Is THIS ascension?

Hello all,

This is my first thread on here, so I wanted it to be something meaningful.

I was reading a thread regarding ascension, and wondered what it might be.

I did a little research, and decided to ask; am I on the right path?

1. I believe that all beings have a purpose. For the purposes of this thread I will relate to "humans" only. I am vegan.

2. I dismiss the notion of a life being about money, possessions, and other signs of material wealth. While I shun those , I appreciate that I would like to travel and realise I need money for this.

3. I believe that we choose our own path. While it might sound contradictory to the above statement, I feel all have a role to fulfill... whether it be the guy working at McDonalds or the philosophy professor - society couldn't function without one or the other.

4. I have helped a number of people see (or rather, admit to themselves) that "money isn't everything" and that the act of fulfilling your dreams and wishes is as worthy a pursuit / career as working enough hours to afford a plasma screen tv (or whatever).

Myself; I am in my 5th year of tertiary education. I just received the marks for my honours year, where I was awarded a H1 distinction. I have been offered a place in the Masters degree at the university of choice. I am hoping to eventually get my PhD within the next 5 years.

And what discipline am I working in? Something "frivolous". Visual Art. Why not? If you can relate to me, I think, all the more power to you; not only are you empathetic, you're following your own path. If you feel I am wasting my life, not contributing to society, I would ask you to take a look at your own life. What makes your own profession or dream more "worthy" than someone elses? Saving lives? Stopping people from going to jail? Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for your boss? Driving a Porsche? Yes, all worthwhile, of course. But why moreso than the other?

Sorry, I've started asking more questions than I can answer; just hoping to get a bit of conversation happening.

Originally posted by SerialLurker
Hello all,

This is my first thread on here, so I wanted it to be something meaningful.

I was reading a thread regarding ascension, and wondered what it might be.

I did a little research, and decided to ask; am I on the right path?

1. I believe that all beings have a purpose. For the purposes of this thread I will relate to "humans" only. I am vegan.

2. I dismiss the notion of a life being about money, possessions, and other signs of material wealth. While I shun those , I appreciate that I would like to travel and realise I need money for this.

3. I believe that we choose our own path. While it might sound contradictory to the above statement, I feel all have a role to fulfill... whether it be the guy working at McDonalds or the philosophy professor - society couldn't function without one or the other.

4. I have helped a number of people see (or rather, admit to themselves) that "money isn't everything" and that the act of fulfilling your dreams and wishes is as worthy a pursuit / career as working enough hours to afford a plasma screen tv (or whatever).

Myself; I am in my 5th year of tertiary education. I just received the marks for my honours year, where I was awarded a H1 distinction. I have been offered a place in the Masters degree at the university of choice. I am hoping to eventually get my PhD within the next 5 years.

And what discipline am I working in? Something "frivolous". Visual Art. Why not? If you can relate to me, I think, all the more power to you; not only are you empathetic, you're following your own path. If you feel I am wasting my life, not contributing to society, I would ask you to take a look at your own life. What makes your own profession or dream more "worthy" than someone elses? Saving lives? Stopping people from going to jail? Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for your boss? Driving a Porsche? Yes, all worthwhile, of course. But why moreso than the other?

Sorry, I've started asking more questions than I can answer; just hoping to get a bit of conversation happening.

Awesome! The millions of children that die in Africa will be totally psyched to hear their life had some purpose.

Maybe you feel this way to justify the money you've wasted becoming a certified visual artist.

Life is certainly NOT all about money, but the rest of your statements are NOT the logical conclusion of that obvious belief.

unless your doing what you love your a slave, regardless of compensation. A soul needs passion so unless your hoping out of bed in the morning and rushing to what you do you need to keep looking.
Always remember its YOUR life and you can choose to live it any way you see fit.
The only things we have to do is take in food for energy, expel waste, and take in enough oxygen so our cells dont die, everything else is subjective.

Originally posted by SerialLurker

For the purposes of this thread I will relate to "humans" only. I am vegan.

Dude, wtf are you talking about ? Do you mean that you come from the star Vega, which would qualify you as an e.t., or do you mean that you simply don't eat meat, which would still qualify you as human ?

Originally posted by polychronopolis

Originally posted by SerialLurker

For the purposes of this thread I will relate to "humans" only. I am vegan.

Dude, wtf are you talking about ? Do you mean that you come from the star Vega, which would qualify you as an e.t., or do you mean that you simply don't eat meat, which would still qualify you as human ?

He doesn't eat anything that casts a shadow...

...

reply to post by seethelight


LOL...oh, I get it now...you mean like this ?

reply to post by seethelight


Sprouts and carrots on the worktop cast a shadow if the lights on? or does he prepare his food in the dark?

And at least he's doing something he enjoys? after all whats the point in being in a job you hate and all you do is complain about it all the time? If your not happy move out of your job and go and find something you DO enjoy.
I for one ( hypocritical I know) don't hate or dislike my current job, I like the wages for the amount fo work I do. quite a bit of money for not a lot of work .

reply to post by SerialLurker


Attention mods: This thread is an excellent example of why so many people on ATS are posting "this is the end of ATS" threads for you to delete.


Post 1: OP has an idea, expresses it at great length, asks questions.

Post 2: Excessive quote, responds off topic, and generally is simply insulting the original poster.

Post 3: A relevant post.

Post 4: Non sequitor insults. Circumvents language filter by abbreviating "#"

Post 5: One line post. Non sequitor. Responding to insulting post above.

Post 6: Another non sequitor. These people are having a discussion that is solely about making fun of the original poster.

----

Five responses, only one is relevant to the discussion.

This is why members are not happy.

Originally posted by LordBucket
reply to post by SerialLurker

 

Attention mods: This thread is an excellent example of why so many people on ATS are posting "this is the end of ATS" threads for you to delete.


Post 1: OP has an idea, expresses it at great length, asks questions.

Post 2: Excessive quote, responds off topic, and generally is simply insulting the original poster.

Post 3: A relevant post.

Post 4: Non sequitor insults. Circumvents language filter by abbreviating "#"

Post 5: One line post. Non sequitor. Responding to insulting post above.

Post 6: Another non sequitor. These people are having a discussion that is solely about making fun of the original poster.

----

Five responses, only one is relevant to the discussion.

This is why members are not happy.

You know the best solution?

Whining.

What this place actually needs is less meaningless airy-fairy nonsense, less faith based speculation wrapped up as fact and less people complaining about that "life isn't fair" because they can't explain or defend their posts.

Originally posted by SerialLurker


1. I believe that all beings have a purpose. For the purposes of this thread I will relate to "humans" only. I am vegan.

Good. More meat for me.

2. I dismiss the notion of a life being about money, possessions, and other signs of material wealth. While I shun those , I appreciate that I would like to travel and realise I need money for this.

I dismiss your dismissal. That sounds like something a person who has realized they will never have money or power, or many possessions would say.

3. I believe that we choose our own path. While it might sound contradictory to the above statement, I feel all have a role to fulfill... whether it be the guy working at McDonalds or the philosophy professor - society couldn't function without one or the other.

Actually, society could function quite well without the philosophy professor. The world needs wage slaves, it doesn't really need philosophy professors.

4. I have helped a number of people see (or rather, admit to themselves) that "money isn't everything" and that the act of fulfilling your dreams and wishes is as worthy a pursuit / career as working enough hours to afford a plasma screen tv (or whatever).

And what if your wish/dream is to own a plasma screen? Some people's only desire is a luxurious lifestyle, and for that, then yes money is everything.

Myself; I am in my 5th year of tertiary education. I just received the marks for my honours year, where I was awarded a H1 distinction. I have been offered a place in the Masters degree at the university of choice. I am hoping to eventually get my PhD within the next 5 years.

So tell me mr "money isn't everything" who's paying for your college? Because education isn't free, so someone whether daddy, daddy government, or some other daddy is paying.

And what discipline am I working in? Something "frivolous". Visual Art. Why not? If you can relate to me, I think, all the more power to you; not only are you empathetic, you're following your own path. If you feel I am wasting my life, not contributing to society, I would ask you to take a look at your own life. What makes your own profession or dream more "worthy" than someone elses? Saving lives? Stopping people from going to jail? Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for your boss? Driving a Porsche? Yes, all worthwhile, of course. But why moreso than the other?

Umm tangible results? An actual quantifiable effect on the world?
Looks its nice your happy spending a decade or more in school, studying something frivolous, but the simple factis you only have the abillity to do so, because someone else gave it to you, someone else is having to work so you can "waste" your life being "happy", I hope that you appreciate whoever it is.
quote]

Well, obviously I have a lot more thinking to do.

But;

I don't understand the point of LordBucket's post...

also;

Alot of people are obviously misinformed about veganism - it's about living a cruelty free life, none of this "casting a shadow" stuff; even water casts a shadow.

Millions of children in Africa - this is not my doing. Yes, I can help them to a minuscule degree. I can't change their life. BUT, hey I was adopted, I UNDERSTAND that we are given a precious chance at a future. Had I not been given the opportunity, I would be struggling to achieve any semblance of "western" life. Remeber - your lifestyle is not the goal of everyone.

reply to post by LordBucket


Everyone bow down...Lord Bucket has spoken...yet, his/her response is irrelevant and hypocritical considering that it has nothing to do with the initial post.

In defense of my initial response, I asked a question of the OP that was directly related to his/her post and therefore was, indeed, on topic. I still have not received an answer from the OP. I still would like to know what the OP meant by stating that he/she was "vegan" and not "human". Once I receive the answer from the OP, I will decide whether or not to continue to engage in this thread or disregard it and move on, depending upon the answer I receive.

Hi polychronopolis,

Well, I didn't mean human in any "extraterrestial" sense; mainly using it as a term to exclude other "life forms" such as cats, dogs, parakeets, etc.

I used the term "vegan" to demonstrate my sympathy or empathy toward other "life forms" (sorry, my excessive use of quotation marks is just due to political correctness - which seems to be the norm these days - personally I don't really like it). I don't eat meat. I don't eat animal products such as eggs, honey or milk or milk products. I don't wear leather, silk, wool, etc. However I will state that I am not as strict as others; if something *may* contain wool but is not stated, I might buy it, for example, at a secondhand store. I don't use this as any kind of superiority, I just state it as a fact about myself. I just mentioned it as I felt it was relevant to my post.

SerialLurker, thank you for clearing that up ! If you had told us that you were from the star Vega (which is 25 light years away), I wouldn't have taken you seriously and would have moved on to another post. I respect your lifestyle choices, although they may not work for me personally.

Here are my thoughts on your topic:
Every sentient life-form likely ponders the meaning of life. I have thought about your question ever since I can remember. Lately, I have come to the conclusion that the answer is joy. Simply joy. I believe that all life-forms exist to experience joy.

Joy is purely a subjective thing, depending upon the individual. What is joyus for me (e.g. a cheeseburger, a punk rock song, a cold beer, or a surf on a giant wave), may not likely be joyus for you. Likewise, what may be joyus for a killer whale (e.g. swimming hundreds of feet underwater to kill a dolphin) may not likely be joyus for my cat (who thoroughly enjoys torturing and killing small rodents and insects).

So, to answer your question from the perspective of joy: I believe that you are on the "right path" if you are pursuing joy in everything you do...it sounds to me like you are, so I wish you the best in that regard.

Hello, OP.

When you ask "IS THIS ASCENCION?" you take one step forward in that direction. One of the reasons I dropped Catholicism and since then never adopted any other form of religion, is because I can't live my life following blindly a faith. I have the need to question things and get answers. It's not enough for me to believe in whatever the priest says, or the pope says, because it's written here or there. I'm not a robot. I have a brain. And it is a very curious one.

Here is something I believe, not because someone told me, but because it's something I concluded inside my own head and it makes sense to me.

You are at the center of your reality. Nothing is more real to you than yourself.

What you call ascencion, I call enlightenment. We all have some level of enlightenment and that LIGHT illuminates the reality around you and allows you to perceive the reallity around you.

The more enlightened you are, more LIGHT you cast around you and much more you can perceive of the reality.

The problem is that beyond the light there are shadows. There are parts of reality unknown to you, hidden in the dark. You must experience life to cast some light into the unknown, to uncover that part of reality and put more pieces back together so you can make sense of everything you are SEEING around you.

The things close to your center are the things that are more real to you. The things farther away from your center are the things less real to you. The things hidden in the dark are unknown to you.

The more you explore the world, the more you read, the more you think, the more you learn, the more you experience the reality around you, the better you can place yourself in that reality and the better you will know yourself and the more enlightened you become.

And you know what, you can get enlightened by studying the sciences. If we can build a building, that meanst we got something right, otherwise the building wouldn't be there and wouldnt reach so high. So engineers go something right and understanting that science is part of understanding reality.

If by meditating you can feel better about yourself, sleep better, feel happier, than there is something right about meditation as well. So it could be an important part about understanding reality and the world around us.

If Out of Body Experience is possible, then there is a whole new field of experiences to open your mind and expand your understanding of reality around you.

You don't have to be 100% scientific or 100% mystical, or 100% religious. There are valid teachings in many varied fields.

Explore the world around you and the world inside you. Search for the unexistent mathematical point that is the real center of your reality. Through meditation, astral travel or any other means that you can understand your inner self better. The more you know your inner self, the more enlightened you become and the more light you cast around you and the more you can understand your surroundings.

So, exploring the world OUTSIDE and INSIDE you is the parth to elightnement, at least the way I see it. It does not NECESSARILY have to do anything with your profession. If becoming a visual artist is the path you chose, follow it. If it feels right, it is a good indication you are doing the right thing to get more enlightnened.

Now, on another subject, there is a difference between something that feels right and something that feels good. Something that feels good could also feel very wrong. The alcohoolic, for example, feels good about getting something to drink. He knows in the long run there is a price to be paid, but the short term pleasure speaks louder than the long term punishment(for the lack of a better word).

So, sometimes it's hard to do the right thing, because what feels right is not always joyful.

Hope all that serves, at least, as some food for thought so you can reach your own conclusions later.

Take care!

[edit on 15-12-2009 by henriquefd]

[edit on 15-12-2009 by henriquefd]

Originally posted by SerialLurker
Well, obviously I have a lot more thinking to do.

But;

I don't understand the point of LordBucket's post...

also;

Alot of people are obviously misinformed about veganism - it's about living a cruelty free life, none of this "casting a shadow" stuff; even water casts a shadow.

Millions of children in Africa - this is not my doing. Yes, I can help them to a minuscule degree. I can't change their life. BUT, hey I was adopted, I UNDERSTAND that we are given a precious chance at a future. Had I not been given the opportunity, I would be struggling to achieve any semblance of "western" life. Remeber - your lifestyle is not the goal of everyone.

I'm not asking you to solve Africa, but to consider that all those dead kids didn't really serve any purpose to anyone.

One more thing, not to be a dick, but please learn how to use semicolons...

en.wikipedia.org...

You're using them in a very befuddling way.

Oh and I was adopted to, as was, strangely, my father.

Finally, for those that don't know, the "cast a shadow" thing is a Simpsons reference... google it.

Originally posted by SerialLurker
This is my first thread on here, so I wanted it to be something meaningful.
I was reading a thread regarding ascension, and wondered what it might be.
I did a little research, and decided to ask; am I on the right path?

I think we need to ask first, "what do YOU mean by 'ascension'?" It means many things to many people. Does it mean "having a purpose" (as is implied in your first posting)?

What do you mean by "purpose" -- and does it mean "purpose" to the person themselves or to others? If you mean the latter (as your thoughts seem to suggest you gained purpose when you taught others about materialism), then how is human purpose different from the purpose of sentients such as my cat (who has a number of purposes including trying to play World of Warcraft for me)? He gives me companionship and can brighten my moods -- so does that mean that in having purpose he is on the path to ascension?

(this is a serious Socratic question, not a trivial comment)

And finally (for you to chew on), is "ascension" true because someone strongly believes in it or can someone be ascended without believing in ascension -- and how would you determine the difference between someone believing a pack of nonsense that someone made up for fun and called it "ascension" and a real person who did not believe in ascension but was "ascended"?

Yes, that's a variant of a famous Socratic question, but I feel it's a very valid one to ask.