"We have no thoughts of our own. All thoughts are implanted by the perpetual motion set into play from the beginning of creation. We are taught to believe that a thought can originate with us. It can't. The 3 dimensional system implants all our thoughts so that we then experience the reality we call life on earth, which is all suggestion, which most of us believe."
So.. What do you think? Do we have free will or no?
(I find the quote writers use of the term "which most of us believe" a bit ironic, BUT.. I think I'm familiar enough with the argument that I know what their response would be if I pointed that out. And it would probably have to do with their environment conditioning that belief into them, as opposed to it being a free will kind of thing.
I heard this argument again earlier when listening to a podcast YouTube show thingy.
It's definitely interesting to think about.. But.. I think it's impossible to prove while we're alive in these bodies/brains.
Our brains can only know so much in my opinion. There's limits, and questions like God and free will are ones I think we'll never know.
Thus the beauty and importance of freedom of religion/speech.
I personally choose to believe in free will because I prefer that option myself and think life would suck and be pointless if there was no free will and there was a "destiny" and it's all mapped out ahead of time.
I admit I can't prove it either way.. So.. I am open minded to both ideas.. I am open minded to the possibility that everything is a reaction to the environment in some kind of grandly orchestrated movie.
A GREAT metaphor for this in my opinion is the example of a lottery ball scenario where the balls that go into the machine or whatever and spin around are ultimately going to land where ever the are going to land.
So.. Even though we can't with our human minds predict how they will land, they are going to land the way they are going to land.
I guess theoretically you could say all of existence is like the lottery ball metaphor and that no matter what happens.. The balls are going to land where ever they are going to land.. Regardless of what we think about it.
Yet in light of all that in this case cause it's a weird area.. I choose to live my life like I do have free will.
I'm just not reminded of that Bill Hicks bit where he says "It's all just a ride"...
Maybe.. Maybe.. Maybe I am too invested in all this, that I want to believe I have some kind of effect, or that I could have some kind of effect.
But.. Maybe it is just a ride.. I can't say for sure.. But.. In this sense.. I wanna treat the "ride" as if I can "drive" and "steer"... Sounds like a better way of looking at it to me if you have the choice.