Rob's Page

Relationship Status

Married

Values: What is most important to you in life? What is your purpose? Who are you, really? What do you value?

My purpose is to maximize my own overall enjoyment of life without hindering the ability of others to do the same, and hopefully contribute to others' enjoyment of life where possible. This can be a difficult balance, given the competitive nature of most aspects of life. In general, I find that it is easiest to make decisions likely to produce the best consequences for myself and my friends and family, and hope that others take actions to reduce their own risk.

Beliefs: What do you believe in? Do you believe in God(s)? Karma? Saints? Why or why not?

I would like to believe in a god--some being who listens to my thoughts and prayers--but it seems unlikely that one exists. I certainly can't explain how the universe came to be, but "god just made it" is not a convincing explanation. If such a being does exist, I don't see why he/she/it would care what I do with my life.

Do you consider yourself spiritual? Do you identify yourself with a religion? Why or why not?

I don't consider myself spiritual in the sense that I tend to focus more on immediate reality, rather than on questions like "what is the meaning of life?" I would like to spend more time thinking about spiritual issues in the future. As an attorney, I spend most of my time thinking logically to the point that I sometime fear that I will lose my ability to feel. Spiritual reflection would help me achieve more of a balance. That's the main reason I decided to join this Common Ground group.

Do you believe in after-life, heaven, reincarnation, a parallel universe, fate or destiny?

I don't believe in heaven/hell/reincarnation/etc. for the same reasons that I don't believe in god. It just seems unlikely--a simplistic answer to questions like "why should I be good?," "why does it matter if my actions harm others?," etc.
I believe there could be a parallel universe in the sense that our universe if defined by what we can perceive--what we can see, touch, hear, smell, etc. There could be other things around us that we are incapable of perceiving.

Why are we here on this earth? What is the meaning of life? What are your lifelong aspirations?

I don't know if there is any reason we are on this earth, or any meaning to life. As mentioned above, my main goal is to maximize the happiness of myself and those around me. I suppose then my lifelong aspirations would be to reach a point where I spend a minimal amount of time doing things that I don't enjoy (working, generally) and a maximum amount of time doing things I do enjoy (spend more time with friends and family, travel). I guess that's the point of retirement.

Background / Spiritual Path

I was raised Roman Catholic, and was required to attend church pretty much every sunday and holiday until I finished high school. I found it extremely boring. As I looked around during mass, everyone else seemed to be just as bored as I was.
On the positive side, the sheer boredom gave me a chance to more or less be alone with my thoughts for an hour each week--time that otherwise would have been occupied by TV, video games, books or other distractions.