This document defines and discusses the concept of "being" from philosophical perspectives. It explains being as referring to life forms with mind and experience, and as the self or one's state of being. It outlines two dimensions of being - the empirical based on observation, and the transcendental involving eternal, infinite, and God. Existentialism is discussed as providing a framework for understanding human dilemmas around existence, freedom, choice, and anxiety. Major existentialist themes of moral individualism, subjectivity, choice and commitment, and dread are explained.