Ilangho: Robert, are you a votary of free will or destiny? Robert: That kind of question depends entirely on what is meant by the word "you," Ilangho. Ilangho: An ordinary human being. With a body and mind. Robert: OK. In that case, there may be a limited area in which choice is possible (or not), but
Three things I find very interesting about freewill (or not):
1. Freewill is an appearance in "what is" just like my nose is, my most private thought is, and the clouds are. There is no way to distinguish one thing from another in a fundamental way.
2. I always found the question of freewill moot because how would I tell the appearance of freewill (I can click submit on this or not, freely) from the "actuality" of freewill? There's no difference that I can see.
3. Most importantly, we SEEM to have freewill, so we must act like we do. If we don't, we are not honoring (taking fully into account) our actual lived experience. We are denying or ignoring an unavoidable and incontrovertible aspect of what it means to be experiencing this aliveness.
Three things I find very interesting about freewill (or not):
1. Freewill is an appearance in "what is" just like my nose is, my most private thought is, and the clouds are. There is no way to distinguish one thing from another in a fundamental way.
2. I always found the question of freewill moot because how would I tell the appearance of freewill (I can click submit on this or not, freely) from the "actuality" of freewill? There's no difference that I can see.
3. Most importantly, we SEEM to have freewill, so we must act like we do. If we don't, we are not honoring (taking fully into account) our actual lived experience. We are denying or ignoring an unavoidable and incontrovertible aspect of what it means to be experiencing this aliveness.
Hi Robert, I'm not sure this is the right place to ask questions but I don't know any other site where I could address some queries.
My question is:
Do you think it is possible to free ourselves from this cultural and social imprint in us or we are doomed to be just that?