The question of free will can be indisputably answered with direct and simple logic.
Let us agree that if an event (i.e. behavior, thought, speech, etc...) has a cause other than "free will", then said event is determined by said cause, and is hence said to be "predetermined", and not "free willed".
Now let's extend this understand directly to a given sequence of events. If in a given sequence of events each event is directly determined by its predecessor, then the entire sequence is predetermined. Inversely, and more significantly, if any event in the sequence is not determined directly by some preceding event then the entire sequence that follows this "free event" is no longer predetermined, but is in fact determined by the so-called "free event".
This "free event" could easily then be called "free will", but I'm not going to argue nomenclature here. Instead I will simply point out that if an event has no determinable cause, then it is technically a random event.
If you take the time to openly reflect on this simple and irrefutable logic then you will no doubt get yourself quickly tied up in all kinds of logic loops and contradictions. For example, if every event has a cause, then what was the first cause? Or, if a "free event" is really random, then what is "free will"? But, if you reflect long enough the one, and only possible, solution should become apparent.
"Free Will" is neither random, nor predetermined. Instead, it must be determined by an INFINITE sequence of causes. In other words, there is no "first cause", nor will there ever be a "last event". Any other conclusion is not only irrational, but, in my view, completely insane.
I have been contemplating this philosophy of infinite cause for a long time, and a lot of dissallusion and new understanding has resulted, which tells me it's worth hanging onto and contemplating even more. It may very well be the "keystone of understanding that completes my bridge to enlightenment... but, then maybe not.
Methinks, the key to knowing God is simply finding a way of comprehending infinity - and logic will always fail in this quest. But, what you do when it fails is what determines your progress. Do you give up, like most people, or start over, and over, and over again, each time changing one small thing. Like evolution itself, we may fail a thousand, even a billion times, but as long as we are willing to keep failing then we will never be a failure.
(J.D. 6-15-13)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Understanding Shame
I have said in the past that I am not ashamed of the terrible things I have done in the past. I later realized, and blogged, that as much as I wish I had no shame I could not upon honest introspection deny that it was there.
So, I decided to "wear my shame openly" in the hopes that it would help me become a better person by teaching me whatever it was given to me to teach. This decision has helped me by way of finding new levels of genuine inner peace that had always alluded me in the past. It was as though it wasn't the shame that disturbed me deep down, but only the denial of it.
I'm only realizing now why this would be so. After all these years of living with my shame out in the open, where I could keep a constant eye of consciousness (or "light") on it, I have come to know and understand my shame as never before possible. And I see clearly now that shame is no more than a learned response to the very natural fear of social rejection. In fact, the fear of social rejection and shame are almost one and the same thing, and in effect very difficult to distinguish from each other once this level of understanding (i.e. self honesty) has been achieved. But the difference is an important one, and one that only becomes apparent when we finally learn to accept our shame.
In fact, accepting our shame is what makes our fear of social rejection - shame's true cause - become apparent, because we only experience said fear as shame when we deny it and run from it!
Yes, I'm saying now that shame is no more than the fear of social rejection, denied. As soon as I brought my own shame into the light of consciousness and no longer denied it, it became no more than the natural fear of social rejection. And though I felt this change in understanding at the time, I did not have the words for it until now. But, now that I do have the words, and have put them down here, they "feel" right.
(J.D. 6-14-13)
So, I decided to "wear my shame openly" in the hopes that it would help me become a better person by teaching me whatever it was given to me to teach. This decision has helped me by way of finding new levels of genuine inner peace that had always alluded me in the past. It was as though it wasn't the shame that disturbed me deep down, but only the denial of it.
I'm only realizing now why this would be so. After all these years of living with my shame out in the open, where I could keep a constant eye of consciousness (or "light") on it, I have come to know and understand my shame as never before possible. And I see clearly now that shame is no more than a learned response to the very natural fear of social rejection. In fact, the fear of social rejection and shame are almost one and the same thing, and in effect very difficult to distinguish from each other once this level of understanding (i.e. self honesty) has been achieved. But the difference is an important one, and one that only becomes apparent when we finally learn to accept our shame.
In fact, accepting our shame is what makes our fear of social rejection - shame's true cause - become apparent, because we only experience said fear as shame when we deny it and run from it!
Yes, I'm saying now that shame is no more than the fear of social rejection, denied. As soon as I brought my own shame into the light of consciousness and no longer denied it, it became no more than the natural fear of social rejection. And though I felt this change in understanding at the time, I did not have the words for it until now. But, now that I do have the words, and have put them down here, they "feel" right.
(J.D. 6-14-13)
Friday, July 12, 2013
Faith In The Mystery
Fear and ignorance go hand in hand. One will never be found without the other. Fear causes ignorance, and ignorance causes fear. Together they are the parents of hate, all hate. This is a key principle that can help us unlock so much understanding inside of ourselves. It gives us a means to overcome all our fears, and our ignorance at the same time.
Well, "means" might not be the right word. It's more like a hint that can lead us to the means. The means itself is a mystery - in fact, it is THE Mystery that the Christian Bible calls "God in man", but also goes by many other names around the world and throughout history. It implies faith and understanding the same way that certainty implies fear and ignorance. But, even though it is by definition, a mystery, it is 100% available to everyone at all times. The hint tells us which direction we must look to find it (i.e. inward), that is all. But, it can be found - or, rather, it will find us, if we only have faith in the Mystery.
(J.D. 6-14-13)
Well, "means" might not be the right word. It's more like a hint that can lead us to the means. The means itself is a mystery - in fact, it is THE Mystery that the Christian Bible calls "God in man", but also goes by many other names around the world and throughout history. It implies faith and understanding the same way that certainty implies fear and ignorance. But, even though it is by definition, a mystery, it is 100% available to everyone at all times. The hint tells us which direction we must look to find it (i.e. inward), that is all. But, it can be found - or, rather, it will find us, if we only have faith in the Mystery.
(J.D. 6-14-13)
Saturday, July 6, 2013
The Good Fight
It doesn't bother me, or even surprize me, that some people see me as something less than human. I completely understand the need to try to separate ourselves from things we don't understand. It's much easier to deny our connection to reality, and to each other, than it is to face the truth; that we are not only just connected, but inextricably intertwined.
Denying our intimate relationship with anyone we meet is a survival mechanism. In nature it provides the premise for evolution. It establishes a boundary of conflict necessary for a struggle that results in adaption and growth as a species.
So when someone insists that I am an "evil monster" (because of the things I did in the past) and I don't deserve to live, all they are really doing is establishing a basis for conflict that will, I believe, ultimately result in our growth, together.
I'm not saying they are right. But, neither are they wrong. So long as one person sees me as a monster, then for that one person that is exactly what I am. It's not up to them, of course, to resolve the conflict they create; nature will take care of that all by its self, one way or another. That's what I genuinely believe, and it is why I can find peace even in the midst of extreme conflict. I know that in the end we are all fighting the same fight, and I like to think it's a good one.
(J.D. 6-16-13)
Denying our intimate relationship with anyone we meet is a survival mechanism. In nature it provides the premise for evolution. It establishes a boundary of conflict necessary for a struggle that results in adaption and growth as a species.
So when someone insists that I am an "evil monster" (because of the things I did in the past) and I don't deserve to live, all they are really doing is establishing a basis for conflict that will, I believe, ultimately result in our growth, together.
I'm not saying they are right. But, neither are they wrong. So long as one person sees me as a monster, then for that one person that is exactly what I am. It's not up to them, of course, to resolve the conflict they create; nature will take care of that all by its self, one way or another. That's what I genuinely believe, and it is why I can find peace even in the midst of extreme conflict. I know that in the end we are all fighting the same fight, and I like to think it's a good one.
(J.D. 6-16-13)
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