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Author Topic:   Finding your purpose in life
Zhimbo
Member (Idle past 6011 days)
Posts: 571
From: New Hampshire, USA
Joined: 07-28-2001


Message 16 of 43 (295732)
03-15-2006 8:13 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by riVeRraT
03-14-2006 11:03 PM


My purpose in life is to provide my wife with frequent, high-quality orgasms.
My purpose in life *used* to be to get a Ph.D., but I did that, so I needed a less self-serving purpose.
Now I find purpose in serving another. A higher power, if you will.
Works for me.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by riVeRraT, posted 03-14-2006 11:03 PM riVeRraT has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 18 by robinrohan, posted 03-15-2006 10:02 PM Zhimbo has not replied
 Message 22 by nator, posted 03-16-2006 7:08 AM Zhimbo has not replied
 Message 34 by riVeRraT, posted 03-17-2006 10:53 AM Zhimbo has not replied

  
robinrohan
Inactive Member


Message 17 of 43 (295750)
03-15-2006 9:56 PM
Reply to: Message 11 by subbie
03-15-2006 7:51 AM


I've never felt a need to have a porpoise
Me neither. I prefer sharks.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by subbie, posted 03-15-2006 7:51 AM subbie has not replied

  
robinrohan
Inactive Member


Message 18 of 43 (295752)
03-15-2006 10:02 PM
Reply to: Message 16 by Zhimbo
03-15-2006 8:13 PM


My purpose in life is to provide my wife with frequent, high-quality orgasms.
That's interesting. Any other intimate details you would like to discuss?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 16 by Zhimbo, posted 03-15-2006 8:13 PM Zhimbo has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 19 by robinrohan, posted 03-15-2006 10:23 PM robinrohan has not replied

  
robinrohan
Inactive Member


Message 19 of 43 (295758)
03-15-2006 10:23 PM
Reply to: Message 18 by robinrohan
03-15-2006 10:02 PM


My purpose in life is to provide my wife with frequent, high-quality orgasms.
Your wife might be faking it, Zhimbo. What are the metaphysical ramifications of that possibility?
ABE: What is the empirical evidence of a woman's "high-quality orgasm?" Where's the proof?
This message has been edited by robinrohan, 03-15-2006 09:25 PM

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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ReverendDG
Member (Idle past 4110 days)
Posts: 1119
From: Topeka,kansas
Joined: 06-06-2005


Message 20 of 43 (295814)
03-16-2006 2:32 AM
Reply to: Message 19 by robinrohan
03-15-2006 10:23 PM


well i guess that there is the theory that women do not have orgasms..

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riVeRraT
Member (Idle past 415 days)
Posts: 5788
From: NY USA
Joined: 05-09-2004


Message 21 of 43 (295829)
03-16-2006 6:13 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by Larni
03-15-2006 4:58 AM


Stagnant?
Finding purpose if life does not mean you have to be stagnant.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by Larni, posted 03-15-2006 4:58 AM Larni has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 24 by Larni, posted 03-16-2006 7:17 AM riVeRraT has replied

  
nator
Member (Idle past 2169 days)
Posts: 12961
From: Ann Arbor
Joined: 12-09-2001


Message 22 of 43 (295838)
03-16-2006 7:08 AM
Reply to: Message 16 by Zhimbo
03-15-2006 8:13 PM


quote:
My purpose in life is to provide my wife with frequent, high-quality orgasms.
My purpose in life *used* to be to get a Ph.D., but I did that, so I needed a less self-serving purpose.
Now I find purpose in serving another. A higher power, if you will.
Works for me.
Works for me, too.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 16 by Zhimbo, posted 03-15-2006 8:13 PM Zhimbo has not replied

  
nator
Member (Idle past 2169 days)
Posts: 12961
From: Ann Arbor
Joined: 12-09-2001


Message 23 of 43 (295839)
03-16-2006 7:10 AM
Reply to: Message 19 by robinrohan
03-15-2006 10:23 PM


quote:
Your wife might be faking it, Zhimbo.
She's not.
In fact, she's never faked one in her life.
quote:
What are the metaphysical ramifications of that possibility?
Well, they're moot.
quote:
ABE: What is the empirical evidence of a woman's "high-quality orgasm?" Where's the proof?
Self-reporting.
Why would she lie about something like that?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 19 by robinrohan, posted 03-15-2006 10:23 PM robinrohan has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 27 by robinrohan, posted 03-16-2006 9:50 AM nator has replied

  
Larni
Member (Idle past 163 days)
Posts: 4000
From: Liverpool
Joined: 09-16-2005


Message 24 of 43 (295840)
03-16-2006 7:17 AM
Reply to: Message 21 by riVeRraT
03-16-2006 6:13 AM


Re: Stagnant?
I agree, but I would go as far to say that if you did not have purpose (or a porpoise) your options would be limited only by your imagination (in an equal society).
If I honestly believed in a god and believed my purpose was to convert others into the fold then I would be doing that till I died. This would limit my ability to experience lifes vissisitudes. Would I be happy? Probably.
It seems to me that if you find what you like doing, do it. Who needs some god figure to sanction that choice? Our own morality should guide us. If it does not hurt any one else for you to say, study porpoises for the rest of your life, go for it.
It seems to me this purpose question is a red herring.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 21 by riVeRraT, posted 03-16-2006 6:13 AM riVeRraT has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 26 by riVeRraT, posted 03-16-2006 8:08 AM Larni has not replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 25 of 43 (295851)
03-16-2006 7:54 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by riVeRraT
03-14-2006 11:03 PM


R.I.P. ACE
As many of you know, I volunteer at the State Youth Services Center in Colorado. Today, I walked into the room of about 20 young men, most of whom have been in and out of the system at least 3 or 4 times each. Some of them were watching a gory movie on TV. Others of them were seated at a table, drawing, writing and/or reading letters, and whatnot. Many of them know of me, and they know that I am one of the few "religious" volunteers who actually takes the time to listen to what they have to say rather than preach or push my Christian values on them. Because of this, they open up to me more than they would open up to many other social workers or chaplains or even their parents!
One of them had just finished an elaborate drawing of a skeleton holding a card hand with 4 aces. The background was a tombstone with the engraving R.I.P. ACE on it. I asked him who ACE was. There had been another kid who went by the name of ACE who I had talked to several weeks earlier, and I asked aloud if the drawing was referring to him. The young man said no. I then asked him if the drawing represented his old lifestyle and of how it was now dead. He seemed a bit surprised that I deciphered his meaning behind the drawing so readily.
I thought of the EvC topic, Finding Your Purpose In Life.
As I refine and redefine my purpose in life, I constantly reevaluate who I am and what I represent...not only to myself but to others whom I encounter.
It is an important yet delicate task to try and encourage these young people who have had shattered hopes and who are in a revolving door before they even turn 18. In the Christian community that I inhibit, it is all too cliche to say that God knows us better than we know ourselves. I am quite certain that He does...but I have noticed that I dont find fresh answers or insights from the Christian Far Right.
I don't feel that God has called me to be a fundamentalist. I am convinced of the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and of His Light shining through my soul. I am not at all afraid to let go of the Bible, however, because I see so many of the kids doing it.
Holding on to an outdated Faith and regurgitating the words of salvation and hope without actually living and being transformed by those same words is clearly seen as the hypocrisy that it is. These kids are not stupid. It is not my place to confess my gambling habit to them, nor would it help them to trust me any better!
It really only dawned on me yesterday, as I told them the words that would help them and encourage them, I found myself staring at the tombstone. In a way, I was ACE. I was the faith filled hypocrite who thought that surely God would bless me. My gambling habit must die just as certainly as that kids lifestyle. (In fact, I am going to post this in RiverRats topic, as this is certainly relevant to "finding ones purpose" in life.) In conclusion, I will state that "letting go of the Bible is not rendering its teachings as useless. Rather, letting go allows God to speak to my soul with fresh insights and alternative perspectives.
riVeRrat writes:
How do you find your purpose?
Phat writes:
By asking yourself what, why, Who, and how?
If you don't believe in God, or more specifically, don't believe in the after life, what is the purpose in finding your purpose?
Phat writes:
To live the only life that you have to the very fullest, and to encourage others to do the same.
Is our purpose subjective?
Phat writes:
For believers, it really is between us and God. For non-believers, it is a personal matter. From an outside perspective, a collective societal purpose could be an objective truth, but to each member of that society, the question is subjective and personal.
How do you validate your purpose (confirm the truth about it)?
By writing it out and seeing if what I say is true to me. Then, after confirming that what I agree with is true, by going out and walking the walk.
I never thought that I would be agreeing with, nor quoting John Spong...yet I cannot disagree with the passion behind his words as an insight into my perspective:
John Spong writes:
If Christianity is to survive into the future, it will have to evolve radically beyond the images employed by Billy Graham. It will be forced to become something new and different. It will have to surrender its claims to miracle, magic and exclusiveness. It will be judged by its ability to help citizens of the real world penetrate into the depths of Being and to engage the spirituality that is before us. A radically reformed Christianity will have to rethink the traditional understandings of Jesus who will become not a rescuing divine savior who paid the price of sin on the cross of Calvary, but the God-intoxicated life who can become our doorway into the mystery of God, experienced not as a manipulative or invasive deity, but as the Ground of Being, the Source of Life and the Source of Love.
This message has been edited by Phat, 03-16-2006 06:00 AM

Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. Even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained; and even in the best of all hearts, there remains a small corner of evil. --Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by riVeRraT, posted 03-14-2006 11:03 PM riVeRraT has not replied

  
riVeRraT
Member (Idle past 415 days)
Posts: 5788
From: NY USA
Joined: 05-09-2004


Message 26 of 43 (295856)
03-16-2006 8:08 AM
Reply to: Message 24 by Larni
03-16-2006 7:17 AM


Re: Stagnant?
I agree, but I would go as far to say that if you did not have purpose (or a porpoise) your options would be limited only by your imagination (in an equal society).
I feel it is my unlimited imagination that is part of my purpose.
It seems to me that if you find what you like doing, do it. Who needs some god figure to sanction that choice?
God only confirms what I feel is right, and let's me know when I am doing something wrong. Ever do something you regret? Well if I pay attention, he guides me through some of that stuff, so I can focus more on what will give me better returns, and fill that purpose for which I was created.
And no, my purpose is not to convert other people, but part of my purpose is to express the joy I have found in the Lord. I enjoy that, and do it well. This forum has been the toughest place to carry that out, but that is not the only reason I come here. I enjoy everyone in here, even with the difference of opinions.
It seems to me this purpose question is a red herring.
Don't read into it that deep. It's a coffee house subject, and we are just sharing our thoughts, that can't be a bad thing.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 24 by Larni, posted 03-16-2006 7:17 AM Larni has not replied

  
robinrohan
Inactive Member


Message 27 of 43 (295892)
03-16-2006 9:50 AM
Reply to: Message 23 by nator
03-16-2006 7:10 AM


Why would she lie about something like that?
To make you feel good. That way you can think you've achieved your purpose in life.
It's not that uncommon a phenomenon.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 23 by nator, posted 03-16-2006 7:10 AM nator has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 28 by nator, posted 03-16-2006 11:08 AM robinrohan has replied

  
nator
Member (Idle past 2169 days)
Posts: 12961
From: Ann Arbor
Joined: 12-09-2001


Message 28 of 43 (295921)
03-16-2006 11:08 AM
Reply to: Message 27 by robinrohan
03-16-2006 9:50 AM


Why would she lie about something like that?
quote:
To make you feel good. That way you can think you've achieved your purpose in life.
It's not that uncommon a phenomenon.
Ah, but that's not how she operates.
She's honest, that wife of Zhimbo.
Being honest about such things is very important.
For all concerned.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 27 by robinrohan, posted 03-16-2006 9:50 AM robinrohan has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 29 by robinrohan, posted 03-16-2006 11:32 AM nator has not replied
 Message 30 by Silent H, posted 03-17-2006 6:26 AM nator has replied

  
robinrohan
Inactive Member


Message 29 of 43 (295931)
03-16-2006 11:32 AM
Reply to: Message 28 by nator
03-16-2006 11:08 AM


Being honest about such things is very important.
For all concerned
I prefer a romantic dream-world myself.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 28 by nator, posted 03-16-2006 11:08 AM nator has not replied

  
Silent H
Member (Idle past 5819 days)
Posts: 7405
From: satellite of love
Joined: 12-11-2002


Message 30 of 43 (296141)
03-17-2006 6:26 AM
Reply to: Message 28 by nator
03-16-2006 11:08 AM


Ah, but that's not how she operates. She's honest, that wife of Zhimbo. Being honest about such things is very important.
No offence, but isn't that what anyone would say if they were in fact faking to make a person feel good? I'm not saying I believe that you are, just saying his position is one of those things that can't be rebutted.
I have to say that I was actually shocked to read zhimbo's post. I didn't want to say anything however, until you responded about it. It seemed uncharacteristically uhmmmm... sexist.
His purpose in life is to give you huge orgasms? If my gf or any other girl stated that her purpose in life was to give their male partners huge orgasms, I suspect that would not have been met with the same acceptance.
Indeed if a girl found purpose in delivering many men huge orgasms, would that sit well with you? What if a guy said his purpose was to give as many women as possible huge orgasms, and that he was achieving that goal (the women say so)?
Actually I'm all for zhimbo's stated purpose. Sounds great, I was just taken back that such a crude and graphic statement about such a limited purpose (especially related to your sex life) would be acceptable to you.

holmes
"What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority." (M.Ivins)

This message is a reply to:
 Message 28 by nator, posted 03-16-2006 11:08 AM nator has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 31 by nator, posted 03-17-2006 9:14 AM Silent H has replied

  
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