The Dudeism Forum

Hi there
As you might have inferred from my low number of posts (numbering exactly 1 once this here is posted), I am new to this site and to Dudeism in general.
And the first thing I want to do here is give thanks. To anyone, really, maybe to the universe, maybe to my subconscious for steering me here...I don't really know, man.
But I think Dudeism saved my life.
I'm not overdramatizing here. I have suffered from depression (and I mean the bad kind, not just a temporary blues) for most of my life. While I had things under control for most of my last years, recently, I had a terrible setback.
By the way, excuse my English, I'm German (but no nihilist, I promise).
I was really down in the dumps, my brain trying to solve problems it COULD not solve but you know how the old brainer is....once it's running, especially with depression-prone folks like me, it can't really stop on its own.
I was worried about so much...do humans have free will? Are we just a cosmic joke, doomed to live and die in an empty, careless universe that might not even give us the chance to escape this planet or see other star systems? Is our entire existance just a joke without a punchline? Is everything determined? Is there any meaning to this existance? Or are we just biological automatons ambling about without any sense other than " me first" and "procreate, procreate" written into our psyches?
A lotta strands, totally pointless...and totally bumming me out, to the point where I was asking myself: " Why bother even trying to survive?"
Then, by pure accident, I came onto a picture of Walter holding the gun (" Mark it zero!") and I remembered that one movie I saw years ago. I decided to rent it again...and, of course, do some research via Wikipedia.
That's how I ended up with Dudeism.
And I have to say...it does hold all the answers I need. If we are a cosmic joke, at least WE ought to laugh about it! Do I really need to worry about whether humans are good or evil if I am a decent person? Nah.
Beyond TBL, I looked into some of the other philosophies endorsed by Dudeists and I found one very important fact: That this whole thing mirrored my own beliefs very much...except that i had never learnt to say "fuck it".
I am still learning to be a Dude...but already I feel much better...and I am infinitely grateful.
If this can help me overcome my depression...it has already changed one life for the better.

And as for expanding Dudeism (something that is apparently being discussed here quite frequently) - there is, in my opinion, not really much that has to be done. Just try to be a Dude...and if people are asking you, why you are so happy when you have so little or why you are never busy or always lazy...tell them why. And if a friend is stressed out...ask him what's wrong and when he lists all the things he has to do to be happy...ask him if he really "has" to do anything.
Why do we need expansion when the core is so simple? Other religions have made that mistake...we should learn from that.

Hope to see you on the boards...

Digging all your styles
Marco from Germany.

Huzzah!
and welcome to the rest of your life Dude!
We each have been on our own strange paths to this moment, and now that we are here, we can breath, let go, have a cold beverage, relax and just be.

Welcome to all the new dudes! Any rug in the place dudes!

Welcome.

Yeah I've been like that also. Deresssed or in my case more stressed and worried.
It used to manifest as drinking and violence.
Just about ruined my life.
I finally just decided (or had to decide) to have the courage to just say Fuck It and stop worrying. Just about the same time as the Dudeism stuff.
Now I just live for weekends where I can just kick back and Abide with some great tunes and a sensible amount of Drinking and what have you.

Let us all give thanks!
Om Shanti Meta Shanti Om, Namaste

(just a little custom mantra that i crafted back when i was really into Hinduism)

It is so valuable to take stock, breath for a moment, and be grateful to the universe and our inner Dude.