Could the meaning of life be to avoid developing any defense mechanisms, and thus experience true free will both emotionally and therefore physically, spiritually, etc?

could be.

I honestly believe we all have abilities and talents written apon on us from birth - those talents can be used in a positive fashion or they can be ignored.

Really i think its all about serving your ability and making the absolute most of it. And it could be absolutely anything, i believe that if you follow your ability and allow it to lead you down its paths you can acheive some kind of englightenment and come to know yourself.
Theres really no single path to self-awareness, its just about taking a path and sticking to it, if you do all the lessons will be there for you waiting you.

To give an example - perhaps you have a flair for combat.
Now you could use that ability negativity - you get in street fights use your power to unfairly dominate etc.
Or you can turn your ability into a discipline in which you can learn everything you need to - humility, respect, honour, restraint etc.

If you look at the old greats of boxing who are now in their 60s and 70s theyre all the most humble gentle people you could imagine.
They really understand the concept of respect and you never see a shred of anamosity between them and their old rivals. More likely you'll see them praising each other and showing great warmth.

I honestly believe we all have abilities and talents written apon on us from birth - those talents can be used in a positive fashion or they can be ignored.

Really i think its all about serving your ability and making the absolute most of it. And it could be absolutely anything, i believe that if you follow your ability and allow it to lead you down its paths you can acheive some kind of englightenment and come to know yourself.
Theres really no single path to self-awareness, its just about taking a path and sticking to it, if you do all the lessons will be there for you waiting you.

To give an example - perhaps you have a flair for combat.
Now you could use that ability negativity - you get in street fights use your power to unfairly dominate etc.
Or you can turn your ability into a discipline in which you can learn everything you need to - humility, respect, honour, restraint etc.

If you look at the old greats of boxing who are now in their 60s and 70s theyre all the most humble gentle people you could imagine.
They really understand the concept of respect and you never see a shred of anamosity between them and their old rivals. More likely you'll see them praising each other and showing great warmth.

It does not have anything really to do with being humble or arrogant just because they respect others and themselves. It could also mean that they avoid using defense mechanisms (which wikipedia has an excellent description of).

This was something said by superstring in another thread:
We love extremes. Either a person is a hero or a pariah. Ayn Rand must be demon or angel. Couldn't it just be that she might have been right about some of the things, some of the times?

I for one am a big fan of Ayn Rand. She was a great writer, and had great insight into a great many things.

~String

The mind represents ideals, hopes, dreams, etc in terms of symbols. Hence, our psychology searches for some symbols as a defense mechanism against our worst fears, feelings, nightmares, etc. The symbols of society may earn one status but not self-worth, which are two different, and sometimes opposite things. This difference is the same as reverting to DMs (of status) as opposed to grasping truth (of self-worth).

Could the meaning of life be to avoid developing any defense mechanisms,A defensive mechanism is not a candidate to meaning because it is a mechanism—it's instinctual, a reflex, a natural disposition that varies and is re-calibrated from individual to individual.

and thus experience true free willFree will is not a commodity to experience but a part of a fluid state of being to conquer. There shouldn't be any "aim" to "experience" it because it's part and parcel to the higher self, along with much other stuff.

A defensive mechanism is not a candidate to meaning because it is a mechanism—it's instinctual, a reflex, a natural disposition that varies and is re-calibrated from individual to individual.

What the fuck does that matter? Defense mechanisms are trouble, less trouble means more self-worth. More self-worth means free will and hence achievement becomes natural. A fragile ego would experience a lesser self-worth as a result of a negative label. But someone who has a very high self-worth, as opposed to being arrogant, will not be damaged so easily. Only by avoiding any reversion to defense mechanisms can a person value themselves and existence with accuracy. Because it is only by avoiding DMs can a person; 1. not merely know themselves, but become free of themselves, 2. obtain free will as a result, and 3. try their very best possible at anything beneficial to them without the psychology to prevent one from going that extra mile.

Free will is not a commodity to experience but a part of a fluid state of being to conquer. There shouldn't be any "aim" to "experience" it because it's part and parcel to the higher self, along with much other stuff.

Shit, I didn't know we needed to study Freud to start living. A person free of defense mechanisms (i.e. a "free person") does not view action as "aims" as you call it. A free person simply determines what is necessary without the psychology interfering with their decision to act. If the physical body has the energy and the mind has the mental capacity, where the psychology is not there to interfere, then with enough time one can acheive what the psychology would have otherwise prevented. That is all I'm saying, no more, no less.

It does not have anything really to do with being humble or arrogant just because they respect others and themselves. It could also mean that they avoid using defense mechanisms (which wikipedia has an excellent description of).

What would they be defending against? not sure i follow ;)




The mind represents ideals, hopes, dreams, etc in terms of symbols. Hence, our psychology searches for some symbols as a defense mechanism against our worst fears, feelings, nightmares, etc. The symbols of society may earn one status but not self-worth, which are two different, and sometimes opposite things. This difference is the same as reverting to DMs (of status) as opposed to grasping truth (of self-worth).
Of sure, noone is perfect, hereos are just fallible/fragile humanbeings trying to get it right, but probably getting it wrong just as many times.

I honestly believe we all have abilities and talents written apon on us from birth - those talents can be used in a positive fashion or they can be ignored.

Really i think its all about serving your ability and making the absolute most of it. And it could be absolutely anything, i believe that if you follow your ability and allow it to lead you down its paths you can acheive some kind of englightenment and come to know yourself.
Theres really no single path to self-awareness, its just about taking a path and sticking to it, if you do all the lessons will be there for you waiting you.

To give an example - perhaps you have a flair for combat.
Now you could use that ability negativity - you get in street fights use your power to unfairly dominate etc.
Or you can turn your ability into a discipline in which you can learn everything you need to - humility, respect, honour, restraint etc.

If you look at the old greats of boxing who are now in their 60s and 70s theyre all the most humble gentle people you could imagine.
They really understand the concept of respect and you never see a shred of anamosity between them and their old rivals. More likely you'll see them praising each other and showing great warmth.

So, we can all fly at birth, but we just don't fulfill this potential? We can live without breathing, but we choose not to? Those born without limbs can grow them back if they concentrate hard enough? Kids with Down's Syndrome can be just as smart as the rest of us if they just work at it?

It is so spectacularly obvious that we have different skill sets, and that these differences often have a genetic component, that to *wish* for a different reality is an Orwellian attempt to brainwash oneself in order to avoid a reality that one finds distasteful.

I think you possibly misunderstood my post swivel, or maybe i wasnt being clear.
Although reading back what i wrote, i did say our talents and skills are written apon us fromt brith. Which seems clear enough to me.
In either case, im not arguing that we have unlimited potential, not atall.
What im saying is that we all have genetic predispositions which make us better at some things than others. You can use those skills to achieve some sort of understanding of the self.

Could the meaning of life be to avoid developing any defense mechanisms, and thus experience true free will both emotionally and therefore physically, spiritually, etc?

If someone hadn't poisoned my Kool-Aid, I might agree witht that notion.

The meaning of life is to die.