I worked for over 30 years in psychiatry, and i can assure you that there is no problem here. People who hear voices, and more than one voice are common. There are benevolent voices and negative ones. If services responded to them all, the services would be overwhelmed.

The origins of voices is another thing. Services would take an interest if the aforesaid person was disturbed by them, not taking care of themselves, etc, or the person was a danger to themselves or the public.

The origin of voices is interesting, we are going into deep waters there. I suspect that its more than we think, or can be attributed to illness.

To compress the accumulated expanse of human knowledge as a brief notation on a key board must be the goal of Philosophy, as in that form, or as an expression of electricity, stone carving, or a hierogylph, knowledge can be moved from one universe to another, or one existence to another, whatever mode that existence may take.

This is an important first step, that the mundane, as above, can be represented in a brief manner, allowing the sum of human existence to be expressed in something as small as a pamphlet, with notarised, electronic, or hierogylphic statements.

Each brief keyboard notation informing the reader of a millenia of knowledge, and that a reasonably advanced reader will be able to absorb the knowledge therein, almost immediately.

Cobra, I have re- read your first post and it does have a flavour of depression. You mention not having any enjoyment in life, suicide, and thoughts about death. Then again you do mention joy in the simple things.

If you entered counselling, it would be interesting to see where those things led. Are you angry, or stuck? Depression can be anger turned inward, most of it probably is. Look inwardly and be honest with yourself.

Trying to understand problems in life is not only an intellectual exercise, its an emotional one. To answer your question, life is one thing after another, whether it becomes Lasagne or salt is something else. Keep an emotion diary, identify what makes you unhappy, then begin to change it. One measure of intelligence is being able to solve your own problems, but the first hurdle is emotional, to accept it exists at all.

Astronomers have measured a possible curve between two points in space. No matter how far apart, no curve has been found. If the Universe had a boundary, then a curve would be found as a straight line cannot carry on forever, or if the known Universe was a globe shape.

It would be like measuring a small curve on a football. If the Universe has no limitation, then i suspect we dont either, that we are eternal.

Being eternal means all is mundane, even genocide. At 63, i can attest to life being a constant repeat, of the same thing repeating over and over. The challenge there is to change it. Changing yourself is a mountain to climb.

So death becomes a fruitful forgetting, and birth a new challenge to improve yourself, over and over, because being human is a low form of existence. I dont know that for sure, but it must be. Yes i am religious, there has to be a god, without one life is surely horrendous.

There has to be something wonderful somewhere, or as with the expression of evil, its all a waste of time, or no time. How you spend eternity is up to you. I am seeking the garden of Eden without the serpent.

Research was done a very long time ago with rats. Space and food were at a premium. Homosexuality developed over time as natures way of controlling population.

Where does conscience come in all of this, you know, the ability to know right from wrong?

My parents came to this country in the 1940s, one as a prisoner of war, another as a migrant, both from Europe. They had no money. They never asked for a penny, got jobs, and bought their own home.

They would rather have been tortured than rely on the state. They looked down on those that relied on the state, there was a stigma to being on the social in those days. This attitude of self reliance has held me in good stead for a lifetime, i have not asked for help from anyone.

The more you give, the more dependancy you foster. Having said that, some people need help, some long term. Nothing is simple.

Make of that what you will. I have only voted socialist once in my life, when i was young.

Crisis theory suggests that the driver of change is being in a crisis. Indeed, the worse it gets, the more you will change, because you will have too.

You sound passive, a people pleaser. Learn to be assertive, ask yourself, what do i want?, in every situation, with assertion comes confidence. A new world will open up. . You are a crysalis waiting to be born into a butterfly. And it will happen when you put your hands on your controls.

Read up on assertion, develop boundaries. The world is waiting for you.

I take an interest in astronomy, and as far as i know, there are no two discovered planets the same. And so it is with people. What appears to be mundane to some is not to others, what is valuable is as varied as there are people.

We build our own inner worlds, reading others thoughts and ideas contribute to that. I am new here, and reading some of the threads makes me wonder, and others not. Some of it i find amazing because of not whats there, but what is left out. There is a thread on abortion with no mention of conscience. There is no ultimate explanation of anything.

As long as you keep being open its all a winner.