Pre-Determined Life vs Freedom Of Choice

We live in a universe of infinite complexity, and many forces, way too many to keep track of, operate on us.

Yes it is true that we are not in control of everything that happens, because we are not in control of most of the infinite parts of the universe.

In fact, the only thing that yo have total control over is your mind. And starting with this important idea, it would seem that you do create your own life and your own reality… thus having freedom of will or choice.

However, many people, after continuing to experience the same old ups and downs and personal dramas over many years, get to the point where they dismiss this idea as charming, but useless.

You’ll often hear people saying “It sure seems like this is happening to me, rather than that I’m creating it” or “This and this is going on for me, and I have no control over any of it, and if you think I’m creating this, you obviously don’t understand what I’m going through”.

Sure, it’s too easy to resign yourself to be a victim of circumstance and accept your life is pre-determined as these people do, or…

You have the choice to accept that, luckily, you have control over something that gives you tremendous power, being the mind and the power of focus which gives you freedom of choice.

The mind is a goal seeking mechanism, and an extremely effective one at that. At all times it is elegantly and precisely creating exactly what you focus on.

Your freedom of choice is reliant on how effective you are at consciously directing this power on the things you want, as opposed to what you don’t want.

Napoleon Hill, who spent over 60 years studying the most effective and most successful people of the 20th century concluded without exception…

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”

It takes time to shift your attention from unconscious programming installed when you were too young and naive to know any better, by parents, teachers, friends, the media, and other experiences or influences.

But to make the shift and learn how to consciously focus your mind, gives you real freedom of will or freedom of choice.

One way to change your focus is to ask questions such as, “How can I get X” or “How can I do Y” or “How can I be Z”.

Asking these questions focuses your mind on what you want to have, do, or be. Your mind then solves the problem and creates what you want.

You just have to provide the focus, take whatever action presents itself, and be persistent as some things do take time.

This brings me to my next point that covers perception on whether you believe that you are at cause or whether you believe you are at effect… two polar opposite paradigms.

In other words, do you see yourself as the creator of what happens, or a victim of circumstance?

Those who think they are at effect look outside of themselves for some cause on which to blame what is happening. When you do that, such a cause will always appear, even if it isn’t really the cause. The result is feeling and becoming helpless in a negative situation, or feeling and becoming powerful in a positive situation.

It is this perception, this belief, this reality that convinces the individual that all life is pre-determined and you have no real freedom of choice or will.

On the other hand, those who believe they are at cause, realise that even if they cannot see the connection, whatever is being created in their life comes from within them, and if they find what it is, they can change it.

So you can probably see how this perception of at cause is different to being at effect, and convinces the individual that they have full freedom of will or choice, and in actual fact, nothing is pre-determined for them.

“I can’t” or “I tried” are two terms that block the creative part of your mind from figuring out how you can, and essentially puts you at effect and in a pre-determined state.

“How can I” and “I did” are two statements that promote success, no matter what the outcome, and essentially puts you at effect and gives you freedom of choice or will.

Moving on and looking deeper at the statement, “All of your life is pre-determined, and you have no real freedom of will or choice”... is actually a practical way of asking, what is reality?

This may sound highbrow or somewhat airy fairy, but what is reality?

For thousands of years, mystics have said that there is one energy in the universe, that the universe and everything in it is the play, the dance, the vibration of that one energy.

Underneath the seeming multiplicity, they say that everything is made of the same substance. This substance they say is everywhere and everywhen.

This principle is sometimes described as omnipresence or god. The hindus and buddhists call this principle ‘sat-one’ energy… everywhere, making up everything, always, past, present, and future.

Quantum mechanical physicists, for several decades, have been saying the very same thing.

The mystics however went one step further. In addition to noting that this one energy is omnipresent, the also said something else which is quite startling, they said that this one energy is aware of itself, that it is conscious and has consciousness.

Yes it does sound somewhat far-fetched, but just for a moment, pretend you are this one energy… all of a sudden you have 100% freedom of choice.

But looking around, it seems that many people are still struggling and not achieving what they really want. Are the mystics wrong? Are the quantum mechanical physicists wrong? Ar they all living in their own bubble of reality, creating theories based on faith and wishful thinking?

Their results are by no means conclusive, so maybe it would be correct to say that your life is pre-determined and your freedom of choice is restricted to what you eat for breakfast… what clothes you wear… what music you listen to.

Without getting too deep, it is fair to say that life in general is pre-determined. The sun will rise and fall, seasons will come and go, birth and death will take place… life will go on and be governed by the natural laws of the universe for as long as time will allow it.

Yet as individuals, we have the power and luxury of freedoms such as free will and choice.

I have no desire to influence your decision on whether your life is pre-determined or whether you have freedom of choice… but should you have an opinion, or lack thereof on the matter, the only logical conclusion that I can finish on is that you made that choice, just as you did to be here today.

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