My Updated View of Free Will

I apologize to any I may have affected negatively.  For years, I told people there was no such thing as "free will".  That was the way I saw things according to my information.  It seemed to me that everything and everyone was merely behaving because of everything else, that all was operating regardless of peoples' beliefs that they were responsible for any of it.  I saw free will as an illusion, or lie that some believe because they fail to see all the factors that make up their own behavior.  Like many, I was conflicted between two seemingly incompatible ideas that there is either free will, or there is fate, but not both.  This is where I was wrong.

Why can't both exist simultaneously?  Everything else does!  It turns out, they do; I was just seeing things from a more limited perspective than I do now.  If you believe free will does not exist, then that is how you experience things.  If you believe it does exist, then that is how you experience things.  In fact, not believing in free will actually demonstrates it because you have the ability to experience things that way!  This is an example of the power of belief, consciousness, perspective, and the universe itself.  Clearly babies have less free will or ability to choose; but like all abilities, it can grow and develop through knowledge and experience.

This is why I didn't believe in free will before, because I wasn't ready to, because I lacked more knowledge and experience.  That is how we learn, grow, evolve, etc.  Before, I could only see things from the perspective of the physical body.  This is something that every body deals with and eventually overcomes, just to different degrees at different rates.  After more exploration, information, contemplation, meditation, etc., I learned enough to see beyond the boundary of the physical "self", which many clearly have not, and others did long ago.  It makes sense that in physical reality, one learns about that first; and as more is learned, eventually you learn your way beyond that realm.  In what some would view as "irony", but which also makes perfect sense, outgrowing the self actually gives one greater power and ability to know and do things that cannot be known or done if one is entirely focused on themselves.  When someone is confined strictly within the concept of self, their knowledge and views are also confined strictly within their own particular framework and belief system.

When I was not yet able to see beyond my own physical existence, I interpreted that I, like everyone else, had no choice in being born or behaving, as if all lacked any ability to direct their own lives and energy.  Being a "scientist", I thought all that could be known was what could be observed and measured with technology and strict methodology.  But as I continued to look, listen, and learn, I began to see through that mental barrier or metaphorical "veil" and discover more and more about what some call metaphysical or spiritual reality, which is fundamental, foundational, integral to all that is.  Religions convey this to some degree, but words can only express so much.  The deep, interconnected relationship or oneness of all things can only be discovered and accepted through open hearts and minds that see and feel through all perceived divisions.

Some hearts and minds are clearly more open than others.  Those whose think in purely physical terms are limited to superficial differences and behaviors rather than comprehending the infinite underlying unity of all.  They have not yet learned enough to know that there is more to everything than just what they can perceive.  Their consciousness or awareness has not yet grown to the point where they realize the fact that they, like all others, exist on levels and in dimensions beyond just the physical self, which is like a vehicle for spiritual experience and growth.  A great teacher (Ra) describes people in different cultures as mind/body/spirit complexes living within social memory complexes.  I find this quite accurately descriptive.

Another great teacher known as Bashar explains things this way:
"There is destiny AND free will, and they work hand in hand.  In the most simple definition, destiny is what you've chosen for yourself to explore as a theme in this incarnation.  So you can liken it to the idea of a particular path or hallway; you WILL walk down that hallway.  That is the theme you chose to explore from a higher level.  Free will is how you explore that theme, how you walk down that path or hallway.  You can run, you can walk, you can skip, you can jump, you can go forwards, you can go backwards, you can be happy, you can be sad, you can spin around in circles, but walk down that hallway YOU WILL.  Because that's the theme that defines the life you chose to experience in general thematic terms.  So destiny and free will work hand in hand to give you a specific experience; but how you choose to experience it is up to you as the physical mind.  You can go with the flow or you can resist, it's up to you... Destiny is decided on the soul level, free will is acted out on the physical level." 

Of course, this touches on the subject of reincarnation; which is something else I used to dismiss so I recognize that many still do.  Knowing that our existence precedes and transcends our birth/life/death is essential for some to accept the concept of free will.  Otherwise one can think they are simply subject to whatever conditions exist around them, instead of recognizing that they chose those conditions to an extent, and continue to choose as those conditions change with them.  But to set aside that "controversial" aspect, I often describe it this way: you can choose to read a book or talk to someone, but you do not choose what that book or person says.  I chose to write this, but I cannot choose for anyone else to read it or what they think or do with it; that is up to them.  Free will can be seen as individual choice, and fate can be seen as a cumulative result of all free will.  Therefore, both are always in play.  Both are valid interpretations from different perspectives, which reconciles the argument between those who think it's "either/or", since all perspectives exist concurrently.

According to my perspective now, free will is actually of fundamental importance to existence.  All have it to some degree, but those who recognize it in themselves and others have much greater love, respect, knowledge, connection, ability, and energy than those who do not.  Those who deny their own free will or coerce that of others have often been denied and coerced themselves, and are playing out that role until they outgrow it.  As one who used to deny free will, I have a new appreciation and greater sense of self-empowerment and clarity compared to when I thought everything was entirely beyond everyone's will.  That is a denial of responsibility, which is inherently dis-empowering and dangerous in many cases.  Choice is always a factor whether people know it or not.  Some just have not learned that yet.  And again I apologize for all the times when I ignorantly denied the existence of free will in both myself and others.  I know better now!