Yes, there is no heaven; we must create it here. The goal of all of humanity must be to escape the heat death of the universe and become gods ourselves. On a personal level, it is to contribute to that effort.
@@vivian3811 Yes, we can become gods and therefore be masters of our fate; this is our destiny and what everyone should work towards. Many atheists like Sam say the meaning of life is art or experience or some other bullshit. These things furnish a life but upon serious examination, provide no real meaning. My answer is that yes, God probably doesn't exist but that we can become gods.
@@harichard6366 Its more like "Meaning" doesn't exist, just moments of joy where your ego doesn't matter. You are talking about beings escaping heat death but that wouldn't be humans or living creatures as we understand them, it seems to me like saying the meaning of matter is to become alive.
The meaning of human life is to experience life, I don't think it is any more complicated than that. It doesn't have to be mind blowing and deep every minute of everyday, it is mostly quite boring or mundane, but that is ok. Now I will water my plants.
it doesn’t have to be boring most of the time, people can live very vast and different lives, there are people from different times and places that we can’t even imagine how their experiences were compared to ours. if you don’t like the present experience you are in, change it.
I don't even think there is an answer. It's a malformed question. It's like asking what's the meaning of a mountain? It's just something that happens to exist because of the laws of nature.
yea i don’t think this is a question that comes up when you are super engaged in the present. this is only a recent problem in society where everyone is bored and isolated in boxes
@Steve Zubrowski except the fact that not every human being is a philosopher and that civilized humanity is only a small portion of human history. its definitely more of a modern problem brought on by the current environment. do you think you are thinking about your lives "meaning" when you are hunting/gathering for your survival?
@@acraze2287 that is a very good point. i can't think of ANY argument that would oppose that. we live way too easy now. also not that it is related (but i personally think it is), but this rising movement in the "lgbtq+" community PERSONALLY seems like a bunch of YOUNG PEOPLE struggling to find their identity. i know that the occasional adult has done this too, but i feel like the decision for young kids picking a gender is a decision much like deciding to become transgender at 10 years old before your brain is fully developed and actually UNDERSTANDS WHAT exactly it is you want from life. it seems like an attempt to feel different or special under our new EASY living society HELL!! TAKE ME FOR EXAMPLE. i grew UP on the fucking internet. i watched Shane Dawson (who turned out to be gay.) i listened to ABSURDLY "gay" music.(a lot from his videos lol) I ENDED UP CHANGING. I WASN'T BORN GAY, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT LIFE AND ONCE I FULLY UNDERSTOOD "GAY" I UNDERSTOOD THAT I WASN'T BORN THAT WAY.
In my opinion it's kinda a dumb quote. I mean, the majority of people are not happy but you know how they get happy? Yes, by becoming happy. And like gary vee said "You are not born with unhappines, you're born happy", but the real world, all the interactions, all the comparisons changes your perspective witch can make you unhappy.
@@coga8116 I am almost certain that what he means by this quote is that you get happy only by loosing yourself in the present moment in a happiness-conducive activity/experience. “Become happy” is the mentality that “I will be happy when I make 1M dollars, or when I get a new promotion, or when I mary Elisa.” In fact, people tend to be happy, if only for a moment, while loosing themselves in the pure thought that they will be happy when they say won the lottery, or get that promotion, and not when they actually win or get that promotion
@@coga8116 That’s actually not true that the outside world and events literally make you happy. What happens is how the mind reacts….rumination on the past, worrying about the future, negative self talk, etc. Negative events can definitely worsen thought patterns and increase risk of mental illness to where medication/therapy is useful But its still the other side of the same coin Sam is talking about…which is the mind is never truly here in the present moment and is lost in thought
In a world of 140 character "answers" I appreciate when real humans take time to answer a deep question with thought, nuance, self-awareness and grace.
One of my students, when asked the same question, looked straight ahead and then swiveled his eyes towards me and grimaced and then smiled and said, "Why do you always ask the most outrageous questions? How do I know what the meaning of life is----no, wait," he said. "The meaning of life for me is to enjoy my life." That gave me what I had been looking for all along. Of course, that's it; the meaning of life is to enjoy the whole trip, good days, bad days----all the days until your last breath...
"The ego-climber is like an instrument that's out of adjustment. He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late. He's likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees. He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he's tired. He rests at odd times. He looks up the trail trying to see what's ahead even when he knows what's ahead because he just looked a second before. He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else. He's here but he's not here. He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be "here." What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it's all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant." ~Robert M. Pirsig,
I'm reading Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance now... Its a wonderful book and I feel very relevant in today's world... I think you need to read it slowly and carefully a couple of times to squeeze all the goodness out... Very high quality stuff💪
@@markrc2012 Agreed, very high quality stuff. I first read that book in college back in the early 80s. I've since re-read it at least four more times. Every time I read it, I get a deeper perspective. When you finish ZEN, there's a sequel Pirsig wrote called "LILA". Also highly recommended.
The act of seeking happiness in any person, object or circumstance outside of yourself is not only a confession of unhappiness, it is the method of unhappiness.
Only 30sec in, not sure what the whole answer is going to be, but the way he starts the answer resonates with something I've been thinking about, "what is the meaning of my life" is not a real question, but rather an intellectual expression of ones own emotional and psychological state, a satisfied happy person is not really asking that question, its usually when we feel lost or depressed that the feeling of meaninglessness emerges, and its never about finding the right correct answer to the question that resolves the the condition.
The Buddha went through hell for years putting his body and mind through extreme measures to answer this question. After all the pain, experimentation, and discovery, he arrived at this: THIS IS IT! There is nothing else! This is very much aligned with Sam's answer.
Buddhism in general is classified as " the middle path". It avoids seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. The 4 Noble truths elucidate the cause of suffering and the emancipation from it through through the eightfold path.
Love this! Reminds me of when Eckhart Tolle beautifully talks about the present moment. Key word is "being", not "doing." Being aware that you are aware is the key to enjoying presence. This leads to meaning and feeling happy. No thinking is required! Past and future are thought forms. It's always NOW! And it's all we will ever have. ❤🙏
I was struggling for a while to figure out what the real point, or meaning of music was, it seemed so obviously important and yet I couldn't pin-point the answer. Then, when I was working on a song, I realized I was no longer asking that question.. no longer wondering what the meaning was.. it became so obvious.. The music was the meaning. The very act itself was what satisfied me... not some kind of arbitrary goal. I think all of life can be like that. Life _is_ the meaning.
The meaning of life as he said is living in the present. As Stoicism teaches, the meaning of life is learn to be content in the present by controlling only what you can control and letting go of what you can't control. Letting go of what you can't control allows you not to fret about things that will never change by your influence and allows you to not fall into disappointment. You are only deeply disappointed when you have an expectation. Controlling what you can control gives you a sense of progress, hope, meaning, and self-worth.
The stoics are my favorite philosophers by far. I have enjoyed the works of many different philosophers, Nietzsche, Kant, Schopenhauer, etc. but the stoics just speak to me.
"You're doing something more and more indispensable in this world" is probably the greatest compliment one can get. And then, in addition, it's from Sam Harris.
I believe the meaning of life is to learn and experience, then to teach and pass on as much knowledge as possible, advancing humanity. Sure, being a "present and participatory consciousness" as Sam describes, is necessary, but I don't really think of as a "meaning", it's moreso a way of being or appreciating the life you have by staying in the moment as much as possible. (Which, due to a lack of free will according to Sam, I have a hard time ascribing "meaning" to.)
I have a few points to make about Sam's answer here. Sam starts with fastening the idea that this question might be the wrong one to ask. However comforting that feels to me as someone who has struggled with that question for years now, i don't think rejecting the question is the appropriate way of approaching this very real question. The other thing is Sam's answer to that question. I feel he has taken shade in the comfort of perceiving this question differently. Sam's answer of either observing meaning in every moment as we pass by it is a solution to the problem of not finding an answer to this question, it however is not the answer to the question itself. It's a way of meditating in the realm of mindfulness where shifting the mere realization of how all of this (our human experience) is only the external world & not what's within is like a hallucinogen. A hallucinogen because many people live in that mindful state, not letting the "question of meaning of life" scratch them. I am aware of some people who live their entire life meditating to avoid questions of this complexity. Now, i am not saying Sam is wrong. I am only saying that his answer reflects a little defeatism. It's a good answer for sure but it's no where close to answering the actual question.
I'll agree with Sam on one thing. We are always trying to get to that perfect moment in time. "OK, this is is what life is all about" but we quickly realize the grass is always greener over the septic tank. You can meditate , you can drop acid, you can think this is all a dream. And all that matters is now. Then i would suggest that that view is a narrow one . Its' not all about you. Illusion or not.
Here's my experience. Meaning is a feeling. It has to be felt. It's deeper than logic. Just like other emotions / modes of being. It hits you out of the blue when you walk YOUR path, and I have actually felt it deeply, which I never thought I would. It has later eluded me but that's a different matter.. need to get back on my path.. but just knowing it's possible even for me, I never thought it would, is a blessing. My view now is like this, I really want to be able to lie down in a grass field and feel amazing, not a worry in the world, but I don't think I arrive there by laying down in a grass field and try to not have a worry in the world. It arrives when it arrives. We all have fears we need to face, to even identifying those fears is a fear in itself, that day in the grass field are for the ones that do and face them head on. Also, love plays a deep role here, at some level, even staying alive has some meaning to me because I know people I love would suffer if I died. Again, you can ask, WHY does suffering matter.. I don't know, but something in me says it does, not logic, trust that guy feeling again and again, and logic might seem to have less weight in your life. One thing is for sure, it is that logic is just one of many intelligences we possess as humans, but it's over utilized, it's not where meaning is found. The question why can be asked endlessly, for any matter and you will arrive at the same destination, that it can't be solved logically. For people that are intelligent, and rely on their logic for so many matters, this can be maddening, often because we start asking these questions at times of being disconnected, looking for answers in the wrong places. Good luck on YOUR journey!
What is the meaning of life?I doubt whether a doctor can answer this question in general terms.For the meaning of life differs from man to man,from day to day and from hour to hour.What matters therefore is not the meaning of life in general terms.But rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure,as Freud Believed,or a quest for power as Alfred Adler taught,but a quest for meaning.The greatest task for any person is to find a meaning in his or her life.Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning :in work(Doing something significant),in love(Caring for another person),and in courage during difficult times.Suffering in and of itself is meaningless.We give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it. This is a piece from Victor E. Frankl's book " Man's Search for Meaning".Which I will recommend for you.Your life will not be the same after reading that book. Here are two more quotes from Jordan Peterson(Clinical psychologist) and Yuval Noah Harrari(Historian) on the meaning of life for you to ponder. 1.A meaningful life can be extremely satisfying even in the midst of hardship whereas a meaningless life is a terrible ordeal no matter how satisfying it is. ‐Yuval Noah 2.The meaning of life as far as I am concerned(J. Peterson) is to find a mode of being that is so meaningful that,the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant. ‐Jordan B.Peterson.
@@matterisnotsolid8295 You mean that 's an idea you came up with to surviva in a meaningless universe, it's pretty obvious that the question is asking is there an objective purpose, a reason we are literally here preformed somewhere by something
@@danb7601 An idea? I said conclusion. Why is it necessary to change my words here? So it is a conclusion that I came to so that I could set aside the question and move on. Realizing that there would never be an actual answer that fit for everyone I only needed one that would fit for me and allow me to move forward. This one works for me.
@@daynnite4462 Couldn't find the exact interview I remember but here's one where he gives many explanations if you go to 7:00 mark you'll find the one the same as Sam Harris' . th-cam.com/video/LNiExNNuCjY/w-d-xo.html
@@feralmode Agreed..it is funny when people that are smart talk and everyone thinks that the times in which they spew mumbo jumbo is so profound. He is talking like he is on shrooms or something..i'm sure it makes sense to him, but to the rest of us.....uhhh what?
The meaning to life to me is it has a different answer for every person. We all live our own lives and create our own destiny/future and the decisions we make till the time we take our last breath is our answer to the meaning of life. You wanna know your answer? Live and tell us your meaning of life when you are ready.
@@jimmerskrimmerfriddet3246 exactly. “But he can’t be that wise... He doesn’t even worship at the altar of the spray-tanned ego... Some guru... Am I right?”
Agree with him. For me, it helps if i compartmentalize my day so this hour I try not to worry about the next hour. But i do assign some time each day to General planning. It is hard, but I am trying.
that was a great clip, trippy seeing whats said by Sam Harris whos an atheist basically explain the tenets of "Be here now" hippie/spiritual/buddhist philosophy. And I think its cool that even with two different belief systems, that the same conclusion about how to live a good life can still be arrived at independently of each other.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy had a profound scene when the computer answered "42". In ASCII binary code, 42 is the asterisk. Hence it is what you make of it.
"Be in the moment", and be grateful for it. The book "Ball Four" by Jim Bouton had an extremely memorable passage in it that I never forgot, and ironically enough it's very relatable to what Sam is saying. Bouton, for those of you who don't know, was a major league pitcher in the sixties and early seventies (mainly for the Yankees). He described just walking in the outfield well before the game began, and he became conscious that he was not "tingling". What he meant by that was that he had become so accustomed to being a major league baseball player that it began to feel "routine", and he knew it was "wrong", because he knew how special and privileged he was to be a major leaguer. He vowed from then on to always be "aware" of how lucky he was to be there, to essentially be living a "dream".
Okay. I love both of these gentleman as thinkers for different reasons. When I see Lex- IDK why- and I don't know his spiritual beliefs but his infectious obsession with spreading the virus of love in all he touches actually seemed to penetrate the ever somewhat gloomy existential almost nihilistic look that I always see behind Sam's eyes. Sam-for one so enlightened and meditative something in his eyes seems dark. Maybe I need to read the Moral Landscape. Lex though he may be a supervillain in the making seems so much more radiant with an almost Christ-like aura about him. Must be the Elder Zosima vibe of the Russian- or maybe he is somehow channeling young Alyosha (Brothers Karamazov)somehow-I am certain that must be one of his literary favourites. Love both these guys.
I think the immersion and engagement in this moment, all moments, is more like the path rather than the meaning of life. We might say meaning of life is about self-realization, self-expression ... about becoming that which we potentially are, and are, in a sense, coded to be. That's different for every person, every animate and inanimate thing. A tree becomes what is it's potential, a duck becomes what is its potential to become, the universe becomes what is its potential to become. That seems a foundation for meaning.
Sam dodged the question a bit here. I agree that learning to be in the moment is a pre-req to have a sense of true meaning. However, if that ability is obtained you must still make choices about what you do with your life to provide that meaning. He skims over this when he says (paraphrasing) "you can't just sit around all as a ball of mush. You need to actually do things". He obviously chooses a path in life that he finds meaningful and I wish he would have talked about that more.
Yes, thankyou. My personal meaning of life is "Legacy". Interpret that however you will, whether it be creation of family, history, planetary value, etc. Everyone feels they either need to be a Big Name or completely accepting of how small they are on the grander scale of the world. I think even the smallest appliance of self to something greater is all you need
it is more simple. It is the feeling that has left the void of needing to survive. Before the meaning of life was not to die for the most long time. Now in the modern time that purpose is gone, but the urge to have it remains
God this was beautiful! Never have I heard a response to this mysterious question that really speaks to me like this one. I don’t care about the controversies; Sam is brilliant as far as my questions are concerned.
The "engage in the moment" is a doudle-edged sword concept. For meditators and people that experienced psychedelics in a good way it means something and for people that live on auto-pilot every day engaged non-stop in trivial activities means something else. You have to make the distinction correctly and i'm afraid you can't if you never experienced the present moment in a contemplative peaceful way. Engaging and enjoying the moment in a serene, untroubled way is the type you want for not ever wondering whats the "meaning of life".
The question assumes there is one. The same holds true when people ask what the purpose of life is. I would answer that by saying all human beings share the same inescapable purpose, which is to be happy. No matter what you do at any moment, you are striving to be as happy as possible. Even if you're doing something unpleasant, you're doing it because not doing it would make you less happy.
You guys remember that episode of Arrested Development where Gob chips his tooth from biting into a candied apple and whistles every time he pronounces certain words? That was a good one.
@@sapanacharya1365 Are you telling me that someone who believes that the meaning of their life is to 'prevent' the most suffering in the world is equally valuable as someone who believes that the meaning of their life is to 'spread' the most suffering?
🔥 Wow Sam Harris dropping bombs! Two direct quotes from the clip… “Meditation is this kind of superpower, until you learn to mediate the outside world, the circumstances of your life always have to get arranged so that the present moment can become good enough to demand your attention in a way that seems fulfilling and makes you happy.” “You don’t arrive until you cease to step over the present moment in search of the next thing. We’re stepping over the thing that we think we are seeking, in the act of seeking it.”
Someone says to experience life I agree with them , experience the ups and downs of life, the heartbreaks and the happiness of this world ( and brother it goes fast I’m 75 I ask myself what does life experience have for me today enjoy life always think before you act!,
This collection of your extended conversation has been a joy. Thank you Lex and thanks to Sam Harris, though of course, neither of you can take credit since there is no free will. You're both good nodes; it's nice to be part of the same network.
It's very interesting to think about it. Though many people might find Jordan Peterson controversial in the philosophical field I really like the way he described the mechanism of constant movement of the human mind from the "unbearable present" to the "ideal future". I think it is exactly what Sam Is talking about here. It obviously is a mechanism that has led the humanity to the point where it is. It indeed brought many good as well as well as bad things. The funny thing is that we can still still accomplish whatever we want but it is also in our power to have a good experience while accomplishing it instead of the permanent anxiety that unfortunately most people live with throughout their whole lives.
Life in and of itself is rife with meaning, it is up to you to derive it. Mozart's life purpose was not to create music, but rather it was through the creation of music that gave his life meaning. If you perceive your life as meaningless, it is because you believe it to be so, and so it is.
I think this was all about happiness and not in particular about what the sense of life is. I understand this question always as asking for an explanation of what the objective meaning of everything could be and not like "what is your way of living a good life?". But maybe thats just me.
Correct me please But Sam corelates Life with happiness." The meaning of" is happiness, somebody do a math equation for that. Living in that moment in time, Alex adds purpose. So we go from explanation to motivation. Throw in you don't know if your a robot or not and it's all an illusion then perhaps you need stay away from the mushrooms. I love listening to it. I love this channel. Just getting into , but what i don't see or hear is the God equation. Maybe I have not got there yet. But if I were in the room I would ask' " is Jesus Christ who He says he is? ... Drives the intellects crazy... foolishness as Scripture would call it.
That's essentially my second, more serious answer to people, right after I say that the meaning of life is to make more life, which is literally true but is of course not in the spirit of the question.
@@jmuench420 Hi, I will attempt to let you know why I said that. :) Have you noticed the problems that have arisen from the absence of absolute truth? I.e. If man gives meaning to life then meaning is relative and subjective...and therefore problematic. Eg. 350 pd. men can compete as women in the Olympics because "life has the meaning we give it." "Her" truth is truth and anyone who disagrees should be condemned. Or, perhaps an even better example would be the proposed Senate criminal justice reform bill named in the honor of a life-long criminal. These are but two present-day products produced from "man as a meaning machine." These things, and so many more, are occurring because humans believe they decide what the meaning of life is, and this naturally occurs in the absence of understanding the meaning God has given to our lives. I'm not condemning this belief and it's subsequent expression - I get caught up in it as well sometimes - I'm objectively identifying the madness of it.
@@fakeyououtdotcom2409 Reality is scary, but that is the reality. I'd say that Man is ultimately an "everything and anything" machine. A God probably made us, but I dont think he is concerned with the morality and well-being of humans anymore than you might be concerned with the morality and well-being of the insects that live in your neighborhood. Still, just because God(s) may not exist, that doesn't mean the moral philosophy of religion is irrelevant. It's even more crucial to be Jesus-like or Buddha like in the Absence of a God because we have only ourselves for comfort and help. P.S. Quantum Mechanics suggest that there may be infinite universes, infinite versions of you just as there are infinite types of numbers, so take comfort in the fact that there exists a universe where mankind achieved the civilization and philosophies that you prefer and that version of you got to experience it. And that's nice.
The past has gone, the future is not here, only a succession of the constant 'Now', we live in the 'Now'. Learn from suffering, from suffering we learn values we never knew. And from pleasure and happiness, learn how to dig it all, dig the detail, take the mind off the beaten trail, and wander into untrodden meadows of the mind!
To enjoy, through discovery and creation. But you have to “know” and accept that life is all omnipotent and be grateful for the sacrifice and consequent suffering of others, and life in order to sustain your experience within your specific configuration and format of “life”. Once you see beyond language, or drop language. You’ll realise what you really are. Everything and nothing, simultaneously. Language, although has its place, also is the greatest barrier and blockade of “knowing” as people tend to “think” in terms of their learnt, and limited language. Therefor you’re experience and “idea” of your “self” and life is limited to that which you have learnt through linguistic communication and what is logically justifiable to the extent of your exposure to that form of communication
Well most people are average... that's the meaning of "average". It's the middle ground, the standard. It doesn't surprise me that for the intellectual elite, who allow arrogance and over-confidence of one's own capabilities to become the meaning of their existence, the concept of a higher power than themselves is something to dislike.
Haha. Yup. "You must do the answers we have always done" haha Continually I have realized that where I am at now, Jordan doesn't offer me anything more than I have already gotten.
“This is not the rehearsal. This is the show.” There is a beautiful yet intimidating sense about this perspective.
Yes, there is no heaven; we must create it here. The goal of all of humanity must be to escape the heat death of the universe and become gods ourselves. On a personal level, it is to contribute to that effort.
so death are cheers and congratulations, acceptance and joy
@@harichard6366 Sounds like an earnest approach to life.
@@vivian3811 Yes, we can become gods and therefore be masters of our fate; this is our destiny and what everyone should work towards. Many atheists like Sam say the meaning of life is art or experience or some other bullshit. These things furnish a life but upon serious examination, provide no real meaning. My answer is that yes, God probably doesn't exist but that we can become gods.
@@harichard6366 Its more like "Meaning" doesn't exist, just moments of joy where your ego doesn't matter. You are talking about beings escaping heat death but that wouldn't be humans or living creatures as we understand them, it seems to me like saying the meaning of matter is to become alive.
The meaning of human life is to experience life, I don't think it is any more complicated than that. It doesn't have to be mind blowing and deep every minute of everyday, it is mostly quite boring or mundane, but that is ok. Now I will water my plants.
it doesn’t have to be boring most of the time, people can live very vast and different lives, there are people from different times and places that we can’t even imagine how their experiences were compared to ours. if you don’t like the present experience you are in, change it.
I don't even think there is an answer. It's a malformed question. It's like asking what's the meaning of a mountain? It's just something that happens to exist because of the laws of nature.
Luckily, we live in the internet age where we can fill time up.
@@abstractdaddy1384 Except comparing the entirety of biological emergance and life to a mountain is illogical
@@danb7601
Remove the sentence about a mountain from my reply and my point is exactly the same.
So the meaning of life is to live it in such a way that the question never even occurs to you.
yea i don’t think this is a question that comes up when you are super engaged in the present. this is only a recent problem in society where everyone is bored and isolated in boxes
Correct.
Feeling unsatisfied is natural and it creates a beautiful contrast between nothingness and fullness, boredom and excitement.
@Steve Zubrowski except the fact that not every human being is a philosopher and that civilized humanity is only a small portion of human history. its definitely more of a modern problem brought on by the current environment. do you think you are thinking about your lives "meaning" when you are hunting/gathering for your survival?
@@acraze2287 that is a very good point. i can't think of ANY argument that would oppose that. we live way too easy now.
also not that it is related (but i personally think it is), but this rising movement in the "lgbtq+" community PERSONALLY seems like a bunch of YOUNG PEOPLE struggling to find their identity. i know that the occasional adult has done this too, but i feel like the decision for young kids picking a gender is a decision much like deciding to become transgender at 10 years old before your brain is fully developed and actually UNDERSTANDS WHAT exactly it is you want from life.
it seems like an attempt to feel different or special under our new EASY living society
HELL!! TAKE ME FOR EXAMPLE. i grew UP on the fucking internet. i watched Shane Dawson (who turned out to be gay.) i listened to ABSURDLY "gay" music.(a lot from his videos lol) I ENDED UP CHANGING. I WASN'T BORN GAY, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT LIFE AND ONCE I FULLY UNDERSTOOD "GAY" I UNDERSTOOD THAT I WASN'T BORN THAT WAY.
A fish says to another fish: "I'm looking for the ocean"
"This is it, you found it"
"This? No, this is water, I'm looking for the ocean"
Loved this analogy. Thank you for sharing ❤
But the ocean is filled with water….i don’t get it.
@@jimbaker5110 That's the point. It's here. You're looking for it and it's right here.
@@sunkintree What if that fish is in a bowl of water in a fish bowl? That isn’t the ocean….
@@jimbaker5110the fish in this analogy is in the ocean
"You cannot become happy, you can only be happy."
Best quote ever:)
In my opinion it's kinda a dumb quote. I mean, the majority of people are not happy but you know how they get happy? Yes, by becoming happy. And like gary vee said "You are not born with unhappines, you're born happy", but the real world, all the interactions, all the comparisons changes your perspective witch can make you unhappy.
@@coga8116 I am almost certain that what he means by this quote is that you get happy only by loosing yourself in the present moment in a happiness-conducive activity/experience. “Become happy” is the mentality that “I will be happy when I make 1M dollars, or when I get a new promotion, or when I mary Elisa.” In fact, people tend to be happy, if only for a moment, while loosing themselves in the pure thought that they will be happy when they say won the lottery, or get that promotion, and not when they actually win or get that promotion
@@coga8116 That’s actually not true that the outside world and events literally make you happy. What happens is how the mind reacts….rumination on the past, worrying about the future, negative self talk, etc. Negative events can definitely worsen thought patterns and increase risk of mental illness to where medication/therapy is useful
But its still the other side of the same coin Sam is talking about…which is the mind is never truly here in the present moment and is lost in thought
@@jacobl7451 makes sense. +
The spontaneity by which Sam digs deep and shares his knowledge is something of a marvel. It is always a pleasure listening to him.
You can sense how organized his mind and his thoughts are from decades of meditation
He's literally regurgitating Buddhist writings. None of what he says is news or from him. He's a business man.
@@ZeeL4J8C2I have exactly the same organized mind and can speak just as well, yet I don't meditate frequently.
In a world of 140 character "answers" I appreciate when real humans take time to answer a deep question with thought, nuance, self-awareness and grace.
The lack of discussing and/or thinking on a topic in layers, depth and dimensions is one the most keen problems we have in modern society.
I've heard Sam answer and talk on this subject/question probably 100 times and it never gets old. It renews me every time.
i would like this comment but the likes already have the answer to this question
You've listened to Sam Harris over 100 times? dude I really feel sorry for you.
One of my students, when asked the same question, looked straight ahead and then swiveled his eyes towards me and grimaced and then smiled and said, "Why do you always ask the most outrageous questions? How do I know what the meaning of life is----no, wait," he said. "The meaning of life for me is to enjoy my life." That gave me what I had been looking for all along. Of course, that's it; the meaning of life is to enjoy the whole trip, good days, bad days----all the days until your last breath...
"The ego-climber is like an instrument that's out of adjustment. He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late. He's likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees. He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he's tired. He rests at odd times. He looks up the trail trying to see what's ahead even when he knows what's ahead because he just looked a second before. He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else. He's here but he's not here. He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be "here." What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it's all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant."
~Robert M. Pirsig,
Good quote.
Wow that's good
Amazing quote.
I'm reading Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance now... Its a wonderful book and I feel very relevant in today's world... I think you need to read it slowly and carefully a couple of times to squeeze all the goodness out... Very high quality stuff💪
@@markrc2012 Agreed, very high quality stuff. I first read that book in college back in the early 80s. I've since re-read it at least four more times. Every time I read it, I get a deeper perspective. When you finish ZEN, there's a sequel Pirsig wrote called "LILA". Also highly recommended.
“This is not the rehearsal it’s the show “ great quote
I forgot. and forget. and forget. and fall back asleep.
Wow Sam nailed how we all feel about Lex and this show. Thanks
What makes his show special?
The act of seeking happiness in any person, object or circumstance outside of yourself is not only a confession of unhappiness, it is the method of unhappiness.
Only 30sec in, not sure what the whole answer is going to be, but the way he starts the answer resonates with something I've been thinking about, "what is the meaning of my life" is not a real question, but rather an intellectual expression of ones own emotional and psychological state, a satisfied happy person is not really asking that question, its usually when we feel lost or depressed that the feeling of meaninglessness emerges, and its never about finding the right correct answer to the question that resolves the the condition.
The Buddha went through hell for years putting his body and mind through extreme measures to answer this question. After all the pain, experimentation, and discovery, he arrived at this: THIS IS IT! There is nothing else!
This is very much aligned with Sam's answer.
sam harris gets a lot of his philosophy from alan watts who was really into buddhism so this makes sense
The " middle path"".
@@learnthrivecompassion422
the eightfold path
Buddhism in general is classified as " the middle path". It avoids seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. The 4 Noble truths elucidate the cause of suffering and the emancipation from it through through the eightfold path.
interesting thought. thanks for sharing
Awesome answer from Sam. Thanks Lex for having him on. You two have had a huge impact on my life
Keep on doing what you're doing, Lex. Your content is giving us so much value and wisdom. Thank you so much.
^^^ this podcast rules
Love this! Reminds me of when Eckhart Tolle beautifully talks about the present moment. Key word is "being", not "doing." Being aware that you are aware is the key to enjoying presence. This leads to meaning and feeling happy. No thinking is required! Past and future are thought forms. It's always NOW! And it's all we will ever have. ❤🙏
Sam and Tolle are pretty similar in their perspectives I’ve found. Different paths for sure but same direction.
I was struggling for a while to figure out what the real point, or meaning of music was, it seemed so obviously important and yet I couldn't pin-point the answer. Then, when I was working on a song, I realized I was no longer asking that question.. no longer wondering what the meaning was.. it became so obvious.. The music was the meaning. The very act itself was what satisfied me... not some kind of arbitrary goal. I think all of life can be like that.
Life _is_ the meaning.
“You don’t arrive until you sieze to step over the present moment in search of the next thing”
cease to step
@@ravimaharaj1208 Thank you
The meaning of life as he said is living in the present. As Stoicism teaches, the meaning of life is learn to be content in the present by controlling only what you can control and letting go of what you can't control.
Letting go of what you can't control allows you not to fret about things that will never change by your influence and allows you to not fall into disappointment. You are only deeply disappointed when you have an expectation.
Controlling what you can control gives you a sense of progress, hope, meaning, and self-worth.
Agreed - live now - have lower expectations of others and they are unlikely disappoint you - happier life
The stoics are my favorite philosophers by far. I have enjoyed the works of many different philosophers, Nietzsche, Kant, Schopenhauer, etc. but the stoics just speak to me.
"You're doing something more and more indispensable in this world" is probably the greatest compliment one can get. And then, in addition, it's from Sam Harris.
I believe the meaning of life is to learn and experience, then to teach and pass on as much knowledge as possible, advancing humanity. Sure, being a "present and participatory consciousness" as Sam describes, is necessary, but I don't really think of as a "meaning", it's moreso a way of being or appreciating the life you have by staying in the moment as much as possible. (Which, due to a lack of free will according to Sam, I have a hard time ascribing "meaning" to.)
This was wonderful. Great insights, as expected. Great moment to reflect on the ‘now’. Thank you
This is a phenomenal explanation, probs the best Ive heard. Bravo, Sam Harris
I have a few points to make about Sam's answer here. Sam starts with fastening the idea that this question might be the wrong one to ask. However comforting that feels to me as someone who has struggled with that question for years now, i don't think rejecting the question is the appropriate way of approaching this very real question. The other thing is Sam's answer to that question. I feel he has taken shade in the comfort of perceiving this question differently. Sam's answer of either observing meaning in every moment as we pass by it is a solution to the problem of not finding an answer to this question, it however is not the answer to the question itself. It's a way of meditating in the realm of mindfulness where shifting the mere realization of how all of this (our human experience) is only the external world & not what's within is like a hallucinogen. A hallucinogen because many people live in that mindful state, not letting the "question of meaning of life" scratch them. I am aware of some people who live their entire life meditating to avoid questions of this complexity.
Now, i am not saying Sam is wrong. I am only saying that his answer reflects a little defeatism. It's a good answer for sure but it's no where close to answering the actual question.
I'll agree with Sam on one thing. We are always trying to get to that perfect moment in time. "OK, this is is what life is all about" but we quickly realize the grass is always greener over the septic tank. You can meditate , you can drop acid, you can think this is all a dream. And all that matters is now. Then i would suggest that that view is a narrow one . Its' not all about you. Illusion or not.
It’s all about me and none of it is.
Here's my experience. Meaning is a feeling. It has to be felt. It's deeper than logic. Just like other emotions / modes of being. It hits you out of the blue when you walk YOUR path, and I have actually felt it deeply, which I never thought I would. It has later eluded me but that's a different matter.. need to get back on my path.. but just knowing it's possible even for me, I never thought it would, is a blessing.
My view now is like this, I really want to be able to lie down in a grass field and feel amazing, not a worry in the world, but I don't think I arrive there by laying down in a grass field and try to not have a worry in the world. It arrives when it arrives. We all have fears we need to face, to even identifying those fears is a fear in itself, that day in the grass field are for the ones that do and face them head on.
Also, love plays a deep role here, at some level, even staying alive has some meaning to me because I know people I love would suffer if I died. Again, you can ask, WHY does suffering matter.. I don't know, but something in me says it does, not logic, trust that guy feeling again and again, and logic might seem to have less weight in your life.
One thing is for sure, it is that logic is just one of many intelligences we possess as humans, but it's over utilized, it's not where meaning is found. The question why can be asked endlessly, for any matter and you will arrive at the same destination, that it can't be solved logically. For people that are intelligent, and rely on their logic for so many matters, this can be maddening, often because we start asking these questions at times of being disconnected, looking for answers in the wrong places.
Good luck on YOUR journey!
The best book I have read is The Power of Now talks a lot of this! High recommend to anyone that is interested
Meditation /Mindfulness is a superpower! Wow! Period. Present moment awareness all the way x 🤗
What is the meaning of life?I doubt whether a doctor can answer this question in general terms.For the meaning of life differs from man to man,from day to day and from hour to hour.What matters therefore is not the meaning of life in general terms.But rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure,as Freud Believed,or a quest for power as Alfred Adler taught,but a quest for meaning.The greatest task for any person is to find a meaning in his or her life.Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning :in work(Doing something significant),in love(Caring for another person),and in courage during difficult times.Suffering in and of itself is meaningless.We give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.
This is a piece from Victor E. Frankl's book " Man's Search for Meaning".Which I will recommend for you.Your life will not be the same after reading that book.
Here are two more quotes from Jordan Peterson(Clinical psychologist) and Yuval Noah Harrari(Historian) on the meaning of life for you to ponder.
1.A meaningful life can be extremely satisfying even in the midst of hardship whereas a meaningless life is a terrible ordeal no matter how satisfying it is.
‐Yuval Noah
2.The meaning of life as far as I am concerned(J. Peterson) is to find a mode of being that is so meaningful that,the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant.
‐Jordan B.Peterson.
The journey makes the man.
@@quantum7401 🙏
"A man can bear almost any _how_ as long as he has a _why_ ." - Nietzsche. (I believe Frankl quoted this).
Keeping peace in your mind & love in your heart.
Don't strive for happiness - Be Happy!
It's what we accept and allow to be and happen in our life, the experience is the meaning
You are one of the few who understand. I came up with this same conclusion a couple of years ago. The meaning of life is to experience. That's it.
@@matterisnotsolid8295 You mean that 's an idea you came up with to surviva in a meaningless universe, it's pretty obvious that the question is asking is there an objective purpose, a reason we are literally here preformed somewhere by something
@@danb7601 An idea? I said conclusion. Why is it necessary to change my words here?
So it is a conclusion that I came to so that I could set aside the question and move on. Realizing that there would never be an actual answer that fit for everyone I only needed one that would fit for me and allow me to move forward. This one works for me.
That’s a very fancy way of saying “I live out a fantasy in my head”
The best answer to this quest I’ve heard maybe ever. Very nuanced.
Very similar to how A. Watts answered the same question.
So what did he say
@@daynnite4462 Couldn't find the exact interview I remember but here's one where he gives many explanations if you go to 7:00 mark you'll find the one the same as Sam Harris' . th-cam.com/video/LNiExNNuCjY/w-d-xo.html
@@MonkeyKing3333 probably bc alan watts is one of sam’s biggest inspirations
@@acraze2287 I did not know that. Now you say it makes alot of sense. 👍
Thanks for hosting Sam Harris !
Beautifully articulated by Sam. Thank you for this, Lex!
@@feralmode Agreed..it is funny when people that are smart talk and everyone thinks that the times in which they spew mumbo jumbo is so profound. He is talking like he is on shrooms or something..i'm sure it makes sense to him, but to the rest of us.....uhhh what?
@@feralmodecompletely agree with you. 5 minutes listening to Sam Harris and I want to hang myself.
Well said Sam Harris. "Here is enough."
The meaning to life to me is it has a different answer for every person. We all live our own lives and create our own destiny/future and the decisions we make till the time we take our last breath is our answer to the meaning of life. You wanna know your answer? Live and tell us your meaning of life when you are ready.
"Here is enough" -Sam Harris on Lex Fridman Podcast 2021
this man is a modern day guru. thanks lex for having him on
Shift his focus to trump and he crumbles into a normal person nowhere near a guru.
@@redfishm your priorities are clear
@@jimmerskrimmerfriddet3246 exactly. “But he can’t be that wise... He doesn’t even worship at the altar of the spray-tanned ego... Some guru... Am I right?”
@@jimmerskrimmerfriddet3246 can you remind me what they are? 😂
Agree with him. For me, it helps if i compartmentalize my day so this hour I try not to worry about the next hour. But i do assign some time each day to General planning. It is hard, but I am trying.
My English professor once said ''you're always waiting''. So happy I heard that at a young age.
What does this mean? Could you explain?
that was a great clip, trippy seeing whats said by Sam Harris whos an atheist basically explain the tenets of "Be here now" hippie/spiritual/buddhist philosophy. And I think its cool that even with two different belief systems, that the same conclusion about how to live a good life can still be arrived at independently of each other.
"The meaning of life is to give life meaning"
Smart!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy had a profound scene when the computer answered "42". In ASCII binary code, 42 is the asterisk. Hence it is what you make of it.
Why is that a good thing?
And gold
Circular
"Be in the moment", and be grateful for it. The book "Ball Four" by Jim Bouton had an extremely memorable passage in it that I never forgot, and ironically enough it's very
relatable to what Sam is saying. Bouton, for those of you who don't know, was a major league pitcher in the sixties and early seventies (mainly for the Yankees).
He described just walking in the outfield well before the game began, and he became conscious that he was not "tingling". What he meant by that was that he had become so
accustomed to being a major league baseball player that it began to feel "routine", and he knew it was "wrong", because he knew how special and privileged he was to be a major leaguer.
He vowed from then on to always be "aware" of how lucky he was to be there, to essentially be living a "dream".
lol "This is the most chocolatey moment of my life."
Fkn brilliant. An equanimity of feelings so that a moment doesn't matter so that it is beautiful as fuck.
I love it,this is it,this is the moment not the rehearsal ❤.
Okay. I love both of these gentleman as thinkers for different reasons. When I see Lex- IDK why- and I don't know his spiritual beliefs but his infectious obsession with spreading the virus of love in all he touches actually seemed to penetrate the ever somewhat gloomy existential almost nihilistic look that I always see behind Sam's eyes. Sam-for one so enlightened and meditative something in his eyes seems dark. Maybe I need to read the Moral Landscape. Lex though he may be a supervillain in the making seems so much more radiant with an almost Christ-like aura about him. Must be the Elder Zosima vibe of the Russian- or maybe he is somehow channeling young Alyosha (Brothers Karamazov)somehow-I am certain that must be one of his literary favourites. Love both these guys.
I think the immersion and engagement in this moment, all moments, is more like the path rather than the meaning of life. We might say meaning of life is about self-realization, self-expression ... about becoming that which we potentially are, and are, in a sense, coded to be. That's different for every person, every animate and inanimate thing. A tree becomes what is it's potential, a duck becomes what is its potential to become, the universe becomes what is its potential to become. That seems a foundation for meaning.
I love Sam Harris man, this was so beautiful, the egoless way he approached Lex at the end, I almost cried lol
This video deserves a trillion hits!
According to Sam’s logic there is no such thing as “beauty” it’s all just a man made fantasy.
Sam dodged the question a bit here. I agree that learning to be in the moment is a pre-req to have a sense of true meaning. However, if that ability is obtained you must still make choices about what you do with your life to provide that meaning. He skims over this when he says (paraphrasing) "you can't just sit around all as a ball of mush. You need to actually do things".
He obviously chooses a path in life that he finds meaningful and I wish he would have talked about that more.
Yes, thankyou. My personal meaning of life is "Legacy". Interpret that however you will, whether it be creation of family, history, planetary value, etc.
Everyone feels they either need to be a Big Name or completely accepting of how small they are on the grander scale of the world. I think even the smallest appliance of self to something greater is all you need
Lit answer Harris.
it is more simple. It is the feeling that has left the void of needing to survive. Before the meaning of life was not to die for the most long time. Now in the modern time that purpose is gone, but the urge to have it remains
To live is to die.
“You can’t actually become happy, you can only BE happy” - Sam Harris.
Suffering ! Joy, Pain ,Love
To hone our skills / experiences ! To Purify !
And to eat good food !
God this was beautiful! Never have I heard a response to this mysterious question that really speaks to me like this one. I don’t care about the controversies; Sam is brilliant as far as my questions are concerned.
The "engage in the moment" is a doudle-edged sword concept. For meditators and people that experienced psychedelics in a good way it means something and for people that live on auto-pilot every day engaged non-stop in trivial activities means something else. You have to make the distinction correctly and i'm afraid you can't if you never experienced the present moment in a contemplative peaceful way. Engaging and enjoying the moment in a serene, untroubled way is the type you want for not ever wondering whats the "meaning of life".
Been learning meditation for years... still learning 🧘♂️🙏🏼
The question assumes there is one. The same holds true when people ask what the purpose of life is. I would answer that by saying all human beings share the same inescapable purpose, which is to be happy. No matter what you do at any moment, you are striving to be as happy as possible. Even if you're doing something unpleasant, you're doing it because not doing it would make you less happy.
"The meaning of life is quite simply - to live" -Alan Watts.
Only Beyond "Survival" can the many 'Focus' on the NOW! Very lovely to meet you. Sam Harris. Peace of heart Is everything
This is beautiful, thank you Lex, thank you Sam.
CREATION! To continue that life and keep it thriving throughout the universe in as many ways as possible
You guys remember that episode of Arrested Development where Gob chips his tooth from biting into a candied apple and whistles every time he pronounces certain words? That was a good one.
Lex, thanks for not interrupting Sam Harris.
That's the one of the best answer for 'meaning of life question'
so what is the meaning of life?
@@lufuanim8s215 it's meaningless
@@sapanacharya1365 Does that mean it has no value?
@@nanashi2146 it's totally subjective. There is no general meaning. Meaning depends upon person to person. That's why we have the free will.
@@sapanacharya1365 Are you telling me that someone who believes that the meaning of their life is to 'prevent' the most suffering in the world is equally valuable as someone who believes that the meaning of their life is to 'spread' the most suffering?
🔥 Wow Sam Harris dropping bombs! Two direct quotes from the clip…
“Meditation is this kind of superpower, until you learn to mediate the outside world, the circumstances of your life always have to get arranged so that the present moment can become good enough to demand your attention in a way that seems fulfilling and makes you happy.”
“You don’t arrive until you cease to step over the present moment in search of the next thing. We’re stepping over the thing that we think we are seeking, in the act of seeking it.”
Sam Harris is such a great person. We need many more like him.
Someone says to experience life I agree with them , experience the ups and downs of life, the heartbreaks and the happiness of this world ( and brother it goes fast I’m 75 I ask myself what does life experience have for me today enjoy life always think before you act!,
His answer totally makes sense. Its sad that only few people can understand what he is talking about.
I am guessing, you are sure, you are one of the people
He's describing awe. And maybe a bit of super tingley asmr.
This collection of your extended conversation has been a joy. Thank you Lex and thanks to Sam Harris, though of course, neither of you can take credit since there is no free will. You're both good nodes; it's nice to be part of the same network.
to be present and to value
This video is one of the most profound pieces of content on TH-cam.
It's very interesting to think about it. Though many people might find Jordan Peterson controversial in the philosophical field I really like the way he described the mechanism of constant movement of the human mind from the "unbearable present" to the "ideal future". I think it is exactly what Sam Is talking about here. It obviously is a mechanism that has led the humanity to the point where it is. It indeed brought many good as well as well as bad things. The funny thing is that we can still still accomplish whatever we want but it is also in our power to have a good experience while accomplishing it instead of the permanent anxiety that unfortunately most people live with throughout their whole lives.
Life in and of itself is rife with meaning, it is up to you to derive it. Mozart's life purpose was not to create music, but rather it was through the creation of music that gave his life meaning. If you perceive your life as meaningless, it is because you believe it to be so, and so it is.
I think this was all about happiness and not in particular about what the sense of life is. I understand this question always as asking for an explanation of what the objective meaning of everything could be and not like "what is your way of living a good life?". But maybe thats just me.
I just enjoy Sam Harris so much
Just getting acquainted basically
One of the best conversations I heard!
The becoming or being. That's what really meditation does. Thats it. very good
I like that, real wholesome conversation
Correct me please But Sam corelates Life with happiness." The meaning of" is happiness, somebody do a math equation for that.
Living in that moment in time, Alex adds purpose. So we go from explanation to motivation. Throw in you don't know if your a robot or not and it's all an illusion then perhaps you need stay away from the mushrooms. I love listening to it. I love this channel. Just getting into , but what i don't see or hear is the God equation. Maybe I have not got there yet. But if I were in the room I would ask' " is Jesus Christ who He says he is? ... Drives the intellects crazy... foolishness as Scripture would call it.
Consciousness is the meaning. That which arises from perception is but a coloring of the meaning.
There’s no meaning to life. Life has the meaning you give it, man is a meaning machine.
That's essentially my second, more serious answer to people, right after I say that the meaning of life is to make more life, which is literally true but is of course not in the spirit of the question.
You don't actually believe that do you? Do you realize the implications of what you're saying?
@@fakeyououtdotcom2409 I'm genuinely interested to know what you think the implications of that are?
@@jmuench420 Hi, I will attempt to let you know why I said that. :)
Have you noticed the problems that have arisen from the absence of absolute truth? I.e. If man gives meaning to life then meaning is relative and subjective...and therefore problematic.
Eg. 350 pd. men can compete as women in the Olympics because "life has the meaning we give it." "Her" truth is truth and anyone who disagrees should be condemned. Or, perhaps an even better example would be the proposed Senate criminal justice reform bill named in the honor of a life-long criminal.
These are but two present-day products produced from "man as a meaning machine."
These things, and so many more, are occurring because humans believe they decide what the meaning of life is, and this naturally occurs in the absence of understanding the meaning God has given to our lives. I'm not condemning this belief and it's subsequent expression - I get caught up in it as well sometimes - I'm objectively identifying the madness of it.
@@fakeyououtdotcom2409 Reality is scary, but that is the reality. I'd say that Man is ultimately an "everything and anything" machine. A God probably made us, but I dont think he is concerned with the morality and well-being of humans anymore than you might be concerned with the morality and well-being of the insects that live in your neighborhood.
Still, just because God(s) may not exist, that doesn't mean the moral philosophy of religion is irrelevant. It's even more crucial to be Jesus-like or Buddha like in the Absence of a God because we have only ourselves for comfort and help.
P.S. Quantum Mechanics suggest that there may be infinite universes, infinite versions of you just as there are infinite types of numbers, so take comfort in the fact that there exists a universe where mankind achieved the civilization and philosophies that you prefer and that version of you got to experience it. And that's nice.
The past has gone, the future is not here, only a succession of the constant 'Now', we live in the 'Now'. Learn from suffering, from suffering we learn values we never knew. And from pleasure and happiness, learn how to dig it all, dig the detail, take the mind off the beaten trail, and wander into untrodden meadows of the mind!
"Why am I experiencing the same pleasures every day?" That is such an amazing question.....
But do you really? You can like a thing but nothing is exactly the same from a day to another, each time you will find something slightly different.
We are stepping over the thing we are seeking in the act of seeking it
These 10 minutes were the most eye-opening minutes of my life. Sam Harris is truly a genius.
One of the deepest video I have ever heard. No psychobabble or fluff. Just profound.
One of the best tossed word salads I've heard.
Nothing profound. *Just* psychobabble and fluff.
I see Sam Harris, I click.
Surely the meaning of life is to love as love can give meaning to any life.
That sounds cheesy but that true
Oh for gods sake. Everyone knows the meaning of life is to hydrogenate carbon.
😆
Outstanding interviewer. He did not interrupt once. Right on.
There is no meaning to life. You put the meaning into it.
To enjoy, through discovery and creation.
But you have to “know” and accept that life is all omnipotent and be grateful for the sacrifice and consequent suffering of others, and life in order to sustain your experience within your specific configuration and format of “life”.
Once you see beyond language, or drop language. You’ll realise what you really are. Everything and nothing, simultaneously.
Language, although has its place, also is the greatest barrier and blockade of “knowing” as people tend to “think” in terms of their learnt, and limited language. Therefor you’re experience and “idea” of your “self” and life is limited to that which you have learnt through linguistic communication and what is logically justifiable to the extent of your exposure to that form of communication
This is some high level stuff...this is exactly why religion appeals to average pple...
Well most people are average... that's the meaning of "average". It's the middle ground, the standard.
It doesn't surprise me that for the intellectual elite, who allow arrogance and over-confidence of one's own capabilities to become the meaning of their existence, the concept of a higher power than themselves is something to dislike.
Good answer, another way of saying it is ,to make known the unknown.
If Jordan Peterson answered this question he would say the meaning to life is to get married and have kids. LOL
JP says to go about this in a way to find a goal / meaning that makes you pay attention in the now to achieve it. It is the same answer in a way.
LOL
Haha. Yup. "You must do the answers we have always done" haha
Continually I have realized that where I am at now, Jordan doesn't offer me anything more than I have already gotten.
And he would be right.
Marriage and kids more often provides multiple meanings
I found this bit very helpful specially with the state of mind I am at these days - Thank you