One aspect of religious philosophy is the idea of ‘free choice’; whether the universe is deterministic or random. It appears deterministic. You can understand the root of this aspect when you contemplate the idea of ‘time’. If you go back in time in your mind you see a beginning and when you go forward in time you see an end. The universe appears to be one giant machine grinding away according to rules we’re still trying to figure out.
So, in terms of us as a single individual, it’s not a great leap to suggest that our actions have a beginning and an end and they are not random but predetermined. Also, we are biological creatures and our behavior is affected both by nature and nurture. That our actions are only controlled by the laws of nature. But I think that notion is limited.
As a witness to creation, if we get past our ego, we know we are a sense organ of the universe. So we need to look at it in terms of energy flow. Because, when you boil it down, that is what our existence really is all about; the flow of energy. The cool thing is that we transmit energy and we receive energy. Some energy is absorbed, some reflected. But we do have a choice. We can decide what energy to transmit, what energy to absorb. So, many of our actions may appear predetermined while others are based on the stimuli we receive via our sense organs.
For example, we need to eat. So, eating is deterministic. But I doubt our choice of food is predetermined. We can make healthy choices or we can eat junk food. We know we have to keep our physical shell in good shape if we want a long life but there are many different ways to do that. Or we can choose to do nothing and leave it to fate.
Therefore, like most things in our life, there is a spectrum of choice; actions that are predetermined and actions that are up to us.
That’s why it is incumbent upon each individual to be aware of the energy they absorb and transmit. Do you want to absorb and transmit love or hate?
The choice is up to you!
