently, to not feel anything at all… so pretty much every waking moment of my life has been dedicated to trying not to feel that, or tolerating and surviving the times where i have no choice but to be saturated by that emptiness.
That’s great that you have a dog though. Are you in college/school or have a job? That takes up most of my time during the day although it can be overwhelming at times. I don’t think that anything can fill this void until you can decipher all the pieces of this void. I tend to notice the void that I feel at times has many different elements to it. Every time that I do feel this void I notice that it has multiple sources. It’s also gotten better with time because I’ve been able to pinpoint a new source of this void. Increased self awareness is what I call it.