what are your thoughts on self awareness, existence, life, purpose?

[katia]

upon disassociating one's self from the world and looking down at earth like an alien studying the human population & behavior under the microscope, the world that we live in would seem bleak and meaninglessly repetitive. the systematic way of life: going to work, going to school, go shopping, go home, go eat, go sleep, and Lather Rinse Repeat.

for those true believers in religion, why do they invest so much into preparatory to the heavens and not on their current lives in this world when god made this world as a gift for humankind? to take it further, wouldn't it be blasphemous and insulting to god to not accept god's gift? sure seems like it.

to me the idea that this life serves no greater purpose, that life is just meaningless fertility, and that i am just a random blip in the space-time continuum, makes my life even more precious. because my life can end any moment, i can truly embrace and appreciate life fully, taking advantage of it all while i am still alive.

[SusanK]

Like Chickweed - see 9/11 if you're reading this after 9/11? I find it ironic that religions teach or preach, take your pick, that your life on earth is for being good for the life after death, except no one has reported back from death it's worth it. And being one of 6 billion-plus people today, who's to say one life is more important than another? And when you're gone, what's your importance then? Is someone who contributed a great invention more important than someone who lead a simply, environmental friendly life without hurting anyone? The former's legacy lingers and the latter's fades, so who's the better person? Is making money more important than just being a good person?

Ah, all the questions in a life, so short, and in the end, no answers, just one's experience.

--Susan--

[RebeccaFog]

As an expert on disassociation (I do it now and then, really) I can tell you it is better to be in your life than to just be viewing your life.

When each moment becomes automated, life is lost.

Heaven is the life you live.

[Jeannette]

As a Christian, I don't see a lot of focus on the afterlife. Most fellow Christians that I know don't either. I think our primary focus is on the question, "how ought I to live?". Heaven is not the goal of Christians.

The Christian idea is that God wants us to be His sons and daughters. Just as a child has worth though a relationship with the parents, we can have our worth through a relationship with God. I don't think that a supernatural eternal communion with my Creator is ever going to be boring.

Although this supernatural communion with God is the purpose for which we were created, Christians are told that we will find God through trying to love our neighbor as ourselves. Where love is, there God is also.