Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor

Dr Matt's Archive of Answers
to Burning Questions

Why Do You Exist? What is the Purpose of Life?
How Does Anyone KNOW the Answers to such Questions? 

Sir, first of all my details:

name : Rani
age : 23
country & city : india, its capital delhi
relationship status : single, living with parents

general background: 

currently pursuing : B.tech, Electronics and telecommunication engineering
professional life : down
physical activity : none
extra curricular activities : none
habits : nail biting

my problem :

actually i am very frustrated of the fact that my result has been one of the worst in my passing out batch of school and i have landed up in comparably one of the worst engineering schools ......

i have been coaxing myself of my ways since then though this event took place 2 years before ..... i was till my 7th standard being quite an outgoing child though due to pressure of studies i started living fixed in my house , not jailed because i was free to do anything i wanted -- call friends , watch movie but i cut out all my physical activities ..... after all these sacrifices also result turned bad  ......

since then i have become obsessed with seeking how i behave .... and here are some of my observations ----

1.  i have a weird mind .... i do not do things thinking of what would follow but i think after doing .... e.g, i may play comp games for hours though i am nearsighted with large number , mourning later and though i know it is bad and such thought keeps coming to me i am not able to en-cash on it..result a deadlock...

2.  i am very poor at making decisions , i may make plans but am never enough enthusiastic to carry them 

3.  i am obsessed with thinking my mind has been infected by lead ..... due to 2 facts :

       a.  i live in india where such is condition that lead paints are still legal ....

       b.  i live near industrial area and have a habit of nail biting ... increasing my lead exposure ....

4.  poor concentration : when i study i cannot focus ... trillions of thoughts come to me at same time 

5.  i feel sleepy all the time

6.  i can remember text, drawings, numbers etc but i am never able to remember paths to places, routes basically.

7.  in every moment i keep on thinking that what if i did this , for e.g' if i wasted half an hour , i would waste another half thinking over why i wasted that half one and what i may have done in that half one ..... moreover,

i came across an article that states that effects of lead exposure can be reversed by enriched environment but i also know that mind develops fully by age of 13.

can environmental enrichment of neglected ones after this age reverse the negative lead effects ???? 

can mind change after this age (it obviously degrades at old age but can it improve ???? )

Dear Rani:

It's very nice to hear from you!

In order to address your problems, we need to establish a beginning point — a foundation. Truth is, answers to your problems will be DIFFERENT depending upon the premise that you assume about life -- that premise is the foundational beginning point.

In philosophy, the question of human beginnings is called Ontology: the study of what it means to "be." This is a good starting point, for we are called: Human Beings. Two words that suggest MORE than Human Bodies, . . . instead Human Be-ings -- the former being an orientation of entity (noun/object), and the latter being a realization of activity (verb/action).

Why is this significant? Because "brain" IS a physical object, whereas "mind" IS action of human thought -- brain and mind are NOT the same. How do I know this?

There are thousands of near-death accounts, where people experience the death of body, yet conscious awareness continues. Hence, the death of the Brain, but the continuance of the Mind.

There is much more to say, but first, we need to identify your Ontological Assumptions about Life: In other words, Who Are You? Why Do You Exist? What is the Purpose or Meaning of Your Existence?

These are foundational questions, and depending upon what you assume, or better . . . what you KNOW, then we can solve these problems:

          1) obsessive circular thinking,
          2) lack of motivation to follow through with plans, and
          3) the habit of nail biting.

As for your the health of your BRAIN, various body parts will naturally rejuvenate and heal as YOU are careful to breath clean air, eat nutritious food, exercise your physical body, and finally nourish your eternal soul. How you can nourish your "eternal soul" depends upon your Ontological Assumptions — your Foundational Beginning Points!

Please answer these questions and I will take you further:

Who Are You?
Why Do You Exist?
What is the Purpose or Meaning of Your Existence?

Do you simply assume that your answers to these questions are correct,
or do you KNOW your answers are true? and IF you know . . . how do you KNOW?
Further, how does anyone KNOW anything?
And why are some conclusions of so-called “KNOWING” contradictory?

Sincerely,
Dr Matt

* * * * * * *

The Journey

For this is the Journey that men make:
To find themselves. If they fail in this, it matters little
whatever else they may achieve: Money, Fame, Revenge.
When they end the Journey, they can put them all into
a bin marked “ashes.” They mean nothing.
But if one has found that he has within him
a divine soul, if he has discovered the principles
upon which the fulfillment of that soul is based, and
if he implements those principles, then he has a mansion
within which he can live with dignity
and joy each day of his life.
(Changing Your Stripes, 3rd Edition, page vi).

The Greatest Prize
for Life's labors isn't
in material possessions
or impressive accomplishments,
but in the progress of personal character.
You labor for your own becoming, this is your richest reward.
Who You Become is your greatest possession,
make it your Masterpiece!
(Changing Your Stripes, 3rd Edition, page 274).

The book, "Changing Your Stripes" presents principles for getting out of
the ditch in which you've been dumped (the difficulties of which you are a victim), and
the ditch in which you've jumped (the difficulties for which you volunteer).

"Mastering a challenging situation
is ultimately a matter of
mastering yourself!"
- Matt Moody 

"Changing Your Stripes," teaches you the principles that lead to lasting change,
making you a new kind of creature capable of communicating
with calm, even as storms of contention swirl.

If these principles resonate and ring true,
then . . . this book is for you!

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Changing Your Stripes is a
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Changing Your Stripes

Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor