Anyone know of a good book on meaning?
I've read a number of books on or related to, the meaning of things, of life, of purpose, many of the pop philosophy type, "Jonathon Livingstone Seagull", Leo Bugscalia books. I've also read things like Victor Frankel's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "far out there" stuff like Edgar Cayce and Carlos Castenada. I've read the Bible and related books of religious origin, but I want something with a reasoned, logical argument. I don't want to offend those with faith, but I've been immersed in different belief's all my life, and I want to read a point of view that I haven't been exposed to. I've started a number of the standard philosophy texts, but lost patience with the premise or pace. One thing this cancer crap does, is make you start wondering, why me, what matters, what purpose is served by any aspect of existence. I love science, and the amazing discoveries that add to the body of knowledge almost every day, but science can only provide the how, and debunk what isn't truth. Science won't resolve "why", likely nothing will, but, these days, it's an itch I want to scratch. So, let me know if a particular read had meaning for you. Thanks...............................................Dave
Comments
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Dave, have you read
any of Joseph Campbell's works? There was a Bill Moyers TV series back in the late 1980s that featured him, and he's written several books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces. One of my favorite quotes of his from The Power of Myth is :“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth.
Grace/lizard44
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When you ask
...why me, there is no answer to that, because it is a wrong question. We may may not have done things to get cancer. But it's just a game of chance.
When you ask about the meaning of life, there are two sides to that: the meaning of your personal life and the meaning of LIFE on Earth.
The meaing of your own life is very personal to you so you have to find it yourself. No one can do it for you. You have look at your personality, family, history, friends, lifestyle, spirituality etc.
The meaning of LIFE as long term biological process is simple. It is not the individual that matters but the long term. The role of the individual is to pass on To the next generation the best genes possible and care for them until they become independent to do the same thing to their offsprings.
Today we are very selfish. We want to feel important as an individual and even enjoy life not just survive. Often we spoil our offsprings in the name of giving them a better chance. But many times they are less prepared to be independent or takes lot longer. We made our world so complicated that now it takes 20 years of schooling and parenting to become somewhat independent of ten with a huge student loan which takes a lifetime to pay back.
Good spirituality or good religion is about to make us realize that there is something bigger than us whether you believe in evolution or God. We are just one pearl on a long necklace.
Thank you for bringing up this subject. A life threatening disease or situation often puts us in a much realistic and healthier state of mind.
Laz
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Grace, I'll see if I can getlizard44 said:Dave, have you read
any of Joseph Campbell's works? There was a Bill Moyers TV series back in the late 1980s that featured him, and he's written several books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces. One of my favorite quotes of his from The Power of Myth is :“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth.
Grace/lizard44
Grace, I'll see if I can get a copy of "The Power of Myth". As far as the rapture of being alive, when I was about 10 or 11, I would stand in front of the bathroom mirror and repeat things like "I am" and "this is me" trying to grasp my very existence. If I focused enough, the hair on my neck stood up, chills ran through my body, and the back of my head felt like it was going to pop off. That was my first attempt to feel the rapture of being alive, and the beginning of a search for different kinds of rushes, both adrenaline and chemically induced. Given the separation of function in our brains[higher functions vs the animal level stuff] we may well be looking for things on multiple levels, but the front of my brain definitly is stuck on "why?".........................................Dave
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Laz, thanks for a nicelylp1964 said:When you ask
...why me, there is no answer to that, because it is a wrong question. We may may not have done things to get cancer. But it's just a game of chance.
When you ask about the meaning of life, there are two sides to that: the meaning of your personal life and the meaning of LIFE on Earth.
The meaing of your own life is very personal to you so you have to find it yourself. No one can do it for you. You have look at your personality, family, history, friends, lifestyle, spirituality etc.
The meaning of LIFE as long term biological process is simple. It is not the individual that matters but the long term. The role of the individual is to pass on To the next generation the best genes possible and care for them until they become independent to do the same thing to their offsprings.
Today we are very selfish. We want to feel important as an individual and even enjoy life not just survive. Often we spoil our offsprings in the name of giving them a better chance. But many times they are less prepared to be independent or takes lot longer. We made our world so complicated that now it takes 20 years of schooling and parenting to become somewhat independent of ten with a huge student loan which takes a lifetime to pay back.
Good spirituality or good religion is about to make us realize that there is something bigger than us whether you believe in evolution or God. We are just one pearl on a long necklace.
Thank you for bringing up this subject. A life threatening disease or situation often puts us in a much realistic and healthier state of mind.
Laz
Laz, thanks for a nicely framed response. I agree with the dichotomy, and my struggle is more with the big picture for life and humans. I can find purpose in my existence, through my kids and family, and anyone I'm able to help along the way. I'm content with that role. On the bigger purpose, certainly the first "duty" is to continue the species, to procreate, to help life flourish beyond our tiny lifetime, one little link in an almost endless chain. What purpose that chain of life and subsequent intellegence have in a seemingly indifferent universe is what vexes me. A big space rock has the ability to erase us [at least up to now], same as the dinosaurs, who had 65mill years or so to develop, and did nothing but live, breed, and mostly get bigger as a response to their environment. Is intellect just an adaptation to help us flourish, if so, to what purpose, or endgame? In philosophy there's a school of thought called absurdism, in which some hypothesize that the end is oblivion, and therefore life and all its fuss and feathers is absurd, much ado about nothing. I don't subscribe to that view, because I don't accept that oblivion is our fate, on either level. Sadly, I don't think we have enough information to form even a good guess as to where things are going, much like we don't have a clue as to what makes up 3/4s of the universe [dark matter, dark energy], but I would still like to hear what the best minds, focused on the question of existence, have to say.....................................................Dave
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Rapture is an interesting wordbeaumontdave said:Grace, I'll see if I can get
Grace, I'll see if I can get a copy of "The Power of Myth". As far as the rapture of being alive, when I was about 10 or 11, I would stand in front of the bathroom mirror and repeat things like "I am" and "this is me" trying to grasp my very existence. If I focused enough, the hair on my neck stood up, chills ran through my body, and the back of my head felt like it was going to pop off. That was my first attempt to feel the rapture of being alive, and the beginning of a search for different kinds of rushes, both adrenaline and chemically induced. Given the separation of function in our brains[higher functions vs the animal level stuff] we may well be looking for things on multiple levels, but the front of my brain definitly is stuck on "why?".........................................Dave
but maybe it's the approropriate one. Maybe rapture is really feeling that necklace that laz mentioned, the one we're part of. I can remember when I was on a couple of archaelogical digs in college, being the first person to touch an artifact we had just uncovered and realizing that the person who made it and the last person to have touched it had lived thousands of years ago in a world very different from mine. It was a feeling that for that instant there was an electric charge making me one small dot on a long line of a time and space continuum that stretched out in infinity. That was perhaps a rapturous or thrilling feeling. But I get thrilled so often - I get almost rapturous when I see seeds I've planted break through the soil, or discover a tiny wren pecking its way out of an egg in the nest its parents built in one of my hanging baskets, or hearing a piece of music or seeing a work of art that is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I think maybe we all experience those moments but often don't give them the place they deserve in our thinking. I don't think too often anymore about the whys, it's enough most of the time for me to just experience the bliss of the moment. But by the same token, I find it very frustrating to see all the horrors and the suffering in the world around me- they are a little harder to accept without questioning, except most of the time I'm not at all sure what the best question would be of if there really is an answer so I do what I can, where I can, with what I have, realizing tht it's totally inadequate, but hoping it helps just a tiny bit. Maybe that's too simplistic, but after all these years it works for me and I guess we all have to find what works for us as individuals. Sorry to be so long-winded.
Grace/lizard44
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I know what you mean, I milklizard44 said:Rapture is an interesting word
but maybe it's the approropriate one. Maybe rapture is really feeling that necklace that laz mentioned, the one we're part of. I can remember when I was on a couple of archaelogical digs in college, being the first person to touch an artifact we had just uncovered and realizing that the person who made it and the last person to have touched it had lived thousands of years ago in a world very different from mine. It was a feeling that for that instant there was an electric charge making me one small dot on a long line of a time and space continuum that stretched out in infinity. That was perhaps a rapturous or thrilling feeling. But I get thrilled so often - I get almost rapturous when I see seeds I've planted break through the soil, or discover a tiny wren pecking its way out of an egg in the nest its parents built in one of my hanging baskets, or hearing a piece of music or seeing a work of art that is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I think maybe we all experience those moments but often don't give them the place they deserve in our thinking. I don't think too often anymore about the whys, it's enough most of the time for me to just experience the bliss of the moment. But by the same token, I find it very frustrating to see all the horrors and the suffering in the world around me- they are a little harder to accept without questioning, except most of the time I'm not at all sure what the best question would be of if there really is an answer so I do what I can, where I can, with what I have, realizing tht it's totally inadequate, but hoping it helps just a tiny bit. Maybe that's too simplistic, but after all these years it works for me and I guess we all have to find what works for us as individuals. Sorry to be so long-winded.
Grace/lizard44
I know what you mean, I milk those little moments for all I can. Today's involved blue skies and a warm sun [85 degrees in Cali, feels good if your not working], blossoms popping on my fruit trees, and little lizards running everywhere on the walls, while I water everything. I don't need my why's answered to find joy and meaning in the moment[s], but sometimes my mind reaches for more, so I try to be open to other developed ideas as to the big questions, and there's a lot of different points of view out there. Thanks for sharing yours...................................Dave
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I think about this a lot too!beaumontdave said:Laz, thanks for a nicely
Laz, thanks for a nicely framed response. I agree with the dichotomy, and my struggle is more with the big picture for life and humans. I can find purpose in my existence, through my kids and family, and anyone I'm able to help along the way. I'm content with that role. On the bigger purpose, certainly the first "duty" is to continue the species, to procreate, to help life flourish beyond our tiny lifetime, one little link in an almost endless chain. What purpose that chain of life and subsequent intellegence have in a seemingly indifferent universe is what vexes me. A big space rock has the ability to erase us [at least up to now], same as the dinosaurs, who had 65mill years or so to develop, and did nothing but live, breed, and mostly get bigger as a response to their environment. Is intellect just an adaptation to help us flourish, if so, to what purpose, or endgame? In philosophy there's a school of thought called absurdism, in which some hypothesize that the end is oblivion, and therefore life and all its fuss and feathers is absurd, much ado about nothing. I don't subscribe to that view, because I don't accept that oblivion is our fate, on either level. Sadly, I don't think we have enough information to form even a good guess as to where things are going, much like we don't have a clue as to what makes up 3/4s of the universe [dark matter, dark energy], but I would still like to hear what the best minds, focused on the question of existence, have to say.....................................................Dave
As you said our basic biological function is to survive long enough to pass on our genes. At the beginning of human (and other species too) evolution intelligence helped us to survive. The brain though started putting layer on the fundamentals. Food wasn't just fuel anymore. Now it has to look good, smell good, be warm or cold, we need to know what's in it and where it's from. Procreation is not mating anymore. We need the proper atmosphere, sexy outfit, candle and techniques to make the experience last and be memorable. Our great grand parents didnt even make the connection between mating and babies. "We were blessed by God!"
Then came the intellectual layer. You have to realize the intellect has only meaning to the mind that creates it and the minds that preceive it. Like a languagge. Chinese makes sense only to those when understand it. To others is meaningless.
Intelligense is meaningless to the biological world. It only feels important to our on minds. It's a luxury we can only afford when life is easy. Sadly all this accumulated wisdom becomes meaningless even disappears when society breaks down or the person dies.
It's hell of an entertainment though.
I live in Los Angeles. Where do you live in Cali?
Laz
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Thought provokinglp1964 said:I think about this a lot too!
As you said our basic biological function is to survive long enough to pass on our genes. At the beginning of human (and other species too) evolution intelligence helped us to survive. The brain though started putting layer on the fundamentals. Food wasn't just fuel anymore. Now it has to look good, smell good, be warm or cold, we need to know what's in it and where it's from. Procreation is not mating anymore. We need the proper atmosphere, sexy outfit, candle and techniques to make the experience last and be memorable. Our great grand parents didnt even make the connection between mating and babies. "We were blessed by God!"
Then came the intellectual layer. You have to realize the intellect has only meaning to the mind that creates it and the minds that preceive it. Like a languagge. Chinese makes sense only to those when understand it. To others is meaningless.
Intelligense is meaningless to the biological world. It only feels important to our on minds. It's a luxury we can only afford when life is easy. Sadly all this accumulated wisdom becomes meaningless even disappears when society breaks down or the person dies.
It's hell of an entertainment though.
I live in Los Angeles. Where do you live in Cali?
Laz
Thank you, Laz.
I do believe building our intellect is important, to a point. I've beat myself up about being 'stupid' all of my life, only to learn that I'm not stupid after all, I'm just not university material. There is a difference.
My faith has been put under a microscope these past years. I understand where you are coming from, Dave. It is hard for me to rely totally on faith that 'everything will be OK'. I beleive it will, I just don't understand the WHY'S and WHEREFORES.
There are many great books out there to help you understand, but in the end, it has to come from inside youself.
Enjoy yourself as you learn as opposed to letting it get you down or depress you that you can't figure it all out.
Sue - Trubrit
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Perfect love casts out all fear
That is Gods promise to those who love and have committed thier life to Jesus Christ. A person can read and explore many different written works but unless they are immersed in the truth and love of God toward us and the buying back of our Souls thru the sacrifice of Christ, they will not give you the silver bullet you are looking for. Our meaning to life is wrapped up in our Creator for, who or what is bigger and more important than that ? What alot of people arent aware of , is, how the modern sciences are confirming that the Bible is true and can be trusted in all matters concerning reality. The best book ive read in a long time is "I Dont Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist" (www.amazon.com) by Dr. Norman Geisler and Turek which thoroughly covers our meaning to life, what we should be doing with it, with a strong slant toward the modern sciences also. The last part of the book deeply explains why the Christian Faith is true thereby eliminating all competing religions, philosophies, ideology., and the plethera of psuedo-sciences that inundate our society.
I have found my meaning to life, what my purpose is for the remaining years, and a cancellation of fear concerning death to this life because the Lord i serve accomplished a historically verified ressurection thereby conquering death. There is a real peace that can be had going thru this disease of cancer for either way i know that i cannot loose and it only gets better ; and its based on a free personal relationship with the Universes Creator /Saviour available to all. . If you want to talk more feel free to email me at Ilbebauck@gmail.com Dave
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Hi Dave,Maybe this book would
Hi Dave,Maybe this book would interest you - it's by a world renowned physicist, Stephen Hawking. The link at the bottom is where you can order it from Amazon if you'd like.
"The first major work in nearly a decade by one of the world's great thinkers—a marvelously concise book with new answers to the ultimate questions of life:
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of reality? Why are the laws of nature so finely tuned as to allow for the existence of beings like ourselves? And, finally, is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation"http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Design-Stephen-Hawking/dp/0553805371/
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Why does...LivinginNH said:Hi Dave,Maybe this book would
Hi Dave,Maybe this book would interest you - it's by a world renowned physicist, Stephen Hawking. The link at the bottom is where you can order it from Amazon if you'd like.
"The first major work in nearly a decade by one of the world's great thinkers—a marvelously concise book with new answers to the ultimate questions of life:
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of reality? Why are the laws of nature so finely tuned as to allow for the existence of beings like ourselves? And, finally, is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation"http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Design-Stephen-Hawking/dp/0553805371/
...the universe have to have a beginning. Why can't it just exist forever like God. Those who believe know that God wasn't born, he doesn't have a beginning and an end. Why can't the universe be like that. Maybe the universe just vibrates between existance and non-existance so fast that we only experience the existence phase. Light and sound waves have dark and silent phase between them. But we only experience the light and sound part unless we build sensitive instruments.
Bringing this discussion back to our common issue: cancer. Cancer cells are the ultimate survivors. The multiply, they spread and they cannot stop or die. They can cheat the immune system and not be detected. They are "intelligent" to stop multiplying when they sense chemo that only works on cells that multiply. Actually they are too perfect, they kill the host that feeds them. Kind of like us, humans on this planet?
Laz
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Perfect Love and our trueDaveHereInFlorida said:Perfect love casts out all fear
That is Gods promise to those who love and have committed thier life to Jesus Christ. A person can read and explore many different written works but unless they are immersed in the truth and love of God toward us and the buying back of our Souls thru the sacrifice of Christ, they will not give you the silver bullet you are looking for. Our meaning to life is wrapped up in our Creator for, who or what is bigger and more important than that ? What alot of people arent aware of , is, how the modern sciences are confirming that the Bible is true and can be trusted in all matters concerning reality. The best book ive read in a long time is "I Dont Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist" (www.amazon.com) by Dr. Norman Geisler and Turek which thoroughly covers our meaning to life, what we should be doing with it, with a strong slant toward the modern sciences also. The last part of the book deeply explains why the Christian Faith is true thereby eliminating all competing religions, philosophies, ideology., and the plethera of psuedo-sciences that inundate our society.
I have found my meaning to life, what my purpose is for the remaining years, and a cancellation of fear concerning death to this life because the Lord i serve accomplished a historically verified ressurection thereby conquering death. There is a real peace that can be had going thru this disease of cancer for either way i know that i cannot loose and it only gets better ; and its based on a free personal relationship with the Universes Creator /Saviour available to all. . If you want to talk more feel free to email me at Ilbebauck@gmail.com Dave
Perfect Love and our true spiritual identity is the theme of the many articles my sweet mother brings me, as she is a devout Christian Scientist. I read them, mostly to honor her love and concern, but that faith veers in a much different direction than evangelical Christianity. I'm happy that you've found peace and purpose, Dave, and that your beliefs take away the fear and uncertainty, but after a lifetime of soul searching and questioning what we think we know, I need to follow this path, even if it leaves me anxious and uncertain about the meaning of things, and hungry to know things that may never be answered to any real satisfaction..............................Dave
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I read "A Brief History ofLivinginNH said:Hi Dave,Maybe this book would
Hi Dave,Maybe this book would interest you - it's by a world renowned physicist, Stephen Hawking. The link at the bottom is where you can order it from Amazon if you'd like.
"The first major work in nearly a decade by one of the world's great thinkers—a marvelously concise book with new answers to the ultimate questions of life:
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of reality? Why are the laws of nature so finely tuned as to allow for the existence of beings like ourselves? And, finally, is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation"http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Design-Stephen-Hawking/dp/0553805371/
I read "A Brief History of Time" and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'm open to anything by Dr. Hawking. I think he is the one who first convinced me that "why" may not be ever answered, other than to say "Because it is so". I'll get Grand Design and then maybe I'll read Brief History again, I have a hard time with physic's concepts. Thanks...............................................Dave
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In the multiverse, everythinglp1964 said:Why does...
...the universe have to have a beginning. Why can't it just exist forever like God. Those who believe know that God wasn't born, he doesn't have a beginning and an end. Why can't the universe be like that. Maybe the universe just vibrates between existance and non-existance so fast that we only experience the existence phase. Light and sound waves have dark and silent phase between them. But we only experience the light and sound part unless we build sensitive instruments.
Bringing this discussion back to our common issue: cancer. Cancer cells are the ultimate survivors. The multiply, they spread and they cannot stop or die. They can cheat the immune system and not be detected. They are "intelligent" to stop multiplying when they sense chemo that only works on cells that multiply. Actually they are too perfect, they kill the host that feeds them. Kind of like us, humans on this planet?
Laz
In the multiverse, everything may be cyclical, and move between dimensions [another thing I can't begin to wrap my mind around]. Cancer does behave much like an independent organism, like a virus that adapts and overcomes what we throw at it. If it was a little smarter, it would slow it's roll at the point where our system starts to fail, like a parasite or fungus, to keep us, and by extension, it alive, but noooooo, it has to get all greedy and spread all over........................................Dave
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Many millions of people are
Many millions of people are evangelical Christians and are having a peace thru adversities in life. Jesus and his calvary/resurection accomplishments put him well above competing religions and ideology including any alleged science claim such as the multiverse speculation , our universe is a chance happening, and a fish became a Fisherman. THE MEANING TO LIFE AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH IT IS WRAPPED UP IN A PERSON AND NOT THE CREATED. Its the Creator who deserves our trust , honor, and worship .... nothing else will satisfy deeply because we each have this void in our souls meant for him to fill. Once filled, a miraculous rebirth in the persons Soul takes place as the Creator actually comes to dwell in us. Philosophy, making idols of created things, trying hard to live morally , diving into various pleasure experiences , etc... just cant fill that void because they lack power and are only temporarily fulfilling . This life is all about Gods totally free gift of his Son paying the ultimate price on behalf of our sin account so we can enjoy GOD both now knowing we are at one with him and thru a wonderful relationship feeling his love, mercy, and care for us. Its free to all and im just a Guy who took advantage of Gods Plan to be saved so i know that death isnt the last say-so for me --- it is simply a doorway to eternal life being in direct prsence with the Creator. Its meant to be simple instead of thru some complex temporary acquistion of some thing .
As you seek deep meaning to life, please remember the truth of Jesus from a historical reality standpoint as well as from science confirmation thru archeological finds, etc.. Its all within easy reach upon a simple google search. You may want to read a very small book highlighting the proofs making Christianity true thru the book 'More Than A Carpenter' by Josh McDonnell (www.amazon.com). . Because your eternity is at stake , i greatly encourage you to deeply investigate the Christian Faith and dont base it on what you witnessed in your moms walk or anyone else. It has to be made very personal. Thanks for the exchange and your seriousness in the matter. Dave
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Fascinating....
Hi Dave,
Thanks for a very fascinating subject. I believe your question is at the heart of every human being, possibly every living creature. Growing up, I had a very smart German Shepherd/Lab mix. I looked into her eyes a lot as a kid, and just felt like she had the answers. She had the "connection" to our creator, which I believe to be "God", our Lord, "The most high God," or whomever you like to call the beginning of creation.
That said, I love all the responses here. And, I think the biggest book of meaning is the Bible. Really, it reads like history, and is history. But, you are searching outside of that, and I think it is great that you listed the Bible in your search.
That said, I think there are many answers. More answers than the cures for cancer. More answers than stars. And, not unlike the wizard of oz, your answers are within you. So, maybe some books on Tai Chi, or meditation, or really getting connected to that inner you. I also actually see meaning for life in the face of a newborn baby. Yeah, babies are cute, but there is something about a human being before they are indoctrinated into the busy busy world of busy. So, the answers are in you.
But, I am thrilled to hear what others have to say here. I do like the classics, and Steinberg, and C.S. Lewis, and some of the crazier dark stuff like Kafka and Poe. I believe that all well written books, and all art forms are the act of people reaching in and getting in touch with themselves.
And, let us not forget the "Hokey Pokey," ....that's what it's all about...
thanks again for a fantastic post!
Sharron
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A reminder from your CSN Support TeamDaveHereInFlorida said:Many millions of people are
Many millions of people are evangelical Christians and are having a peace thru adversities in life. Jesus and his calvary/resurection accomplishments put him well above competing religions and ideology including any alleged science claim such as the multiverse speculation , our universe is a chance happening, and a fish became a Fisherman. THE MEANING TO LIFE AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH IT IS WRAPPED UP IN A PERSON AND NOT THE CREATED. Its the Creator who deserves our trust , honor, and worship .... nothing else will satisfy deeply because we each have this void in our souls meant for him to fill. Once filled, a miraculous rebirth in the persons Soul takes place as the Creator actually comes to dwell in us. Philosophy, making idols of created things, trying hard to live morally , diving into various pleasure experiences , etc... just cant fill that void because they lack power and are only temporarily fulfilling . This life is all about Gods totally free gift of his Son paying the ultimate price on behalf of our sin account so we can enjoy GOD both now knowing we are at one with him and thru a wonderful relationship feeling his love, mercy, and care for us. Its free to all and im just a Guy who took advantage of Gods Plan to be saved so i know that death isnt the last say-so for me --- it is simply a doorway to eternal life being in direct prsence with the Creator. Its meant to be simple instead of thru some complex temporary acquistion of some thing .
As you seek deep meaning to life, please remember the truth of Jesus from a historical reality standpoint as well as from science confirmation thru archeological finds, etc.. Its all within easy reach upon a simple google search. You may want to read a very small book highlighting the proofs making Christianity true thru the book 'More Than A Carpenter' by Josh McDonnell (www.amazon.com). . Because your eternity is at stake , i greatly encourage you to deeply investigate the Christian Faith and dont base it on what you witnessed in your moms walk or anyone else. It has to be made very personal. Thanks for the exchange and your seriousness in the matter. Dave
Hi DaveHereInFlorida,
Please keep in mind that the CSN terms and conditions ask all members to respect the spiritual beliefs of others and to refrain from proselytizing on the boards. This does not at all mean that you can't talk about your faith and its place in your life, but we do ask that discussions do not invalidate the beliefs (or disbelief) that other members may hold. Religious belief is always a complicated subject, and I appreciate your offer to continue the discussion privately with interested parties.
Best regards,
Rowan
CSN Support Team
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Love the responses, lifesSharronoffaith said:Fascinating....
Hi Dave,
Thanks for a very fascinating subject. I believe your question is at the heart of every human being, possibly every living creature. Growing up, I had a very smart German Shepherd/Lab mix. I looked into her eyes a lot as a kid, and just felt like she had the answers. She had the "connection" to our creator, which I believe to be "God", our Lord, "The most high God," or whomever you like to call the beginning of creation.
That said, I love all the responses here. And, I think the biggest book of meaning is the Bible. Really, it reads like history, and is history. But, you are searching outside of that, and I think it is great that you listed the Bible in your search.
That said, I think there are many answers. More answers than the cures for cancer. More answers than stars. And, not unlike the wizard of oz, your answers are within you. So, maybe some books on Tai Chi, or meditation, or really getting connected to that inner you. I also actually see meaning for life in the face of a newborn baby. Yeah, babies are cute, but there is something about a human being before they are indoctrinated into the busy busy world of busy. So, the answers are in you.
But, I am thrilled to hear what others have to say here. I do like the classics, and Steinberg, and C.S. Lewis, and some of the crazier dark stuff like Kafka and Poe. I believe that all well written books, and all art forms are the act of people reaching in and getting in touch with themselves.
And, let us not forget the "Hokey Pokey," ....that's what it's all about...
thanks again for a fantastic post!
Sharron
Love the responses, lifes mysteries can take us away from the mundane bs and even the scary stuff, because we all want to "know", it's built in to us.
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Two Thumbs Up!!!lizard44 said:Dave, have you read
any of Joseph Campbell's works? There was a Bill Moyers TV series back in the late 1980s that featured him, and he's written several books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces. One of my favorite quotes of his from The Power of Myth is :“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”~ Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth.
Grace/lizard44
Joseph Campbell is great. I often call him "The Other J.C.". I have it all on audio. Feel free to check it out
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