Can I Change My Destiny If There is No Free Will?

If there is no free will, how can I change my destiny? In this discussion, the questioner is struggling with these seemingly contradictory concepts. He feels stuck in the belief that there is no free will and asks Rupert why it feels like he has complete freedom to make choices if free will is an illusion?
Rupert explains that the consciousness that is the essence and nature of your mind is completely free, unconditioned and unqualified. To feel that consciousness is not free is based on an illusion - the belief that consciousness is limited. So although it is true that there is no self at the heart of mind orchestrating the mind’s choices and activities, nevertheless, the mind makes a choice out of its freedom. And its freedom is borrowed from its essence - namely, consciousness - whose nature is freedom.
Thus, you can either feel that you have no free will at all or that you have complete freedom to choose. If you feel you have no free will, that is tantamount to being totally surrendered to God. Or you can take the approach: I am completely free and I want to use my mind in service of truth and love and beauty. To take either of those approaches would be equally valid, true and effective.
Timestamps:
0:13 The Belief That There Is No Free Will
4:15 Do I Have the Freedom to Choose?
5:10 Is There a Self That Orchestrates Our Choices?
5:30 Can I Create My Own Destiny?
This clip was taken from one of Rupert's weekly webinars.
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[@MayaLove1976]

I love the quote my will is Gods will. We may appear to make choices, decisions, have preferences, but it’s really coming from ‘above’ which is so liberating.. ❤

[@grahamtrave1709]

I agree entirely with your concept .

[@grahamtrave1709]

I agree entirely with your concept . Rameash Balsekar explains the belief in free will very clearly. Rupert is very unclear in this clip and seems to be confused.

[@ccr7712]

So all the horrible stuff that ever happened, for example concentration camps during the Second World War, torture, murders, etc. is the God doing that ? That’s not liberating at all. That’s not the God that I would worship . Don’t get brainwashed. Good luck

[@satya_te_pratijane]

How? What if you are at the receiving end of bad things?

[@leelanjoy]

@@grahamtrave1709 Yesss...he offer two choices, he is unclear.

[@carmenl163]

Schopenhauer said: "Man can do what he wants, but he cannot want what he wants."

[@othernewsid2]

Oho...thats where peter o tooles quote in L of A comes from.

[@naturalisted1714]

Robin, We do make choices, but we do not get to decide what our wants are. I want to live. I didn't choose to want to live, I'm programed by genes to want to live. If it were up to me to pick which wants I would have, I'd have to want that want .. but what makes me want one want over another? The answer would be _another want_ ... So _wants_ are what dictate which things we choose in life. We don't _decide_ to be attracted to who we're attracted to. We simply _are_ attracted to them for unconscious biological reasons. Those biological things are our masters. They drive our every choice. They keep us alive, but for many, they cause them to die... Because nature isn't perfect. There's nothing bad about everything having a prior cause. For the most part things work out well enough... As Alan Watts said, "We are the universe experiencing itself"... So there's just the universe-which has billions upon billions of locations of "consciousness" all throughout itself. Experience was happening long before the experience called "Robin" began, and experience (with other names) will be going on after the "Robin" experience fades out. You can sort of imagine the universe to be like a brain, and each of us are like synapses in it. Just because a synapse isn't working anymore doesn't mean the brain stopped having experience. I suggest reading Sam Harris's book, "Free Will". And look up a guy named Tom W. Clark. You'll grow past all of this.

[@timjonesvideos]

Great question! The elephant in the room of spiritual growth for centuries!

[@brigitteh4825]

I think Rupert's answer is acknowledging that the illusory self needs to believe in free will in order to make sense of the world, to give itself a purpose, and feel it has a sense of control. In reality, the one true consciousness has the only freedom.

[@ccr7712]

But how the illusory self can do it, if there is no free will 😂, his answers don’t make sense, it’s a old trick gurus use for thousands of years, they give you answer which can be interpreted in two completely opposite meanings. He shut be honest and say that he doesn’t know, but then he wouldn’t be a Guru

[@brigitteh4825]

@@ccr7712 There may be no free will but people still believe they have it and they also believe that they are the doers in this life. There are two answers: one relates to the illusory ego and the other to consciousness, the only reality.

[@ccr7712]

@@brigitteh4825 but if the first answer relates to something illusory(which means not real) then the only correct answer would be that there is no free will, why doesn’t he just say it to his followers. I think it’s because lots of people would stop listening to him, which translates to less income 🫤

[@brigitteh4825]

@@ccr7712 Because it’s not helpful to some people if they believe “there is no free will”. They could feel incapacitated and despondent, imo. This is why Rupert says there are two paths and pick the one that suits you most.

[@ccr7712]

@@brigitteh4825 ultimately if there is no free will they don’t have a option to pick, it’s just a dishonest communication from him.

[@IAMLiamwalker4444]

Awareness of Being is Pure Freedom

[@grahamtrave1709]

I think Rameash Balsekar explains the concept of a belief in free will more clearly. He would always say “do as you think and feel like doing, but do not become attached to an outcome which is not ever in your control”. Not my will but thy will be done oh Lord. Rupert seems confused about this to me as I have free will as opposed to I surrender to thy will be done. It’s just advancing a dual concept.

[@janaravi5362]

I love this explanation...our free will is borrowed from consciousness (Divine Will). Thank you, Rupert ❤

[@doublewings8273]

This is a topic even the great non-dualistic Rupert Spira had to resort on dual approaches. No disrespect here, as few could elucidate this better. We truly have no free will and are totally free at the same time depending on what is one's point of reference. Yet speaking of this point of reference itself is contradictory to the teaching and what we are trying to achieve. I took the path of total surrender as this is so much easier, at least for me, and God's grace has worked through me phenomenally.

[@TheAffrojutty]

I’d like to hear Rupert’s thoughts on these words of Ramanna…. “Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.”

[@michaelrainbow4203]

What does "remaining silent" look like? What does it mean to remain silent while making choices, for instance? Choice itself involves a stirring of mental activity.

[@TheAffrojutty]

@@michaelrainbow4203 Obviously I’m not Ramanna but my understanding of remaining silent is to actually not be guided by the ‘stirring of mental activity’. The mind cannot comprehend making so called ‘choices’ any other way. When one is silent they are guided by the quiet intuitive voice of the true self. No mental activity required 🙏❤️

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

@@TheAffrojutty Yes the vibration of free will is not a mental construct and this is why this gentlemen is stuggling, he is trying to create it from his mental perspective hence why he feels stuck.

[@michaelrainbow4203]

@@TheAffrojutty Very interesting to think about. Even acknowledging that you are not Ramana is an acknowledgement of a uniqueness and individuality that is largely defined by thought process -- a refinement of mental activity -- a directing of mental activity. Ramana had (as we all do) a unique signature because of the way he expressed what was flowing in him and through him. Does the mental activity direct itself, or is there a uniqueness beneath the mental activity that chooses thoughts like an artist chooses his paint and which colors to mix? It is silence which makes discernment possible, but who is it that is discerning, and what is it that is being discerned? From a non-dual perspective, can there really be a separation between the two. Are there two? All aboard the thought train! ;-)

[@asmallabadi]

A man can do whatever he wishes to but not all of his wishes.... So it means he doesn't have complete free will as such! Hope it helps.... 🙏

[@jacquesboutelet8643]

Todays talk confirms what I read this morning I SURRENDER MY WILL TO GOD !

[@theresaroberts8818]

What a BEAUTIFUL SENTIMENT---Use your MIND as a TOOL to express the QUALITIES of FREEDOM that is CONSCIOUSNESS, and stay away from the LIMITING BELIEFS of the MIND (Thoughts), BODY, and WORLD that keep us TRAPPED in NEGATIVE ILLUSIONS!!!!

[@leelanjoy]

There is no mind, who can express anything

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

But I'm a short male..so I can't exactly go into a nightclub and attract bitches can I?..

[@zoltanb1221]

I've been struggling with my mind to be more conscious and free of thoughts, however, now this second option is liberating.

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

This gentleman's feeling of stuckness itself, is telling him he is not in that free place that truly represents him.

[@tommartin9612]

You have control rowing your Boat gently down the stream!!! But the stream is still the Boss!!!

[@brigitteh4825]

Imo, you do not have control rowing your boat. Mind makes all choices.

[@tommartin9612]

@@brigitteh4825 Perhaps!

[@kennethwilliams4169]

Nice one Robin!

[@-Boundless-]

There was a young man who said “Damn, For it certainly seems that I am, A creature that moves In determinate grooves, I’m not even a bus - I’m a tram.” 😂

[@frontsidegrinder6858]

My answer as the instructor would be just stillness and calmness, no words at all, so the asker would enlight himself immediatley or maybe later.

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

Yes to be free is to have nothing at all in our way.

[@taghiabiri3489]

Please, Rupert, more of this, I‘m confused. ❤

[@juju-vl7oj]

I've struggled with contemplating free will as well. Finding Rupert and non duality was not something "i" did. Circumstances of life and of the mind drew it to me, and it's become clear to me that all of my thoughts and subsequent actions are like that. So it seems that the recognition of my true nature or the veiling of it is completely left to chance. The seeking of truth can feel futile and as if I have no say whether I recognize it or not.

[@mikefoster5277]

Nothing is left to chance. The whole of life is happening naturally, spontaneously and inevitably - the universe is unfolding precisely as it should and as it must. Why seek the truth when you _are_ the truth? This entire existence is the sacred and eternal expression of yourself in each and every moment.

[@serban2139]

I see. Did you choose whether to feel joyful or not during the inevitable course of actions that led you to this point? What about from now on?

[@mikefoster5277]

@@serban2139 If all is one - that is, if everything is oneself - then why would anyone need to choose anything in life? Choice is merely the result of confusion - of not knowing one's true nature. The true path is a choiceless one.

[@serban2139]

@@mikefoster5277 So if there is clarity...there really isn't a choice...or a need to think of a choice...or something to choose from?

[@mikefoster5277]

@@serban2139 How could there be? Multiple options must imply the confusion of duality - the chooser and his/her choices.

[@BubbleGendut]

My Paraphrase of what Rupert said Consciousness is the essence and nature of mind and is completely free. The freedom of consciousness is at the disposal of your mind. Use your mind in the service of that freedom. Purpose of the mind is to express that unlimited quality of freedom. No individual entity makes choices the mind makes choices out of conscious freedom. There is no self at the heart of mind orchestrating the minds choices and activities. The minds freedom comes from its essence which is consciousness & it’s nature is freedom. There are two paths which can be adopted follow the one that feels right for you. 1. Feel that you have no free will and you have surrendered 100% to God and you don’t mind anything that life brings you 2. Or You have total complete freedom and use your mind in the service of truth, love and beauty. For me Path 2 feels right but it’s necessary to my drop the mental resistance, the intellectual questioning, the constant seeking and just allow Being, the essence to come & work through you. It’s like removing the protective cover from your projector and letting the light hit the screen.

[@messengerescape]

I looked up and it's 1.11.

[@I-Am-Aware]

Thank you, Rupert. Once again, you have related the issue regarding our ultimate freedom (as Consciousness) with so much clarity. With this in mind, I also like what was stated by U. S. Andersen, in Three Magic Words: "There are only two things you can do for yourself. One is conception, and the other is conviction. All the work of creation with another than you. For no man is responsible for anything in his life except his thought and his belief." 🙏

[@carmenl163]

The thing is: you cannot choose your thoughts. As Rupert has stated before: "if we could choose our thoughts, we all would be happy. We would love everything we do and have because it would be insane to think differently."

[@I-Am-Aware]

@@carmenl163 Thanks for sharing. I do believe, however, that we can choose our focus.

[@sheepshearer2705]

We can recognize our thoughts, acknowledge them but not dwell on the negative. And focus or replace them with more positive ones. Nobody can never sense negativity in some form. It's what we do with it. Accept, don't dwell, replace and move forward positively with love and peace ❤

[@davidhollyfield5148]

He made that choice before he even knew it. Because consciousness is faster than mind.

[@jordanlafontaine8738]

The way I understand it is - Voluntary or involuntary, controlled or automatic, are just a qualitative, relative, difference. Both are expressions of Free Will. Our level of voluntary control is limited as a human mind, but that limitation is self-imposed. Maybe there are minds/realities where everything can be voluntarily controlled, like in a lucid dream. But then we wouldnt't be living a conventional human life.

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

Yes oneness has to impose its own limitations or boundaries to create the experience of a "self" and "others". If it did not create that experience of one thing being relative to another it would have no experience at all.

[@kwest84]

I don't really agree with needing to choose between two extreme views (either giving up free will completely or having complete free will). Instead I would argue for a middle path; that the human consciousness is partially free, but only within the bounderies of the physical nature in which it presents itself. And that physical nature is bound to it's limitations by genetics, environment and experience. I can't choose to be attracted to men because my physical body dictates that I must be attracted to women. It's not a choice I can make. And having that acceptance of not being in control of every feeling, action, thought or opinion... that is definitely liberating, and that is definitely freedom. But that freedom doesn't exist within the limits of human consciousness, which is bound by nature. That freedom exists beyond human consciousness. It's accepting human consciousness, and understanding that we're not that consciousness. We're just experiencing that consciousness, that human being. We're not actually that human being, that's the real illusion. Neither is a cat a cat, or an elephant an elephant.

[@ToriZealot]

Rupert is coming from a place of absolute freedom of unlimited consciousness. When it comes to physics and your body, sure there are limitations.

[@aashirwadjaiswal3952]

You don't understand what he is talking about...you just have collected some words and taking pleasure playing with them.

[@johnnywlittle]

Me neither

[@terefefeyssa877]

KWest: You totally misunderstood things because words being used. When one says, I gave up my free will and surrender to God,if it is real resolution, there is no person to give up or surrender. It is a total melting in the heart. Free will is very sticky point. If you ask yourself who is the chooser or not chooser, both have no meaning. Are choosing the next thought what You are thinking? Mind is not like a store you choose and pick thoughts one after another. If that was the case, I would have chosen happy thoughts all my life.

[@theoocahain7780]

🙂 There is Nothing in your physical body, as you call it. It is an inanimate object that does Not understand, and does not make its own decisions. It is not sentient; it simply takes in, through the senses, what is "outside". You, however, are Aware that you are not attracted to men, even though your body is female (if I understand correctly). That is a Thought that you are Aware of. You are also aware that you keep repeating, consistently, This thought in the present. That thought is either one your mind made (and has forgotten), or it is a thought from your mind in service of Infinite Consciousness. You need to grasp that you are being dreamed by Infinite Consciousness. You are one of the MANY dreams that Infinite Consciousness is having at this moment, which is, Sleeping. This proven to you every night when you go to sleep. You make a dream world, make yourself an independent observer of that world and have your experience. But You "went" to sleep. You are Sleeping. However, you forget the fact that you are, and are involved in your dream. Now, you awake from Your dream and think you are in the "real" world, not realizing that you are now an independent observer in One of the Many dreams Infinite Consciousness is having at this exact moment. Sages are simply those dreams in which Infinite Consciousness has become Lucid in that particular dream; it is aware that it is dreaming that dream. Likewise, Infinite Consciousness has Knowingly entered a dream with Full Lucidity. Krishna and Jesus Maharshi are examples of this. Either, you are the Dream, with all the highs and lows and suffering, and having to tolerate conditions, likes and dislikes and the choices that you made, or you are the Dreamer, which is Infinite Consciousness, which dreams the dream that you are. Rupert does give a wise option of using your mind to put forth truth, love and beauty in service of Infinite Consciousness, which is pretty good. Infinite Consciousness dreams All the dreams, that people think is Their life. Just a matter of choosing which viewpoint you take. To be the Dreamer would have as a necessary step to surrender to God, as Rupert correctly states. Or there are the meditation steps that lead you to the Same destination as the oath of Surrender.

[@robertdermaku1]

Going back to our being we can manipulate matter therefore attract the reality we wish to have…. Everything comes to life from that space, imagination/visualisation and then comes the word! We are the creator itself so we can create our experience….”as within so without”…. “As above so below” To recapitulate… we have NO free will if we dont know our true selves and act from our ego/finite mind… The free will comes from consciousness where everything else rises from. Only through that space/being we can then manifest/manipulate our external experience (matter)

[@looopy2u]

The conflict of trying to control the appearing reality. It takes time to trust we are that in which all appears.

[@gracefrazier4775]

Gratitude.

[@pepacastillo408]

The two approaches are the same, both are consciousness

[@nondualvictor]

Well said

[@annasun_art]

Love Rupert!

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

I hate life...imshort and ugly...and no "free will" can change that 😢😢

[@levimark548]

"We don't choose what we think, we think what we choose."

[@mindfulkayaker7737]

Where is freedom? In the clouds that are forced to drift according to de direction and intensity of the wind or in the vastness of the blue sky that accept un disturbed the appearance or disappearance of all kind of clouds. That is the freedom of consciousness to which Rupert refers.

[@carlavela7106]

Consciousness is completely free. But the little mind, the little me, the one that believes it is a body, has no free will.

[@davidstirling7992]

Fate and free will exist because of each other, not in spite of each other. One cannot exist without the other. Every free will decision creates a new fate. Make more positive decisions then your fate will present you with more positive choices. Make negative decisions and you fate will deliver you more negative options and decisions. Like the crest of a wave one cannot have the crest without the trough they are one and the same. It is in materialistically dividing the two we become easily confused. In times of dire need we start small, making positive decisions, over easy things that we know we can control! Jordan Peterson would tell you to tidy your room. Then we move forward from there staying true and making decisions based in self care and eventually in that for others. We do the small stuff through free will. Fate then does the hard work and thank god for that.

[@devanshudesperado]

In all we only have one thing, i.e free will.

[@shirinvenkat]

So beautifully explained by Shri Rupertji so brilliant only a Selfrealised Being can put it so simply and clearly. Jai Ho

[@spiritlightpajic7299]

☺️I choose to use mind in service of Truth Love💖and Beauty🙏Thank Y☺️u for sharing🌺Rupert🌈

[@StephenGrew]

Beautiful

[@innerlight617]

This gentleman still believes he is a separate individual.That this individual has a personal destiny which he would like to change.But as we are all aspects or manifestations of a single indivisible whole or reality and our sense of separation,of individuality ,is due to an illusion,there is nobody here to have or not to have free will. Αll happens by itself, including the idea of being a doer.

[@michaelrainbow4203]

The man in the video is as much a unique individual as he is the one undifferentiated consciousness that is the foundation of all uniqueness.

[@ErikAnkan73]

Even if he raised his hand by his own will. Did he *really* raise it according to his free will? Rupert created and gave him that option to raise his hand or not. And did Rupert really choose to ask that question?

[@PaulJonesy]

I’d say no.

[@MrJamesdryable]

1:22 Oh snap! I love you Rupert, but I have to agree. If you say the self is an illusion, who is it that has free will? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

The illusion of free will is just as "real" as the illusion of the self. It is all just an illusion but freely created.

[@samc6231]

Dear Rupert, I love your work! This is my take on this issue; Free will never appears to exist from the second and third person perspectives, actions appear rigorously deterministic due to one viewing the elements of causation already established by the ground of Being. However from the first person one always feels the experience of free will, as one is not subject to the causation but one with it, and one with the ground of Being that created the causation and which calculates it. So therefore it always feels like the self is doing it. Or alternatively, the consciousness computer, which is the void, freely creates deterministic programs which it then runs as it's modes, our bodies. Like apps. But actually, all the programs are only the computer, which is based in pure consciousness, freely running the programs that are of itself, and thereby enacting all appearances.

[@bozaya]

Suffering... any type of suffering, comes from grasping.

[@sapien6230]

If free will isn't logically possible then it raises concerns about the future of artificial intelligence. We will need to be very careful about giving them freedom of autonomy.

[@davidhollyfield5148]

The choice is between Bhakti or Gnani depending on your temperament and ultimately there is no difference.

[@gridcoregilry666]

very wise

[@julie4740]

The warrior knows that the fight is within his own mind, that’s where the war resides, till eventually the battle gets exposed that the self was in control, chuckling to its self ❤

[@jacquesboutelet8643]

An active act of surrender to God,preferring nothing than his will then you discover peace and joy ……let yourself be modelled by God so that an interior perfection f which God is the unique author

[@CarbonsHDTuts]

I’d argue that raising your hand on command is not a test of free will 😏 Ultimately You are both the spectator and the player. I feel trying to shove someone to believing one or the other is not understanding the middle way

[@messengerescape]

The ego is the restrictive program paradoxically defining free will and putting it in a box. Letting go of the illusionary "self" lifts the lid and opens up the infinite mind of the all.

[@leelanjoy]

Good question Robin. If there is only consciousness, then all decisions are made by consciousness. Rupert is not consistent. He says there is no separate self, but short after he gives the separate self room for a decision....and not because of concession to Robin

[@AlainDelon273]

Wonder! ❤️

[@henrike34]

Go back to your being.it’s as simple as raising your hand. I love that ❤

[@awakenotwoke7949]

There’s no free will. There is the appearance of free will.

[@lovaticdreamer14]

There is complete free will, consiousness is inherently free

[@awakenotwoke7949]

@@lovaticdreamer14Consciousness's inherent freedom precludes choice. Free will is an unnecessary attribute. The Thinker only thinks there is.

[@ravindramurthy3486]

How can a question such as "Can I Change My Destiny if there is No Free Will" arise if you have TRULY recognized it as a FACT, that There is No Free Will?

[@ghanem.sbaih87]

WoW ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@lunkerjunkie]

I'm a little confused by this, but it sounds like a trust issue. letting go of control is dangerous according to the culture I've internalized.

[@timg624]

Words only get in the way

[@joajoajb]

Rupert's intentions may seem harmless and can be perceived as such by many, who are sincerely interested in wanting to understand The Nature of Existence as IT really IS. Picking up one belief after another and presenting it as a certainty, is often born out of religious ignorance and dishonesty. And, it can and does bring more confusions and troubles as time goes by. There was a time, when, Rupert often used a book metaphor to show his belief about Reality or Existence. The metaphor says, all the pages, chapters, and stories are already all there, already written, but, a finite mind can only read one page at a time. In other words, Rupert believes, everything is already predetermined. It seems he no longer uses the metaphor anymore. Maybe he has abandoned that belief and picked up a different belief to suit his needs. And, it's OK. It's ok to acknowledge a change in one's beliefs, to admit errors, and mistakes, but, refusing to acknowledge one's ignorance in the long run, would most likely cause not only more confusion, but,more damages than service just as what the blind religious beliefs have always done to humanity. We can never be too careful , concerning the Nature of Existence as IT really IS in and of ITSELF, whatever IT may BE, not just for our own sakes, but for the sakes of all life forms and beyond.

[@nobodyreally]

My ("I" / "self") will = ego bondage. Not my will but thine. = Surrender to what is.

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

I can't....because that path is sh1t..

[@nobodyreally]

@@RammingSpeed-lk8kk egoity

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

@@nobodyreally so here's my situation..I'm ugly and short....what am I supposed to do with my life?...knowing I'm not normal

[@nobodyreally]

@@RammingSpeed-lk8kk Seek inner development because right now something else is running “your” life and you think it’s you… (The film “Revolver”. paints a good picture of this). Know thyself and “your problems” will dissolve, or at the very least you will know what to do with them with them when they arise.

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

@@nobodyreally well...I have 2 main issues.....1. I can't identify truth(from the immersion of lies I find myself in, in this enviroment...because I've been lied to too many times(gaslit)). As a result I feel like a victim who can't trust anyone or anything. 2. I believe I'm probably ugly and unattractive... So tell me how do I find a foundation for my life when I cannot even start to build from a firm foundation of Capital T Truth?

[@paritoshgoswamihhy8100]

Mind loves to live in boundaries and it itself being limited ,wants to rain over consciousness which(consciousness) never knows anything other than itself. Good🙏 morning friends.

[@IAMLiamwalker4444]

All of Experience Whatsoever is enabled by the Awareness of its Being without which it would not Be.

[@StephenS-2024]

Instead of the word illusion, use the word " harbegunk. " This life is only a harbegunk. Does that help?

[@zatoichiable]

On the contrary, without choices there would be no free will....

[@mouthearnose]

3:50 Be practical. If you find yourself lost in sorrow or suffering, use your experience to remind you to trace your way back to being, rather than engaging in an intellectual debate. 7:54 No question of being stuck now

[@markallinson8350]

No poet has the free will to write inspired poetry: "Poetry is not like reasoning, a power to be exerted according to the determination of the will. A man cannot say, “I will compose poetry.” The greatest poet even cannot say it; for the mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness; this power arises from within, like the colour of a flower which fades and changes as it is developed, and the conscious portions of our natures are unprophetic either of its approach or its departure." - Shelley, Defence of Poetry

[@RobbeyT1]

I'm with the questioner. What I realised is that there is no free will or destiny because we are an expression of the One event (Life/God). When Rupert asked him to raise his hand, Life/God is being Rupert asking to raise a hand, and life/God is the questioner raising a hand....there is only the Oneness acting as apparent Two. No individual is choosing to do these things, it's the flow of life/God or spontaneous "happening". We are an expression of the One Great event (Life/God), we are the dancers within the dance. If you say "Your mind" or "My mind", then you fall back into duality and a sense of separation from the flow or the dance of life.

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

Why did God punish me with being short and ugly tho 😢😢

[@RobbeyT1]

@@RammingSpeed-lk8kk That's just thoughts thinking that, it's a story thoughts are telling you, but you aren't those thoughts. Where did those thoughts come from? Thoughts were initiated from conditioning you received from society and outside influences ever since childhood... they were PUT there by others and you chose to adopt them as your own! Not one thought you have is telling you the truth, all thoughts are pure lies... it's all a fairy tale story that your mind THINKS is truth. You (as the true Self) are neither short nor ugly, you cannot be defined in shape or form. "You" are infinite and eternal consciousness, "You" were never born and will never die. "You" don't have a life because no one has a personal, independent life. There's only the one infinite life or intelligent aliveness... This aliveness, this Being-ness, this pure feeling of "I am" consciousness... is the divine Source, God.. and "You" are that. Who cares what thoughts are saying? Thoughts are lies and are Not the true "You". Observe thoughts as they arise. Search on KZbin for a three part meeting; Terrance Stephens "Don't forget" Blessings 🙏

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

@@RobbeyT1 Dude I hope you are right..God I'm so sad and alone!!..I wish there was some LIGHT in my life!....if you are telling the TRUTH then, logically, you are that LIGHT! If you are that LIGHT then God bless you Sir.. But if you are wrong(and I sincerely hope you are not wrong), then you are THE DARKNESS and just another liar..

[@RammingSpeed-lk8kk]

@@RobbeyT1 my first memory was I was in my room playing...probably about 3 year old.....and it was the FIRST time I thought with clarity and lucidity and it was it...."oh...I'm here now...."...and I kinda already had "back knowledge " of who my mum, dad and family were.....as if the information was in my subconscious but it all just came together....and I knew I had to walk downstairs....it was just weird......weird how I just became self aware......I didn't remember anything before that point but did have feelings/instincts of familiarity(if that makes sense?)

[@antonlarm8178]

It is true that there is no person choosing thoughts. There is no seperate being, cut of from everything else with an own free will who is "choosing" thoughts, that is the illusion. The thoughts appearing IS however the free will of the one and only consciousness.

[@mauriceforget7869]

When you're born, you emerge in situations (familly, environnement, social ect.). You can chose certain options, but you have to survive. So you can accept that it is your "karma" and believe. But what if there was no Karma but the dynamic of infinite possibilitys?

[@em945]

And no one is talking about the elephant in the room?

[@minimum20mins]

Have free will and change your destiny .

[@cristinatataru5432]

♥️

[@bardoteachings]

From 5:12 - is it a Bhakti vs Jnana discussion? I have no doubt that two lead to the same thing but how is "temperament" or "preference" "being pre-installed"? And why does Francis say that every jnani is a bhakta but not every bhakta is a jnani?

[@quantumhealingtools]

What is the date this video is from?

[@AshaBNair-hi2hr]

So if one completely surrenders to God’s will then if one has to take a decision on job or anything important do we let the mind take the decision with the second option path that Rupert said here if so how and if not how to surrender the decisions too to God’s will please can anyone make me understand completely 🙏🏻

[@kathyryan7611]

💖💖💖

[@kathleenwharton2139]

We are Body and Spirit. Spirit calls the shots..Body follows. Spirit made decisions before it came into the Body. So if the Body decides something..it will not be done..unless it was already Decided by Spirit! Spirit’s Will Be Done! Spirit is the Life Force that comes into a Body when it is born..And leaves when it dies. You can see this plainly when knowing a person and then seeing them in the casket! Spirit is Gone!

[@Daniel_TransformationCoach]

Can I sometimes choose 1, and other times the other?

[@brigitteh4825]

Imo, yes, but you are not actually choosing anything. Consciousness makes the choice on your behalf.

[@lookmagazine2667]

Who’s choosing?!

[@TheHmmka]

🍀

[@widipermono854]

🙏🙏🙏

[@vinsee2002]

But if Rupert never presented the question of either raising the hand or not raising the hand, then the questioner wouldn't have been aware of the option in the first place to either decide or not decide.. It always seems to go back to that beautiful quote by Arthur Schopenhauer which is something to the effect of " You can want what you want, but you can not will what you wanted in the first place." .. Which kind of means that you can choose based on the choices presented, but you cannot choose which choices were presented in the first place. So is that free will Or determinism? Instead of falling into western's way of reasoning wich comes with a very rigid form of binary logic, It falls more in line with Eastern logic.Similar to the Tetralema logic presented by Nagarjuna.. The answer is.. it's both and it's neither. ... and it depends on how you are defining yourself.

[@nangotoman9429]

There is no "me" as a "doer". The doer is not me or you. There is no free will, at least not the way we think about it. Having to choose to rise the hand or not wasn't a free choice, it just happened, between the 2 options his mind had been given by Rupert.

[@rupmatt]

He could have clapped his hands or simply stood up... or any number of different behaviors. The request did not necessarily dictate the gentleman's response.

[@nangotoman9429]

@@rupmatt "or any number of different behaviors" yes, and even to not participate at all, or other answers he could come up with. So it is equally limited, limited by the number of options that are presented to him or that occur to his mind. There will always be more options that will not occur to us, there will always be options left out, therefore we are "free" within a restriction

[@rupmatt]

@@nangotoman9429 I think that is only due to a human being's finite time on this earth. The mind is unlimited. There are behaviors we cannot engage it due to them being outright impossible. The person in the video could not raise three hands and keep 5 down (all attached to his body) for example. He has two hands. That doesn't mean he can't think of it and it doesn't mean that with enough time you couldn't think of possibly infinite situations. What are the limits of the mind and imagination? Humanity hasn't found those limits yet. Sure there may be restrictions based on your individual experience, but then that person will (hopefully) take understanding from new situations and come up with new ideas.

[@nangotoman9429]

@@rupmatt I (the programming) see that we are talking about human beings as a whole (body, mind, consciousness, etc.), but I (the programming) must emphasize that, on a stricter level, what we (the "center", the "real me", the "sensation of I AM") are is not the body or the ideas, we are the observer, so one cannot really think or do anything, only observe, so no matter how many ideas the mind of the human being can generate, we are not the ideas and we shall not "identify" ourselves with those ideas and actions (the true self cannot identify or do anything, the "programmed being" does). When we observe ourselves (the whole human being) we realize that we (the "I AM") never did things, they were made automatically (by the doer, the programmed). There, that being that "does" has the door open to modify its behavior by new understandigs that creates new programations. But it is not that WE (the "I AM feeling") do it, it is the programming that modifies itself through the observer. Even though the programming is part of "our human being" we should not identify with it.

[@deepakchughani2666]

In the Bhagawad Geeta, Lord Krishna tell us that we have the right to choose our actions, but we have no right to the outcome.

[@josephined8576]

YES , I CAN. There are 2 of you in your body . The ego and the soul The Ego mind does not have free will. This is called the FALSE SELF The Soul is free. This is the TRUE SELF . Choose which one you will live ,as

[@theparrot8414]

Free will is impossible as all is one. One expression. All interacts with all. There is one life. If there was free will it would mean independence from one to the other.

[@TheParakeet1999]

It's interesting how this fact of having no free will is misinterpreted from the perspective of being a person. Really if we could understand the depth and meaning of this we would live in immense peace and freedom. What this means is that whatever occurs, including thoughts that come to mind and produce actions, absolutely everything that happens is meant to be, it is perfect as in it's in alignment with the whole universe. Then, we'd feel safe and loved in life knowing that whatever happens, including pain and sorrow is meant to be and there is no "shouldn'ts", there is no more any space for shame, guilt and overthinking about what if I had done this, what if I did that, I could be doing sth else...then finally we'd stop beating ourselves up for not becoming or striving to become something. I suppose this is one way to take it, which means complete surrender but to the universe knowing it's all right, nothing is wrong.

[@TheParakeet1999]

In this guys case it would be God's will or the natural flow of life that he should feel confused about having no free will. There is no thing he can do about it, whatever he experiences is the will of this universe, not a person's will. It's what is meant to happen because all is one, so all is in alignment with the totality and we can't choose to go the other way. It's life the one that's living this life not any individual, life itself plays the role of an individual.

[@spinz7]

Can we choose our thoughts?

[@prawidlexce9300]

No. They just appear.

[@Anu-po5ml]

No..

[@AndersonHypnotherapy]

No but you can choose your actions

[@spinz7]

@@AndersonHypnotherapy but doesn’t your actions come from thoughts?

[@AndersonHypnotherapy]

@spinz7 No. Thoughts are like a mental image on a screen or a cloud passing through the sky. If you see a dark cloud you have a choice to react to it or to just observe it.

[@serban2139]

So uhm...I am free within the prison basically?

[@mauriceforget7869]

Is life an illusion?

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

Yes but our experience of it is real.

[@DannyChau7]

Each divine spark has become a slave to the human MIND, believing they are IT. Until we're able to identify our true nature of our being, we will forever be lost in this MINDSCAPE. On the ultimate level, nothing truly matters because we are already divinely perfect and getting lost in the MIND GAME is also fictional if viewed from the absolute perspective.

[@chalinobermudez3430]

He doesn’t address much depth on the topic.

[@robinaguenkel7534]

👍🇩🇪

[@bjk7797]

The choice between right and wrong ---free will

[@tHerenikoniko]

IF GOD SAY TO RUPERT, "DO THAT OR NOT, IT IS UP TO YOU"??? Was that all bullshit?

[@ccr7712]

Those two approaches that he recommended are completely opposite to each other, so pretty much he didn’t answer the question at all. Whatever you do is correct, that’s a good brainwashing technique 😵‍💫,

[@blablblaaaaaaaaa]

go back to your being it's not as simple as raising your hand,come on let's be realistic it takes years and years of dissolution by the will of the Divine,yes you are already That in reality but you are not conscious of it so it's like you are not It .

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

It is that simple just not that easy.

[@blablblaaaaaaaaa]

@@shaunhutchinson9770 yes sometimes it can be frustrating if you think that is something that you as a person can do it,when in reality that's what separate you from It .

[@shaunhutchinson9770]

@@blablblaaaaaaaaa Yes the very attempt to define free will creates a boundary between you and it.

[@blablblaaaaaaaaa]

@@shaunhutchinson9770 When is realized that there is no individual separated entity (the person) but one indivisible reality the question of freewill cease to exist,its course it's terminated .

[@dommccaffry3802]

My pheasant has diarrhoea.

[@moonglow6639]

Nope, you can't change your destiny without free will. With free will yes, maybe.

[@PeterPan-oz4sq]

Yet some more mumbo jumbo claptrap?

[@ToriZealot]

yet, you have no counterargument. Interesting.

[@PeterPan-oz4sq]

@@ToriZealot firstly you really need to end your sentence or statement with a question mark. Secondly, you’re correct, so please enlighten me?

[@PeterPan-oz4sq]

@@spinz7 I’m intrigued & curious, that’s all? Be very careful what you say though, I’ll be watching!

[@widipermono229]

🙏🙏🙏