freenrg

Hi all I hope I can find interesting discussions on several internet topics: - SEO (I have already see there is a forum) - Marketing (not so sure) - Advertising - Joomla CMS and CSS Ah, yes, there is one topic that I need to find out more about: How to set up payment gateways I have run a search with "Payment gateway" but could not locate a topic about it specifically. Do you know if there is one? Thanks!

Hi rvalkass, This topic is great. I am glad I found it. You seem to know quite a bit about this. Here are some questions for you: QUESTION 1. How do we determine that an object is in motion? QUESTION 2. Newton used space as an absolute frame of reference? Einstein said this was incorrect. Does Einstein use space-time as a frame of reference? QUESTION 3. As an object accelerates (I am assuming we have answered the previous questions) , time measured on that object slows down with respect to time measure on an object that is at rest. Is this correct? Let me know if you think I must rephrase my questions. Thanks

Thanks mate How long have you been running your online community? I have been thinking of running one myself, but I suspect it will demand a lot of dedication. Is this the case?

It cannot be explained! So the scientists have tried but they cannot. Maybe we will need to look somewhere else, as science or the dictionaries are not helping much. It is good I did not start this topic in the Science and Nature forum. OK. Let us see... What do philosophers and the sages say about this? What about the mystics? Any meditators out there has had any insight into the nature of time? I meditate but I have to admit I have no clue. The great zen master Dogen Zenji said that we are time. He also said that in reality all things happen at once. This just puzzles me, but I guess zen masters say things like that just to get us out of our conventional thinking. Any of you have had an experience like that or other involving time while meditating? Hi buxgodess,You lost me there. You seem to have some insight that I do not, but I cannot understand what you wrote. Do you think you could put it in simpler words?

Thanks rvalkass. From your last sentence I think you are getting the point of what I am asking. Actually, I am looking for an explanation, not a definition, but a good general definition may serve as an explanation. The definition of a second is interesting. A second is defined as the time that something takes. So, if in a previous post, somebody said "time is a sequence of seconds", we would have a circular definition: "time is a sequence of (periods of time that something takes)".

OK, thank you webishqiptar, but I still do not understand what it is. Honestly.What is this thing we are splitting into units called seconds? What is a second anyway? And why is it passing?

Hi buxgoddess Good. That is why I started the topic: Because most of us do not know and some of us would like to know, and we need a way to find out. How would you suggest we find out more about what we are here for? Very true. So, how would you go about understanding or discovering the path we are meant to follow?

Duh! I just saw there is a "Science and Nature" forum on xisT-O-Rama. Sorry about that, I am still a newbie.

Disclaimer I looked for a "Science" only forum, but could not find one. The question was meant to be scientific, but that's Ok, because the topic might become spiritual anyway. QUESTION Can you explain what time is? Now I am going to make it more difficult by throwing some easy answers, so that you cannot use them - "Time is that which passes (all the time)" - "Time is what clocks measure" - "Time is the union of past, present and future" - "Time is part of space-time." We all somehow, intimately "know" what time is. Our lives take place in time. We feel it passing, we use it, we waste it. We plan over it, but what is it? Can you think of any answer at all that really helps us understand what time is?

I think you are right. If there is a creator, my purpose should be the one that the creator gave me. If there is no creator then any purpose I choose would basically be made up, but I still think it could be a useful exercise to lead a happy life. For me this whole thing is not about being right, or very accurate, it really is about happiness. So if I die and I find out that there is no creator and that my purpose was totally made up, that is alright, as long as I lived a fulfilling life, happy and contributing to the happiness of others. Also, I do not think we should condemn atheists to feel that they cannot have a purpose. Should we? They are also creatures of God Let us try to formulate a method that covers different cases: CASE 1A. THERE IS A CREATOR - I BELIEVE THERE IS A CREATOR This is your case. In this case your method is to ask the creator. Some believers may feel they are not getting an answer. What would you suggest they do? CASE 1B. THERE IS A CREATOR - I BELIEVE THERE IS NO CREATOR An atheist has a designed purpose and she wants to find a purpose for her life, but she cannot ask Him, because she believes He does not exist. She could try to believe in the Creator. Not easy, but not impossible. If she cannot make herself to believe in the creator, is there something, in your opinion, she could try to somehow connect to her true purpose? CASE 2A. THERE IS NO CREATOR - I BELIEVE THERE IS A CREATOR This could potentially be your case (I sincerely hope not:). You have asked with your heart and believe you have received an answer. If you are happy with your purpose and your life and you are helping others be happier, I see nothing wrong with that. If somebody does not get an answer, well, that is not surprising, is it? But I would suggest they try the same "plan B" as in case 1A. CASE 2B. THERE IS NO CREATOR - I BELIEVE THERE IS NO CREATOR What to do here? If an atheist wants a purpose and there is no creator, as you rightly pointed out whatever she comes up with will be made up. I know you probably will not feel comfortable thinking a method for this case. You strongly believe there is a creator so why bother to cover this case, but for the sake of completeness what would you suggest here? Really. Personally, I am in case 1A or 2A. I do believe there is a creator. Maybe my mental image of that creator does not exactly match yours, but I do believe something conscious created us or is creating us, and I am not sure that this conscious power is a designer of our purposes, but my intuition tells me that it is. I am not getting an answer from the creator, and I have asked, so I would like to know your opinion on what to do in this case. mmm, by the way, I forgot to consider the possibility that there is a creator but He did not give us a purpose. Ah! yes, also forgot to include agnostics (people who do not believe that God exists but also do not believe that he does not exist). OK. Never mind. the methods might work all the same. That is interesting: "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."What in your opinion does this way refer to? And what would be the meaning of "lead to death" here? Yes. That is the way I personally want it. You are right. God cannot be considered as an explanation by science. Science requires theories to be refutable (i.e. that they can be proven wrong through experimentation. The theory must yield predictions that can be put to test). So if a theory went something like: "Pphenomenon X is caused by God.", scientists would be stuck. What predictions could this theory yield? OK, if phenomenon X is caused by God, then it must follow that if we put this bucket of sand here Y will happen, but Z will not .... It seems impossible. Anybody wants to try? I too see science as a method to answer the question "What mechanisms did God use (or is using) to make things happen?". That was Einstein's view too, I believe. Interestingly, the logic you are using (infinite regression, paradox, nothing can cause itself into existence) to demonstrate that God exists actually led me to doubt the existence of God when I was 17 and to become an atheist for many years. Why? Because I went too far and applied that logic to God too. Where does God come from? Who or What created God? etc. And I killed Him. Sorry about that. That and the fact that I believed in a Good God and I saw a nasty world. That also helped. After years I realized time is an illusion. Therein lies one key. We live trapped in time, but the creator is not trapped in our time. The creator sees accesses all time "at once" and it is not constrained by time. The whole concept of causality is based on the concept of time. Causality does not apply to something that is out of time. By the way, scientists reading this, science (quantum physics) is showing that the normal flow of time breaks down at the subatomic level. Stuff that we expect to be sequential happens all at once or events take place in reverse order. Time is not what we think it is.

This topic seems long dead, but I will try replying and see what happens. HOW TO PRACTICE ZEN MEDITATION Preparation - Sit with your back straight. - Tilt your head slightly forward, but keep your neck straight. - Keep your eyes open but relaxed, and look at some point on the floor in front of you. - Keep your hands together, open, palms up, fingers of left hand gently covering fingers of right hand. - Rest your hands on your lap, right under your belly button. - Form straight line with your thumbs. They should barely touch each other. - The line formed by the thumbs should remain straight, not curved up or down. - Adjust your position until comfortable. - Breath deeply three or for times. - Let go of your thoughts. Practice - Focus your attention on the region right below your belly button (called "hara" in Japanese), which is also right under your hands. - Watch your breath. Do not manipulate it. Just watch it. - As your body exhales count 1, then 2, then 3,... until you reach 10. then start again with 1. - When you notice your mind has wandered (you have stopped counting, you have counted beyond 10), gently bring it back to watching your breath and counting, 1, 2, on the exhalations. Notes This is just one practice. It is a beginner practice. If you are interested in trying other zen practices, let me know. As you practice this, if you persist you may experience things like your hands warming up, your back becoming very straight by itself, your vision becoming blurred and possibly completely blank (a sort of white mist). These are all artifacts, not really important. You may enjoy them for a few seconds, but let go of them and continue bringing your attention to your breath.

Hi Albus Dumbledore, Regarding Einstein's remark, I am not sure Einstein actually said it, but I have read it many times. Here is one reference to it from the BBC: About purpose, the kind of purpose I am after is not a target or goal. It is actually a way of living. To me, what you wrote, "one should live [...] for learning, living, and experiencing something that is as abundant as life. [...] to live my life as it gets presented to me one day at a time. " sounds a lot like a purpose and a pretty good one by the way. As long as you can keep that in focus and not get sidetracked by the worries of life, that purpose should serve you quite well, I think. I understand that the word "purpose" has several meanings, including target or goal. The meaning I am referring to here is number 1 below ("the reason for which anything is done, created, or exists").

Hi miladinoski, Thanks a lot for your welcome and all that useful information.My favorite soccer team? There are two, actually: Liverpool FC and Real Madrid. Supporting Real Madrid is a family tradition, simply inherited, and a heavy burden, really. Love of Liverpool FC, I acquired in 1991 after watching a game at Anfield (Liverpool 2 – 1 Aston Villa). Supporting Liverpool FC is more fun these days.Now really, I am not that much into watching soccer anymore, except maybe for some carefully selected Euro, World cup, or Champions League semis or final, because it takes too much time, but for some reason I do keep checking the Premiership and Liga results regularly and feeling up or down, depending on who has won. Strange.

Exactly! An excellent overall purpose is to feel happy and fine inside. The tough part is to figure out how, and I think it may be different for each person. Any ideas on how to reach "feel happy and feel fine inside" state? Crazy ideas welcome.

truefusion Good point I am not getting an immediate answer by asking myself, but I do think that the answer lies within. Living according to my true purpose will feel right. It is not something I can confirm using logic or rational thinking. It has to feel right. During the process of defining my purpose I am using ideas and tools that feel right to me. This is not a scientifically proven method. If by "objective purpose" you mean a "target" type of purpose, as in something to achieve in a distant future, the answer is no. I am trying to define a way of living my life, a direction and a way of moving, rather than a specific destination. If by "objective" you mean the opposite of "subjective", then I guess the answer is, again, no. I am not expecting to find an objective purpose. I am basing my approach on paying close attention to how I feel about different ways of living life, on whether they feel right to me or not. This is a subjective approach, would not you say? Unless we interpret that this "feeling right" is God's way of telling me that I am choosing my true "objective", predetermined purpose (a bit of a stretch in meaning). My hunch is that there is no single objective purpose written in stone waiting for us out there. It would be more like God or Spirit is giving us a chance to give our life a good purpose, and there is more than one right answer to this puzzle. No, I still have not put all the pieces together. These sentences refer to rules that I am applying to think about my purpose, but they do not fully determine my purpose. There are many things that I like to do, and a number of things that I am good at. I try to look at the intersection of both (in fact, I also have to take other things into account. For example, I think I will not be happy if I do not somehow contribute to the happiness of others) to focus on fewer options. I keep the "be good at" rule flexible, because I could potential become good at something that I am currently not so good at. By the way, these rules feel right to me, but maybe they are not good for everybody. I would love to hear about other rules people may be using to determine their purpose. Maybe I could use them. Do you mean "good at watching soccer"? That sounds funny, but anyway, for me it is not enough just to be good at something and enjoying it. I also have to contribute to the happiness of others. I do not see how watching soccer could contribute to the happiness of others... well, maybe the owner of the TV station would be a tiny bit happier....Nah. A good system! If you pose the question to an absolute, conscious authority and you get a clear answer, well, that seems to me like a an optimal way to clarify your purpose. The system does not work for me because I would not know how to do that. I do not envision an absolute conscious authority out there whom I can ask. Instead, I see myself as an integral part of a omnipresent conscious energy or spirit. The only way I can imagine to successfully reach that conscious spirit to ask for guidance is by asking myself and listening with careful attention. There is a part of me that knows. I just do not listen to it enough. "without God there is no such thing as purpose." feels right to me. Let me twist it a bit and add it to my set of rules.New rule: The purpose of my life will strengthen my connection to God. (Spirit/Cosmic Consciousness/you name it). Regarding science vs God, I think that is a different topic as I do not think I will find my purpose through science, although a scientist may, of course. Maybe we should start a new topic for that, but until then, ... When you say you seem to imply that scientists do not believe in God. Did you mean that? Or do you mean that science must work within the context of the belief in the existence of God? Many scientists do not believe in God but I think the correlation between science and atheism is becoming much weaker. There are many scientists that believe in God. Even 70 years ago, Einstein declared that the purpose of his work was to "understand God's mind", and the latest scientific theories about the nature of the physical world are so weird that they seem mystical. I am not a scientist, but I think science is one way to approach God, specially in the case of leading scientists. When you reach the limits of human knowledge you are faced with the big questions and those are the right ones.

Nothing is free. Do you value time? Time is much more valuable than money. If you agree with this, then you will find that you have to pay something more valuable than money (time) for anything you want in life or anything you enjoy doing, even things you think are free because you did not pay money for them. Should you feel bad about this? No. Just think about it, but not too much, or you will waste time.

The first impression is indifference. Sorry.I think the name needs some explaining. It does remind me of "Catch 22", but now sure this is related.

Life with a purpose is a happier life, don't you think? I feel that, without a purpose, life is rather meaningless and sometimes hard to bear. If you do not agree, that is fine. Life without a purpose can sometimes be fun too. It is just not for me. I need one. If you would like to discuss whether life (or your life) has a purpose or not, I would suggest that you post in this other topic: Does Life Have A Purpose? If you feel you need your life to have a purpose but you have not figured out what that purpose might be but you would like to find out, then we are in a similar situation. Well, actually, I have already started to move in the direction of figuring it out and I feel I am getting somewhere. I am starting this topic to share what I have found and to invite others to share their view on this and to participate their findings. Here is a preview of what I have started to find: The purpose of my life is not something that somebody else can tell me. I have to ask myself, not others. The purpose of my life has something to do with what I love to do. The purpose of my life has something to do with what I am very good at The purpose of my life has something to do with contributing to the happiness of others The purpose of my life has nothing to do with watching my favorite soccer team play I am pretty sure that my purpose probably has something to do with learning and teaching because I love doing both, but this is just my case, and I still have to put this to test, as it is not enough just to love to do something. Now, I have not defined a process, or a recipe, to figure out your life's purpose. That is what I would like to try to do with you if you are interested. What about you? Are you interested in finding out what your purpose is? How do you go about finding out your life's purpose? Or if you are already living a life with a purpose, could you share your views on this with the rest of us who are still in the process of finding out what our purpose is?

Hi! For years I have been pushing that nagging question aside. What is the purpose of life? It is such a difficult question to answer that trying to answer made me feel uncomfortable and I just did not like to deal with it, so I got on with life as usual. Recently the question kept popping into my head so often I just could not ignore it anymore. I had to face it. I started reading all I could about it and thinking hard on the topic. Then I realized one thing: There are two different questions here: Does life (IN GENERAL) have a purpose ? Does MY life have a purpose? I decided that the answer to question 1 is "probably not", but feel free to disagree! I think there is not a one-size-fits-all purpose that will work for everybody. We are not all built with the same purpose just because we all have a life. I also decided that what I really needed to answer was question 2: Does MY life have a purpose? The answer at the time was a resounding I DO NOT KNOW. I did not know if my life had a purpose. No clue. In fact, I should say that it felt like my life did NOT have a purpose. What I did know is that, if at all possible, I wanted to find out what my purpose was. But how? Nobody teaches you how to figure that out in school, or even in college. Now for the good news, I now feel that my life does have a purpose but I do need to do some work to discover what that purpose is. I have started another topic: How To Figure Out What Your Purpose In Life Is. If possible, I would like the current topic to stay focused on the discussion about whether life (or your life) has a purpose? So what do you think? DOES LIFE HAVE A PURPOSE? DOES YOUR LIFE HAVE A PURPOSE? I can't wait to know what you think Also, if you feel this topic should have been started in a different section, please let me know, I could not find one that was exactly fitted to the topic.

Hi, I am very interested in finding the best tools out there to help kids learn languages. By tools I mean computer software, videos or anything that children really get involved with. My son, born June 2005, loves to play with some online computer games such as those on: - http://www.sesamestreet.org/ - http://pbskids.org/ I am trying to compile a list of such resources. My main interest is in language learning, but I would be very happy to learn about good educational tools for children on any subject. Do you know of any? What is your favorite one? Thanks

OK. Be skeptical. Do not forget to be skeptical of your own thoughts too.

Hi mikeyboy63 You are right that many people are religious because they are not educated in science. However, keep in mind that there are many cases of leading scientists that ended up returning to God. Francis Bacon: 'A little science estranges a man from God. A lot of science brings him back.' Why do you think that is?

I believe God is consciousness. We can study matter and go all the way down to quarks or up to meta-galaxies, and come up with theories about how all that works, but at the end there are a few questions that we have no clue how to even start to study: Why do we have a conscious experience? I mean the brain is a great device, but how come I am having this subjective experience? A subjective experience does not seem necessary for us to operate as successfully evolving Darwinian creatures. What is that energy that is keeping the quarks and other subatomic particles in their current form? It is all energy at the bottom. There is no matter. Max Plank (April 23, 1858 – October 4, 1947), Physics Novel Price, clearly said it: There is no matter. What is this universe? "Where" is it? Why does it exist? Where is there something, rather than nothing? I think God is at the root of all this. I am not referring to a god with a white beard, but a conscious energy or spirit. I used to believe, like pasten, that God was simply created by men for comfort: But I do believe, these days, that "God" is behind my conscious experience, behind the quarks, behind the universe. Just to clarify, and respond to pasten, this believe does not give me any comfort or sense of security as a creature as my body will die anyway, and there will be no "me" anymore after that, but it does make my life a whole lot more interesting. Also, this "God" I believe in is not someone with a personality. It is more like a conscious pervasive energy field that actually gives rise to all matter and consciousness. So I think we are conscious because we are immersed in this "God" energy field, or more accurately, all matter is sustained and continuously created by this conscious energy. You do not need to believe or not believe this, trying to use rational thinking to choose the "optimal" belief system. It is actually possible test and experience the existence of this energy field. If you think this is silly. let me ask you a question. Do you love your child (or father, or spouse, or sibling) ? Yes? Can you demonstrate it? Yet, you know it is true. You know it with more certainty than you know that the earth is round.

Hi. Just joined.I feel this could be a black hole for my time. I am interested in several topics. - LEARN. Languages. Teaching children. Many other subjects.- SPIRIT. How to reconnect to our spiritual side when we have gone far into rational thinking and (possibly) atheism.- PURPOSE. Finding or defining one's purpose in life. I know it is not about watching my favorite soccer team. - BUSINESS. Online business ideas, techniques and related. The idea is to find ways to provide adequate income while minimizing work time, so that I can spend more time on learning, spirit on and purpose. Ideally, I would like to merge all of them, so if my business could be aligned with my purpose, that would be best.I will look for these topics on Xisto, but if you already know where to find any of them I would be very grateful if you pointed me in the right direction.Thanks!Freenrg

Hi, I love learning languages. I am basically bilingual in Spanish (native) and English (many years of study and lived in the USA and UK) and I have an intermediate level of Mandarin, Korean and French. I want to keep learning languages for as long as my brain takes them in. Mandarin Chinese is not as difficult as you may think. Korean is far more difficult. I lived in Korea for almost three years and studied it really hard, but only reached intermediate level, because it is such a grammatically complex language and there are many levels of social respect built into the syntax itself. Reading Korean is actually easy as they use an phonological alphabet. It looks difficult because it is not a roman alphabet, but they are basically using letters, only their letters look funny. Mandarin's grammar, on the other hand, is extremely simple, with rudimentary sentence syntax such as "I tomorrow go Paris". So can you actually get up and running with Chinese grammar. The difficulty in Chinese comes from: The sounds - There are many S, SH, X, CH, ZH, Z sounds which are difficult to tell apart and there are also four tones which affect meaning. This can be difficult for people without a musical ear. If you do have a good musical ear, the Chinese sounds are not that difficult, and you may actually love to learn this language. Writing and Reading !! - That is hard. No way around that. The Chinese alphabet is not phonetic and it is composed of over 20,000 different characters. Children just have to learn them by heart. You need to learn approximately 1,000 to be able to read fluently, and the average literate Chinese speaker knows about 5,000. I only know about 500 and I have to work very hard in that area if I want to really reach any level of proficiency. ------------------ Another topic I am very interested in is children and languages. I have a 3 years 10 month old boy who is learning three languages at the same time (English, Spanish, Chinese) and it is a delight to see him expressing with such ease - as a child does, of course - in English, switching to Chinese as needed and struggling a bit to communicate in Spanish with his cousins on Skype. I still have not found this topic (children and languages) on Xisto.com. Maybe I should start one?