Life is the temporary marriage of the energy of the universe and the will of the individual. Or Life is the universe experiencing itself. (from that podcast episode) The energy belongs to the universe and the will to you. This marriage is a compromise. The universe _is_ everything, and so it cannot experience anything. Everything that could possibly exist to experience is already a part of the universe. Just like we don't "experience" our personalities; we just *are* our personalities. Our actions trigger responses from our environment that shape our experiences, but our actions do not directly shape our experiences. For example, lifting weights is an internal action made on an external object which triggers a response from the object. It is the dumbbell's **response** — pushing back on your biceps with 20 lbs of force — that tears your muscle fibers and makes them stronger. The universe however, has no "other" to act against. Therefore, it cannot experience. It can't even change. What would it possibly change into? There is only it, no other. On the other hand, to be alive is to [[Notes/Truth of Suffering|suffer]]. Living is a state of constant resistance against energy that desperately wants to leave your body and return to its home in the universe. Think about it, to be alive is to actively and constantly fend off all possible forms of death: hunger, thirst, physical harm. Avoiding death isn't a given, but it's so closely linked to being alive that it often feels like one. ## Tags #life #meditation #anima