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 […]
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: 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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: 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, […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Yogendra, what is the meaning of life? Smt. Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra: During my regular session at The Yoga Institute, one of the students was asked according to him what is the meaning of life? He answered life is B and D. Means life is “B” […]
Excellence Reporter: Amy, what is the meaning of life? Amy B. Scher: The meaning of life is to embrace it with curiosity! When I was struggling during almost an entire decade with a chronic illness, I fought every day to find a cure. I even traveled all over […]
Excellence Reporter: Master Oberon, what is the meaning of life? Oberon Zell: Cherish diversity! Find fascination in the strange and unusual. Live passionately. Explore everything, especially things forbidden, with boundless curiosity. Read voraciously. Grow a garden. Establish and maintain altars in your home. Celebrate the ever-turning Wheel of […]
Excellence Reporter: Tiffany, what is the meaning of life? Tiffany Lazic: Trying to find a simple answer to what is the meaning of life is akin to trying to find the loose end of a snarled jumble of wool. There are so many possible threads to follow that […]
Excellence Reporter: Tom, what is the meaning of life? Tom T. Moore: The meaning of our lives is much more complex than we can imagine. Here is what I’ve been told in my meditations. The Creator of our universe (there are billions of creators and billions of universes) […]
Excellence Reporter: Raphaelle, what is the meaning of life? Raphaelle Tamura: This question brings to mind the classic cartoon image of an earnest spiritual aspirant breathlessly climbing to the top of a mountain in order to ask an old, bemused Master who quips something funny or ironic. This […]
Excellence Reporter: Michael, what is the meaning of life? Michael J. Tamura: All questions of meaning lead us to the mind, don’t they? Whenever we ask, if we don’t get distracted along the way by other thoughts and feelings, the seeking of an answer leads us step-by-step to […]
I wrote this for YOU By my SELF What if…… I am living heaven on earth right now What if…… My heart was exploding with love for All that IS Right now What if……I knew what I felt to be true What if…… Every moment I take a […]
Excellence Reporter: Laura, what is the meaning of life? Laura Silvana Aversano: As I am sitting here pondering the meaning of life, I can only share with you what my own experiences have shown me thus far. God-willing, I will have many more lessons to learn, more challenges […]
Excellence Reporter: Samantha, what is the meaning of life? Samantha Thomas: Astrophysics has yet to discover whether there is meaning of life in the universal sense, and if there is a meaning, we may never know what that is. However, it is important that human beings feel a […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Fellingham, what is the meaning of life? Paula Fellingham: Life has had different meanings for me during my nearly 70 years of living. As a girl growing up in the glow of a famous parent, defining the meaning of life never crossed my mind. I laughed […]
We each enter life with desires, goals, and challenges to overcome, and we choose birth conditions that will best help us meet these objectives. Arriving with dreams from the past that are seeking fulfillment, we find meaning as we are able to satisfy these karmic imperatives from the […]
Excellence Reporter: Frank, what is the meaning of life? Frank DeMarco: When we ask the meaning of life, we are also asking about our own nature, and the nature of the world we live in. If the world were what it seems to be, and if we ourselves […]
As a child I would ask that simple yet complex question to myself all the time. I would look into the mirror at my golden brown cat eyes, my athletic tall Goddess Warrior™ body and see the depth of my soul. I would ask myself why am I here, […]
Excellence Reporter: Robert, what is the meaning of life? Robert Beer: I have come to believe that death alone reveals the true moral and ethical stature of life, and while that life is being lived this issue always hangs in the balance. We are born with amnesia, and […]
Excellence Reporter: Raven, what is the meaning of life? Raven Keyes: I believe we are all encoded with a special mission we came into this life to fulfill – a mission we chose for ourselves long before we were ever born. As I see it, the meaning of […]
There is an adage in the spiritual world declaring that life has a perfectly unfolding divine plan, and that one’s happiness is dependent upon knowing this, and somehow tapping into that flow. On the other side of this equation is the recognition that life is chaotic, random, and […]
The question that precedes the question of the meaning of life is “why is there life at all.” And that has no answer. And the next question is “what is life” and that has no answer as well. Except those answers that are constructed out of the emptiness […]
Excellence Reporter: Nischaladevi, what is the meaning of life? Nischala Joy Devi: The question “What is the meaning of life?” morphs into “what brings meaning to life?” Life seems more meaningful when we embrace love and joy, in every moment. We are all searching for something to bring us […]
Excellence Reporter: Acharya, what is the meaning of life? Acharya Mangalananda: As an American with a life-long connection with India and its practices and beliefs, I speak both through the Traditions I have been involved in, but also through the direct experience that this connection has brought me. […]
The paddles of my kayak dipped gently into crystalline turquoise water. I was gliding like a bird through the late afternoon sun. Utterly by myself I deeply enjoyed the luxury of silence. I chose to make a right hand turn into a cove that was flanked by two […]
Excellence Reporter: Ms. Karpinski, what is the meaning of life? Gloria D. Karpinski: As an intuitive counselor and spiritual teacher for several decades, I can testify the number one question behind all other questions for most people is the quest for meaning. What is the mission? Why am […]
At some point, we’ve all thought about the meaning of life. Why am I here? What is my purpose? Is this all there is or does the journey continue when the physical body no longer functions? As both human and spiritual beings, it’s essential that we consider these […]
It is our task as spiritual beings to remove the blocks that inhibit the native joy and passions of our spirit; we must delve deeply into our own mysterious being and begin to rediscover our poetic voice & soul. To become courageous spirits, we must loosen our character […]
Excellence Reporter: Peter, what is the meaning of life? Peter Smith: This is a question that has been asked down through the ages so many times. It is a question about our very existence and the catalyst for the most incredible journey. I have witnessed first-hand the inner magnificence […]
The meaning of life is to have an immersive experience of being alive in a fabulously creative, thought-responsive, conscious universe. We are alive to explore and share the transformative power of love, and to wake up to who we really are on the deepest level of reality. Waking […]
Excellence Reporter: Myra, what is the meaning of life? Jaya Jaya Myra: I don’t think there is a single, concise answer for the meaning of life, but if I were to try to give you just one answer, I would say experience. Consciousness has a desire to experience […]
Excellence Reporter: Rose, what is the meaning of life? Rose Marcus: Simply stated, it is a heart journey. The purpose of life is to experience yourself as the creative powerhouse that you are. What are you here to do? To accomplish something truly extraordinary. It’s something only you can […]
Excellence Reporter: Jane, what is the meaning of life? Jane Sloane: The meaning of life is in what we learn about our capacity for love, kindness, generosity and forgiveness. It’s in our acts of creation and in our experience of loss and grief. It’s in our work to […]
Excellence Reporter: Jennifer, what is the menial go life? Jennifer Urezzio: Well…living years of a spiritual life I want to say connection. And, today that meaning doesn’t fit. Today, I feel out of sorts and longing for something I can’t put my fingers on. Days like this, the […]
The meaning of life is to be present, to live fully and to help others realize their full potential as well. It means living in balance, realizing that we`re a small speck in the universum, and actualizing the wisdom and compassion that naturally resides within us. Michaela […]
Excellence Reporter: Katalin, what is the meaning of life? Katalin Koda: Life is the opportunity to discover our true nature and gifts and offer them in service to others along the path. True meaning becomes apparent in the practice of offering, being of service, to dissolve our smaller […]
Excellence Reporter: Debra, what is the meaning of life? Debra Moffitt: Most people think of life as confined to what happens from birth to death. But that’s a limited view of who we are. When put into the bigger perspective, we are multidimensional spiritual beings beyond the body, […]
Excellence Reporter: Catherine, what is the meaning of life? Catherine Bell: This is a profound confronting question. Philosophers, mystics, scientists, and sages have been examining this question for a very long time. Some might say it is to discover what the meaning of life is. And responses to this […]
What is the meaning of life? Humans are basically dogs with thumbs. And canines – like humans – are opportunists: trundling along the path, looking for anything odd that we could possibly eat. The ‘odd’ thing: That’s the ticket. Opportunist species look for things that are out of […]
Excellence Reporter: Monk AnShin, what is the meaning of life? Claude AnShin Thomas: “To open one’s eyes widely and to breathe consciously. Everything else will reveal itself from there…” *** ~Claude AnShin Thomas, Zen Buddhist Monk, Vietnam Veteran, International Advocate of Nonviolence, and Author, was ordained in the […]
Excellence Reporter: Kurt, what is the meaning of life? Kurtis Lamkin: To go Home empty. To rassle receiving to the ground so we can fill our waking days with giving. We come into the world buck-naked, but we are full. The heaven is to go back battered bone-dry […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Poelina, what is the meaning of life? Dr. Anne Poelina: I think of this question from the perspective that I am a Nyikina Warrwa Traditional Custodian from the Kimberley region of Australia. When I introduce myself I say ‘ngayoo yimardoowarra marnil’ which means I belong […]
Excellence Reporter: Pace, what is the meaning of life? Pace Freeborn: Love, joy, happiness, trust, compassion, expansion, spiritual evolution… these are but I few things that rise within when thinking about the meaning of life. What more can there be to life than to be happy, to play […]
Excellence Reporter: BelindaGrace, what is the meaning of life? BelindaGrace: After twenty-one years of service as a clairvoyant and healer the only thing I am sure of is that life is a mystery. So for me its not about the meaning of life, but the purpose of it. As […]
Excellence Reporter: Bayo, what is the meaning of life? Bayo Akomolafe: A few years ago I might have answered the question about the meaning of life with a lot of confidence. I might have insisted it had something to do with love, peace, free will or some other […]
Excellence Reporter: Prof. Klein, what is the meaning of life? Melanie Klein: The question is all at once incredibly broad and deeply personal. In the most general sense, I believe the meaning of life hinges on our journey to accessing, feeling and becoming an expression of divine love. […]
Given the predations of the current occupant of the Oval Office and of formerly popular politicians, actors, and film studio owners, I become depressed that it seems dangerous nowadays to be a woman. But then I think of the Women’s Marches (for which I write monthly stories and/or blogs), […]
The meaning of life is a unique expression of each individual soul. I believe we come to live a physical life so that we can grow spiritually and evolve through lessons, duality and the ability to overcome our shortcoming. We spend the beginning of our life learning to […]
What a wonderful question—and all the more meaningful because it was asked the day after I began work on my next book, confirming that a return to writing was the way to go. Such a big question! If I had been asked to define the meaning of life […]
Excellence Reporter: Rosalyn, what is the meaning of life? Rosalyn W. Berne: In my early childhood I encountered the spirits of people who were deceased. This taught me that there is something really special about being alive; that human life on Earth is precious, as it gives our souls […]
The meaning or purpose of life as a human being is to realize our true-Self and in doing so create a life that expresses this in order to contribute to the greater order of nature and the universe. If we as humans reflect the harmony and order that […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Goldberg, what is the meaning of life? Bruce Goldberg: My approach to the meaning of life reflects upon the perfection of the soul and to eliminate the need to reincarnate. By learning our karmic lessons we can transcend this physical dimension and merge with the […]
Excellence Reporter: Tisha, what is the meaning of life? Tisha Morris: If you were to have asked me this question a few years ago, I would have said the meaning of life is for spiritual growth, evolution, or to learn lessons. But today I would say the meaning […]
At some time or other, most of us have probably wondered why we’re living on Planet Earth and what we’re supposed to do while we’re here. Is our existence here more than pure chance, and if so, what does it all mean? One popular idea likens earth to […]
Excellence Reporter: Tess, what is the meaning of life? Tess Whitehurst: Google tells me “meaning” means definition, implied or explicit significance, or purpose. To be honest, when I consider the meanings of meaning, I’m not sure life has any. It may. But there’s no way of knowing. What I […]
There is an unspeakable gem whose light comes seemingly from all around us, but in truth is an upwelling from within us. Our relationship to that upwelling light — to that source of love — is really where we find the meaning of life, and we discover this […]
Excellence Reporter: Lie, what is the meaning of life? Lie Hoogenberk: The meaning of life to me is to: ‘Explore all layers of experience.’ Physical, emotional and mental. And to see that your freedom lies in this exploration. Even though humans would like to be reassured of a […]
Excellence Reporter: Jim, what is the meaning of life? Jim Newman: There is no meaning and no need for a meaning of life. Everything is already what it is, which is already needlessly, free and fulfilled. “Life” is not separate from what is. Without separation, there is no […]
Excellence Reporter: Jessica, what is the meaning of life? Jessica Graham: I believe as these impermanent human creatures, on this impermanent blue and green speck that is spinning in the midst of vast and endless mystery, the meaning of this whole life thing is to connect. Connect with […]
Excellence Reporter: Manitonquat, what is the meaning of life? Manitonquat: Life has no universal or absolute meaning, the concept of meaning is a human one and there never will be universal agreement among human beings, so each person must make his own meaning, the meaning that fits his own […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Weissman, what is the meaning of life? Dr. Darren Weissman: The moment of complete darkness is the beginning of light. Turn on the news and you’ll hear about war, genocide, political upheaval, scandals, poverty, starvation, racism, pollution, suicide, bankruptcy, death, hatred, violence, rapists, cancer, children […]
Excellence Reporter: Alain, what is the meaning of life? Alain Herriott: This is a question that has so many answers it is almost silly to ask. For some it is the pursuit of money, fame and significance. For others it is the need to serve. These are strivings […]
Imagine a wine tasting party. At a wine tasting, that’s what it’s all about—tasting. There may be discussion, too, because with wine there is plenty to learn and talk about. There’s no end to what can be said about wine. Yet if all learned ideas were discussed—it wouldn’t […]
Excellence Reporter: Lyn, what is the meaning of life? Lyn Hunstad: The question assumes that there is a meaning to life and that it might be found and understood by our human minds, and maybe then everything would be OK. Those are big assumptions and I do not […]
To me, the meaning of life is to be awake. Awakening is to realize the infinite value of each moment of your own life as well as of other beings, then to continue to act accordingly. ~Kazuaki Tanahashi, born in Japan in 1933 and active in the United […]
Excellence Reporter: Richard, what is the meaning of life? Richard L. Haight: Set aside the adult perspective for a moment and recall the innocent, magical world that you inhabited as a child. Remembering back, you might realize that there was innate meaning prior to the “philosophy of meaning” […]
Our life is our daily existence. It is made up of our daily living, the unity of the body, mind and consciousness. An Ayurvedic sutra says: Sattvam Atma Sharirancha tryam etat tridandavat Sattva is the mind, Atma is the conscious principles, and sharira is the physical body. This […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Alexander, what is the meaning of life? Ronald Alexander: For me the meaning of life has three tributaries as forks in this great river of time in our lives ~ purpose, fate and destiny. The first fork in the river of time is purpose. This […]
Beggar or Treasure? There’s a story in India about the beggar who lived under a tree. When he died, villagers dug the hole for his grave right where he had sat. To their amazement, they found a trove of diamonds and gold. The beggar had been sitting on […]
The meaning of life (at least one of them) is to live as light. Which is a lofty spiritual concept, especially with so much darkness in us and in the world. Until we understand the transformative power of the dark. Here’s how I got to know the transformative […]
If I had to sum up what I see as the meaning of life, it would be to be in service to others. After all, this is what the great spiritual traditions tell us. I think this lovely poem by Thomas Stanley expresses this point of view To […]
Excellence Reporter: Jan, what is the meaning of life? Jan Engels-Smith: We all seek meaning in life and we have different reasons to believe that we have found it or we resign ourselves to an existential belief that there is no meaning to existence. I cannot subscribe to […]
Excellence Reporter: Danielle, what is the meaning of life? Danielle Dulsky: The meaning of life is creative expression. Our three-fold task is to seek out our own, unique, wild truth, burn through any obstacles to our expression of that truth as feverishly as possible, and, even when all else […]
Excellence Reporter: Amita, what is the meaning of life? Amita Trasi: The meaning of life is to live! I cannot find a better definition!:-) There was a time, in my late teens when I went in search for the meaning of life. I happened to choose two things: writing a journal and meditation—searching […]
Excellence Reporter: Dr. Miller, what is the meaning of life? Richard C. Miller: To live from, and related to everyone and everything from “heart-centered presence of being” is my answer to the inquiry, “What is the meaning of life.” As heart-centered presence, I feel myself everywhere and nowhere specific, […]
Excellence Reporter: Sally, what is the meaning of life? Sally Morningstar: The truth of the matter is that what comes will go, what rises will fall, what appears will disappear. All things of this world are impermanent; they will pass. To seek for the Meaning of Life from […]
Excellence Reporter: Oren, what is the meaning of life? Oren J. Sofer: There is something profound, mysterious, and sacred about being alive. The experience of being consciousness in a sensitive, vulnerable human body is so utterly unexpected, so remarkable, that we cannot help but wonder: Why we are […]
Everything in the universe is structured by and functions through dynamic interrelatedness. Even the most minute part of our cells and organs, our blood, flesh, and bones are in constant vibratory interaction with vast fields of interrelatedness comprising everyone and everything around us on Earth and in the […]
“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light…” […]
Excellence Reporter: Sister Jenna, what is the meaning of life? Sister Jenna: The meaning of life at this time in our cycle is to cultivate an intellect with conscience i.e., awareness. An intellect with conscience will seek learning in just about every corner of life while fulfilling its […]
As the shadows were awakening and a scent of the morn was carried on the breeze, I saw an eagle descending from the mountain-tops. It came down without a flutter of the wings into the valley, and there disappeared among the shadows of the black mountains. At the […]
