[lone*star]

Originally Posted by Scott83

Perhaps all intelligent life is part of this higher consciousness, with the ultimate goal being to escape this universe?

Not only intelligent life, but I see everything - every single atom in the entire universe - as being the outward expression of a single infinite intelligence/consciousness. In other words, space and universal consciousness are both exactly the same thing - just opposite sides of the same coin - space being the (outer) unchanging background of existence, and consciousness being the (inner) unchanging background of experience. Each containing and reflecting the other simultaneously.

When the above realisation suddenly came to me, a few years ago, I literally had to go and lie down; the impact it had on me was so profound. So as I was trying to explain to you earlier, the way we perceive things can be life changing in itself - so be careful as to what personal beliefs you are harbouring - they matter more than you think!

As far as the 'ultimate goal' of this intelligence/consciousness is concerned, obviously we can't say for certain. You see, if this thing is infinite, then it must be appearing on many different levels of reality all at once. So it could well be that, at the very highest level, there's actually no goal at all - that the 'goals' only start appearing further down the various levels - for example, on the level of human thought. In which case, ultimately, everything is simply happening and unfolding of its own accord - naturally, spontaneously and inevitably. And yet we humans, of course, think that it's all about us - that we are the vital cog at the very centre, controlling everything!

I don't consider myself to be materialistic, I could quite happily give everything away and go live alone on some South Pacific island drinking coconut milk and eating kelp, nothing would give me a greater sense of inner peace. Not sure why you think I want life to be pointless, I really would love to feel as though it all mattered.

'Materialistic' has two different meanings - and I was referring to the other one - material not in terms of money and possessions, but material in terms of the belief of everything in existence being made of stuff called 'physical matter'. However, your latest post (above) suggests that might not be the case after all, which is encouraging.

My opinion is one born of observation and scientific belief. Science says we are a collection of atoms, governed by chemical reactions. Human existence is merely a tick on the cosmological clock of the universe which existed before us and will continue to exist beyond the end of human life.

By all means listen to what science has to say (although scientists often can't agree on things) but I'd give more importance to your own observations and experiences in life; in order to develop inner wisdom and understanding. Basically, keep watching, listening and learning - everything, and everyone, has something to teach us - but only if we're open and available to learn from it!

Of course science doesn't hold all the facts, and there are questions we will likely never know the answer to. So our assumptions on the purpose of life are merely opinion, nobody can say for sure whether there is a purpose or not.

Yes, which is pretty much what I was saying before - be careful what you believe - because it can have subtle and unrecognised knock-on consequences further down the line for you.