How To Live A Life?

[Bodhi123]

This is a post like many before it. However, this is my earnest attempt at addressing these universal questions... What is the purpose of life? How do I find meaning? What is a life well-lived? I have grappled with these questions and these are my findings. Some background:

I am 28 years old. I have no children. I live in California. As a teenager, as is usually the case I was young and dumb. I have since grown and matured and graduated summa cum laude from college with a Bachelor's degree in psychology.

I was raised Catholic, but I never really believed in heaven or hell. I have loved and lost. I have made mistakes. I have over-achieved and under-achieved. But ultimately to quote Dante, "Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a dark forest, for the straightforward pathway had been lost."

There is the standard way of living: get married, have kids, work at a job, make money, and support yourself and your family. I am aware this a very Western middle-class way of living. What if you were born in a war-torn country, an under-developed country, or a crime-filled city in America without the necessary resources?

Nonetheless I tried the standard approach. After college I worked different jobs and have struggled to get by. This led to me asking myself, "Is this all there is? What's the point? Who gives a shit?" This situation plus past unresolved issues led to a type of depression. The thing about depression is it really is like being lost in a dark forest struggling to see the light. Where do you find the strength? What is your source of hope? How do you muster the faith needed to go on?

This depression began my search for truth. This search led me to actualized.org, self-actualization, and enlightenment. It has been a couple of years since I've been on this journey and this is what I have realized:

It is very important to have the right outlook on life. Thus, it is not helpful to have a materialistic view of life. Because if you truly believe the physical world is all there is and there is no God or afterlife then this life really does seem like a pointless struggle. Thankfully, I no longer hold this view of life.

I now believe there is more to life than meets the eye. I believe there is God and we can come to know God by quieting our minds and looking within ourselves. The struggles of life remain, but when viewed within a larger context these struggles lose their potency.

Live and keep the faith. Peace.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Bodhi123

[Nejeensm]

A life is full of ups and down but if you know the right way how to be happy instead of having lots of luxury items.  

[FindingPeace]

I always find this an interesting question to ponder. It has been quite a prominent question for me of late.

Consider this: There are two elements to living life. There's the process of living, something that we are doing all the time without thinking about it. And there's the narrative, the story, the autobiography that we are trying to write. In essense, it is the former, rather than the latter that is important.

Go and sit somewhere quiet, maybe in the park, in your room, or somewhere out in nature and just be still. Be present. Focus on your senses and on your awareness. And be aware that you are living in that very moment. In fact, you are living life in every present moment. That moment is life being lived. It's you living life. And hopefully, in that moment, you are safe, you have peace of mind, and there is nothing inherently 'wrong'. In that moment you are just being and there is nothing that you need to do to 'live'. And also realise that every moment in your life is exactly the same. It takes a bit to see this but but doing this excercise from time to time, becomming aware of moments in time, you can see it.

My point here, is that if you can appreciate and be at peace with the present moment, then you are already living life successfully. Everything else that you do is a choice, and hopefully just a bonus. The 'story' you write about your life, and the antics that you get up to in the years to come are fundamentally of little importance. Because everything you ever do is only 'real' in the moment, before becomming a memory with everything else. And nothing from the past is ever as satisfying as what you are doing in this moment. So whatever you are doing in life, learn to appreciate the present moment, be still and present, and need nothing more in that moment.

I'm not saying that you life live in a constant state of meditation and do nothing else, I'm merely illustrating that the 'story', the 'doing' is less important than the 'being'. Because whatever you 'do', the 'being' is always the same.

I suppose the ultimate question is: how important is the story of your life to you?

Edited February 2, 2017 by FindingPeace

[Alicja_]

In this society, Inner-peace often shrinks, giving space to agitation, triggered by external influences. Some don't even believe it's possible to access this spiritual freedom. 

That's why, it's necessary to protect and nurture it within ourselves. Protect from distractions and impurities. 

Notice how distracted most of us are. We want to be at peace, yet, we are resistant to experiencing it. We'd rather get stimulants.

 

[Phrae]

Bring the stillness of That into your life. Keep bringing yourself back to it. The more you do it the more you'll be able to witness distractions.

“You do not need to create problems to work on; the world is perfectly capable of providing them all by itself”. If you are identified with your body/mind, there are no perfect environments. You can go to the most remote and sacred cave, jungle or mountain but “no matter where you go, there you are”. If you are not identified  with  your  body/mind,  it  doesn’t  matter  where  you  are.

What do you want? Go after it... If it turns out you were wrong so you were. Do something different then.

[Bronsoval]

The question is actually "How to live a life as a narcissistic human being" (no offense to you, we all are).  The tree doesn't question if its purpose is fulfilled.  A dog doesn't question how to be a dog.  Look to these for wisdom. Be the tree.  Be the dog.  Just be.  There is no more to life then this.  Just be.  It is amazing! Stay in the present moment.  Thinking about the past or future is a waste of time, you can't control either.  You can't really control the present either (not really) so why not make peace with it and just be?

[Bodhi123]

@FindingPeace You bring up a critical point. It is important to make a distinction between our 'story' and 'being'. It is when we get caught up in our story that our thoughts and emotions become overwhelming and all-consuming.

To be at peace in the present moment no matter the circumstances is successful living. Thank you for this perspective.

[Bodhi123]

I've given more thought to this topic (i.e. How to live a life?) because for me this is not an abstract-philosophical question; this is a concrete-practical question that deserves an answer.

Let me address the complementary question posed by @FindingPeace : How important is the story of your life to you?

My answer is that my story  is very important to me. This is because I am intrinsically motivated to fulfill  my potential and experience the many offerings this world provides. My motivation is indeed intrinsic, I am not trying to meet anyone else's expectations of me or trying to fulfill some societal norm. To those of you that will remark that my answer is egoic, my response is this: Do not let your pseudo-enlightened thoughts justify your complacency and inaction.

Also to those who say something along the lines of "be like a tree and just be"... I feel this is a false equivalency. Trees are literally rooted to the ground there only option is to just be. Humans however have a whole world of opportunity available to them. Now let me make one thing clear, I agree that people should be at peace in the present moment. But being at peace is not the same as doing nothing.

So in my opinion life should be characterized by action and the widening of your boundaries. This includes your intellectual, spiritual, experiential, and physical boundaries. I feel this outlook is aligned with the truth of enlightenment. Let me illustrate this point by using a metaphor:

A person goes to sleep at night. This person has a dream. The dream involves him walking alongside a cliff and being afraid. All of a sudden the dreamer realizes that he is dreaming and is no longer afraid. Upon this realization the dreamer dives off of the cliff because he knows that in his dreams he can fly.

We are all dreamers going through the dream of life.

How to live a life? Passionately and unafraid.

 

[Nahm]

You're the author. This is the best time ever. You can do anything you want. Find a jolt or wake up catalyst event. Do more thing you enjoy. Let go and get in touch, get connected. Consider your daily rituals. 

Also, btw, I'm married with three kids and living a typical life. It's wonderful. I'm fulfilled and giving love at all angles. It's awesome.

Where is fun? Where is love? Where is passion? Nowhere. It's something you do.

Do it.

 

 

YouTube Shia Labuff for further instruction.