What if...? In a Rental Car.
Introduction

In all things, there's a beginning, a middle, and an end.

There is cause, action and result.

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Where am I going?

These are the vital questions that must be answered to achieve enduring happiness. They are the stepping stones to finding the meaning of life, which must be addressed before that happiness can be ensured. Without a map, the trip of life in the modern materialistic world is a continuous struggle to stay on the right road with the conviction that the destination is known and achievable. But knowing the destination amid the babble of advice spewed by the modern culture is not easy. We seek reality through scientific explanation but science refuses to address the complete scenario of universal reality. Our reliance on science, therefore, is limited to the definition of the physical universe, leaving us to develop our own understanding of the how and why of the total universe, the combined reality of the spiritual with the physical.

Searching for these answers is the subject of this book. The answers will have different meanings for the post-1950 counterculture questioners than for those of the pre-1950 traditional conservatism. I have lived in both periods so I know the cultural differences. I have witnessed the deliberate attempt by the materialists to destroy the traditional culture, which includes the spiritual side of man's existence. This battle for the human mind has created confusion in what life is all about. This has left the younger generations without knowledge of, or experience in, traditional values and how these values sustained order in earlier societies. Regardless of the differing attitudes in this search for truth, objective answers should point to those basic values that affect all human behavior, for truth has only one set of answers. Every human being wants to find happiness. This desire is so basic to human nature that it was included in the American Declaration of Independence as one of the three inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what is this happiness that is desired and can be pursued? It varies with the individual. For some it is a comfortable life without suffering and poverty. For others it is the accumulation of worldly goods or the acclaim of achievement. Some seek only pleasure, while others pursue a dedicated vocation. In all of these, which are attainable in a lifetime, what is it that creates happiness? It is the possession of the desired object. Is there another type of happiness? Yes, for those who believe in an afterlife, it is the certainty of possessing an eternal happiness after all the others have ceased to exist. The others are the possessions of earthly desires, which are the goals in life. But achieving eternal happiness is the only important goal of life, for if there is an afterlife and that goal is not met, all of life's efforts were meaningless. Can it be that a subconscious yearning in each human being for that ultimate happiness explains why any earthly happiness always seems incomplete? If so, we must search for the answers that will lead us to that complete happiness. How is one to go about assuring that both goals are compatible and mutually reinforcing? It is through a search for the meaning of life. Life has a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no choice in being born, nor about dying (except by suicide). But the middle is controlled by the human intellect and free will, which shape life's precarious journey to an undefined destination. The search for meaning consists of finding the answers to the three questions above. Objective answers will reveal the road of life that leads to both types of goals.

The mind of man has three thirsts concerning life's mysteries: to understand his own being, to identify reality, and to relate earthly life to an eternal life, if it exists. Only by combining philosophy with logic and faith can this be done: philosophy to ponder the questions, logic to test the soundness of the philosophy, and faith when the former two fail.

To deal with these thirsts, I propose an imaginary trip, in which we make stops to gather information and to contemplate the effects of that information on our developing search. Throughout this search I use the analogy of an auto trip culminating in a unique analogy of a rental car as the human vehicle on the road of life.

The reasons for undertaking such a search can vary. For some it may be a genuine desire to understand their relationship to the rest of the universe. For others, it may be a search for values by which they can mold their lives. But for some it may be merely a quest for information, with no intention of letting that information affect their lives. For those in the first category, the main purpose is identification of "self," the initiator of activity, and motivation for reaching life's goals. (Although the term self is the same as ego in the Webster dictionary, the use of self is intended to imply identity rather than any psychological connotations.) For the second category, finding what is important to develop an edified mode of living is closely related to the first reason in that it sets up a basis for evaluating what is important in life. The last category may find many conflicts between the evolving self and contemporary culture, a culture that impedes an objective analysis of the mystery of life by its demands for liberation from traditional practices and morality based on natural law.

If searching for the purpose of life is important to you and: you don't know what the goal of life is, you don't know how to find it and where it will lead, you don't know "where" is, and you're confused by the inconsistencies of the modern culture, then you need help.

This book will guide you in the search for the answers that can bring peace of mind and happiness through knowing the basic issues that are important in life and their consequences. Acknowledging a need for such answers is necessary for conducting an objective and meaningful search.

The search is not restricted to or modeled for any specific age group. It is for all ages. For the young, it can be the beginning of awareness that life has meaning other than mere existence. Immersed in a culture that has lost the intrinsic traditional values, this age group will have the most difficulty in shedding biases. For the middle-aged, the search may be instrumental in reevaluating the priorities of what they are doing in finding the meaning of life. For the elderly, it is time to take stock of where they have been and what they have done with respect to helping others avoid the mistakes they made. I'm in this last category, and this is my chance to pass on my experience of having found life's meaning.

My hope is that this book will get you to think about those three important questions. It is not a book on religion, although, it does invade the realm of spiritual and metaphysical subjects. Religion is the worship of someone or something. The search is an attempt at understanding, not worshiping, reality. Neither is it an attempt at scholarly dogmatism. Although there are physical, spiritual, theological, philosophical, religious, and metaphysical aspects to this trip, the book is intended as an organized perusal of this type of information in a straightforward search for the purpose in life. It promotes awareness of the linkage between the physical material world and the spiritual ethereal one, a connection that must be studied in shaping the philosophy of life.

The basic issues we must investigate have always been debated, modified to suit specific philosophies or denied entirely. But objectivity demands that we study as many pros and cons of these issues as we can conjure up. We can learn much by studying opposites.

Searching for the truth is rewarding but finding the truth may create problems because it may result in unanticipated and unacceptable demands. So there must be a commitment to this search and its results. An example of this dichotomy is the conflict between the evolutionary Darwinian theory and the newer theory of Intelligent Design, the former claiming that all living matter and the universe began and developed by chance, while the latter claims that deliberate design by God created the universe, life, and man. Scientific investigations of the complexity of the basic living cell point to the need for intelligent design but the Darwinians refuse to accept that conclusion because it is an unacceptable answer. It refutes their theories.

Many books have been written on the meaning of life. Theologians and clergymen have elaborated on this theme with religious connotations. Philosophers have massaged it for ages. For the modern culture, self-gratification is the answer. For financiers and corporate executives, the meaning of life is expressed in profit, jobs and wealth accumulation. There is no universally acceptable definition. Each human being must find the answer to the satisfaction of his unique needs, regardless of past efforts by others. That word satisfaction emphasizes the importance of individual effort. So what does this book do to bring about this satisfaction? It lends a helping hand, based on experience, to guide you through a logical process for deriving this personalized solution.

Searching for the meaning of life is a cosmological problem in which philosophy, theology and science should be involved. Learning why we are on planet earth can only be explained philosophically and theologically. Knowing how we originated requires scientific evidence. All three must be involved in supplying the total cosmological answer. Yet science refuses to become totally involved. It refuses to admit that there is a spiritual side to the issue by denying the existence of a soul, an afterlife, and God because they cannot be proven physically. How can science have all the answers when it excludes half of the problem? We are left to bridge that gap if we are to understand the meaning of life in the universe.

Since science will not, and cannot, deal with the basic issues for determining the meaning of life, we must do so. The first issue, the existence of the soul, progressively leads to the issue of an afterlife where God's existence is the third issue. The consequence of accepting or denying the divinity of Jesus Christ in the fourth issue has an effect on the first three issues.

In dealing with the first three issues, the belief of existence or non-existence is initially subordinated to the importance of the consequences of these existences or non-existences on our understanding of their effects on the meaning of life. Addressing both sides of these issues results in an objective study. Following the pro and con analysis, evaluation of each issue addresses the possibilities of existence, never trying to prove it. Existence in the fourth issue takes on a different meaning because it is historical fact. The fifth issue is a review of the effects of either accepting or rejecting the results of the previous four on the search.

How do you resolve issues in everyday life? You apply a decision process, which examines available options through "what if" reasoning. We will do similar analyses in seeking the consequences of the four issues on our thinking. It will be a joint effort: my initial input with your additions and/or dissenting comments.

The sequence of steps in this book is intended first to inform, next to search, and finally to integrate the findings into a coherent understanding of the total picture. Terms are defined throughout the book to impose limits on their varied meanings for pertinence in the search process. Analytical tools are explained and philosophical background is provided to form the base for contemplating the principal issues. In the actual search a version of the meaning of life will emerge. Whether you accept or reject this version, the eventual conviction will be based on your evaluation of its reality. You will be asked to add your thoughts along the way, not merely to swallow what is presented but to chew it up first. In doing so, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have not only arrived at the information you seek, but that you have also contributed to it.

The book is divided into five parts to separate the different functions mentioned above.

Part A contains the four chapters that prepare the reader for the imaginary trip by proposing the motivation for it and the planning. Objectivity in the search for the truth is emphasized to deal with the controversial issues. The analytical tools are described with examples of their use.

Part B is a philosophical interlude to set the tone for probing for the answers to the mystery of life. The historical summary of the philosophical thinking outlines the development of man's rational approach to who he is and why he is part of the universe. The product of all this thinking is the modern culture against which we are forced to evaluate our meaning of life.

Part C is the formal search activity for the consequences to our lives of accepting or rejecting the reality of the basic four issues. The What If (WI) method is the tool for questioning those issues with subsequent evaluations for analyzing supportive information. The fifth issue is the "soul search" for the acceptance or rejection of the preceding issues.

Part D is a continuation of the search for identity by analyzing the functions of the human mind and the application of this to the duality concept. What is the soul and what is life are part of the quest for identity. An analogy of a rental car clarifies the concept. This concept of duality is used as the foundation for an examination of human behavior with respect to the search for life's meaning.

Part E concludes the search with a concept of the Big Picture of the universe and man's role in it. A concept of a dual universe (physical and spiritual) is proposed within which to describe the total picture. Beginning with the Big Bang of creation (and the nothingness before it), the conflicting theories of universal development and man's emergence on earth are part of the conceptual presentation. Man's progress from his questionable origins to the conquest of space is in steps that are definable along with his ability to discover the laws of nature.

The Trip Report is the conclusion of our trip reflecting on where we have been and what we have done.

(I will refrain from repetitive use of him or her, and man and woman, in the book with the understanding that by using the generic him and man, the other is implied. There is no need to introduce thought biasing sensitivities, when the emphasis is on the human being, rather than the gender.)

To conclude, I have one advisory comment for maximizing the benefits of this book. If you only read, you will almost certainly forget in due time what you have read. However, if you actively participate in the search process, you will retain the significant contributions of the search because you will have added a personal experience to an otherwise passive reception. So pause, contemplate, add to the pro and con WI's, mark up the book, and most importantly recognize a bias when it bars your approach to understanding. So, let's turn on the ignition and go.