If you agree with the following statement click on the 'Write a Comment' link below to add your name and location and any message of love you have to share with the world. I want to live in a world where - we work to build each other up instead of tearing each other down - we look to the future and learn from the past but are not obsessed with reliving it - we value our principles too highly to ever sell them - and where we use the Power of Love to heal the wounds that were inflicted by those with a Love of Power

Epilogue Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Can the answers to the following questions lead us to a truer view of reality, a life of greater meaning and a deeper love for the world around us? What knowledge is within our grasp? Why do we let what we don't know divide us? How do we ensure that what we are experiencing is the most relevant version of reality for us? What is Truth, what is Time? How do they impact our perception of reality? Is Socrates right, does the "Examined Life" make our life more worth living? Does understanding where we came from help us understand where we are and where we are going? What is more important, where we came from (the past), where we are (the present), or where we are heading (the future)? Does our life have meaning? Does it matter if our life has meaning? What questions should we ask ourselves when we are looking for what gives our lives meaning? How important is understanding ourselves for our lives to be meaningful? What role does, "Who I Am." play in how meaningful life is, and does it have any determining influence on what the purpose of life is? Does "Meaning" lead to "Purpose" and ultimately to "Fulfillment" ? Does finding meaning open a doorway to connect to others, and to the universe itself, or does searching for, and developing those connections lead to meaning? How does connecting to one another help us understand our world and our place in it better? Does learning to love ourselves enable us to fall in love with others, and our ability to love others lead to opening our hearts to strangers and the world we live in? If we all became capable of truly loving one another, wouldn't this world become a wonderful place for all of us to live in? If "Love" isn't the answer, then, what is?

Love Is All We Need To Know Love is All We Need To Know (Fernando Varella Version) Love is the power of the gravitational pull that the soul exerts upon the universe, and that the universe has upon each soul. Are you tired of the hatred and negativity that divide our politics, dominate cable news and spread like a wildfire through social media sites? Do you believe that our world would be better off if we treated each other with more love and fairness, and if we spread hope and respect instead of fear and hatred. The world pays attention when a message is simple, forceful and has broad support. If you agree with the following quote please click on the link under the last line of the statement below and add your name to the list. Join us in this effort to show the world that it is time for a change... "I believe we get further when we build each other up instead of knocking each other down, when we look to the future instead of dwelling in the past, when our principles are valued too much to put them up for sale, ...and I believe that the power of love is stronger, will last longer and will create a better world than the love of power ever could!" The Power of Love Petition Of all the gifts we have to give to ourselves, to each other and to the world, love is the greatest. Love is a pathway of enlightenment and connectivity that we travel, along which we find the strength, respect, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, inspiration and empathy needed to free our world from lies, fear, revenge, greed, hatred and tyranny. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Philosopher Erich Fromm wrote: "If I can say, “I love you,” I say, “I love in you all of humanity, all that is alive; I love in you also myself.” Love touches every aspect of our lives. Love is nothing else than the realization of the species because in love, one is related to other human beings as one is to oneself. In love we share the suffering of others as our own., and in Love we find the voice to communicate with the infinite. One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, and compassion. (Simone de Beauvior) God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? (Friederich Nietzsche "The Parable of A Madman") Even before Nietzsche, wrote of how science, progress and modernization had killed God, Philosphers had filled countless volumes, and had dedicated centuries of thought to developing a moral code of ethics and duty based on secular reasoning and rationale. Their great challenge was to justify why, outside of any kind of metaphysical belief sysetem, independent, consciously aware, free people should support universal laws of morality and justice that require them to occasionally act against their own interest in support of some social or altruistic goal. The only realy answer to this question, is because their love for someone, or something else is greater than the sacrifice they are making for the object of their love. Love is All We Need To Know!!

Prelude to Love Is All We Need to Know Of all the gifts we have to give to ourselves, to each other and to the world, love is the greatest. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. The word "Love" can mean many different things, depending on ones circumstance and perspective. When we are talking about love it is helpful to know which classification of love we are referring to. A Psychology Today article by Dr. Neel Burton provides a succinct and informative explanation of the various classifications. Philautia, or Love of Self Healthy self-esteem, and love of one's self, is a product of self awareness and continually striving for self improvement. Developing the skills to be able to understand ourselves and see our own self worth enables us to also understand others better and identify their true worth as well. Achieving self love is an important step in being able to truly give one's love to another. Eros, or Sexual or Passionate Love The ancient Greeks believed Eros was akin to madness, as the level of passion evoked by Eros and the actions of those experiencing this type of love often defies logic. "In modern times, Eros has been amalgamated with the broader life force, something akin to Schopenhauer’s will, a fundamentally blind process of striving for survival and reproduction. Phila, or Friendship." (From Neel Butons' 7 Types of Love). Philia, or Friendship The main characteristic of the love that friends have for one another is a shared goodwill that is rational and virtuous. Plato believed that a love born of passion, Eros, that evolves into friendship, Philia, is the best kind of love, as it converts the strength of sexual passion from that of possessiveness into a true bond of mutual respect and desire to help improve one another and the world for the benefit of each other. Storge, or Familial Love The love of one's family is an unconditional love and one who's bond can grow out of Eros or Philia. It is one of the strongest and most enduring forms of love. Agape, or Universal Love Being able to love strangers, the world, animals, nature or on a metaphysical level is an altruistic type of love, which evolves from the unselfish desire to improve the world for ourselves and those we love.

The Miracle The real miracle of life is becoming truly aware of who we are and what our purpose in life is and of the gifts that we have to share with others and with the world.  Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Purpose, Meaning and Enlightenment are all steps on ascending the stairway of Conscious Awareness. "Conscious awareness describes a mental state of being truly aware of the events and situations in one's life. ... Introspective consciousness describes the highest level of awareness, in which your mind is aware of itself." Becoming more consciously aware provides a clarity of understanding in ones' life that is beneficial in evaluating what gives life meaning and, correspondingly, adjusting life's purpose. Conscious awareness, meaning and purpose become an ongoing feedback loop that, when successful, provide us with a more fulfilling life and allows us to make a more meaningful contribution to the world.

Loving You For us to achieve enlightenment and be free from the influence and oppression of others and free from our own bias and history, we must love ourselves enough to make the effort it takes to obtain self-examined awareness. Freedom does not exist in a vacuum, so, it is impossible for us to be truly free when we see other people we care about being decieved or deceiving themselves. Therefore, loving ourselves and our own freedom to be self aware individuals requires us to love those we care about enough to help them find freedom as well. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. When asked, most people will answer that love is the most important thing that gives meaning to their lives, where-as, happiness is influenced by a far greater number of factors. The primary differences between "Meaning" and "Happiness" are explained in detail in the Scientific American Article titled: "The Differences Between Happiness and Meaning In Life", which includes the following excerpt: " In recent years, a number of studies have further supported the differences between happiness and meaning. In one clever study, Baumeister and colleagues found that factors such as feeling connected to others, feeling productive, and not being alone or bored contributed to both happiness and meaning. However, they also found some important differences: Finding one’s life easy or difficult was related to happiness, but not meaning. Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning. Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning. Scarcity of money reduced happiness more than meaning. People with more meaningful lives agreed that ‘relationships are more important than achievements’. Helping people in need was linked to meaning but not happiness. Expecting to do a lot of deep thinking was positively related to meaningfulness, but negatively with happiness.* Happiness was related more to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaning was related more to being a giver than a taker. The more people felt their activities were consistent with core themes and values of their self, the greater meaning they reported in their activities. Seeing oneself as wise, creative, and even anxious were all linked to meaning but had no relationship (and in some cases, even showed a negative relationship) to happiness. It seems that happiness has more to do with having your needs satisfied, getting what you want, and feeling good, whereas meaning is more related to uniquely human activities such as developing a personal identity, expressing the self, and consciously integrating one’s past, present, and future experiences. "

We find the greatest meaning by accepting who we are, using what we have and maximizing our potential while striving for freedom. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Prelude to The Meaning of Life Philosopher's, clerics, scientists, psychologists, poets and countless others, have all contributed opinions on, "What is The Meaning of Life". This is a question to which a defining answer may be as illusive as determining the origin of the universe itself. On a personal level, a question we can ask is, "What gives my life meaning?". Fully understanding the answer to this question may be the key to helping us identify the pathway that will lead us to living a happy and enlightened life. The name of this pathway is "Purpose" and its ultimate destination is "Fulfillment". For example: One of the things that gives Anne's life meaning is her love for her family and friends. This is something that she feels deeply, and it is a core component of her life. Because she loves her family and friends, she wants to make the world that they live in as healthy, exciting, rewarding, fulfilling and loving as she possibly can, so achieving these objectives becomes a purpose in life for Anne. As Anne's efforts become successful and she can verify the improvements her actions have created in the world of those she loves she finds herself feeling happier and more fulfilled. What gives your life meaning, and how has this helped you find a purpose, and are you happy, do you feel fulfilled? There are no perfect answers to these questions, so, please share your ideas, experiences and inspirations with us, as they may help others find meaning, purpose and fulfillment as well.

The process of becoming never ends, as we continually strive to become the most free, best version of ourselves.   Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Who Am I? Some believe that "I" is what is left once all the parts that are identified as "Mine", are stripped away. If this is true, then, am "I" the gravitational force at the centre of my own universe around which all of my possessions, beliefs and relationships orbit? Am I the God I seek? Or is there a metaphysical aspect to me, one that connects me to the universe beyond this physical realm. Is there within me a portion of the Soul of the Whole? Or, am I merely my parent's child, and they their's, and so on back to the dawn of human history? If so, is my "Self-Actualization" an evolutoinary product atop a heirarchy of needs? Does who I am have any influence on why I am here, or is it the other way around, does why I am here help to determine who I am? Where do I find the answer to these questions? When Socrates said, "The un-examined life is not worth living", did he mention who was to be doing the examining? If we are to be the judge of our own existence, how do we gain the experience and competence to become a fair arbitrator? Is this a skill that can be learned, or is it an intuition that we are born with? If it is not within us to determine the nature of who we are or why we are here, then, who's role is it and how are we to learn the answers? Finally, what role does, "Who I Am." play in how meaningful my life is, and does it have any determining influence on what the purpose of my life is?

Finding meaning is a part of the process of transitioning from who we are into who we have the possibility of becoming. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Prelude to Who Am I? The following is taken from Dr. Mel Schwartz's article in Psychology Today: "Who Am I?" It makes perfect sense to seek a deeper sense of self. To become intimately aware of your thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears is obviously advisable. The key is to engage your sense of self as malleable, more like a willow tree than a sturdy oak. The willow is flexible and survives the storm as it bends with the wind, whereas the more rigid oak is more likely to crack. The universe purportedly exists in a state of flowing potential. And it is essential to understand that we are indeed part of that universe. The goal then is to access that potential, keeping the parts of our identity that continue to serve us well and shedding the old, habitual pieces that constrain us. This process is known as positive disintegration. This permits us to find balance between the extremes previously discussed and enter into a relationship with self that commits to our personal evolution.

Identifying, accepting and following our purpose brings meaning into our lives. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Chains of Reality The philosophical, psychological, ethical, religious and metaphysical theories on the "Meaning of Life" fill countless movies, books, seminars and sermons, however the song, "Chains of Reality" asks "What gives your life meaning?" How do you define meaning? Does the search for meaning motivate, or frustrate, you, or is it beyond your ability to consider right now as you struggle just to get through each day? Or as Soren Kierkegaard would say, are you paralyzed by the infinite or by the finite, or by both?

Humankind has never had a greater wealth of knowledge and information at our disposal, however, the pace at which technology and knowledge is advancing, it can become overwhelming for people to engage in thinking for themselves. Too often they have been "outsourcing" their beliefs and fealty to unethical leaders and to personalities on social media and on cable news networks who have their own agenda which often is not aligned with the best interest of the person adopting those opinions. The Philosopher, Immanuel Kant explains "Enlightenment" as humakind's "emergence from their self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) "Have the courage to use your own understanding," is therefore the motto of the enlightenment. "

Edge of Infinity When love, virtue and selflessness are allowed to be the navigators on our journey through life, the road often leads to a place of unimaginable beauty and fulfillment. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Love, Beauty, Sacrafice, struggle and the Sublime - Finding meaning in connecting to the infinite... "The Edge of Infiity" was inspired by a feeling of sublime peace and belonging that overcame me during a trip to the Hawaiian Islands with my family. While in Maui we rented a car and went on the beautiful, undulating, narrow, coastal drive to the seaside town of Hana. The route was treacherous with steep drop-offs, switchbacks, blind corners, and deceptively dappled light patterns caused by the canopy of jungle covering the road for much of the way. The scenery was indescribable, varying between lush tropical hillsides and the endless green-blue expanse of the majestic Pacific Ocean. Captivated by this transcendent beauty, I completed most of the drive barely noticing how tightly I had been gripping the steering wheel until I pulled the car to a stop at a narrow cliff-top pull-out just a few miles from our destination. Our parking spot was a few hundred feet above where the turquoise waters of the Pacific crashed into the shores of Nua Ailua Bay. I got out of the car and stretched. It was early afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, just a hint of the timeless tradewinds that carry with them the smell of salt and sea and the taste of history, freedom and adventure. Leaning over the guardrail that ran along the pull-out, I could see a shoreline of secluded beaches, verdant flora and rocky outcrops stretching up the coast to a point where land, ocean and sky intersected, and I wondered to myself if much, if anything of what I was looking at, had changed since Captain James Cook sailed past here in 1778. At that moment I felt my existence transcending the endless expanse of ineffable beauty that lay before me into a consciousness I did not recognize as purely my own. This feeling was beyond any empirical measure of sensory perception that I have experienced before, or since, and is something I can only describe as an overwhelming connection of belonging and love, and it is the closest I have ever felt to comprehending eternity. The song "Edge of Infinity" was inspired by this experience, however, I did not understand the sublime nature of it until I listened to Stephen West discuss this concept on his 60th episode of his podcast "Philosophize This". At what point does spending time searching for meaning, purpose, truth, enlightenment and, ulimately, a sublime experience, interfere with our ability to live our lives as independent, free thinking individuals? If you have had something similar happen to you, please share it with us!

Acceptance of the truth we find in examining our lives leads to purpose. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Prelude to Reality Rene Descartes was the Philosopher who is famous for the saying; "I Think, therefore, I am." Still, some believe we may be nothing more than a part of some grand illusion. What is reality, and what can explain it best? Is it metaphysical? Are we a part of a something that is beyond nature and who's purpose is influenced by a higher power, or are we a product of the big bang and millions of years of evolution and therefore solely responsible for our own actions and future? Ultimately, what matters more? Is it how we got here, or where we go from here? The Self Made Man is a sculpture by Loveland artist Bobbie Carlyle

Understanding and constantly re-examining our lives, striving for truth and to become the best versions of ourselves is what Socrates believed makes life worth living. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Look At Where We've Been Are we what we believe? Socrates famously stated "The unexamined life is not worth living." According to Socrates, it is not enough for us to simply "believe" in who we are, we must use critical thinking to examine our actions and our behavior to justify any belief we may have in ourselves. I may believe that I care about people, but if I never go out of my way, or sacrifice any of my time or wealth to help someone else, is that belief justified? Simone de Beauvoir and her Philosophical and life partner, Jean-Paul Sartre stated that who we are is a combination of the Facticity (facts about our lives) and Transcendence, (the potential or possibilities available to us based on our present situation) as well as the ambiguity we face as humans in being in this world and in living in the constant state of stress that trying to live an enlightened life of freedom entails. Does history repeat itself? Is Dark matter pushing the universe into an ultimate slow frozen death or will the universe collapse under its own weight and expand again? Can we learn from our past? Do we recognize reality when we see it? Are there multiple dimensions? Are we nothing more than strings of energy? There are several subjects touched upon in this song, please pick any that interest you and comment or post links below.

A basic fact that we can start with is that we do exist.  As Rene Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.”  But is mere existence enough? Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Eternity Some scientist and some philosophers believe that the origin of the universe, or where the first matter came from, or what happened before the "big bang" or what eternal time is, may be beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Carl Sagan believed that we are a way of the universe knowing itselt. In fact, the question of what "Reality" is has been debated among philosophers for centuries, and some people have even come to the radical conclusion that what we experience is nothing more than an elaborate illusion. The important thing to remember is that we have a sense of who we are, and as Socrates posits, have the opportunity and responsibility, to continually examine our own lives in a quest to determine our own reality. If you have any thoughts on this matter, or links to credible scientific or philosophical thinking on the subject of eternity, please post them here.

Avoiding manipulation requires an understanding of, a desire for, and acceptance of fact, free from any personal bias, preference or allegiance. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Prelude to Eternity What is time? If it is eternal, then nothing is predestined, if it is cyclical, then, how much of what we do, have we done before, and does this make our existence any less meaningful? What is Truth? Ultimate, or absolute truths are those that remain true regardless of time and space. No matter what the situation that can be imagined, an ultimate truth remains valid. These truths tend to be logical in nature, such as, there are no round squares, and there are no square circles. Empirical truths are based on evidence, such as, the gravitational pull of the moon has an impact on the level of tides in the ocean. Moral truths are subjective truths based upon personal; biases, prejudices, experiences and beliefs. Moral truths vary widely depending on philosophical and religious beliefs, culture, demographics, ethnicity, and lifestyle. To refer to them as Truths at all is misleading, as they are little more than strongly held opinions. The Pragmatic Theory of Truth espoused by 19th century Psychologist / Philosopher William James is a helpful way of detining "Truth" for the vast majority of circumstances that every day life consists of. For a belief to be considered justifiable, William James had three criteria: There must be actual evidence supporting the validity of the idea The idea must be able to withstand criticism The idea must continue to help predict future outcomes. If any of these three criteria are not met then the idea is false. Stephen West does an excellent job of explaining William James theory of Truth on Episode 84 of Philosophize This Our goal with the "All We Need To Know" project is to help people understand the importance and value of demanding unbiased and objective truth in the process of making enlightened decisions for themselves. So, please remember, whenever you hear something that is of importance to you, please check to see if there are actual verifiable facts that support the idea, that the idea can defend itself without relying on false arguments and will the idea continue to be reliable in the future!

If we are going to lead a life that is self-determined and strives for freedom we need to be able to distinguish between what is real and when we are being manipulated by others or by ourselves. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Shadows On The Wall Over 2400 years ago the Greek Philosopher Plato wrote the "Allegory Of The Cave" , which, is a story about prisoners chained inside a cave from birth, and how their perception of reality has been created for them by unseen puppet masters who use fires located behind the prisoners to cast shadows on the wall in front of them. Today much of what we perceive to be real is little more than fabricated stories and images created by modern day puppet masters to influence our perception of reality. (Puppet masters include government propagandists, cable news, bloggers, radio hosts, editorial writers and social media content developers, etc. ) The song, "Shadows On The Wall" is a reminder for us to be aware that things are not always as they seem, and that we are all ultimately responsible for seeking reliable sources of truth and knowledge to help us make informed decisions. I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth - and truth rewarded me! (Simone de Beauvior) The Quantum Gravitry Research Project: What if the very fabric of space and time isn't made of one-dimensional strings or energy as we think of it, but instead was simply a code or a language made from a geometric projection? Quantum Gravity Research is a Los Angeles based team of mathematicians and physicists working on developing a theoretical framework for a first-principles unified quantum gravity theory they call emergence theory. Still in the early stage of development, emergence theory attempts to unify, through mathematical and scientific rigor, the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and consciousness. This film is presented in layperson terms and explains basics tenets of emergence theory, quantum mechanics and digital physics in ways that are meant to be communicative and fun. However, if you'd like to read any of the scientific and more technical papers, please visit our website. PLEASE NOTE: Please note this fundraising project is now closed so you cannot make any donations at this time. We appreciate all of the generous support we have received. Quantum Gravity Research: Is there an 8-dimensional "engine" behind our universe? Join Marion Kerr on a fun, visually exciting journey as she explores a mysterious, highly complex structure known simply as 'E8'--a weird, 8-dimensional mathematical object that for some, strange reason, appears to encode all of the particles and forces of our 3-dimensional universe. Meet surfer and renowned theoretical physicist Garrett Lisi as he rides the waves and paraglides over the beautiful Hawaiian island of Maui and talks about his groundbreaking discovery about E8 relates deeply to our reality; and learn why Los Angeles based Klee Irwin and his group of research scientists believe that the universe is essentially a 3-dimensional "shadow" of this enigmatic... thing... that may exist behind the curtain of our reality.

Often we find ourselves wasting time arguing over questions that may not have answers. Meanwhile we are ignoring problems that we can, and must fix, but which we are indifferent to because we feel powerless, or we are too selfish to address them. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Hypothetical Pollution Immanuel Kant would encourage us not to let the "Hypothetical Pollution" stand in the way of our enlightenment, but to have the courage to seek knowledge and truth and to use it bravely in pursuit of our purpose. There are many in our society, both leaders and followers, who do not have the courage, or the integrity, to seek, accept, or tell the truth,. They use a combination of logical fallacies to support their arguments because they are either too lazy or too afraid to expose their positions to an unbiased examination of the facts. Renè Descartes, the 17th century French Philosopher, is famous for his declaration. "I think, therefore I am!" This certainty is considered by many to be the foundation of Western Philosophy. The song, Hypothetical Pollution suggests that we often spend too much time arguing over things that may not be provable by us, or may not have any positive impact on our world, while not doing enough with the knowledge, solutions and truths that we have already discovered. In this discussion thread let us talk about what some solutions might be, and also what you consider to be Hypothetical Pollution. Click here for further reading on the possible limits of knowledge

Knowledge is required to make independent choices that have value. Please scroll to the bottom of this forum page to add your own comments or content. Prologue How do we know what knowledge is? What is truth? If we wish to make an enlightened decision in a partisan / tribal world, we need to be able to identify what truth and knowledge are, and we must be able to filter out all the propaganda and political bias. Only when we have the will and courage to do this will we be able to better understand the world we live in and our own role in it. This type of examination of knowledge is called Epistemology and the state of awareness and freedom we achieve through this process is called Enlightenment The "All We Need To Know" Prologue raises questions related to Epistemology. This song is an introduction to the concept, which we hope will provide an inspiration for some people to engage in further reading. We have found some helpful resources related to Epistemology, and other informative Philosophical content at Philosophize This, a podcast by Stephen West. Especially relevant is episode 63 in which Mr. West discusses Immanuel Kant's view on the limits of human knowledge. "If we could adopt the mindset that knowledge is prescious and that when things go wrong it is not because there is some kind of evil force that needs punching in the gut, and spitting at, but because we are not understanding something, and it is our job and our duty to seek to understand, to look for those errors and if we were to adopt that mind set there is literally no limit to the journey we could go on together." A quote from Chris Anderson, 'The guy lucky enough to run TED'. From the TED Talk Interview, "The Infinite Reach of Knowledge" by David Deutsch If you have thoughts on Epistemology, or have links to other informative or enlightening content, please post below. Please note, only positive, helpful content will be permitted, if you are only capable of providing destructive or disrespectful content, please find a different site to troll. Blog Post: https://randyzahara.blogspot.com/2018/12/knowledge.html