The absurdity of the universe

[Bodhi]

This may seem like a weird thought, but sometimes when I'm about to face some really anxious social situation to help me deal with the anxiety I think of how the universe is absurd and maybe nothing in life means anything. It helps me in that once I start to get into that mind set the anxious situation seems less anxious because it starts to lose its seriousness. Like talking to a girl I'm attracted to seems like nothing then since this entire existence is pretty meaningless. It actually helps, although i still have anxiety but it lessens it. I know people use God and the universe does have meaning to help them, but for me the opposite seems to work. If people are just born into the world and then die and everything in between carries no real meaning, then how can I get so anxious about something as stupid as talking to someone. It kind of makes the world a blank slate and I can just exist and not take anything too seriously. Maybe I'm crazy but it seems to help me to some degree.

[feyish]

you should read : "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl. it's an autobiography about how the guy survived living in a Nazi concentration camp. it really deals with the psychology/philosophy of finding a purpose in life despite bad circumstances.

so i guess i'm trying to say that i disagree: life does have a meaning if you want it to. but i do agree that a lot of things shouldn't be taken too seriously. i've heard of studies that show that the vast majority of what people worry about is really minor stuff.


* maybe my post is a little off-topic, but from some of your previous posts on this site, i think you might enjoy the book i mentioned.*

[Bodhi]

feyish said:

you should read : "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl. it's an autobiography about how the guy survived living in a Nazi concentration camp. it really deals with the psychology/philosophy of finding a purpose in life despite bad circumstances.

so i guess i'm trying to say that i disagree: life does have a meaning if you want it to. but i do agree that a lot of things shouldn't be taken too seriously. i've heard of studies that show that the vast majority of what people worry about is really minor stuff.


* maybe my post is a little off-topic, but from some of your previous posts on this site, i think you might enjoy the book i mentioned.*

I've read it mutiple times and its sitting on my bookshelf as I write this. I do like his approach that you choose your own meaning, which could be anything. That is consistent I think with the universe itself being meaningless, since there is no grand meaning giving to us, we have to make up our own. My problem is I've seem to have choosen finding a girlfriend as my meaning, a bad choice since its so difficult for me to find someone. I should try to find meaning in other things in my life, that wouuld be much easier.

[feyish]

cool! (that you have the book, i mean)

[deadendphilosopher]

I do the same thing when I am in uncomfortable social situations. However, although it seems like there is no meaning to life to me a lot, I am not completely sure if that's true. Life and the universe are just so complex and organized that it seems almost impossible that they could be a random occurence. And what about consciousness? I suppose it could just be a byproduct of the brain or something, but I just can't wrap my mind around that. Anyway, life often seems like an illusion to me.

There is a philosophy that there are two aspects of existence: one aspect is pure, unmanifest consciousness, which is completely flat, unchanging, silent, ect. It is just pure Being, and contains every possibility. However in order for this consciousness to experience itself, it becomes manifest. The manifest is the second aspect of reality. It is everything that can be percieved with the senses. So according to this philosophy (it is found in many religions, including Buddhism, Taoism, and many others), life exists so consciousness can experience itself, and a fully developed man experiences both aspects simultaneously, at all times. Why consciousness would have an impulse to experience itself is beyond me. But getting back to the point, most people are not fully developed yet. This means they are only experiencing the relative aspect of existence, which by itself seems very meaningless.

I don't know if I completely believe in this philosophy, but it does help me to put less importance on relative things, like social sucess. When you think of all the possibilities in the universe, it seems so strange that we live in a three-dimensional world with only five senses, and worry about extremely point value things like what is socially accepted. There is so much we can't percieve when we have such limited awareness, that it seems stupid to place importance on the few things we do percieve.

I don't know if this makes any sense. Sorry if I've just been rambling on and on.

[feyish]

sometimes i think i just exist. especially in social situations, it makes no difference if i'm there or not, the world would be the same without me (or would it?).

[Stranger]

bodhi395 said:

This may seem like a weird thought, but sometimes when I'm about to face some really anxious social situation to help me deal with the anxiety I think of how the universe is absurd and maybe nothing in life means anything. It helps me in that once I start to get into that mind set the anxious situation seems less anxious because it starts to lose its seriousness. Like talking to a girl I'm attracted to seems like nothing then since this entire existence is pretty meaningless. It actually helps, although i still have anxiety but it lessens it. I know people use God and the universe does have meaning to help them, but for me the opposite seems to work. If people are just born into the world and then die and everything in between carries no real meaning, then how can I get so anxious about something as stupid as talking to someone. It kind of makes the world a blank slate and I can just exist and not take anything too seriously. Maybe I'm crazy but it seems to help me to some degree.

I sometimes do that thing where you think that you're the only consciousness in existance, and all the other humans are just there to interact with you. Kinda helps you think you're on your own again.

But I find that the real anxiety bypasses all conscious thought, so it doesn't really matter what you try to think. As soon as it hits, it'll wipe your mind clean of whatever you were trying to think about to quell the anx to begin with.

[Bodhi]

stranger said:

But I find that the real anxiety bypasses all conscious thought, so it doesn't really matter what you try to think. As soon as it hits, it'll wipe your mind clean of whatever you were trying to think about to quell the anx to begin with.

I couldn't agree more, sometimes the anxiety seems to just take over and no matter what you try to think it doesn't seem to help.

[respectful]

I agree as well, that when the anxiety comes in like a flood all you can do is weather the storm.

I think in some cases you can do one thing, and it isn't easy, but admit either to someone or yourself that "you can't cope with this"

I did this yesterday when someone came into the room we were in and started throwing her weight around and got in my face.
I diverted by shaking hands with someone next to her, which put her off her guard, and then I walked over to the host and said I will leave because I can't cope with this.
(I felt really crushed inside)

The woman who caused all this must have overheard because she said to someone that "she will leave"

I then sat down and watched her leave - she felt ashamed of her behaviour.


So there is power in the "backdown" or being self-effacing and admitting that you can't cope - if that is the case.

I see now that I disarmed her, and her own shame did the rest. This has taken me B#@$%# years to be able to do this directly.

(I hope this helps someone - at the least someone who may be reading this thread)




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