Appleton, WI, USA I believe a compassionate community is one that acts and makes decisions in response to the recognition of needs within their community – needs that are common to humanity. The community orients itself to the idea of reciprocity – featuring common human values such as […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Grey, what is the meaning of life? Dr. John Grey: An answer to “What’s the meaning of life?” showed up unexpectedly, long ago, when I was suddenly gripped by overpowering sensations that I was dying. A voice in my head screamed, “But I don’t want […]
Orange, CA I have had the opportunity to live in several communities in my 67 years of life. As a child, in those formative years, I lived in Schenectady, New York and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania with summers spent at a family home on Tom’s Pond, New Hampshire. […]
I love it when my clients bring questions to counselling about the meaning of life. These existential questions often arise during out most challenging times. This line of questioning can be dismantling and disorientating, and arrive with a whole other set of questions like “what’s wrong with me and […]
When I was 29 years old I got on a bus and travelled to Land’s End, in Cornwall, England, to end my life. I stood on a cliff, buffeted by the wind of winter’s end, and looked down into the broiling water far below, imagining my body breaking […]
Miracles happen all the time. You probably know someone who has had a miracle happen to them, or maybe a miracle has happened to you. I know a woman whose cancer tumor disappeared overnight after she and several others stayed up all night praying. The doctors said there was no medical explanation […]
*** ~Dr. Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati has taught at several universities nationally, including UC Berkeley. She is widely recognized as a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, and is a disciple of Pujya Sri Swami Dayanandaji Saraswati, an internationally Acharya of the Advaita Vedanta tradition, interfaith leader, and scholastic author of […]
What a wonder it is just to be alive, more remarkable still to be aware of this and to wonder what might be the meaning of life? As endless reflections of consciousness becoming conscious of itself there are as many meanings as there are makers of meaning. Perceived […]
Excellence Reporter: Suzanne, what is the meaning of life? Suzanne Scurlock-Durana: Many years ago Joseph Campbell inspired me with this enlightening quote: “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is […]
In the dark morning hour, unable to sleep, staring, mind spinning, I ask, “Why am I here?” The answers arise, unstoppable: To overcome feeling that you must be famous to be worth something. To give according to the talents I gave you: understanding, compassion, wisdom in your academic […]
I tend to second the notion of Kurt Vonnegut who famously said, “The purpose of life is to fart around. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” *** As an explorer on the frontiers of magic and enchantment, Pam Grout has served as an extra in a zombie movie, […]
Excellence Reporter: Dear Dorothy, what is the meaning of life?Dorothy Walters: I think the “meaning” of life is well beyond our understanding. However, the purpose of life is to find ways to return to our divine origin. Yeats said, “Man can embody truth, but never know it.” I agree with Yeats. […]
Excellence Reporter: OM, what is the meaning of life? OM C. Parkin: “To know who you really are.“ Know your SELF. Once and for ever. Many years ago my master gave me this answer. It is the final answer to this question. Who receives this answer by a […]
Excellence Reporter: Ana, what is the meaning of life? Ana Holub: The meaning of life, for me, is a journey deep into the heart of our soul. This world is just like the Holodeck in Star Trek – it seems real, but it’s only a passing illusion of […]
Think of a child throwing himself on the floor, wailing in unabashed fury, pounding his hands and feet in revolt because you said ‘no’ to the candy before dinner. While his generous range of high-pitched demands may be annoying, our children are models of untainted behavior. What I’m […]
Most people don’t stop to ask what the meaning of life is. The simple act of asking is an opening to knowing greater meaning, provided that we look within for answers. I used to think that only the peaks of life were meaningful—the milestones, the breakthroughs, the major […]
Excellence Reporter: Karlene, what is the meaning of life? Karlene Stange: Ancient Taoists believed the purpose of life is spiritual growth through alchemy. Alchemical transformation can only occur within a cauldron of opposites. The physical body is that cauldron where yin and yang, spirit and matter unite. Here, […]
Excellence Reporter: Bailey, what is the meaning of life? Bailey Gaddis: While I can’t answer this for anyone else, because we’re all on our own journey, I’ve been feeling more and more that the meaning of my life stems from creation and connection. When I’m connecting with humans, […]
As a ray of light shined through a prism diffracts into a spectrum of color, the Eternal Light, when shined through the body, diffracts into the spectrum of the five senses and world perception. The purpose of life is to abide as the Eternal Light which, when shined […]
“People say that we’re searching for the meaning of life. I don’t think that’s it at all. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and […]
Excellence Reporter: Joanne, what is the meaning of life? Joanne Fedler: It’s to wake up. It’s to awake from the idea that we are separate from other people. It’s to remember that though we seem to be here as ourselves, we are not here for ourselves. We are […]
Excellence Reporter: Sandy, what is the meaning of life? Sandy Wiggins: What is the meaning of life? I don’t know that any of us can honestly answer the question. It may actually be a meaningless question. Yet we human beings are hardwired to make meaning. Why? Perhaps the […]
Excellence Reporter: Sheila, what is the meaning of life? Sheila Kohler: What comes to my mind immediately in answer to this difficult question is love. Without love life has little meaning: love for one’s fellow man; love for one’s spouse and one’s children; love for one’s friends; love […]
Plymouth, UK I believe an effective compassionate city/community is one in which those dedicated to compassionate action come together to pool resources (including time, energy, vision and commitment) and create a visible core of practical positivity that others feel drawn to emulate; an alternative to the status quo, […]
“Do you know about Old Man Park in Oakland?” asked a grey-haired Telegraph Avenue regular. I was sharing vegan meals on Bancroft at the entrance to the University of California’s Sproul Plaza. Testing locations searching for the best place to start a second Bay Area Food Not Bombs […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Perlman, what is the meaning of life? Lee David Perlman: The meaning of life is infinitesimally simple and infinitely difficult. All meaning in life comes from two intertwined sources: Truth and Love. When we stop resisting our deep eros for self-knowledge, then life becomes a […]
When this question suddenly appeared in my mailbox, after a moment of astonishment, I really rejoiced! Finally! Finally we can get to the heart of things! Indeed, I am often asked how I live as a Buddhist nun, where I live, what I do with my days, for […]
Excellence Reporter: Karen, what is the meaning of life? Karen R. Koenig: Although this view makes people wildly uncomfortable and desperate to find meaning, I believe that there is no intrinsic meaning to life other than what we assign to it. To assume otherwise, that others know what […]
Excellence Reporter: Graham, what is the meaning of life? Graham Nicholls: I have often felt it is not the meaning, but the many meanings in life that I believe are at the core of this question. But it seems to me that when we consider the meaning of […]
Excellence Reporter: Sarah, what is the meaning of life? Sarah Varcas: The meaning of life is a mystery to me and I hope it stays that way! Perhaps this mystery is the deepest meaning? Life is an unanswered question, a suspended chord; to be lived, not solved; experienced, […]
‘It is Love that moves the Sun and Stars,’ wrote Dante – perhaps Europe’s most famous poet – at the end of his long journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Looking back at my life’s journey I too would say that ‘Love’ is the meaning of life and […]
Excellence Reporter: Stephanie, what is the meaning of life? Stephanie Marohn: The meaning of life is soul growth and opening our hearts—to the self, to other people, to beings of all kinds, to all of nature, and to the divine. Through all these forms of connection, we grow […]
Excellence Reporter: Niyc, what is the meaning of life? Niyc Pidgeon: The meaning of life is to find healing and happiness and help others do the same. We come to this earth to learn, and as we learn each lesson, we are able to let go, release, and […]
Excellence Reporter: Rob, what is the meaning of life? Rob Schwartz: The meaning of life is to express the love we truly are – the love that is our eternal nature – here on the physical plane. In short, it is to bring the love of Home to […]
What is the meaning of life for me feels more like a question asking what is the “purpose” of life? Purpose gives us meaning and when we ask “what is the purpose of life?” we gain insights we can use to experience life more fully. Defining life’s purpose can be […]
Excellence Reporter: Daaji, what is the meaning of life? Kamlesh D. Patel: There can be as many answers to this question as there are people, as we all have different individual goals and aspirations. But if we take a broad overview, we can easily see that life on […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Liberman, what is the meaning of life? Jacob Israel Liberman: I’m not sure if life has a meaning. However, it appears to have a purpose – to discover who we are. Are we the body we see in the mirror? Are we the voice in […]
It’s not so much that the universe has a purpose … it’s more that the purpose of existence is integral to the very nature of the universe. The universe is a continually unfolding process of evolution through which ever great potentialities have been realized. The big bang, 13.8 billion […]
Life is a beautiful reflection, of my choices and actions Karma, the law of cause and effect serves to determine what happens next Experiencing life is such an adventure, With all divine creation interacting together Praying to keep the world happy and calm Any living beings must suffer […]
Excellence Reporter: Patricia, what is the meaning of life? Patricia Cori: The meaning of life? How possibly can one compress into so few words the greatest mystery of existence … the most significant, and yet – the most elusive of our passing here. I am reminded of a […]
Excellence Reporter: Sarah, what is the meaning of life? Sarah Love McCoy: The meaning of life is what we say it is. That’s the funny part. We humans have the amazing power to give meaning to anything and everything. Our minds dictate our reality from the inside out. […]
Excellence Reporter: Sherry, what is the meaning of life? Sherry Maysonave: I discovered that the real me, my soul, existed separate from my body, when I was a mere five years of age. Although young, I integrated the importance of staying connected to my soul, my spirit. Throughout the decades, […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Gokani, what is the meaning of life? Trupti Gokani: I believe we are here to discover our most authentic vibrant inner selves. And it may take some time to fully become aligned with who we are, who we really are at the soul level. I […]
The meaning of life is a quest one must journey alone. In essence it is a search for truth and my truth may be different from yours. I do believe though, as we walk the many twisting paths that our lives take us down, there are three universal things we […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Harrell, what is the meaning of life? Mary Harrell: What if we, as simple people, as responding individuals, came to understand that whispers of a vast universe of intelligent and loving beings needed us to join with them for the sake of soul? And what […]
Excellence Reporter: Sri Krishna Kumar, what is the meaning of life? P. R. Krishna Kumar: Life has no meaning unless and until we give a meaning to life. It is sad to find most of our fellow beings departing without having given any meaning with their own life. Vedas say that it […]
Excellence Reporter: Dhyana, what is the meaning of life? Dhyana Stanley: That question is another way to ask why in the world are we here? This is one of those questions which can’t really be answered ‘in the head’ but can with the heart. And everyone who answers this […]
Excellence Reporter: Miti, what is the meaning of life? Miti Desai: Life is Breath…Life is an Opportunity…Life is a Journey – to love, to explore, to engage, to pierce deep into ones own Self. Though, LIFE is also Independent Of; and sometimes, life in itself holds no meaning […]
Excellence Reporter: Adriana, what is the meaning of life? Adriana Attento: The meaning of life is to discover who you are. Beneath thoughts, ideas, feelings, images, sensations; beneath the personality or ego; beneath the fluctuating circumstances of life; beneath the ceaseless change of life is Consciousness. “The world […]
Oh, yes, the age-old question that haunts us on a daily basis. What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Do I have a purpose, and if so, what is that purpose? We have all pondered this question and continue to search for the answer far […]
Excellence Reporter: Tina, what is the meaning of life? Tina Rasmussen: From my perspective, the meaning of life is to discover the truth of what we are—to move beyond limited perception of the “me” and to know the deeper Reality. Through the human experience, we can know that […]
The purpose for the human experience is to learn, on an experiential level, about all facets of love so that we can come to the realization that we ARE love. This requires contrast. For example, we can understand the difference between hot and cold, conceptually, but to truly […]
As a shamanic practitioner of 18 years, this is a question that weaves through my work. My core practice is something called “Soul Retrieval” that involves retrieving vital energy that has become separated or unavailable and restoring it to my client. One of my most asked questions is […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Albert, what is the meaning of life? Stephen Albert: What an interesting phrase. My book, ‘7 Billion Truths’, speaks about how each person has their own life truths based on their many life experiences. Depending upon the family you were brought up in, the culture that […]
Without the eyes of knowing Man, Creation’s glory, vast but blind, Is but a slumb’rous, burning plan That leaves atoms and light behind. We may be motes, the butt of jokes, As in that silent gulf we sit, Yet, through that quiet, our thought pokes And makes a […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Albrecht, what is the meaning of life? Glenn Albrecht: The meaning of life comes with an understanding that it is not the isolated property of a single, independent organism, but a shared property, the ‘biocomunen‘ (life sharing), between multiple organisms all coordinating their actions to […]
Excellence Reporter: Steve, what is the meaning of life? Steve Chandler: The first word that comes to my mind when you ask “What is the meaning of life?” is “creativity.” Pure, loving, and infinite creativity. It’s our natural, inherent state of being…and not a static state, but rather a flourishing… an active […]
Excellence Reporter: Zilong, what is the meaning of life? Zilong Wang: They say, some questions are to be answered, others are to be lived. “Meaning of life” belongs perhaps in the latter category. How could we live a meaningful life? As a young traveler on the long path, I […]
In the day to day existence we struggle through, sometimes it feels as if we get no where. We try so hard just to stay afloat in this sea of hunger, panic, need and competition. It is an amazingly hard thing to keep one’s sanity and some sense […]
Pondering the meaning of life means that we automatically ask ourselves at least one simple question; “Why are we here?” When contemplating this I am automatically reminded of the first Star Trek movie “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (Paramount, 1979). In this movie we were introduced to Vger, […]
One might think by now someone would have come up with an answer—Meaning of Life? The very supposition that there is meaning is a question unto itself: What constitutes meaning? Where does it originate? Is it developed or simply exogenesis and we tap into it? Such philosophical conundrums drive […]
The words we use and questions we ask ourselves often shape our lives in ways that can be insightful or hurtful. What is the meaning of life is an example of the latter. This well-meaning question allows philosophers to speculate without evidence, religious people to maintain that unsubstantiated beliefs […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Désilets: what is the meaning of life? Saida Désilets: Life is a mystery. A grand, delicious, at times horrifying, and often surprising, mystery. What meaning can we give this mystery? For me, life is less about figuring it all out and more about falling in love […]
Excellence Reporter: Rev. Kowalski, what is the meaning of life? Gary Kowalski: Whether you believe it or not, your life began 13.7 billions years ago when, inexplicably, things started. From the beginning, your birth (and that of countless of others creatures) was written into the world-lines of a […]
You have many dreams. You have countless aspirations. You want to live a life worth writing about. A beautiful story that captivates and endures. Sometimes you feel that big success is the only thing worth writing about. That you have to go out and achieve big things and […]
Excellence Reporter: Joanna, what is the meaning of life? Joanna van der Hoeven: For me, the meaning of life is simple: to give your life meaning. What we do each and every moment is an expression of who we are, and in being mindful and compassionate in our […]
Life is a blessing with rich soil to grow every possible contribution we can make with our time and resources, for a good life for people close to us, in our ecosystems, and most of all, that people 500 years from now, have far better lives. LOVE Life […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Bekoff, what is the meaning of life? Marc Bekoff: For me it all boils down to do all I can to make the world a more peaceful and compassionate place for all animals, nonhuman and human, than the moment I emerged from my loving mother’s body. I […]
The meaning of life rests with each of us, in each of our lives to carve out. We can take a nihilist stance that says our bodies/souls are the result of a cosmic throw of the dice, a random conflagration of proliferating atoms warmed mysteriously by the ancient […]
Since I was a young man, I have from time to time fallen into dark spirals. Within the spiral, everything that was interesting to me the day before is as valueless and dull as used chewing gum, and every goal I set seems either empty, unreachable, or both. […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Vost, what is the meaning of life? Kevin Vost: I think we are likely to find life most meaningful when we develop and perfect the kinds of powers and abilities we all share as human beings, like the fundamental intellectual powers to grasp concepts and […]
Excellence Reporter: Jenny, what is the meaning of life? Jenny Smedley: Life seems tough doesn’t it? One of the reasons for this is that before we were born we had a master plan, a definite goal in this lifetime, and we were equipped to focus on it and […]
Excellence Reporter: Altazar, what is the meaning of life? Altazar Rossiter: Whenever I hear this question I think of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. In his books he asked the meaning of life, the universe and everything. The answer was revealed as 42, and […]
Excellence Reporter: Fr. Seán, what is the meaning of life? Fr. Seán ÓLaoire: Life is a dream that the ego is having; the ego is a dream that the soul is having; the soul is a dream that Spirit is having; and Spirit is a dream that Source […]
Excellence Reporter: Pamala, what is the meaning of life? Pamala Oslie: I’m aware that there will be as many answers to that question as there are souls on this planet because each of us has a different perspective and a different experience of life and “reality”. Therefore, my […]
Excellence Reporter: Laura, what is the meaning of life? Laura Plumb: I once heard Joseph Campbell answer this question by saying he doesn’t believe there is so much a meaning to life, but rather that we are alive to feel ourselves fully alive, and that when we come […]
Excellence Reporter: Mindahi, what is the meaning of life? Mindahi Bastida Muñoz: Life on Earth is possible due to the presence of the four sacred elements: fire, water, air and earth. All beings are the reflection of those elements; we, as humans, are too the reflection of those […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Frankel, what is the meaning of life? Estelle Frankel: The Hebrew word for meaning, mashmaut, comes from the root sh-m-a, which means to listen. This word (which itself is pregnant with meaning) suggests that meaning arises through listening. The meaning of our lives is not a static, […]
Once in a coffee shop, I overheard a middle-aged woman telling her friend, in a hurt voice, “I feel so judged by him.” Therein lies the history of humanity’s suffering. So long as we identify with this ego “self,” this “I” we take ourselves to be, suffering—in the […]
As a scientist who has spent most of his life in the aerospace industry, studying at NASA and working in space agencies around the world, I understand the value of science in our lives. Science has extended our lifespan, brought benefits to our health, opened the skies for […]
Excellence Reporter: Andy, what is the meaning of life? Andy Smallman: I think the MEANING of life is self-evident when we are able to surrender ego, or to realize on a core level that we are part of something bigger than our individual selves. But that makes it […]
I discovered the meaning of life at the moment of my spiritual awakening, late one night, Jan 4th1998. I was working my night shift. As an architect, a family man and a community activist my life had two shifts. One for the day to interact with my clients […]
Excellence Reporter: Pema, what is the meaning of life? Pema Namdol Thaye: I learnt the meaning of life from my precious spiritual teachers: my Amala (mother) and my uncle Lama Gonpo Tenzing Rinpoche. They devoted their entire lives to benefiting others. This is something they lived, and breathed, […]
I love being outside and physical activity to balance the counseling, workshops and writing, which I also love. I enjoy walking the dogs with Joyce, mowing the lawn, fixing things, gardening, doing anything to be outside. Some folks like to sit around when they are on vacation. Not […]
When the bright lights of London City went out, I was in my late 20s struggling with an addiction, and a chronic eating disorder, and having to admit I was no longer sweet 16. It became apparent that the lure of big cities, 5-star restaurants, a fat wallet, […]
Today is a good day. I move effortlessly between morning yoga, my computer work, feeding our rabbits some tasty raspberry leaves, reading about God and now writing this piece. I feel spacious and calm, and the sun is shining outside and inside. This weekend was not so good. […]
Excellence Reporter: Megan, what is the meaning of life? Megan Hollingsworth: The question itself implies a mind that seeks and even requires meaning. And one who has lost a sense of meaning for it’s own life. For each is a meaning and, thus, life’s meaning in total. The […]
Excellence Reporter: Rick, what is the meaning of life? Rick Snedeker: Intrinsically speaking, life has zero “meaning.” It is incorrigibly insensate and random, despite what poetry and religion constantly labor to imply. We are but an infinitesimal wisp in an infinite enormity of emotionally dead atoms and irresistible […]
From a Buddhist perspective, life is precious. Human life is especially precious, because human beings have the capacity to make our lives meaningful, according to our inclinations and capacity. Regardless of individual limitations, each human being has the freedom to create meaning in life. Each of us creates […]
When asked the question what is the meaning of life?, I would be tempted to reply, “I don’t know”. Every day, I am more and more in awe about this incredible place called “the universe” we live in. And every day, I am more and more aware of […]
Karen Armstrong’s quote that begins, “A Compassionate City is an uncomfortable city” is the fastest way to dispel the gross misunderstanding that compassion is a warm, soft, and consolatory expression and a City of Compassion is just a nice flag to wave over City Hall. It also states […]
Excellence Reporter: Leigh, what is the meaning of life? Leigh Brasington: I don’t know what the meaning of life is. I gave up on that question a long time ago. The question that seems more important to me is “What are you doing to make this world a […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Harvey, what is the meaning of life? Richard Harvey: Life itself is its own meaning. There can be no tricks, seeing round corners, or philosophical search for the true meaning of life. But neither can there be some hidden gain, some extraneous reason for believing that […]
Excellence Reporter: Cynthia, what is the meaning of life? Cynthia Brix: The meaning of life is to remember who we are, and to live from the depths of our true being—including who we are in relation to each other and in relation to God (or the Beloved, the […]
My favorite book of all time is Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. For over a decade I read that book annually and always received new insights. Frankl asserted that even if we don’t see inherit meaning in life, we must either find meaning or create meaning for […]
The question “What is the meaning of Life?” is such a moving target, isn’t it? Since we’re all part of this same mysterious system, it’s like a lot of slightly different questions that all lead to the same thing: “Why? Why me, here and now?” Why is this […]
Excellence Reporter: Carolyn, what is the meaning of life? Carolyn North: Frankly, I have no idea what Life ‘means’ but I do know about the experience of living. It takes place in my body – indeed, everything alive has a container of some sort in which the live-ness […]
Many years ago, standing on stage at one of my meetings with readers, I was looking into the audience, inwardly waiting for the moment when the question “What is the meaning of life?” would finally be asked. Yet, to my regret, among the many questions posed, it never […]
Excellence Reporter: Emma, what is the meaning of life? Emma Slade: Like many people the ups and downs of life have encouraged me to reflect on, perhaps even stand face to face with, this question. I feel very lucky to have been born at a time and in […]
Excellence Reporter: Liz, what is the meaning of life? Liz Mitten Ryan: I must preface what I’m about to share with an introduction that it comes from source through a clear connection to animals and nature. I have lived on a 320 acre sacred land removed from radio, […]
