How do you know if what you believe in is the truth?

Question

How do you know if what you believe in is the truth?

Answer

You cant. We cannot know whether what we see as reality is really that maybe it is just a fantasy, a dream, and there is no reality. What we can do is have an opinion based on what we know at the time. I believe we can decide what we think is most likely but remain open minded. People who are dogmatic about things and think that they have found the whole truth are dangerous. Most of what we see as the truth is likely to be part of the story but not all of it.

How do you know if I am real...?

Question

How do you know if I am real...?
or just a figment of your imagination? Answering because you can touch me or hear me is not acceptable since I can percieve hearing and touching the things in my dreams, but that does not make them real.

Answer

quotI think therefore I amquot....Naaahhhh....I am therefore I am!!!brbrBut I digress. As you state, your question does not directly apply to my existence, rather to yours.brSoooo...brHow am I to know if you exist? My inner skeptic says that I do not know as you do really exist...only that some sort of sentient being has posited a question here in this forum.brOnly you can truly arrive at an answer to the question of your own reality...Good Luck with that brbrquotA man said to the Universe quotSir, I exist...quot The Universe replied quotThat may be, but what obligation does that involve for me.quot Stephen Crane....forgive some almost certain error on my part in quoting that, as I am doing so from some very dusty memory and am sure that I didnt get it verbatim, only the gist of it.

How do you feel about death?

Question

How do you feel about death?
Do you ever think about it seriously and do you think its foolish not do so?

Answer

Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. A good aphorism to live by.brbrThe first part means not stressing out about it. Everyone will be happy to tell you all kind of things about death. How it happens. When and how it will happen to you. But its all a crock. Nobody REALLY knows. Nobody can even really say it will happen to you. Maybe, as you say, the fountain of youth will be discovered tomorrow. If the future were certain, thered be no need to go there at all.brbrThat reduces death to just a dark room. Its something and we dont know what it is. Children might fear monsters in a dark room, but were not children. We can think about the things that might be there, and we can prepare ourselves for any dark room by just learning about our selves, experiencing new things, and sampling the large variety of welllit rooms that are available to us. It is people who are ready for a challenge of any kind who have the least to fear from death.brbrSpeaking for myself, I see so many welllit rooms around me, that Id have no problem exploring them all for centuries and maybe even millennia if the opportunity is afforded to me. Perhaps there are wonders even greater in that dark room... but there are so many wonders here that I see no reason to rush at all.

How do we love ourself?

Question

How do we love ourself?
I wish I could love myself...Can somebody tell me how??

Answer

Dont put conditions on your love for yourself. Its easy to say quotI hate myself because I amhave insert negative qualityquot and quotIf only I were like insert positive quality, Id be happy and love myself.quot The problem is that you will never be perfect, and even as you improve, your expectations for yourself will always stay out of reach.brbrIts a lot easier to say than do, but accept yourself as you are. Affirm yourself. That is, say to yourself, quotIm a good person.quot Say it out loud if you have to, even if you think it sounds weird. Make a list of your good qualities at least and read it to yourself every day. When youre down, its easy to pretend that you dont have any good qualities, but you know that you do. Force yourself to look at them. And dont let yourself twist those good things into bad ones I bet you know exactly what I mean, so I wont keep explaining.brbrThese things arent the only things to do, theyre just a start. Loving and accepting yourself and feeling peace takes time speaking from my own experience, it can be a hard painful journey. If youre feeling a lot of despair and have felt negatively about yourself for a while this is a bit simplified, but a doctor will diagnose depression if a person has had persistent negative thoughts and feelings for two weeks, no answer you find here is going to change that.brbrSee if any of this sounds familiar Have you been feeling down for awhile? Have you had changes in your appetite or sleep pattern? Do you not feel like doing fun things or the things that you normally love? Do you always feel alone or ashamed or guilty for no reason? Have you ever thought about suicide?brbrIf none of that sound familiar, then ignore what Im saying. But if you have felt those things, do something about it. Do something now. Talk to your family. Talk to a doctor. Im sure that there are people that care for you a lot, even if you feel like no one cares. It can be extremely hard to take that step, but I promise that if you do, youll be on the path to loving yourself and being happy. You can figure out the best plan for you, be it a medication that helps balance the chemicals in your brain or meeting with a therapist that can help you see the negative thought patterns that you have and teach you how to change that.brbrWhatever you do, just dont wait. Theres no reason to go on hating yourself and feeling miserable. You dont deserve it. Like I said it can be really hard, but it really is possible to love yourself and find peace.brbrSorry if Ive overanswered the question. Ive just felt the way that you feel before. I know what its like to be there, and I know that life really can get better.

How do we love ourself?

Question

How do we love ourself?
I wish I could love myself...Can somebody tell me how??

Answer

Dont put conditions on your love for yourself. Its easy to say quotI hate myself because I amhave insert negative qualityquot and quotIf only I were like insert positive quality, Id be happy and love myself.quot The problem is that you will never be perfect, and even as you improve, your expectations for yourself will always stay out of reach.brbrIts a lot easier to say than do, but accept yourself as you are. Affirm yourself. That is, say to yourself, quotIm a good person.quot Say it out loud if you have to, even if you think it sounds weird. Make a list of your good qualities at least and read it to yourself every day. When youre down, its easy to pretend that you dont have any good qualities, but you know that you do. Force yourself to look at them. And dont let yourself twist those good things into bad ones I bet you know exactly what I mean, so I wont keep explaining.brbrThese things arent the only things to do, theyre just a start. Loving and accepting yourself and feeling peace takes time speaking from my own experience, it can be a hard painful journey. If youre feeling a lot of despair and have felt negatively about yourself for a while this is a bit simplified, but a doctor will diagnose depression if a person has had persistent negative thoughts and feelings for two weeks, no answer you find here is going to change that.brbrSee if any of this sounds familiar Have you been feeling down for awhile? Have you had changes in your appetite or sleep pattern? Do you not feel like doing fun things or the things that you normally love? Do you always feel alone or ashamed or guilty for no reason? Have you ever thought about suicide?brbrIf none of that sound familiar, then ignore what Im saying. But if you have felt those things, do something about it. Do something now. Talk to your family. Talk to a doctor. Im sure that there are people that care for you a lot, even if you feel like no one cares. It can be extremely hard to take that step, but I promise that if you do, youll be on the path to loving yourself and being happy. You can figure out the best plan for you, be it a medication that helps balance the chemicals in your brain or meeting with a therapist that can help you see the negative thought patterns that you have and teach you how to change that.brbrWhatever you do, just dont wait. Theres no reason to go on hating yourself and feeling miserable. You dont deserve it. Like I said it can be really hard, but it really is possible to love yourself and find peace.brbrSorry if Ive overanswered the question. Ive just felt the way that you feel before. I know what its like to be there, and I know that life really can get better.