Billings Spiritual Philosophers - Life's Meaning

I will post this flyer (pictured) at our table for identification. Agenda is to discuss the meaning of life! Wide open, but here are some ideas: Spiritual background – favorite thinkers, books, movies, art? What gives life meaning to you? The nature of existence – creator or manifest nature itself? -Is love as manifest as gravity? Love as the nature of existence – what does it mean to be in harmony with it? -Personal outlook, way of life, compassionate, loving Love is a holistic need: intellectual, emotional, sociological, primal. -Existence points in this direction - civilizations and individuals can’t function without it. -Innate meaning:meaning is not subjective: we can persist without hate but not without love. -“Each like a coal drawn from the fire” – community and connection must exist. Hierarchy of values -Wants and desires that do not provide meaning? -Can we live without a hierarchy of values? Understanding and wisdom – does it have an endpoint? -Knowledge – intellectual, emotional, experiential (what it’s like to be/experience), participatory (how we participate/roles we have), etc Romantic love – what we desire in another and in ourselves. -If we desire the superficial, will others desire superficial in us? Spiritual enlightenment – what does this look like? -Buddhist Ox herder metaphor -Comfort vs Adventure and what this means in terms of spiritual growth Were all religious founders saying the same thing? Power and the corruption of spiritual thought. -What power structures do we live within and how do they affect our lives/corrupt us? “Ishmael” book and the taker civilization. -Materialism and the simple life. -Is perpetual order sustained through force or love? Does order through love require sacrifice? The nature of sentience, evolution, sociability and love. **-Can our level of intelligence evolve and exist without…