Tentative Conclusions on MAPOL

If life is a mystery, then discovering life's secrets requires thinking like a detective. Being a good detective requires looking for clues. Where do you look for clues? If there were twenty people at the scene of an accident, only one or two would be good witnesses. What makes a good witness?

I don't enjoy having conversations with people whose sole purpose is convincing me of their point of view. More enjoyable, and valuable, is a purposeful conversation, a mutual discovery. Most people are not interested in discovering the truth; most people are interested in defending their exisitng beliefs.

If you google "meaning of life" you'll find over thirty five million results. If you google "purpose of life" you will find over fifty eight million results. There are a lot of opinions, theories, and viewpoints about the meaning and purpose of life (MAPOL.) If you are a seeker of the truth how do you cull through this mass of information? How do you find quality information, worthwhile clues, reliable witnesses?

Some will claim they can end this search immediately; they might tell me to look in the bible. "All the answers are there," they might say.

Others will agree: the bible has the answers, but only their bible, or their interpretation of the bible.

Some will insist I am on a wild goose chase. There is no meaning and purpose to life. Life is what you make it and it is different for each person.

Any point of view that ends the search for the meaning and purpose does not go far enough. Although I have not found the answer to this question, I have found good clues, better witnesses. Some individuals have spent their life studying these issues; many supply good insights or information that might be useful in solving this mystery of life. Others dabble: power and glory seekers, charlatans, and delusional thinkers--these ideas, too, are included in the millions of results showing up on Google.

A good clue holds up to intense scrutiny, fits with the body of evidence. In regard to the MAPOL, there are constant themes that continue to reappear over thousands of years and across all of the world's population. These to me represent real clues, not answers, but sign posts that lead in a certain direction. Let me try to express some of my tentative conclusions. They are primarily the results of my life experiences. I am also including books, individuals, and general subjects that have impacted me.

1-We cannot determine the MAPOL in our existing condition. We do not have the intelligence or the tools. We have a limited perception of reality. (Plato, Einstein, Gurdjieff, Jung)

2-We have tremendous potential that we do not use. There are methods that can be used to tap this potential. Once we begin to tap this potential the world and our lives change and expand. (P.D, Ouspensky, Cosmic Consciousness by Joseph Bucke, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill)

3-The primary method of tapping our potential requires two activities. The first is to be more present in the moment, less reactive, less controlled by our programming, and more free to witness the now. The second is to learn to get along with each other, to be more kind, compassionate, understanding, and generous--to experience a certain feeling of love for all organic life, especially those close to us. (Jesus, Eckhardt Tolle)

4-Once we begin a real search for the MAPOL, we recognize at all times, in all situations, and all relationships, that things may not and usually are not the way they seem to be. This viewpoint helps keep us more objective and less subject to brainwashing. The greater our objectivity the more free we are to progress on our path. (Theoretical Physics, Beelzebubs tales by Gurdjieff, Khrisnamurti, Buddhism)

5-In physical reality there are laws that govern actions. These laws can be discovered and used to improve our lives. We have not discovered all these laws but will continue to discover more and more. (Theoretical Physics,

6-There is a spiritual reality. This reality cannot be seen by our ordinary senses. There are different laws that govern this reality that can also be discovered and used for our benefit. (Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death by G.W.Myers, Boris Mouravieff, Rodney Collin, The Seth Material, Rudolph Steiner)

7-There is a hierarchy of energy. This is expressed in many ways by different traditions and teachers. What it means is that there are more refined substances that vibrate at a higher or faster level and more dense substances that vibrate at a slower or lower level. It is possible to learn about these levels of energy, how to use them, contact them, or invoke their presence. (Kaballah, Alice Bailey, E.J. Gold, Millie Benoit)

Writing this blog has been a good exercise for me.