05-19-2019, 01:58 PM
redchartreuse, there are two meanings of "free will". One is the conventional meaning: you are free to choose.
The second meaning of free will, as used in the Ra material, is: not knowing the truth of the oneness of all, which enables entities to make choices which would not be made if the oneness of all had been self-evident (as it is when we are not veiled).
You seem to be speaking about the first meaning, so let's focus on that. You are correct that free will is always constrained: we are Infinite Creator bound within an enormous number of conceptual "shells", which include everything we perceive around us, as well as our bodies, minds, emotions. We exist within a world designed by our Logos. It comes with laws, including spiritual laws, emotional laws, laws of physics. He created this game, and we are playing as characters in it. This is infinitely more interesting than if we had been left to stare at a blank screen and use our free will to doodle on it as we wished.
However, within the game, we are absolutely free to choose how to respond to all the stimuli presented to our awareness. Yes, of course we have impulses and biases - most obviously, the biological drives for food, water, sex, etc, and a myriad psychological drives and biases, many of which come from our unconscious as a result of unresolved trauma (old unprocessed catalyst). As a result, we can find ourselves experiencing strong anger, or sadness, or fear and anxiety, etc., and various personality configurations and traits; and each of these will "pull" us toward (or away from) particular choices. This seems to be what you're describing when you argue that we do not have free will.
The most important thing to understand here is none of that is deterministic. When a true second-density animal experiences an impulse, it has no capacity to reflect on that and choose to go against it; we do. We can have very strong lust, or fear, or sadness, and yet force ourselves to act against them: ie, refrain from cheating on our spouse; march forward into the line of enemy fire in a war; force ourselves to get up and get dressed and go to work, etc. We can work "smarter, not harder" and, instead of choosing to use willpower, find love in the situation, find peace, work on changing our emotional state.
This is free will. It is the capacity to go along with, or against the various pushes and pulls on our various natures (physical, emotional, mental). Adding in the second meaning of free will: with the help of the veil, it is the capacity to either become part of the harmonious original plan created by the Logos, or go against it into hate, aggression, further separation. It is up to us. Our impulses do not drive us. They make very compelling suggestions.
The second meaning of free will, as used in the Ra material, is: not knowing the truth of the oneness of all, which enables entities to make choices which would not be made if the oneness of all had been self-evident (as it is when we are not veiled).
You seem to be speaking about the first meaning, so let's focus on that. You are correct that free will is always constrained: we are Infinite Creator bound within an enormous number of conceptual "shells", which include everything we perceive around us, as well as our bodies, minds, emotions. We exist within a world designed by our Logos. It comes with laws, including spiritual laws, emotional laws, laws of physics. He created this game, and we are playing as characters in it. This is infinitely more interesting than if we had been left to stare at a blank screen and use our free will to doodle on it as we wished.
However, within the game, we are absolutely free to choose how to respond to all the stimuli presented to our awareness. Yes, of course we have impulses and biases - most obviously, the biological drives for food, water, sex, etc, and a myriad psychological drives and biases, many of which come from our unconscious as a result of unresolved trauma (old unprocessed catalyst). As a result, we can find ourselves experiencing strong anger, or sadness, or fear and anxiety, etc., and various personality configurations and traits; and each of these will "pull" us toward (or away from) particular choices. This seems to be what you're describing when you argue that we do not have free will.
The most important thing to understand here is none of that is deterministic. When a true second-density animal experiences an impulse, it has no capacity to reflect on that and choose to go against it; we do. We can have very strong lust, or fear, or sadness, and yet force ourselves to act against them: ie, refrain from cheating on our spouse; march forward into the line of enemy fire in a war; force ourselves to get up and get dressed and go to work, etc. We can work "smarter, not harder" and, instead of choosing to use willpower, find love in the situation, find peace, work on changing our emotional state.
This is free will. It is the capacity to go along with, or against the various pushes and pulls on our various natures (physical, emotional, mental). Adding in the second meaning of free will: with the help of the veil, it is the capacity to either become part of the harmonious original plan created by the Logos, or go against it into hate, aggression, further separation. It is up to us. Our impulses do not drive us. They make very compelling suggestions.
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