Your answer to existence.

I am intrigued by this existence, as I am sure you all are.
I thought I would throw in some quotes from a wide range of individuals on reality, existence etc. Men and Women. Scientists, Politicians, Philosophers, Comedians, Musicians and Artists. Religious and Spiritual folk, Channelers and Alternative Thinkers and even fellow ATS members. Feel free to add your own.

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Existence precedes and commands Essence. (Jean Paul Sartre)
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One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.
Salvador Dali.
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Originally posted by Skyfloating
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My only point of reference is Infinity. Infinity and my relationship to it immerses everything I am and do in everyday life. This is not some attitude I learned in books or from teachers but one I have cultivated for myself.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

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As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.
▪ “Das Wesen der Materie” (The Nature of Matter), speech at Florence, Italy, 1944 (from Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Abt. Va, Rep. 11 Planck, Nr. 1797)
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“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
Buddha quotes (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

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"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
Albert Einstein.
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"... most ancient civilizations believed in a primordial soup of energy embedded within the fabric of space and in a primary geometric pattern coordinating creation. Later many of the world's great thinkers, including such scientists as Albert Einstein, Nicolas Tesla, Buckminster Fuller, and Walter Russell, believed in an all prevailing energy at the base of the fabric of space".
Nassim Harramein.
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"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

Albert Einstein.
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Awareness is primordial; it is the original state, beginningless, endless, uncaused, unsupported, without parts, without change. Consciousness is on contact, a reflection against a surface, a state of duality. There can be no consciousness without awareness, but there can be awareness without consciousness, as in deep sleep. Awareness is absolute, consciousness is relative to its content; consciousness is always of something. Consciousness is partial and changeful, awareness is total, changeless, calm and silent. And it is the common matrix of every experience.

Seth/Jane Roberts from I Am That.
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I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it.
Comedian- Steven Wright.
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Originally posted by Unleashed68

Existence in physical form is perceived as reality, but it is the invisible that gives birth, nurtures and maintains the illusion of this perception of reality, when in fact, it is a formation of the invisible and therefore an illusion.

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“Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it”
Lily Tomlin.
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No phallic hero, no matter what he does to himself or to another to prove his courage, ever matches the solitary, existential courage of the woman who gives birth.
Andrea Dworkin.
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Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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He who has seen present things has seen all, both everything which has taken place from all eternity and everything which will be for time without end; for all things are of one kin and of one form. ~Marcus Aurelius
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The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
What truth?
That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.
The Matrix.
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John Stuart Mill
"The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection."
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"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality".
John Lennon
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'We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.' - Victor Frankl
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And those whose hearts are fixed on Reality itself deserve the title of Philosophers.
(Plato, Republic, 380BC)
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The essence of any religion lies solely in the answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to the infinite universe that surrounds me? ... It is impossible for there to be a person with no religion (i.e. without any kind of relationship to the world) as it is for there to be a person without a heart. He may not know that he has a religion, just as a person may not know that he has a heart, but it is no more possible for a person to exist without a religion than without a heart. (Leo Tolstoy, 1879)
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This holy reality, in this holy experience. Choosing to be here in...

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal all this pain is an illusion...
Of what it means to be alive

Parabola from Lateralus by TOOL.

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What is your existence?

20, 30, 40 years ago, I would have responded much differently

would have found meaning in the quotes in the OP

but today (although I'm not depressed or out of sorts) I find no meaning at all in human existence

I thought I'd found it many times, but that's because I needed and wanted to

I suspect our existence is simply a waste-product of something else

reply to post by Dock9


Thanks for the reply.

I wonder how you came to hold the suspicions you have regarding your existence being a waste by product?

Are you talking about an individuals existence or something on a bigger scale like the Universe ??

Line two...

"We are energetic probes created by the universe. And it is because we are possesors of Awareness, that we are the means by which the universe comes to know itself." - Carlos Castaneda, quoting Don Juan Matus.

"Truth Against The World" - ancient Druid Maxim.

I like this one as it gets under the skin until the meaning slips through and it then makes perfect sense.

"Our universe is huge and complex, so what we do to know our place in it has to be Simple" -Tayesin.

[edit on 5-3-2010 by Tayesin]

you poor fools- if you don't know the meaning of existence you may never grasp the depth of what it means to be human. do any other animals have self-awareness? not on land, anyway.......
my politically-incorrect opinion is that we are here to suffer. this world we live in- no matter how much disney and priuses try to pretend otherwise- is hell and peace, love, or whatever do not actually exist in this reality save for what we ourselves create in our own lives. life is work and death is no escape- eternity is RIGHT NOW!
if you feel your life is a waste go volunteer at your local hospice for a month. seriously.


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reply to post by atlasastro


Lots of things

Reluctant to expand, because to do so would be to open myself to all sorts of criticism, abuse and unwanted advice ... probably Biblical quotes into the bargain

But ok

* precognition, for one (personal experience which inclines me to strongly suspect that what we consider the 'future' has already been determined by someone, something else. Which in turn makes a mockery of our efforts, etc.)

On the other hand, what we assume is a future foretold by precognition may actually work in reverse. Which would mean we're the echoes of events that have happened

In fact, we may have no physical existence at all and may simply be the memories of something/someone else or an entire raft of them

* no evidence of 'evolution'. Technologically, we've progressed, but if anything, we may well be devolving

* For years, I claimed and believed that hardships were sent as opportunities to grow. Which implied a caring overseer. But hey ... two month old child being raped to death a growth experience ? For whom ?

Finally, I stopped making excuses for this 'overseer'. If one exists, which I tend to doubt now, to my own surprise (as it's left a big hole in my belief systems and at this age, that's a little scary)

Rather, it appears that one or more sadists and perverts are running this dimension/show. This planet, if it physically exists (which I doubt) literally drips with blood and always has. Tens of millions have died hideous deaths. And that's not taking into account those creatures we call 'animals'

A five year old kid could design a more compassionate, humane, peaceful planet/dimension.

* Then there's sleep and dreams. Many theories of course, but every now and then scientists admit they don't really know why we sleep and/or dream. Maybe what we consider our 'dreams' might be our actual lives --- with what we consider to be our lives being in fact the nightmare

But I couldn't tell you who's dreaming our nightmare existence. Open to speculation

Originally posted by IandEye
you poor fools- if you don't know the meaning of existence you may never grasp the depth of what it means to be human. do any other animals have self-awareness? not on land, anyway.......

No fools here and no appreciation for the intended insult.

Watch my cat, or the neighbour's dog, or a farmer's cows or the birds in the tree outside. You will see them making decisions on their actions before doing it. If they weren't self-aware they would not have fear of predators.. and it can't be the supposed automatic flight or fight thing as you can see them make a decision to stay and fight or run.

A person's experience of life heavily depends on where they place the focus of their attention in almost every moment, with two basic things to choose from Depressing thoughts or Enlightening thoughts. It is a choice matter.. although that takes time to realise.

[edit on 5-3-2010 by Tayesin]

Not exactly my thoughts, but something I once heard...

"We are a home for a chromosome."
~ Cornelis van der Hoeven

[edit on 5/3/2010 by Saurus]

reply to post by atlasastro


What is my existance????? To have the ability to acknowledg the CREATOR OF ALL and see that the CREATOR has given his creations ETERNAL SPIRITS OR SOUL ENERGY to find our way back home to the REALM OF LIGHT.

To acknowledge that any creation below the CREATOR IS = TO ME AND I AM = TO IT reguardless of how power one sibling species may SEEM to the other WE WERE ALL GIVEN THE SAME ABILITIES TO SUIT OUR LIVING HABITATS AND CAN ALL DIE unless designed not too lol SO STAY FEARLESS AND ONLY FEAR THE CREATOR.

Existance to me also means that EVEN IF I HAD THE POWER TO CONTROLL THIS entire LITTLE UNIVERSE I WILL NEVER BE AS POWERFULL AS THE CREATOR and should not behave as if I am.

MY 3 CENTS

reply to post by Ophiuchus 13


I disagree with you.

The need to be/feel acknowledged implies inferiority. A truly omnipotent creator would not feel such a need.

In psychology, a well known sign of inferiority complex is fishing for compliments. For example, an artist with an inferiority complex who just painted a picture might say to a viewer: "I'm finally finished, but I don't think it looks that great", hoping the viewer will say: "No, actually it looks really good."

For an omnipotent being to actually create subordinates to acknowledge Him is the same as fishing for compliments, but on a much larger scale. This is logically bizarre, especially for someone who would certainly not feel the need to be acknowledged.

[edit on 5/3/2010 by Saurus]

My View...

There is a singular conciousness that envelopes and, in fact, is the universe. It extends around and through everything, even in the realms we cannot directly experience. This conciousness is on a quest to understand its own existence through experience.

We are all extensions, by definition, of this universal conciousness. As we are spawned into existence, some of us get human bodies, some get mosquito bodies, etc., while some get no bodies at all and may appear as mists or energies that our human science does not yet understand.

As we go through our brief existence, we have a "fate" - a plan for our lives. We can follow this plan, mindlessly stepping through life following a road that has been laid out for us, never accepting our consequences or investigating beyond that which is in front of us. We can, as I have many times, also choose to leave the well defined path and look around. I have taken the road less travelled and it has made all the differance.

We will eventually die, all of us, and everything we have learned and experienced will be dispersed into the general knowledge of the universe. In fact, it already has been, as time itself is actually a property of the universe and the knowledge we may learn in 5 years is already available for us to use. No human will ever have a truely original thought.

So in the end, life is about the living. Experience life as best as you can. Trust your instincts and follow your conscience. Learn as much as you can and remember, nothing is forever.

That's the basic core of my philosophy. There are plenty of little aphorisms I use to remind myself of my direction, such as "money is just a tool, like a hammer. Do you yearn to have a million hammers?" and "You can't take it with you, but you can certainly have fun with it while you're here."

reply to post by Saurus


It isnt as if he REQUEST ANYTHING HE GAVE US FREE WILL TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR NOT. When a mom and dad do something nice for their children they dont say look at me kids and give me grace, no they sit and wait for happiness to be emmitted and feel the OK LIKE WE DID GOOD AND THE KIDS ARE HAPPY.

The Creator doesnt want us to look at it as if YOUR THE HIGHEST AND THE MOST FEARED JUST LIKE AYE YAL I AM YOUR PARENT SO LOVE ME LIKE ONE THATS ALL.....OKAAAAAAAYYYYYYY

reply to post by Saurus


pitie, thanks for pushing that thing away for a cent please do more so i could read and enjoy there are so many livings words for rights intelligence but if i say them all by myself then i would never see any living of it existing, when obviously i say them just to save myself existant rights

reply to post by Ophiuchus 13


Again, I disagree.

God knows that everything he did and made is good - He does not need acknowledgment!

You said:

What is my existance????? To have the ability to acknowledg the CREATOR OF ALL and see that the CREATOR has given his creations ETERNAL SPIRITS OR SOUL ENERGY to find our way back home to the REALM OF LIGHT.

I just cannot see how "acknowledgment" could be the purpose of our existence.

I see all things as coming down to this:

At its simplest, there are two states, existence and nonexistence. We can either choose to exist and enjoy life and expand on the good in the world. Or we can choose to not exist, by which I mean we focus on the negative such as 'my life sucks, i don't understand why all these bad things happen, I don't want to live like this.' Every day you can wake up and choose to either exist in this world and enjoy life and improve things or not exist and focus on eventually everything (for yourself at least) ending. So many people focus on whose right or wrong, when if you just stop, breathe and move on, your life would be so much better.

I've spent many days 'not existing' in the past, but these days I try to find a way to enjoy life more. Eventually we'll get the answers we seek, but for now, enjoy the ride

Originally posted by Tayesin

Originally posted by IandEye
you poor fools- if you don't know the meaning of existence you may never grasp the depth of what it means to be human. do any other animals have self-awareness? not on land, anyway.......

No fools here and no appreciation for the intended insult.

Watch my cat, or the neighbour's dog, or a farmer's cows or the birds in the tree outside. You will see them making decisions on their actions before doing it. If they weren't self-aware they would not have fear of predators.. and it can't be the supposed automatic flight or fight thing as you can see them make a decision to stay and fight or run.

A person's experience of life heavily depends on where they place the focus of their attention in almost every moment, with two basic things to choose from Depressing thoughts or Enlightening thoughts. It is a choice matter.. although that takes time to realise.

[edit on 5-3-2010 by Tayesin]

well i said 'fools' hoping to get you a little ignited but not quite that much- sorry.
do those animals know they are afraid of the predator? do they know they know they are afraid? decision does not equal self-awareness. im not even really talking about yours and my self-awareness but rather of all the holy people over thousands of years who have devoted their lives to that.
i don't think that choice equals freedom. freedom from choice is pretty cool too, you know.
i see you found some meaning.......
congrats =)

Originally posted by Dredge
I see all things as coming down to this:

At its simplest, there are two states, existence and nonexistence. We can either choose to exist and enjoy life and expand on the good in the world. Or we can choose to not exist, by which I mean we focus on the negative such as 'my life sucks, i don't understand why all these bad things happen, I don't want to live like this.' Every day you can wake up and choose to either exist in this world and enjoy life and improve things or not exist and focus on eventually everything (for yourself at least) ending. So many people focus on whose right or wrong, when if you just stop, breathe and move on, your life would be so much better.

I've spent many days 'not existing' in the past, but these days I try to find a way to enjoy life more. Eventually we'll get the answers we seek, but for now, enjoy the ride

there is also the middle path between the two, my non-foolish friend.
it has been called 'the razor's edge' as well as 'Buddhism"........once you are aware there is no other way

Originally posted by Saurus
Not exactly my thoughts, but something I once heard...

"We are a home for a chromosome."
~ Cornelis van der Hoeven

[edit on 5/3/2010 by Saurus]

hahaha......that's just great.
didn't george carlin say we exist to make plastic and when the earth has enough we get shaken off like a bad case of fleas......................?

who says we exist in the first place and also we could define 'existence' while we're at it- (not directed at you saurus, just a general remark)

reply to post by IandEye


Hi IandEye,

I have been learning more and more of Buddhism and the various related ideas that go with it these last few years, and honestly, it makes the most sense to me from my frame of reference on how things are.