Meaning of life: one damn thing after another

Beginning at age 13, when I wrote my first philosophically-minded poem, until today, age 64, I've been searching for the meaning of life.

I've delved into psychedelics (LSD and mescaline); pondered existentialism (Sartre, Camus, etc.); for over 35 years meditated hours a day under the guidance of an Indian mystic; done the marital arts and Tai Chi thing; read countless philosophical, religious, mystical, scientific, and spiritual books; explored Argentine Tango and ballroom dancing; walked at night under Oregon stars (and rain) looking into the vastness of the universe -- just as I did at 13; written books about physics & mysticism, karma & vegetarianism, and a Neoplatonist philosopher, Plotinus; married a psychotherapist who knows a lot about human nature.

So, yeah, I'm well qualified to speak about the ever-fascinating subject: The Meaning of Life. Today, tonight, right now, I'm going to reveal the answer. (Well, I already did, in the title of the post.)

It's... one damn thing after another. 

Here's two guesses about your snap reaction to this revelation. (1) That is so fucking obvious! (2) That is so fucking ridiculous! Be assured: I agree with both points of view. And with any other opinion you might hold about my five-word summation of what life is all about.

That's the beauty of it!

One damn thing after another encompasses every possible criticism of my philosophical proclamation, as well as every possible praise. Also, anything else that can be expressed about anything, including silence. 

So even though there is a lot to be said about what I've just said, I'm going to resist the temptation to elaborate in much more explanatory detail. For now, at least. Because I want to assure my well-deserved place in the Pseudo-Philosophical Platitudinous Hall of Fame (I have lots of company), stay tuned for additional posts about the underlying brilliance of one damn thing after another.  

For I have managed to encapsulate the essence of cosmology, quantum physics, Buddhism, evolution, You Tube, Facebook, athletics, art, dance, and so much more (no, screw false humility!) really everything in what can be aptly termed an all-encompassing Theory of Everything.

One damn thing after another.

Philosophical Nobel Prize, please!

I sense some skepticism arising in cyberspace, even before I've pushed the "publish" button on this post. Well, test out my foundational Law of Nature, both human and otherwise. Observe your life, along with that of other sentient beings.

Throw in non-sentient beings too. Plus inanimate objects.

Let me know if you find any which are not subject to the inescapable law of the cosmos: one damn thing after another. (Note: I will admit that "damn" is not an absolutely essential descriptive part of my five-word philosophical masterpiece; however, I think it adds a lot of emotional weight, so am reluctant to discard it.)

I am confident in the objective validity of my statement. Its subjective attractiveness may be less easy to appreciate. However, if you keep on pondering Life is just one damn thing after another, I believe you will find yourself loving that sentiment as much as I do.

Takes the pressure off.

Allows you to stop searching for anything more than the next damn thing, which doesn't have to be searched for, because it will come to you all by itself. Stops anxiety, judgmentalism, egocentricity, and holier-than-thou'ness in its tracks (or... allows your train of thought to proceed with them worry-free). 

Now, I purposely avoided Googling "one damn thing after another" until I reached this point of my post. I didn't want my stupendously original thoughts about this phrase to be blemished by any extraneous influences -- such as the fact that other people had said the same thing before me.

Yes, some have. Such as:

Elbert Hubbard. "Life is just one damn thing after another." The guy was an American writer, publisher, artist, businessman, anarchist, and libertarian socialist philosopher. Way to go, dude! Proud to be in your company.

Frank Arntzenius. A philosopher specializing in the philosophy of physics who wrote a paper with this title.

John Masefield. An author who, bless him, wrote a book titled "ODTAA." One Damn Thing After Another. Amazon tells me other writers have used the same title. 

Proves my point. Life is just one damn thing after another. Which includes people saying, in different ways, "life is just one damn thing after another."

Comments

[Sita]

:)!!!!!!!!!!!!

[777]

-

The meaning of life is simple.

This Source 'God'
whose existence is so easy to proof mathematically,
,
does "n'importe quoi"
what we could translate in dispersing himself in 'space' & 'time' and myriads of other "methods

I mean : THAT IS WHAT SHE IS.

Doing this SHE is absolute sure
that whatever piece She emits
It will fall back as Love

Some pieces fall back in an anstant
Others take a billion, Big bang equivalents

It's a win win situation

The Source is happy and yet the pieces
start falling back , it's heaven
Underway, . . . is called DHARMA

Resistance is futile.

Again:
What would an all powerful being desire other than LOVE !

Complaints? . . . ok -
Go to the doer and complain

Objections?

-

[Skeptic]

Amen! Well said.

[cc]

You're over-simplifying, Brian. Life is one damned or blessed thing after another. If the damnedness wasn't relieved by the occasional blessedness, life would be too damned awful to keep living.

[Brian Hines]

cc, good point. I guess I was thinking of "damn" in somewhat the same way as either "damned" or "blessed." As an modifier that adds emphasis to anything. Entry 2 in the Urban Dictionary captures this meaning well. #9 is the "wow" usage of damn.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=damn
----------------------
One of those words you can use in any situation. In any conversation AT ALL, you can just pop in and say "damn," and people will know exactly what you're talking about.

1. An expression of dismay.
2. An expression of awe.
3. "Giving a damn", the act of caring about something.
4. The act of condemning someone, most often to hell or an equivalent place.
5. "Damn you", a verbal middle finger equivalent to "go to hell".
6. An expression of surprise.
7. "Damn well", a sort of sentence enhancer, most often used with the word "better".
8. An adjective you can stick before phrases like "near" and "close to" to raise the sentence's severity.
9. An exclamation interchangeable with "Wow".
10. An adjective you can stick in front of absolutely any noun to add a feeling of stigma to your sentence.

1. You lost your keys? Damn.
2. DAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNNN she's hot!
3. I don't give a damn what you think!
4. You will be damned for doing that.
5. You're so rude! Damn you!
6. Person 1: *sneaking up behind Person 2* BOO!
Person 2: DAMN!!
7. You better damn well lock that door!
8. I was damn close to hitting that car!
9. Damn, that certainly is a colorful shirt.
10. That damn teacher gave us another pop quiz.

[just me]

One damn thing after another.. and you're one of the very privileged living a really damn good life compared to how many billions of people in the world? Living lives of starvation and unimaginable suffering. Oh well, no such thing as karma, live your good life or be damned to live a life of suffering and then its all over... nothing. Nothing sounds good to me bring it on!

[Mike Williams]

All we can do is leave some truth
for the next generation of children.

So that .......... they do not have
to go through what we have gone through.

And thank those that have gone before
us and left some truth for us to cherish.

[Gaz]

Mike,

People like you David and Brian deserve awards. Leaving RS was the best thing i've ever done.
Now at 20, I feel free, I can achieve anything I want, i don't have to worship anyone, go to church,satsang etc accept past life karma rationale for sufferings.
The simple fact is our thoughts create sufferings & happiness.
I hope you guys live healthily and happily until 100.

I want to achieve my goals and help humanity by having a homeless shelter and a health clinic to help people.

Enjoy life everybody eat and be merry, the ultimate goal of human life is peace/enjoyment.

[Sandra]

Gaz,
oh yes, I am coming round to your opinion. This blog and the people writing here helped me so much in confirming my decision of having left the santmat-satsang. Although sceptical by nature, and although joining the group only for some months, but having read a lot of s-m-literature before, I was already fairly immersed in the s-m-mind control system. Now I am so very sure that the whole santmat-affair is nothing but emotional, mental and even physical exploitation.

Leaving the satsang was kind of getting rid of a very unpleasant, almost unbearable bondage. I remember all the satsangis there searching for happiness and release and divine knowledge that all remain unfulfilled. They try hard, they encourage each other, they simulate advancement, they deceive themselves and others. But their faces speak for themselves. Pictures of the “master” everywhere in this “holy” place. If you don’t experience anything, you have not meditated enough, you have not done enough seva, you weren’t humble enough.

Staring in the dark, considering brain-based light-and sound-hallucinations to be divine revelations, they miss their lives.

[Gaz]

Sandra,

I agree with you, its very hard because my parents have been RS followers since 1978.
It's hard to see them it in meditation and not make any progress. IMO its a waste of 2 hours and it just alienates the mind. RS don't teach you how to meditate properly. OM meditation is much better, it has an instant calming effect on the mind.

IMO, you can never be happy whilst following RS, when i was an RS, i had a good look around me, i said to myself, who is happy here? Nobody, all of these satsangis rely on meditation & afterlife for happiness, I've seen initiates aged 100+ who've not attained happiness after meditating for 60+ years, what chance do we have?
I believe happiness can be attained on this earth without association with any religion/sect. I think Brian Hines is a perfect example, the guy just does his own thing, doesn't take anything too seriously,and is always positive. That's how we should be.

In regards to RS teachings, Gurinder is changing RS BIG TIME, I haven't heard him mention past life karma or kal. He once said that we create kal and that kal doesn't actually exist.
The above is in contrast to what Charan used to say when he was at the helm.
The truth is coming out, the only groups using traditional Sant Mat is Rajinders group,Baljits group & Dinod. That's because their groups consist of asians who are receptive to kal notions etc.

RS Beas on the other hand has lots of westerners who question past life karma,kal etc hence the radical change.

On a side note, are you from the UK?

[Sandra]

quote Gaz
"I believe happiness can be attained on this earth without association with any religion/sect."
Yes, for sure.
I saw the same: most of them (not all) are sad and frustrated people who are convinced that religion makes them happy, and once entangled in the auspicious story they aren’t able any more to think out of the box. It keeps them imprisoned. Some are irretrievably brainwashed. Trying to help them out of the box is futile. I speak from experience. They are so to say immunized to whatsoever logical argumentation.
On the contrary, they think that you are imprisoned in a box, because their master tells them that they are on the path for liberation, they are the chosen ones, the elite. That’s what makes them feel great. But not happy.
Controlled remotely. Voluntarily. No chance.

I used to attend the group of Baljit Singh in Vienna, Austria.
This one here: http://santmat.at/

[tucson]

Winston Churchill also said 'life is one damn thing after another'. Probably inferring the negative connotation of the phrase, understandably, considering what he had to deal with.

However, sequence may be illusory because the past is a memory, the future is a supposition, and the present is past before we even consciously perceive it.

[Skeptic]

I guess for Satsangees life is just one damn meditation after another... With no eggs.

[cc]

"...sequence may be illusory because the past is a memory, the future is a supposition, and the present is past before we even consciously perceive it."

Yes, but the present is what the past has wrought, and the mind interprets this evidence according to how much or how little nonsense it contains.

[Roger]

"Yes, but the present is what the past has wrought, and the mind interprets this evidence according to how much or how little nonsense it contains."

---how does the mind collect nonsense? How is it decided that the past has wrought? What if the past forgot to do such.

[cc]

What we call the present is evidence of the past in the midst of the unfolding future. Because the mind records experience, our existence is perceived as a continuum. At times, under certain conditions, the present moment is experienced as wholeness, oneness, etc., so as to be reminded that Now is all there is and that You are as much a mental construct as anything else the mind can name.

You are your content, all the information you retain, and quite often much of that information is religious, "spiritual" nonsense like your notion of the past forgetting. Memory is fallible and manipulable...all the more reason to be be scrupulously accountable rather than fancifully and wishfully creative.

[Sandra]

Quote cc
… now is all there is …
so please: enjoy the NOW,
enjoy “one damn thing after another” inasmuch as you can.
Try to make the best of every single moment of your life.
It’s a present
(the present moment is a present)
irrecoverable.

It’s irrelevant to count on or to build upon the future,
even thinking about the future (or the past) is a lost moment in one’s life.
Because if one does so
he’s missing out on living all the time.

Unfortunately the world we live in requests plans for the future.
Without planning our society doesn’t go smoothly.

But please try as best as you can
to live the moment.

What do religious people expect?
Living forever an eternal now?
Could an eternal now be beautiful?
Won’t it be boring?

[777]

Skeptic
Satsangis life, can be one great pleasant fantastic 24/7 sweet orgasmic musical
festival
and the love is indescribable beyond any belief

. . and I was a murderer 2 lives ago

I just wanted to help, . . relieve somewhat
without religeous blablabla

In no way, I have stated that Gurinder is not God
We all are God
but HE does the transformation job, -just ordered to do so
and I have no idea what He gets out of it
but it cannot be minor

when we here in France are already so extremely good off

Forget your minds concerning RS ,
0=1,
black is white, the last is the first

Peace and Joy

[Mike Williams]

quote Gaz
"I believe happiness can be attained on this earth without association
with any religion/sect."

Yes .... and living straight from
the heart without rules of behaviour.

Compassion has no rules and regulations.

It is a force onto itself.

[Sandra]

quote 777
". . and I was a murderer 2 lives ago"

Tell us please, how did you find out? Whom did you kill? And when? Under which circumstances?
Tell us the story please.

[just me]

"so please: enjoy the NOW,
enjoy “one damn thing after another” inasmuch as you can.
Try to make the best of every single moment of your life."

This explanation makes "living with presence" sound somewhat trivial and selfish. Is it all about service to self? Grabbing feverishly to everything that will make you happy?

Isn't living in the present more about being the best one can be, service to others, with caring and empathy and compassion?

[Sandra]

Just me,
You say: “Isn't living in the present more about being the best one can be, service to others, with caring and empathy and compassion?”
Yes, of course, that’s obvious.
Enjoying the present moment doesn’t preclude somebody from serving and caring the others. On the contrary: By making others happy you make yourself even happier.
To help somebody, to pay attention to other people, to support your fellow men is the basic condition for happiness in life.

[777]

Yes Gaz & William

You give ( if there's no agenda ) and your love will triple
It's also one of the MAIN reasons we came on The Path

Concerning the murderer
You see such things in half succeeded meditation
with half I mean that when it is as it should -'higher or more profound -
One cannot observe other stuff than the Sound, ( in my case )
One becomes the sound

I can really imagine some satsangis
not capable to take the heat
being in that kitchen
and starting a rs business of their own
It' s a really good practice : a proper testament saying who will be the successor

----
My wife, that is different
She really sees also around meditation
and in broad daylight
Charan is there and explaining so many things to her
like why and how she was raped and murdered in 1947 what She also "remembered"
and How The Master Sawan was protecting
her - and she felt nothing . . .

One sees things in the way, but MORE clear , much more clear like one remembers a vacation from
5 years ago
not as a story
THERE IS REALLY THE 'ME' IN IT
My being a cold murderer was by working for the same army as Jaimal Singh did
at the same period
I was rather responsible and not innocent
as He was
He did not kill - He was even at young age 24/7 absorbed in the Sound
yes
I have placed rebels before cannons to frighten other Sikh 'rebels'

It was more than the army asked for

All that 2 lives ago

-
I'm not sure if I'm disturbing people with this - but seen the tone settings of other posts
it might be a relief that in Sant Mat there is a lot of forgiveness