“... nothing can break your happiness because you can never be anything but yourself.”
Funny, I always thought the truly defining characteristic of Humans -as compared to other animals- was the ability to empathise; to become, if only for a moment, someone else.
Surely the real cure of depression involves becoming a happier person?
Of course there are critters walking around on 2 legs who are demonstrably incapable of empathy.
In fact, there are many who don't seem to be able to even grasp the concept... They can generally be identified by their dogmatic statements: I KNOW, rather than I think.
“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” Bertrand Russell.

Dear David,

<<I have no illusions of there being a God or me being that imaginary entity.>>

Thank heaven for that - because God is not an entity, nor are you.

So long as you are happy with what and who you are, I have no problem - If you have difficulties with the name 'God' (perhaps due to its Abrahamic connotations), then who cares what name(s) you use to call yourself instead?

Sadly, most people believe that they are their body, which makes them suffer with it.

Dear Grim,

Humans cannot empathise, or be happy or sad. We can use the human body to feel all that, but if there is nobody home in that body, then it is just an unconscious biological machine.

Nobody can become a happier person because nobody can become a person. Persons are necessarily subject to ups and downs. If you seek to be happy permanently and unconditionally, you must break the illusion of being a person.

Yep. Thanks for proving Bertrand right.

SPQR,

I've never been convinced by the concept of Pascal's Wager since I really can't make myself believe that there's any evidence for the supernatural, in other words, I couldn't fool God.

I agree with you on taking the chance on cryogenics, however it seems very long odds to me. There's (1) no evidence that the process doesn't cause irreversible damage to brain cells (2) the ..'patients' are relying on the ability of the cryonic companies to stay in business, some have gone bankrupt.

As to lefties and science, have you forgotten our current conservative government doesn't even have a science minister.

Mac,

<<As to lefties and science, have you forgotten our current conservative government doesn't even have a science minister.>>

Superfically a good point --but only superfically so. I am convinced that most of those --outside of the scientists-- who support climate change science/mitigation only do so as a means to world govt. And they seek redistrubvtion of land/weath as part of that program --meaning Ali and his 20 kids in Yemen will get first --and probalbly full call -- over funding rather than cryogenics or Mars missions. As it is , one of the growing campaigns in Lefty circles is that the money spent on researching old white peoples illnesses ought to redirected towards saving the undeveloped worlds babies.

Dear Yuyutsu,

The idea that the human body is a unconscious biological machine and the mind is something else is called dualism. There is no evidence for the mind not being a function of the body. Dualism is another item of human superstition, The mind does not survive the death of the body.