Ask the Readers: Why Are We Here?
Glen / 
51 Comments / 
February 23rd, 2009 / 
Subscribe via RSS
I’ve realised more and more since starting PluginID that our world is filled with an abundance of talented, intelligent and creative people. Most of all, I’ve found that the readers of this site, due to efforts in personal growth, are the type of people who are perfect for discussions on various topics.
Today I would like to introduce ‘Ask the Readers‘, where I would love some input from you all on certain subjects that we can all have our say on. The chosen question is this: “Why Are We Here?”
The idea for this post really came to me when my (in person) friend Diggy wrote on his blog about all the ‘issues’ with life. How we are all so consumed with material possessions, judging others, creating wars and a lot of other things that really aren’t necessary. Diggy is a good friend of mine from South Africa, and I’ve watched him transform into the person he wants to be.
I’ve watched him change into…
- Someone who is successful with women
- Someone who is earning a good income which is growing
- Someone who is willing to push themselves to get what they want
- Someone who is socially active (French lessons, dancing classes, partying etc)
Judging by his post though, you can see these things aren’t enough to him. And, I guess like many of us at one time or another, led him to asking “What is the point in life?”, “Why are we here?”
My Take
I don’t want to ruin the discussion in any way because I’m dying to see what you guys have to say, but I thought I would share my own opinions first. In regards to wondering why we are here, it’s a question I’ve asked myself tons of times, and to be honest a question I still don’t have an answer to.
I don’t see the reason for being on this earth as simply to make babies, ‘make it’ in terms of wealth or possessions and I’m not even sure if it’s just helping others. As a wise man once said, if your aim in life is to help others then that always implies there are people worse off than you.
There have been times in life when I am so happy that words can’t even give the feelings justice. Times where you can’t wipe the smile off my face and everything in life just feels right. Of course, I’ve also seen the polarity of that where I don’t see the point in living at all, where nothing seems to matter anymore. I think if we live for the times that we are indescribably happy, then it’s inevitable that along the way we are going to face the negative extremes of those emotions, so I don’t think ‘finding’ happiness is the answer either.
Eckhart Tolle, a spiritual teacher, says this:
The point of life is to “die before you die” – and realise there is no death
By that he is referring to death of the ego, death of identifying with our minds and our physical form. When I first read that I thought “Wow, how amazing, that’s it!” and when I’m in a state of intense presence (his teaching) everything in life feels perfect, and this is a feeling I can generate on my own, although it is a fleeting one at that. However, even in that state I don’t feel like this is it…this is everything. Maybe I never will.
As you can see, I haven’t found the meaning in life; it’s likely that I’ll never be satisfied with an “answer”. However, right now, I choose to be comfortable with not knowing, and find peace within, while going for the things I want in life while I can. Maybe some responses here will give us some insight…
Over to you guys, what do you think? Why are we here?
If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate if you share it on Twitter, Facebook or Delicious!
because we are free to choose..?either pro life or pro choice..the choice is yours
Why are we here? I believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience. That this is not the end all, that there is a heaven – and a life beyond our days as a human being – this is just a point in time for us. That there are greater things to come. And I believe we have the ability to begin to experience a little bit of “heaven” here on earth – by doing “right” and “good”. Now, how I define right and good may be different from how you define them. And that’s okay. Because we’re all different.
Fair comments Lance, I like the thought of us being spirits and having a human experience, something I picked up from ‘The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari’.
Very true, thanks for stopping by!
@twenty-six: I’m not sure what pro-life or pro-choice has to do with this… I guess if you take it to the most basic of levels, the reason we are here is because our mothers didn’t abort us, yes. But that doesn’t really answer the question, does it?
Personally, I think the reason we are here is different for everyone. After all, not everybody is the same, has the same strengths or weaknesses, and so on. I think the reason we are here is to make the most out of the life you have, and additionally to “make it” but not as an individual but as a group, a community or ideally as a species.
I definitely think we have the make the most of what we have and appreciate what we can while we are here.
Great points, thanks for your comment Mel!
I remember knowing this one…
Haha
I have the answer, I’ve found the solution! The reason why we are here is becau…
I think on a general level we are here to learn, grow and love. On a more personal level, each individual may have its own meaning for life (such as being a teacher, a parent, a healer, etc.), only your heart can tell you the answer to that one.
Hey Nathalie, thanks for your comment. I like your response, maybe inside each of us there is a mission we know we need to fill
There are some levels in understanding the purpose of life. For all souls coming to Earth to incarnate, the big purpose is to experience this physical world. Here, we can actually experience the ups and downs, like you described. We can desire something and achieve / manifest it, like your friend has done. How fun!
Through these experiences, our souls learn and grow. And while they grow, they are also making contributions to the whole. Our authentic expression is the ultimate “help” we can offer.
Further, each soul chooses a set of life lessons prior to incarnation. So you are learning your own lesson. Without reading your Akashic Records, I don’t know exactly what it is, but let me say hypothetically it’s Unity. So you may be learning how to unite people across the world. Or you can learn it in your circle of friends and family. You can even learn it through what Unity is not, by first destroying all existing ties.
Recently, however, there has been a big change. Some souls are graduating from the school of life. For them, life is about being. The pure joy of being.
I like this kind of dialogue-oriented post. Thank you for the opportunity to express my view.
Wow, very interesting. You seem to have a very certain belief that this is true (I’m not saying it isn’t), what are your reasons behind that?
I’ve never heard of Akashic Records so I’ll have to look that up and work out what I am. I’m not sure I believe that we each have a purpose to fill though i.e. Unity as you mentioned.
Interesting nontheless, thanks for sharing Akemi!
Humans were created by God. God decided that our creation would be worth executing. The Angels asked God, “Why are you creating such flawless creatures?” – Of Course the Angels were perfect. God Replied, “They are more than what you see.” -He Laughed- “They will become something great.”
Thanks for sharing what you believe to be true Ibrahim. Out of interest, what do you think of or ‘mean’ exactly when you use the word God?
God – God is essentially the force that established our existence. The being who we will never comprehend – yet we try our hardest to understand his reasons. God is not the big bang.
Thanks for your clarification. I was trying to see if you thought of God as a man (you say ‘his’ so I assume so) or some form of consciousness which others believe in.
I appreciate your contribution Ibrahim, thanks!
I think we are here for spiritual growth. Of course, the definition of spiritual growth will probably vary from person to person.
But, there is one element of life on planet earth we can all agree with, and that is, it’s hard. Everything requires effort. Making money requires effort. Living ethically often requires effort. Being happy instead of depressed too, requires effort.
Ever noticed how easy it is to be sad and depressed? While being happy can demand tremendous effort… and much humility.
So, the act of conquering ourselves seems to me, to be why we have come here.
Very good point Bamboo, although if you think back to when we were kids I think it was much easier to be happy then it was to be sad. I think it’s obvious that social conditioning and the development of our minds has made it that much easier to become depressed.
Thanks for your input, I like your thinking.
Like Lance, I also am a spiritual being having a human experience. Each of us has unique and creative abilities. During the course of our lives we have the opportunity to grow in all the facets of our existance. We also can and should contribute to making the world a better place because we were here. This contribution is not out of pity or arrogance, but from joy and compassion.
The reason we are here is different for everyone, as Mel commented. Your path is unique. It is important to find your path and take your journey.
Great post! It is good to ask difficult questions in order to focus on what is important.
Blessings.
Thanks for your contribution, Newsong. Well written
We are here to experience our God Selves just as God is experiencing His Human Self through each one of us. At higher level its one and the same thing anyway.
Interesting, thanks Sunny!
Hi Glen,
I don’t believe. I know and I make my living as Akashic Record reader while I also blog to help those who are not quite ready to have their own reading, plus to support my clients as follow up.
I’m preparing my post on how to find life lessons through your life challenges and difficulties. It will be out this week… just letting you know ^_^
What supports this ‘knowing’? I can’t say I agree or disagree because many old scientologists will say they know that we have little aliens inside of us. Many people seem to know the same thing as true or false.
Thanks for your comments
To answer that, I need a lot more space than the comment section. A smart person like yourself wouldn’t expect that answer to come in a hundred words or so, right?
I was hoping you had a blog post written or something similar. No problem if you don’t.
Thanks a lot for your contributions Akemi, I love hearing the different viewpoints
I’m an atheist, so I think my take on your question will be different than most. I don’t believe that there is a “reason” we are here. I think we just evolved. But now that we’re here, it’s up to us to make the most of our lives individually and by what we contribute to society at large.
Fair point Susan, I used to have the exact same outlook until a few months ago so I can definitely relate to what you are saying.
Thanks for sharing
Okay Susan, well I admire that. Original score here. I’d prefer an atheist a hundred times more than someone who believes in a bigger reality just because he was told to. At least your slate is clean.
Hi Glen!
Great site and great question!
So why are we here? My answer is very much in line with Akemi and I don’t know anything about akashic records. This answer has come to me after much thought, contemplation and meditation on just that, over the past couple of years.
In my opinion there is no doubt that we are here for the development of our soul. And yes that includes being spiritual beings and experiencing ourselves as physical for only then can we be in a dimension of contrast and know good versus bad, cold versus hot and the whole list of different polarities and experiences and have the options to choose, where choices lead to outcomes and outcomes lead to different experiences.
And yes that answer also includes the Universe (or God) experiencing itself as physical and the physical experiencing itself as spiritual.
I feel that God individuated itself into many, many parts, which are us, and now is returning back to the whole once again…as we experience the greatest polarity of all being human, so we can develop our souls to experience the divine and thus return to our original essence.
I like that you think God is really in all of us, something I’ve been thinking myself. Thanks for your thoughts, highly interesting!
Dude, I have no idea whatsover why we are here. Is it even something that’s knowable? I do notice that there’s a whole heapin’ helping of opinions and beliefs on the ‘how’ we ‘should’ be while we’re here though. Thankfully, it’s a buffet with many tasty dishes. (Love reading your thoughts. Nice work!!)
Hey man, I guess it’s not knowable really, at least not for certain. I’m sure some people have had different experiences to others which can allow them to be more sure in their beliefs.
Haha yes, there’s plenty of advice out there – thanks!
I think that each of us is here for a reason. For some of us there is a similar reason though. I really resonate with people who are here to teach through example – who inspire others to grow and to live fully. You can see many of these individuals on this blog, and on Steve’s, Leo’s, Yaro’s blogs…(ain’t Internet grand?) This is also my passion.
I believe that we are here to find our true passion(s) and once we consciously know what it is (we all do deep inside
) we only need to gather the courage..and we follow it!
That is a great message Rudolf, that really resonates with me.
I believe I know my ‘purpose’ it’s just about following it out. Thanks for sharing!
Glen and Lee,
About the knowable question, it’s the same as with other subjective realities. Our experience is our knowledge. Consider for a moment a green-red color blind person. They can’t see red as people with normal vision can see. They see it as a different shade of color. Still the color red is subjective for them as well as for us in spite of the fact that we think we know what is RED. In both cases the subjective reality creates knowledge.
I personally think that if you can “get God” completely then either you are God or the one you “got” is not God. Human minds are just that, human minds and like everything human they have their limitations obviously. So we can not really know God outside of our experience of God.
Why we are here, is a question that we have to answer for ourselves. 99% of us usually go on auto-pilot. They adopt the social conditioning of one group or the other. I, for one, wanted to find my own answer and I did. But still, my answer is valid for me only because it has arisen out my personal experiences.
I can only share it but it will be foolish of me to ask anyone to subscribe to it. That’s the problem with religions. They ask for subscription and when people subscribe to them they start having these internal conflicts because they never took the time to really understand what they have chosen to believe in, in the first place.
I think you raise an important point here, and that is not to try and imprint your views onto the minds of others. Well said.
I can relate to that, I actually felt the same and wanted to find my own answers (and obviously enjoy some discussion here).
Thanks Sunny!
I don’t have an answer. I’ve researched loads of spiritual systems and can’t find one answer that fits all. I know why I’m here, and I’m happy with that.
I’m commenting because something in your quote of Eckhart Tolle struck me very deeply when I read this last night. “To die even unto death” was somehow exactly what I needed to remember, being at the time wrapped up in a destructive ego pattern. It brought about a very powerful revelation about the nature of my life so far. Quite incredible. Thank you.
We are here to maximize our happiness. I don’t mean this in a selfish way. I think the most caring people have been some of the happiest.
Being happy means working in the flow. If you love to write then write up a storm. If you love to walk trails then do it. Our thoughts, feelings and actions decide our happiness. It’s up to us to make the most of them every single day.
The thing is everything fluctuates and happiness is never in one spot. We have to learn to let go of what we want and become more appreciative of what is.I’m not quite sure how to do this either, but I’m just trying and learning a little more each day.
Fair comments Karl, I’m still working towards the hopefully possibility of happiness or at least peace being a constant feeling. Time will tell if that is possible or not, there are plenty of enlighted people on our planet who claim it is
Thanks for stopping by!
I’ll join Akemi and Evita here.
…and in saying that we’re spiritual beings having a physical experience. The Earth is THE most Physical it can get in this Universe, and we’re here to EXPERIENCE!!!
I’ll join Akemi as well in that it is a knowing, not a believing (what others tell me), as I can remember some of my past lives.
My own spiritual growth journey has happened by listening, experiencing, but most of all feeling whether what I was hearing or reading, resonated with me as “true”. This is a “tuning in” to the Akashic Records, which is the energy recording of all your experiences and feelings of all the lifetimes your soul has incarnated on Earth.
A good summary of what it’s all supposed to be about can be found in the amazing book by an extraordinary soul – “The Gaia Project” by Hwee-Yong Jang. (…and you don’t have to believe it…feel if it resonates with you!)
It’s all about pure experience – the good, the bad…and the ugly – by CHOICE. As individual sparks of The One, Creator, God-Consciousness – we are all a part of.
Love your blog Glen, and the addition of Question / Answer time …COOL!
…and I will definitely pop in to some of the people’s pads who’ve joined the conversation…some great co-sparks out there!
It sounds like you’ve “found yourself”! Isn’t that awesome?!
Thanks for your thoughts Marlene, I’ll add that book to my list. Glad you like the blog!
Indeed…very awesome!
Well said everybody. There is a lot of good stuff here. So many juicy nuggets to chew on. I am really glad to see intelligent discussion and not argumentative rambling. I’ve been checking you for a few weeks now and it’s been great. I found the site by accident, coinciding nicely with the finishing of “The Power of Now.” Thanks for writing!
Why are we NOT here?
Hi Alan, yes you’re right, the discussion has been great here and I really appreciate everyone who’s taken time out to take part.
Excellent question at the end…it makes’ you think
Hi, me again.
I don’t have a blog post about believing vs knowing, but the post I was talking about is now published. Allow me to link here:
How To Find Your Life Purpose Through Your Life Challenges
I’m impressed with the spiritual awareness here. Especially the awareness that something big and wonderful is happening, like Lance and Evita said. I totally agree.
Glen, if you are interested in expanding the discussion on believing vs knowing, etc, I’m available for an interview ^_^ Just email me. It’s fun to answer interview questions and I like it a lot.
Alan,
Intelligent question and in reply to that, if there is one thing that rings true with me, it will be this:
We are not here, to not ask, why we are not here.
We shouldn’t concern ourselves with why we’re here, because we’ll never have a factual answer other than that our parents created us. Our mindset should instead be, that we are here, so what are we going to do? The answer to this question of course, is different for each person.
I really like your blog.Interesting question and answers.I think answers may differ according to our beliefs and culture but the most important thing is that we all feel there’s a purpose in our being here for a while.What I like most is that though our answers may be different all of them try to find points to share.I forgot my answer to the question.I think we are here to be happy, and thanks to you all I am a bit happier now
In the grander scheme of things I don’t think there is a purpose. When you squish a spider that is in your home, then stop to think about the purpose of that spider, there isn’t one apart from continuing the life of that species. We as humans are the same; the highest level purpose I can see is continuing our species.
But, as people we have emotions and feelings, and it would seem a large part of our own purpose is to do things that fulfil them. We help others because we want to see them feeling good about themselves, and we want to feel it as well. We work together in groups, teams and organisations to achieve goals we see a value in, and seek the reward of feeling good doing that. So my own purpose is to live and do things that make me happy, thanks for helping me on that journey.