Life has an enormous amount of meaning, it's just meaningless on the level of the matrix.

What grand meaning does it have?

We get to define it ourselves. His answer is as irrelevant to you as yours is to him, and neither is "right" unless you believe in a mandate from outside of yourself. IMHO.

For some your stance is empowering. Others have to believe it serves some specific purpose as part of a big plan and that it is hugely important. For others it would be depressing and apathetic.

Choose wisely, but don't assume you are right about 'THE' meaning of anything for anyone else, other than for you, no matter how deeply it resonates.

We all think all our actions are supposed to lead somewhere, but the end result is always death. And whether you believe in a higher power or an afterlife (I don't), this existence is basically this one time thing that's going to end sooner or later. What's the use in worrying about approval (or anything) if we're all living on borrowed time that will, sooner or later, expire.

And this is not in a depressed, sad, I want to kill myself way either. This nihilism is liberating as hell. There is no reason to fear anything, because it just ties into a fear of accepting that we're going to die. I think I've accepted it, but it is a bummer thinking about it. We do, however, have to enjoy what we do have. It's gonna disappear soon anyway, so might as well.

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everybody drops to zero"

"What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying?"

And oh my god. Just realized I was using comforting phrases to deny the reality of life.

Wow this is a fucking awesome thread. Moose, for me I believe that waking up from the matrix is very meaningful. I don't have a big explanation of what the true meaning of life is but I do like to believe that anything is possible. However, my beliefs in religion being the answer are gone along with my beliefs in the matrix.

I think that when it comes down to it, I do believe we are connected to this universe. Our physical bodies are mortal but our connection with the universe is infinite. But these are my beliefs like Kidd and flow said we get to define it ourselves. Sometimes I'm amazed by the universe and other times I'm disgusted by it but there are far more positive things in this world then negative. The ugliest part of this world in my opinion are human beings and are beliefs that the world revolves around us but still there our a lot of great things about this planet and this life that hold meaning that I sometimes tend to fall into an awe about it.

Flow you totally blew my mind in your one post saying that this is all just a thought. When I read that I felt an enormous amount of space. That even this universe is just a thought. If you meditate with that for a few minutes....

We all think all our actions are supposed to lead somewhere, but the end result is always death. And whether you believe in a higher power or an afterlife (I don't), this existence is basically this one time thing that's going to end sooner or later. What's the use in worrying about approval (or anything) if we're all living on borrowed time that will, sooner or later, expire.

And this is not in a depressed, sad, I want to kill myself way either. This nihilism is liberating as hell. There is no reason to fear anything, because it just ties into a fear of accepting that we're going to die. I think I've accepted it, but it is a bummer thinking about it. We do, however, have to enjoy what we do have. It's gonna disappear soon anyway, so might as well.

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everybody drops to zero"

I understand where you're coming from. Me, I think us humans try to make our existence feel like it has a higher purpose to help us sleep at night. I don't think there's anything separating us from other mammals, reptiles, insects, etc. They simply die, fertilize the earth, and so do we.

Then again, whenever I had a psychadelic trip, I always felt like I saw what you're describing. A lot of people get in touch with a higher power when they do. So who knows.

And yes, waking up from the matrix is huge. Living your only life in a life...well, 99% of the population is still plugged in, but it would suck.

Also another great quote I heard was from a philosopher named Alan Watts who said "the real you, is not a puppet that life pushes around. The real deep down you is the whole universe. You are something the universe is doing in the same way that a wave is something the whole ocean is doing". You could look up a lot of his stuff on YouTube.