Looking for advice for personal change. With the circumstances of my life left in the dark (Everyone’s got problems), I ask for someone to help me figure out a way to restructure my philosophy towards iving. I have been on a loop cycle of failure after failure in virtually everything I put my mind towards for the past 5 years.
As I am today, I feel that everything that could possibly be done in this life is ultimately futile and even in the most lucrative circumstances has no collective meaning whatsoever in the scheme of the universe. I am glad to say I do not believe emotions to be at play here except as a product of this extreme pessimism. Though it is as if I am in a flight pattern that goes nowhere, because what is the point of going anywhere if where we are is ultimately going to be controlled and supervised by the rest of the pious population till we grow old and decrepit, only to reach our final destination of a most likely unpleasant death.
I don’t follow social trends and have a very hard time understanding any other person these days. I feel as though every day I wake up further into a dream, with no real niche, journey, or plans. The idea of contentment, discontentment, happiness, sadness, success, failure mean nothing to me. I would go as far as to say I am undecided about even the most trivial decisions, as though I have completely disregarded to ideas of opinion or choice. This is beginning to have a profound effect on my social aptitude. I am finding myself during conversation just completely breaking off in mid sentence because I loose interest in anything I may be discussing with someone.
I am atheist, and first taught myself about the seemingly futile, and then non-existence of god. I am in college but can’t stop switching fields of study and then eventually drop out of the semester. I have tried a handful of popular religions in an attempt to direct my life somewhere constructive, but have always realized I was trying to trick myself in the end.
With this neutralization of motivation though has come some comforting lifestyle changes. I have quit smoking cigarettes and for whatever reason didn’t die a drug/alcohol addict (Something that was likely for a few years). This may be why I am not too panicked about my situation, I used to be a lot worse off. It is my feeling that at least I am not hurting the people around me any longer, therefore I have at least corrected the wrong I once committed. Maybe this is a complex?
I really don’t know what else to write.
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
Nihilist, What Should I Do?
Posted on July 18, 2012.
First of all I am no expert so I would consider consulting one. Fixing your problems whatever they may be take a few things: Knowing and accepting they are there, finding all possible solutions, and commitment to the best one that works for you. I have been in similar loops of thought before and if you are like me there isn’t a lot that others can say to comfort you. You merely need solutions, and most likely they won’t be easy. Try to accept the parameters of your life and work within them. Yes humans may be insignificant in the broad scheme of things but the important thing is to accept that that’s just the way things are and work with it not against it. Sure I may know that going out and doing something fun will not make me happy forever or even for a day after the event, but I know that I enjoy it at the time so that’s what matters. The real purpose of life in my opinion as well as many others I have talked to, is to produce endorphins (the fell good chemicals in our brain) after all what good is life without feeling good. So get out there and try to have as much fun as you can, within reason of course. You want to try for optimal happiness as often as you can, so don’t go blow your money to be extremely happy, because in the long run that extreme lifestyle can leave you miserable in one way or another. I’m not saying that it is possible to be happy all of the time but remember that the bad times will pass as they always do. Just as good things don’t always last, neither do bad things. I hope this helped and if you would like any more advice I will do what I can if you email me. Colton.howard@hotmail.com
I’m going to copy-paste stuff from some previous answers because of the obvious length. All of what you’re about to read (or skip) is related to my own personal opinion and it’s entirely up to you to decide if it actually makes sense or not.
Regardless of what I’m going to write below, I’d like to first recommend DLPA supplements as they increase the concentration of endorphins and dopamine in your brain. Thus, this amino acid acts as a natural analgesic (painkiller) and antidepressant. That should help you (as it does for me) feel more comfortable and content with life.
——
The purpose of life (and morality) is to increase complexity in the Universe.
Everything in the Universe — including consciousness — stems from the laws of themodynamics. Consciousness and perception are by-products of the development of organized neuronal memory through increasing complexity. As such, it is safe to say that all of your experiences are “illusions” created by the memory of a highly-ordered automaton (the “real” “you”) that exists only in another Planck frame of your unperceived future.
This is highly debatable but it seems to me that our existence itself is as it is now merely because it couldn’t be otherwise — our Universe may be (one of) the (most likely cyclical) path of least resistance (ie. most stable) in a sea of an indefinite amount of other universes.
The concept of “original cause-and-effect” is moot in the unique case of a cyclical universe because, by definition, a circle can have neither beginning nor end and thus has no need for a cause nor any effect. A perpetual universe simply creates itself in the possibility-space that lies between infinitesimal convergence (or contraction/enthalpy) and infinite divergence (or dissipation/entropy). I would then define reality as the inevitable movement, either backwards or forwards along this or these stable path(s), between two given states in this aforementioned possibility-space.
The reason I don’t fully believe in a Big Freeze or Big Crunch theory (and, as such, in the futility of existence) is because the chaos and potential for order in the Universe seems more than enough to allow for complex life forms (and perhaps, eventually, even more complex physical processes) to develop from entropy, as observed in our Universe, to the point at which they may modify the final expression of the interaction between 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics in ways we cannot imagine. This trend towards increasingly self-ordered chaos and its eventual apex, is the only god-like entity I’m currently willing to believe in as this “end-point” may also be conceived as (one of) the Big Bang’s original cause(s).
With all that being said, as far as your nihilism goes, I’d like to argue two things:
1) All matter (but most importantly — all living matter) may be fundamentally connected in the sense that all unique perception is the division of a common stream-of-energy. In other words, there is only one real observer, which you — and everyone else — are apart of. What this means, I believe, is that all is inextricably entwined and that, if I am correct, you will either experience all that was and will ever be experienced in the lifespan (or cycle) of the Universe or relive your life for eternity without being aware of it. In either case, the most logical line of action would be to try maximizing, first, the Greater Good and, second, your own well-being, as much as possible.
2) The future is predetermined and immutable but there is still room for yourself to nurture an illusion of free will and, if possible, happiness. You are free to partake in the pursuit of happiness through whichever means you want. Assuming the Universe is determined in a way that allows for your success, you will reach it. Assuming your suffering is necessary, you can try to seek solace in the fact that your life remains a necessary stepping stone in the unfolding of the Universe.
Regarding inexistence: “nothingness” or “death” are, in my eyes, faulty and oversimplified theoretical concepts that stem from the inherent limitations of the human mind. In order to have a vague understanding of what transcends our reality, I believe it’s necessary to picture “nothingness” as the aforementioned endless sea of infinite potential (unstable and temporary) realities outside of our own finite potentiated (stable and eternal) reality — “nothing” then becomes nothing less than the unsubstantiated essence of infinity.
P.S —–
“I don’t follow social trends and have a very hard time understanding any other person these days.”
This is one of the final steps in self-actualization: dissociation from arbitrary social constructs. Don’t sweat it! That’s absolutely necessary for cooperation on a global scale and, as such, is a highly desirable trait.
No no no no no. Nihilism is only a midpoint, not the endpoint.
The end point is existentialism.
Sure, the universe may have no objective value or meaning, but that does not take away from your own subjectivity. You need to understand the Will To Power. You yourself must enforce your own will (preferably peacefully) unto the universe! Or…you can, if you want to, it’s yours for the taking.
You need to start finding yourself, and isolating your own values and desires. Go for what you want, not what religions or society or chemical dependencies want. Knowledge is power and you can seize and fulfill yourself independent from objectivity.
Read a constructivist history of nihilism: “Nihilism,” by Eugene Rose; it’s 100 pages, easy reading.
Meditation is a proven method of developing, healing, and strengthening: http://www.freemeditations.comhttp://www.matthewbcrawford.com and http://www.rwm.org/rwm are interesting, helpful for some people.
“The Path of the Higher Self,” Mark Prophet, has been helpful for many.
Life IS futile..but that is a secret.
Best you keep that secret to yourself.
You’re job is to make sure no one finds out that secret..
Seriously..you’ll be amazed what a job it is to help others stay in their fantasy world.
Encourage them the more they talk about wonderful things of this world.EX: “you can’t wait to meet God..oh my that’s beautiful” if they talk about GOD they don’t know GOD. That means they are delusional. The more delusional people are the happier they are..Help them stay that way.
You need to switch the TV station when something negative comes on that may affect someone negatively without them suspecting a thing.
You want to keep some things from hitting another’s brain for it can do harm.
If you hear someone gossiping about someone you walk up and purposely change the subject innocently of course..
If people are talking(rambling I call it) be enthusiastic because it’s amazing they don’t see what you see..and your enthusiasm will bring them joy.
You won’t be tricking yourself anymore if you move with a purpose of keeping people from being influenced by negative truths. It’s everywhere..turn the channel. change the subject..remove a person from an influential person etc.
You’ll become like an invisible warrior..protecting people without them knowing you’re a warrior. I’ve been doing that my whole life. Nobody has any idea how many people I have protected.
That is my purpose for living. Protecting people from invisible evil. Evil that most can’t see because they live in a fantasy world.
We the invisible. The real crime fighters.
We are needed everywhere.
Copy and paste..for I of course need to delete this comment soon..to protect others of course. Just say yah.
Not all distinctions are arbitrary, and that any distinction what so ever is possible is of epistemological consequence.
“We can be certain of one thing beyond all other things, and that is that nothing as the absence of every and all things, is not only metaphysically eliminated as a possibility, but epistemologically refuted by any attempts to establish that such the case could indeed be otherwise.”
Hate to rain on your nihilist parade, but emotional perception is an inescapable consequence of the human condition of consciousness.
Further being that we humans are a social species, and necessarily must draw upon social resources to insure our individual survival, well this commits us to a degree of objective ethical obligation in the rational context.
For if we do not conform in part to this necessity, then the quality of our conscious state, and the biological survival of our personal body is placed in danger.
My advice to you is to embrace this consequence of the human condition as an objective and demonstrable truth, and to become socially active in what capacity that not only fulfills the instinctual sense of obligation, but also suits your personal preference and interests.
This is not only reasonable, it is also natural and necessary.
To deny this will of course result in conflicts of interest psychologically, but also it is empirically invalid in the sense of demonstrable evidence that must be ignored to maintain nihilistic perspectives.
Nihilism is an irrational endeavor to conjecture if not from consequence of motive or practice, not because it is not sincere skepticism or because it disrupts the quality of an individuals life, but because it is a futility of perpetual self refutation, this is empirically evident, and logically demonstrable.
Ethics are the result of being human, and what ethics are superior or necessary is a matter of debate that has spanned the recorded history of philosophical discourse.
But suggesting that it is not relevant to existence as a society or as an individual, well should come as any surprise that you feel you are wasting your time, energy, and resources denying what is obvious…that is does not matter if such things are of teleological consequence in some ambiguous and undefined “objective grand scheme”, but that such things are of profound meaning, importance, and also relevancy to the individual consciousness, as well as to societal dynamics.