Does Free Will Exist?

[@danieledberg1975]

Because every "separate" thing (including the idea of a me) is interwoven with all that happens in this universe, there cannot be any free will. This is not depressive to me but very relaxing.

[@phillip3548]

Daniel Edberg going with the flow then :)

[@raz0rcarich99]

When you first experience having no free will first hand, you might think otherwise. I freaked out.

[@stefantherainbowphoenix]

Daniel Edberg Determinism is self-refuting! If everything is determined, then so is your belief in determinism. This means that "one either turns out to be a determinist or not and in neither case can we appraise the issue objectively because we are predetermined to have a view on the matter one way or the other." It also means that all decisions that were ever made have no meaning, that the Nazis had no choice but to commit their horrible, evil acts, that the brave people who fought against them had no choice either and that we can neither praise nor blame anyone for what they did because they had no choice but to to it. Another problem of determinism is that determinists want other people to believe in determinism. They believe that we ought to believe in determinism instead of this "myth" called free will. However, as the saying goes in philosophy, ought implies can. It implies that we have a choice as to whether determinism, free will or something in between is the better doctrine. Therefore, even determinists assume that we have free will. A Brief Defense of Free Will: www.101bananas.com/library2/machan.html

[@sngscratcher]

+Carl-Richard Løberg "When you first experience having no free will first hand, you might think otherwise. I freaked out." So what was the experience like? Now that you believe you don't have free will, what is your decision making process like? Do you consider the options and make a choice? Or do you just wait for the universe to tell you what to do? Do you feel like a puppet and something else is controlling you?

[@torimusblake6377]

@@stefantherainbowphoenix > If everything is determined, then so is your belief in determinism. Right, however it does not invalidate point and consistency of determinism in any way. > It also means that all decisions that were ever made have no meaning, that the Nazis had no choice but to commit their horrible, evil acts … One can find "meaning" in experience of consequences of his seeming choices and understanding. Meaning put in quotes, because it is nothing more then a superficial construct of a conditioned mind, without any truth in it. And yes, all the horrible deeds of people during all wars, in personal conflicts, to environment etc were consequences from previous causes and we are experiencing them as direct or indirect witnesses. > Another problem of determinism is that determinists want other people to believe in determinism. All of them ? Half of them ? Minority of them ? See how easily one can yield to logical fallacies and invent his virtual projection of reality - what is.

[@andreispataru7077]

I ve been struggling a lot with the concept of Free Will lately. I finally understood it. We have different experiences in this life and past lives, which condition our minds in a certain way. If we live our lives based on these conditions then there is no free will. If we live in awareness and pay no attention to these conditions then we are free from the conditions

[@hazelbaby8081]

Andrei Spataru thank you for your comment i was a bit overwhelmed

[@andreispataru7077]

@@jonasbeck9931 yes so that' why we need to create a space between thoughts. Because emotions are just an aftermath of thoughts. Thus but not adding believe towards the thoughts they become meaningless. They can't create the spiral thought emotion desire, because there is no believe going towards them anymore. I have moments when i just look at them and i laugh, and when i.do this they try for a little to take over then slowly slowly they calm down. The key for me it was to understand the difference between ignoring them and not getting entangled with them.

[@ajaysanchaniya13]

We have to make small aims to creat free will. It is very simple once we got our aim than we can use our free will on our spiritual path.

[@84sahi]

But the thoughts that created by the awareness is also pre destined. It's lovely to be outside the matrix of the mind but still the whole story of ours is a recording played like a movie we can only witness it. Looks like freewill but isn't in hindsight.

[@84sahi]

​@andreispataru7077 right even that thought to not entangled and everything is just a pre recorded movie . You can only witness it being played. It seems like freewill but we don't

[@Rhea303]

'Knowing' that one has no free will is nòt depressing at all - it is the most wonderful thing. The 'apparent separate self' enjoys 'that freedom' tremendously - and yes, it's very paradoxical.

[@MeelisMatt]

but if that view is error then people waste time in zombie state belivieing they don't have free will. even gurus are stuck in somewhere

[@colorfullyme]

@@MeelisMatt not having free will does not mean doing nothing. It means embracing your fate and being present even though you do not understand your current situation and cannot predict the future

[@RobbeyT1]

@@colorfullyme Yes, and this is where I disagree with Rupert when he says "it's our choice whether to remain as the limited separate self, or turn back to knowing our true Self". I understand and believe that consciousness chooses (through the vehicle of the limited self) what it wants to experience prior to the mind making the choice. So the mind is very slow and lags behind the choice of consciousness, and so whatever we "think" we choose, was already chosen.

[@joshboston2323]

@@RobbeyT1---You absolutely nailed it robbey. I always feel a sense of awe when I hear people phrase this so clearly as you just did. To me, your comment is an enlightent realization.

[@farmerjohn6526]

Not having free will, doesnt mean you can't choose, it just means your choice was predictable and predicated on an apriori cause.

[@gerardgrimardia3274]

8:27: = Krishnamurti;book,"The first & last freedom"

[@cosmofox]

I'm actually amazed at the level of pure sophistry on display here, which is taken to be wondrous wisdom. What Rupert shows here, is that he hasn't got the slightest idea how a separate self "chooses" to "step out" of suffering, despite "of course" being an imaginary entity. His answer is based on mere verbal logics with only loose application to actual experience.

[@renakmans3521]

Finally someone who clearly states the obvious protocol! If our separate selfs didn’t have the will to choose not to go down the “person” rabbit hole, then no one could willingly practice the teachings. All the great teachers say practice is essential so this makes sense. The separate self needs practice daily.

[@prosanjitsaha3487]

nailed it at 9:42 It's not the choice we made in the past.....

[@feelsokayman3959]

But how can I have always had the choice to be free when it has never come to my mind? If you truly always had the choice, and you knew the outcome, who would say no to the True Self? With all the conditioning that people are raised up with, how do they have the possibility to choose freedom? It seems that freedom chooses you. The question is why, and why only so few people are chosen.

[@latehare111]

It sounds as though it has entered your mind that it can be done, now. 🙂

[@lnbartstudio2713]

Thank you for: "The separate self always has the choice to step out of identification with the body-mind." Gary Webber seems to be exactly what you speak of as one neo-advaita teacher who materializes/literalizes the teaching of "no free will". If it were true the way he tells it, there would be no reason to even listen to him - or for him to speak for that matter. .

[@maxi04]

can you explain what exactly you mean ? i read/listened to his teachings as well and for me it made quite a lot of sense.

[@OnlyNewAgeMusic]

Our true Self is unlimited and infinite, I am here now between the infinite and the finite, between Silence and the Sound, between the choice-less and the choice, or beyond, prior to the idea of an unlimited or finite Self. So, even the idea of a true Self is a concession to the longing of the finite identification or illusory person...

[@chuckie5358]

The very last statement hit me like a tonne of bricks - ''moment to moment we can choose not to make that choice.' Just stop fighting - and the sperate self vanishes.

[@jackbeckett2838]

How does one practically go about stopping fighting to move towards realisation of the true self? If we say "I accept how things are" or "I am suffering therefore I am identified with the false self" without feeling it intuitively, those ARE statements of the false self - from a place of unconscious, mere belief - such as this question now. Is the answer to witness the fearful need of the ego to ask such questions and consciousness will arise from that gradual practice?

[@fbicg6719]

@@jackbeckett2838 The answer is meditation, which is staying constantly attentive to the observer instead of the observed (or dissolving in it). For practice If you like rupert spira's way of talking and teaching i suggest you try ramana maharshi's meditation technique "self enquiry". Ramana was indian advaitin sage and uses same advatin language as spira does. Read "self inquiry" instructions in this page: realization.org/p/ramana/who-am-i.james.html

[@Isen502]

I think the real question is defining what free will is. Thoughts and feelings are out of our control but it seems we have the ability to put our attention to thoughts. What about physical actions that go beyond the emotion, especially when we know something is morally wrong and we do it anyway.

[@84sahi]

The seed is thoughts on that as well. It's thoughts words ans actions - so thougjt level is first

[@DiogenesNephew]

It may seem like you have the ability to focus attention as you choose, but you'll see even that isn't the case if you pay close attention.

[@84sahi]

@@DiogenesNephew so even the effort to focus or not of doing anything is pre determined . The only thing is when we come back to self - we stay witness . But the moment we go into experiences is also pre determined. Lol we literally have no control over our lives it’s Gods play.

[@okay9906]

​@@84sahi You got it!

[@dorarebelo673]

"You see, it's not a choice that you made in the past. It is a choice that we make moment by moment. Don't think "oh I made this choice 40 years ago and I have been suffering the consequences ever since". It is a choice we make moment by moment. And therefore, moment by moment we can choose not to make that choice". Precisely. Amen. I know what my choice is and I tell you, it is worth it. Were I in contact with ordinary men, a crowd would not be paying attention to me today. It happened before... prior to meeting you. However it is not up to royal spectators to rule the timing for anything let alone the consequences.

[@yoyodunno]

I agree with him, from the perspective of the separate self, freewill/no-freewill is just a belief. From the point of the separate self we don't really know except from what we believe from science, but it's still a belief. If it's useful for you to believe in no-freewill then do so, but for some reason people like to push this belief onto others a lot in a nihilistic way.

[@psychologicalsuccess3476]

There is a universal will. A strange union of free will and determisism that comes from union with existence, It simply does what it does and as separate selves is expressed in a separate idea of free will, but there is a united deterministic way existence goes along which is a the will of it all, with no chooser just pure natural will the way water takes the roads of least resistance.

[@IT-fj1nx]

I am always shocked when people can't see this. It's utterly obvious.

[@bode7164]

I find your teachings very helpful and appreciate your calm and gentleness, thank you.

[@mariamarias7158]

wow! thank u for that! beautifully clear....and i think that in those moments we choose every day life 'freedom' in form as a body mind we are actually unconsciously seeking to choose our true self.

[@larrysherk]

Free will is one of those fabulous things that exist if you think it exists, and if you think it doesn't exist, then it most surely does not. It's related to self-esteem.

[@xe666]

Either it does or it doesnt. Its not like free will exists for one and not for the other.

[@matthewking7874]

love Rupert & his teachings

[@DiamondHeart888]

"The Choiceless Choice: In presence I see that I have never chosen or done anything, but have only been lived through. And so I have never stopped the sea or moved the sun or taken one step nearer or further away from my birthright. In accepting my divine helplessness I enjoy the freedom of never having a past or future I could call my own. Some people ask, "Who chooses, who directs this wonderful chaos?" But once in the arms of the beloved nothing matters, and I can live as though I choose and rejoice in the letting go." - Tony Parsons p.29, "The Open Secret" 🙏💗❣️☮️

[@ollyburhouse2464]

That's proper nice that mate, nearly made us tear up🙏

[@roshmet]

I can't thank you enough for this.

[@Misslotusification]

Still on it?

[@StephJ0seph]

Why is his voice so soothing? 💕

[@WillDanceAlone2U]

Belief: the key-word to understanding "self". Any concept of an existing self is a belief (with an emphasis that the word "separate" is not being used here) and any attempt to explain it intellectually falls into a mere round semantics trap. Instead, meditation. Mr Spira makes a core statement regarding choice that can be pointed to in words, but can only be experienced through meditation: choices were not made in the past, as "past," "present," "now," "this moment," "future" are mere concepts created by beliefs/mind and are great for callendars and perfectly adequate for meeting friends for coffee and red velvet pie at a certain coffee shop later this afternoon. These do not exist in reality. Do a experiment with "now." Start by saying it. Where is "now"? By the time you get to "w" you may find "now" is already gone. And then it gets much more subtle than that. Fun!

[@Erik_Boberg]

The way Ruper expresses himself just clicks in me. It all seems to obvious

[@MahaloLuz]

Please, correct me if I'm wrong in everything I'm going to say below... I had no control when I wanted to ask these questions. I had no control of the questions I wrote even though I thought of every word I used in the question. Even the decision to have control is also not in my control. And the decision to don't have control is also not in my control. But my main question is: Even an Awakened person also has no control of what the body/mind of this person decides to do? You have no control over what you think, feel, do or say? If so, then does that mean you have no control of what you're going to answer me even if you're thinking about every word you're going to use in the answer ? So, you have no control over wanting or not wanting to answer my questions ? 🤔

[@burnalog7861]

If I remember it right, Nisargadatta Maharaj, which was regarded as enlightened, was asked something like: "If an intruder breaks into your house and threatens to harm your family, what will you do?" He replied aling the lines of: "I have no idea. It will be intetesting to watch." Absolute spontaneous moment to moment reaction to ever moment seems to be the default mode of enlightenend people. They seem to fully trust what their minds and bodies produce without being much invested in it at all. But what do I know?

[@MahaloLuz]

@@burnalog7861 Thank you so much. ,💛

[@burnalog7861]

@@MahaloLuz Don't thank me man. I wasn't in control. The answer was neither planned nor intended. It just happened. 😃

[@Sowingthewinds]

Blessings, thank You What a wonderful day Om

[@aa-gp9me]

It seems Rupert can finally even talk to flowers.

[@rahmasamir909]

He do ❤

[@sidharthachauhan4830]

Is attaching to our thoughts also were predestined to happen if therez no free will

[@wmlorentz8915]

Thankyou blessed to be a blessing❤

[@JannikBoRasmussen]

Such a clear-cut yet profound teaching. Thank you so much!

[@LaserrSharp]

Unfortunately, I’m still confused.

[@SSingh-qd6ie]

The separate-self is not different from a body-mind entity therefore the one who chooses is not a body-mind entity or a separate-self but the awarer of a body-mind entity or a separate-self. Because a separate-self or a body-mind entity arise and subside within the Consciousness. It is the Consciousness alone who chooses. If you are not conscious or aware of your own thoughts would you be able to choose?. Who are you? A separate-self or the Consciousness?. The Consciousness alone is the Ultimate Reality and it is the Brahman/God/Christ/Buddha/Allah/Yahweh. YOU are the Consciousness not a separate-Self or a body-mind entity.

[@RamSamudrala]

So within the illusion of the separate self, there is (or appears to be) free will or at least nondeterminism (which I think is a more interesting question, is the illusion deterministic or nondeterministic). But because it is all illusion, the issue of free will becomes moot. IT's like watching a movie, the characters appear to have agency, but it's just a movie, not real.

[@faizahyaacob32]

*Free Will is when the Finite Mind = Infinite Mund* *1 = (0)(Infinity)* *by letting go one's conscious to sublime in the Infinite conscious, yet able to be conscious during the sublimation, finite mind = infinity* *at this juncture, at the moment of such event horizon, **#Free** Will manifests itself* *a bliss of **#Freedom*

[@Lorena.N_717]

I understand the same as @andreispataru7077. If we operate from the ego (the conditioned self), there's no free will. There's only free will when we operate from the true self (consciousness, soul). But what about everything being orchestrated by the universe (which is also us, our true selves because we are part of it)? If everything is supposed to be orchestrated by the universe and our true selves before we incarnate in this 3D experience... Then is it all about destiny? Where is the free will in that?

[@Nitephall]

The woman hit the nail right on the head: the consenting does not take place consciously. All the choosing is done by our subconscious minds, which makes the conscious mind just a passenger on a ship that is going who-knows-where. Conscious goal setting is a joke, because it's not what the conscious mind wants that matters. It's what is desired by the deep, mysterious, unconscious forces within that determines the course of our lives. The choice or desire of a conscious, rational, analytical mind holds virtually no wieght in the scales of the universe.

[@honestyfenix530]

+Nitephall: Yes. Maybe b/c, after all, what you (or we) call the "conscious mind" is not really conscious! If it were truly conscious, aware of itself in the here & now, its choices wud surely have a repercussion!

[@Davinagoddess]

Beautiful message

[@Radek__]

I have seen a lot of Your videos Rupert, but this one finally helps me to accept that, what i wasn't sure about. Tkank You so much!

[@VenusLover17]

Thanks a million for posting!

[@gerardgrimardia3274]

3:40: = when the mind returns to the heart

[@benjaminhartson3714]

Gerard Grimardia it always is a tremendous relief when the heart wakes up

[@CYMONKA]

It’s difficult to deeply understand how to disentangle and yet engage in the world in a way that is loving. If we disentangle, are there consequences to others? Is there a potential to turn away from responsibility to others?

[@jjjos]

If the separate self only feels it has free will but doesn’t really then how can it make a decision (to follow non duality for instance)? It can’t obviously. Rupert is saying it feels like free will but isn’t. So if you find yourself here feeling the desire to follow this teaching then continue (as you will anyway), ultimately he is saying the path is mapped. How could a separate self decide to go to the pub rather than satsang? It can’t (according to his teaching), it will happen or not, whichever decision is made will feel like it was made but would already have been decided. So there is absolutely nothing the separate self can do according to this teaching. Nothing.

[@Mike717ful]

She said Thank you at the end... By all means, the last question should've been OK WHAT NOW? HOW TO CHOOSE DIFFERENTLY?

[@andreasd.1606]

I truly feel that this is true, but it is also a double edged sword. With "no free will" you can also pretty much justify every wrong-doing.

[@makaniistorm8664]

Yes but most likely the ego will justify it.

[@shawnstpeter6004]

My self (small s) questions this a lot, I feel that it just has taken credit so many times for decisions that it believes that it does have free will. This was realized when noticing the lag that thought has. It's always a micro second behind. Sometimes accusing, or trying to make sense or blaming or just jabbering. My True Self or awareness experiences life instantaneously each moment and while being aware in each moment things just seem to happen and choices are made without the mind seeming to do anything. In this flow, life seems easy and that it's making choices on its own. Just like the mind doesn't seem to make the choice to beat our heart.

[@marymcauley]

Hmm the acknowledgment that I as a separate self have no free will does not necessity lead to depression and nihilism, nor indeed to going down the pub ! What happens still happens, which might be waking up to my true nature or going to the pub. Or indeed both.

[@owl6218]

oh yeah, this mixing was always present in popular indian culture- fatalism that allows the separate self to evade all accountability, all obligatory initiative,while living in society.this is a beautiful resolution .........

[@brindarao2052]

Question,when one wants to eat, is one not aware of making a choice what to eat.

[@desertportal353]

Free will is dependent on cause and effect in space and time. Cause / effect in space and time makes up the materialist paradigm of the sciences as well as our total psyc. conditioning now in "developed" cultures. More often these days it is the necessity of pure awareness or consciousness that seems to leak into findings of materialist reductionist explorations and upset the tidy schemes of progress or the certainty of purely rational thinking belief systems. When the whole idea of space and time and cause / effect are understood to be irrelevant AT the ground of being, then free will as an idea held in the mind is not an issue. What we are is prior to free will *and yet* what we are lives us, virtually, at the level of free will, time and space and cause and effect. To find this out and not be captured by the virtual reality - necessity - of what we are not, is truly our first and last freedom. What a brilliant statement by K. And to loosely quote Swami Sarvapriyananda: You can struggle with free will or not free will or, instead, you can have freedom. Even a few eminent scientists have weighed in on this one. David Bohm often noted that you can push back but nothing happens that is not in the implicate order. Bohm valued sitting in circle with the Blackfoot people of North America as they individually contributed to an outcome, with all thoughts and ideas being welcome, while knowing that the solution would be the one that was living them and was expressed in their living of it. One foot in the virtual and the other in reality,so to speak. Isn't that to say to live in a fluid experimental state of curiosity about how you are being lived - virtually? Is this really what science is, or should, be about? Definitely is where art and even reductionist science converge whether appreciated or not.

[@reptilexcq2]

Naturally, once you're separated from God, you have the free will to choose. In fact, it is what cause FREE WILL to exist, it is the separation. Separating the light from darkness. Without the separation, there is no difference and you remain as ONE with God. The difference and the reason why there is a separation is because God want YOU to know yourself and be yourself and yet one with God. Now, when you're one with GOD, it doesn't mean you're losing the individuality, you still maintain it but now you're more aligned with its thoughts and feeling, you don't resist and fight. I think many people fear of losing their individuality, that they're no more once they go back to the ocean. Also, understand that separation brought a LOT of bad things to the individual, trial and tribulation, depression, anger and even evil thoughts. But it is why we have to recognize it and fight through it. It is a life of testing...not a life of gratifying or self-indulgent. The gratifying part is on whole new level once you go back to the source. This time, it is about perfecting your individuality so that you're pure with the source because you can't go back to it when you're not pure. It won't accept anything that isn't pure. It's like looking at the sun, can you stare at it without getting blind or hurt? No, it is too powerful and it will hurt your eyes. That's because we're not ready. Similarly, you can't enter heaven if you're not ready. You will feel pain when you enter it and will be wriggling like a snake casting yourself out of it and enter a place where you feel more comfortable.

[@honestmicky]

Excellent video Rupert, thank you so much for sharing with us : )

[@buddha-chris1815]

I find the term “free-will” ridiculous. There is will and there are actions. Factors determine the outcome of decision making, otherwise what would be the value of what was decided? Our body mind has will and decisions are made because of factors and then actions or inaction takes place. If there is a choice between tea and coffee, the decision is made because of the factors which exist at that point. You may feel bloated so choose tea, you may feel like you need a stimulant so choose coffee. The decision is free but also determined. I love paradox 🤣 There is a possibility of going beyond the division of the so called non duality (which is duality!). I am everything and nothing at the same time. Thoughts, desires, seeing, hearing, feeling, self, non self, everything! Many non-dual teachers seem to teach dualism. There cannot be a “true self” or true nature which is separate from you or the universe. There is only everything in union. All experience is you, the will is you, the decision is you. To say that your true nature is a passive witness is the ultimate dualism in my opinion.

[@SamBellGuitar]

4:51 'we might as well go down to the pub' - Rupert Spira 🤣

[@MoMindSetCrypto]

I think I will go to the pub, and over indulge in finite whisky

[@tobikoeh]

I actually have similar thoughts alot based on these concepts.

[@emmaluciaev1938]

That’s a clear beautiful explanation

[@neppson6702]

Why didn’t I bump in to this fellow earlier?

[@alondraacosta-mora6504]

i know right fuck

[@babaruuts]

My actions are that of my own I'm not influenced by anyone or anything everything that I have done is becouse I chose to do it. I am free

[@sngscratcher]

"Free will" is the engine that drives the evolution of consciousness. Free will creates "conscious mutation events" that are different from ordinary instinctual "choices." As consciousness recognizes and embraces novel choices, it evolves in complexity. Without free will, consciousness cannot evolve.

[@krux121]

an engine does not have free will depends on initial conditions to operate, consciousness does not have to evolve, consciousness knows everything, if not it would not be infinite consciousness

[@nabuk3]

Why are they both whispering? Some commenters say they find it calming. I find it kinda annoying.

[@renko9067]

Brilliant question

[@veraduerga]

What inspires the supposed separate self to look within and notice the Consciousness it is? Does Consciousness birth a.separate.self and give some awareness of who or what is true and actually exists...? Like giving the puppet a voice ....

[@ultrakombou]

This answered a question I had for decades...

[@MsCankersore]

Is there a way to explain this more clearer?

[@Danster82]

She never said does the body/self have free will. How could the body/self chose separation when it already is the result of that choice. The question is does God/The I AM presence have free will.

[@saidas108]

At the risk of sounding trite, the better question to ask is who is it that ponders this and asks the question and has or doesn't have free will?

[@Danster82]

saidas108 Yeah that did sound a bit trite.

[@saidas108]

Danster82 Perhaps, but true none the less. Rupert suggests doing exactly that at the beginning and end of this vid.

[@cosmofox]

The "who" is the consciousness we are.

[@WolfeTone66]

The super consciousness or Divine self already knows everything there is to know but cannot experience itself. We are all part of the divine separated into infinite particles at a vibration low enough to experience itself through these little particles or bodies. It’s a this level we think we are individuals because we all see the world in different ways, but in reality this is just the Self experiencing itself infinitely. What we think of as free will is only applicable to our level of comprehension right now. That’s just my view anyway.

[@koffeeblack5717]

Nonduality is useful for pointing out the dimensionless Knowing that is our essence. But I fail to see what free will (a philosophical topic) has to do with indicating our essence. Only when you turn nonduality into a metaphysical system can you say anything beyond an indication or "pointing out" of our essential nature. That said, there is nothing about nondual realization that contradicts even the existence of the free soul. The free soul is essentially in essence that pure knowing, but that essence is boundless- why cannot a boundless reality constitute a boundless manifest reality that all of our individuated spheres of self-consciousness partake in the evolution of? It's the very free cogitation of the individual that is the unfolding of the manifest universe.

[@Rcarnage_yt]

Probably the greatest channel i ever found

[@nenzattibellece4459]

The river cannot fly to the sea if it so desires. He has to face the choices thrown on its way to the sea. So, the context in which you live limits your choices.

[@brindarao2052]

Why does Advaita states life is only suffering. Is there no joy in life. In life the body has to undergo what it is meant to undergo. There is no stopping whatever is going to happen. It will happen! It is totally confusing.

[@robertjsmith]

which of the adviata teachings?

[@kaitlinobrien243]

Would a suffering child (example a 3 year old) have the freedom to step out of separation and suffering? Do children exist? O dear a rabbit hole.

[@WilliamGainessky]

I am not sure that freedom comes from not having free will, but of seeing that will is not free. Will is a kind of intention which can only come about through a direction from a separate self. If there is an intention which is separate or bound within the confines of a particular body mind it will always come up in resistance to or in opposition to other body minds who have different intentions. That is why will is never free and always seems to cause suffering. The beginning of freedom is the last freedom because there is a kind of choiceless awareness that all beings are one being and so there is no need for a separate doer who makes decisions. It is like you are an actor in a play that has already been written and you don;t even need to know your lines. The play is writing itself each moment and you are there in the middle acting out your part without a script. This becomes very easy when the separate self is seen to be an illusion created by psychological time. Once one is able to look or listen without words to a deeper kind of silence , then this choiceness awareness comes naturally into being. I am not sure it is there unless there is a kind of act of listening or looking without words. It seems that there must be space for this to happen and for most beings a period of silence where there is a kind of deep quiet. Unless you can stay quiet, the mind will always make noise and convince you that some kind of choice is needed. Simply to stay quiet is in itself a great act of repentance. This seems to be difficult for most beings because the conditioning is so great that it is necessary to use the will or to be constantly using the mind in actions or thoughts. There is very little space in both inner and outer realities in modern society. This does not mean one has to go into a remote wood or a monastery, but there must be some ability to have solitude without loneliness, and to access a great silence which is at the heart of every being. It may be that this needs to her actualized in a being for this realization that free will does not exist. Other wise there continues to be the illusion that it does exist, and this will continue to cause great fragmentation, suffering and division.!! Check out "Return to the Source." reverbnation.com/willgainesmusic

[@Santathing6789]

yes or no please , do we have free will ?

[@ericnicholson870]

The story of the Buddhist monk placing his bowl in a stream and it flowed against the current. ( maybe the Buddha in the story!?)

[@Workdove]

If we have no free will, then what is the nature of divine absolute predestination?

[@cbmcbm2845]

One can't know oneself by choosing freedom instead of limiting himself to body and mind, then how his interest of knowing the nature of divine absolute predestination be justified? If the answer is available then there can be all the possibilities of getting trapped further by just believing blindly the books/sayings of instructions !!! But by beginning to knowing the real self we may be better equipped to face/digest the knowledge of divine absolute predestination. All the best wishes. Om Namah Shivaya.

[@abidd]

Can you choose to do something that you would not choose to do? What you do next is the culmination of everything that you have done up to that moment. Like a mathematical equation. 2 +2 = 4. What you have done equals what you will do. You cannot chose to do something that you would not chose to do.

[@paulcopeland6486]

Does the Mandela effect point towards this everything is consciousness?

[@Luca-yt9nu]

That's want I thought about as well..😅

[@robertjsmith]

consciousness is an illusion

[@alondraacosta-mora6504]

@@robertjsmith what u mean consciousness is an illusion?

[@robertjsmith]

@@alondraacosta-mora6504 consciousness is a concept not an inherently real thing

[@alondraacosta-mora6504]

@@robertjsmith to be honest i have been believing all these past years i was in higher levels of consciousness and i was in my own tunnel of reality but then something pulled me out of it. My “spark” my “purpose” “my dream” All felt like collapsed. I have been emotional numb since then. Cuz i honestly thought i was 100% respnsible about all i do and what happens to me. So it is crazy! But knowing that i dont have free will might help with the grief. Hope to find love and peace within. That is all i need and want really.

[@johannboeing-messing979]

Thank you

[@AnaLiMFT]

wonderful!

[@swamitripurari5650]

Does consciousness have agency? If not, it is practically meaningless.

[@12233445566abc]

Whi consents?

[@Wambutto]

Are these questions answered impromptu?

[@Continental123-i2n]

yes

[@yehor_ivanov]

yeah. but he has been studying this stuff for a while, so

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

Every child becomes a individual . 90% of humans who have never heard of non-dualism, live and die as a individual. It seemed 'inescapable to become a separate individual , not to become 'enlightened' So what does this say about 'True nature'?

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

I believe in non -duality. No duality between 'selfs' or persons. Do not make advaita into something 'dual, trough determining what is, or is not.

[@IT-fj1nx]

It says that consciousness it so amazing that it can even manifest as an entity that cant see itself and lives in a deluded state. YOU CAN WAKE UP IF YOU TRULY DESIRE. your post seems like a bit of an excuse to go on as a deluded selfish ego?

[@emils-j.3586]

The true self worked so hard to create this illusion of separateness; and yet, it is suggested by many spiritual teachers that we - the separate selves - do our utmost to realize the illusory nature of the illusion. That is rather harsh, I feel. Much like if the actors in a play worked hard to realize that they are not the personas which they are acting out, when the writers, the costumiers and the director have been slaving away to lower the barrier to willing suspension of disbelief. Shouldn't we rather do our utmost to identify as strongly with the illusory self as possible, thus honoring the efforts of the true self to hide itself from itself by dressing up as the illusory selves? Of course, in doing that, we - the illusory selves - would believe we were making a choice to identify more strongly with ourselves, when in fact, it would be the true self believing that it was the illusory selves making the choice to identify strongly with themselves that made the choice to hide itself from itself on purpose through this identification. Also, there is, of course, the question whether one can identify strongly with something one knows as illusory; but given the amount of practice we get, I have faith that we may succeed if we give it the old college try.

[@bornuponawave]

The true self did not do anything. It was the separate self, the ego that constructed the illusion of separateness.

[@ProtoIndoEuropean88]

“In the idea of personality, the metaphysical problem is condensed. Every man feels a number of formative possibilities within himself. He knows that many of his dispositions change and that other capabilities have, or could have, unfolded. Nevertheless, he recognizes himself again in every new deed. He knows that the structural lines of his essential nature remain the same. He sees himself as facing an apparently unconditional law. This inescapability from oneself and, again, the certainty of being a self, is the cause of the recognition of the freedom of will and the recognition of inflexible laws which dwell in a man. Jesus was of the opinion that a thistle could not bear fruit. Thus, an evil man could not do good works. Nevertheless, he demanded inward transformation. Luther wrote a book about the lack of freedom of the will and the freedom of the Christian man. Goethe spoke his primary words. Schopenhauer denied free will but reintroduced the moral order of the world. For all Europeans, the last secret is contained in the concept of personality. Simultaneously, the conflict between freedom and unfreedom is, for us, only conditional. If we look away from purely external, mechanical influences which have effect upon us as organic creatures-this influence is smuggled dishonestly into the treatment of the problem of personality-then the grounds of dispute lie in that we judge ourselves in different situations from different viewpoints. If we feel the unfreedom of our nature, the unconditional urge to act in a specific way and not otherwise, then we unconsciously split our ego into two parts and feel the one burden upon us. Instead of saying to ourselves that we, as personalities, will ourselves to act so that this effect is an inner feeling developing through time and according to external experience, each has created for himself his own law. That he created this law is the freedom of his personality. This recognition fits in exactly with the teachings of Meister Eckhart. “ - Alfred Rosenberg, Myth of the 20th century, page 109.

[@Berkanann]

Beautiful

[@doriesse824]

So, the only way to quit suffering is to also quit enjoying?

[@doriesse824]

What about starving or homeless people, or those who live in countries where there is war and bombing? Are they supposed to have a preference instead of an investment, and then everything will be fine if they have no food or safety? What about the sick and lonely, who go day after day never seeing another person, which is totally unnatural as humans are social. There would be something wrong with them if they 'didn't' get depressed over it.

[@doriesse824]

The disappointing thing is, none of these teachers -- not only of non-duality but of almost anything and everything -- hardly ever talk about love and active compassion. I can't imagine what could be more important. The more enlightened or aware a person is, the more it seems they would want to be loving and serving others. We have such a troubled world and are headed towards worse times because we leave those who are suffering to their own devices, which will eventually pull all of us down together. Thank you for your responses.

[@doriesse824]

I have been listening to Rupert for several years now, and have never heard him encourage anyone to visit the sick or feed the hungry. If I've missed those videos, please direct me to them because I need to see that this world hasn't completely lost its sense of moral duty. I don't hear it anywhere anymore.

[@doriesse824]

There's currently a huge humanitarian crisis, and more suffering in the world at large than ever. responsibilitytoprotect.org/

[@doriesse824]

I just don't see them giving much comfort to those who are sick and lonely, or hungry or homeless. To say it's all an illusion or perception isn't helpful. I wonder what he and others would teach if they were in one or more of those situations. I'm sure he's doing what he believes in, but he has a situation that lets him believe this.

[@slopokes6874]

I dont feel i have free will. So, i would argue that it isn’t implicit.

[@sweetreliefcannabisoscar4156]

5:06

[@gireeshneroth7127]

Exclusively a consciousness activity. Ego an illusory victim.

[@Kafei]

You can choose to be free, but it's the last choice you'll ever make.

[@ilachoudhary2317]

Then who makes the choice for us?

[@Kafei]

@@ilachoudhary2317 Go deeply into that question, and you'll find the answer.

[@aojbooker8650]

So it's not the egoic self that makes the choice to become the True Self, because we have to remember that the egoic self doesn't even exist in the first place.....it's rather the deluded True Self/Awareness/Consciousness that recognizes its delusion and dispenses with it so it can become who it really is.

[@aojbooker8650]

There is no true self or egoic self...there is just what is

[@simossosias3727]

Rupert makes a common mistake, instructing a group of strangers to the advaita doctrine which is only transmitted from one guru to one disciple whom he knows quite well.

[@burnalog7861]

Good point but not his mistake. He answers the lady and the answer is only for her and what she needs to hear at that moment. Thats how Gurus teach. If it is recorded and published for a broader audience - it might benefit some who are in a similar state as the lady but confuse others who are at a different level of understanding

[@IAMLiamwalker4444]

Awareness itself is Pure Free Will

[@IAMLiamwalker4444]

You don’t Have Free Will, You Are Free Will!!!!!!😁

[@IAMLiamwalker4444]

Absolutely Free as a Bird 🦅

[@grahamtrave1709]

He has got himself entangled in all kinds of concepts... His critique of contemporary Avaita is interesting...”lets go to the pub instead of satsang” is so far off the mark. To criticise the other is to critis se cosmic law, the great originator etc. The “feeling” of free choice is god’s gift... Ramesh Balsekar. The ego that has a “doer “ is the result of divine hypnosis. We are all instruments of gods will.... Our designed output is as result of our genetics and conditioning...both of which are out of our control.

[@MyBozhidar]

free will is just another assumption. because god is almighty to believers; thus, does only good to us and for us, yet us not behaving as good as god wants us to behave, an invention is needed to wash god clean: it is not he who is doing evil, but we; because god did not want to controls us. so what's the use of god, if he does not guide us, watch over us, gives us instruction at least how avoid killing one another. no, no instruction how to prevent cancer, dishonesty, wars, misogyny, racism...in fact, not a single instruction. to sum it up: the priestly idea is to blame us and not god!

[@ccr7712]

This doesn’t make sense, if you can direct the knowing to your self, then you can direct the knowing everywhere else, and that’s a free will, that’s the start of how you make every decisions.

[@gwenelbro3719]

Become One within the Whole, for you are a Black Hole of separation within Creation . . . . . . . Only within your Mind . . . . . . . Do you exist apart. It is the pattern, patterning.

[@christianhadden6720]

you can choose to live a healthy life style. you can't choose to be healthy

[@rahmasamir909]

You are freedome itself as conscience and zero freedome as a separtaed person

[@konnektlive]

Thanks for such great teachings and your very unique methods of teachings. If you do not mind I have Couple of questions. Feel free to not respond to them but I will ask them anyway: 1- Then if seemingly one (out of many) separate self realizes or understands deeply and completely that the apparent separate self is not real and the only true reality is the absolute ineffable advaita, then logically speaking, all other existing separate selves as well should be awakened at that very moment. Also, in this case it makes it a contradiction as awakening or enlightenment by definition does not have any meaning for the absolute reality or what I call pointless point. It is not like the so-called absolute ineffable reality suddenly realizes that it is infinite, eternal and bliss right after one of the seemingly separate individuals realizes the truth. And again if it is absolute reality why it became entrapped into having the apparent and delusional separate selves in the first place to become free from them and realize truth? 2- Why in the first place, the absolute reality appears or emanates as seemingly separate selves? Or in better words, what is the absolute wisdom of the Parabrahm to appears as seemingly infinite forms, selves and shapes? I know that these apparent world is solely based on the recognition of the seemingly individual and separate self and the definitions are also anthropocentric but again what is obvious is that the ineffable pointless point (absolute reality) is immutable and beyond words, beyond experience and beyond being and non-being. So again the question is, why or base on what absolute wisdom it (for the lack of better words) 'willed' to appear as many... ? 3- Regarding the Free Will. You are right that Freewill as an anthropocentric definition is an human concept, just like chaos, order, good and evil and many more are as well definitions based on the human experience and understanding. So we somehow are destined to feel or believe that we have this so-called free will to choose. But the important question is, when we choose to do this or that, when I decided to write these questions here, though I believe that I did that base on my so-called free will, but I am personally fully aware that this very act of willing to do this or that though pragmatically real but is ultimately unreal. So again the question is, why I do what I do or what I did? even scientifically speaking we now know that the decisions relatively speaking are already made many seconds before we realize them consciously. In other words, what reality is forcing this illusion of having separate selves upon us which then requires the illusion of free-will? 4- To me personally, I believe without the if you want grace or bliss of the absolute ineffable reality of the pointless point, no individual self can even begin realizing the true nature of reality. This urge or thirst for the truth will never arise in any separate self without the wisdom or if you want will of the absolute ineffable reality. I know that this may look like like a nihilistic world view but again it does not matter what it looks like to me when I think about it rationally as the world, me and all in between are not based nor limited to my limited rationality. The truth is always paradoxical and counter-intuitive and this is me that needs to evolve, change and ascend to be able to cope with the world I experience. In other words, individual self-conscious beings experience and see the world around them solely based on their current state of awareness and there will be a point when the individual realizes that the rationality alone is limited and then goes beyond it... 5- To my understanding, Atman is Brahman does not mean that each separate being is the absolute reality, because as you always say ultimately there is no separate being to begin with, and in fact it is Brahman (beyond being personal or impersonal qualities) somehow, mysteriously and ineffably appear or emanates as the apparent world which we recognize with our five senses. That Brahman is not as some mistakenly say an unconscious force which becomes conscious by becoming separate selves and returning to itself. That Brahman did not limit itself to be able to experience itself. The absolute reality or Parabrahm is beyond having knowledge, ignorance, existence or even non-existence. The absolute reality is simply no-thing as though it is the source of all apparent 'things' but itself is absent from them and does not belong to them. Just like the very center of the mandalas, it is the source of all the apparent forms, shapes, colors and manifestations but itself is absent from the scene. So my question is, why if why is very superficial, what is the absolute wisdom of the absolute reality to appear as the apparent world included separate conscious beings like us? Is it playing a game as some traditions and people believed so? And then again even playing a game is in itself an experience which involves the world of having knowledge and ignorance which again these concepts do not have any meaning for the absolute reality. So why? I know that the realization comes from a spaceless place where there neither questions nor answers, I know by heart that the absolute reality is already absolute reality and it does not matter if a separate self realizes it or not, but when talking, when using words and especially when teaching of practicing, is not it better to be confronted with the naked truth instead of making the practice comfortable by being a little bit political about the definitions or meanings? I absolutely see no problem using allegories or different examples but sometimes, someone can not be satisfied with them because one sees through the veil of the words... what one should do then? Best regards and thanks...

[@Dyslexic-Artist-Theory-on-Time]

You might like this video that explains an objective reality based on physics and mathematics: Are we the architects of our own future or destiny?

[@saidas108]

These are all very good questions indeed, however, there are no satisfactory answers available in words or thoughts because of their inherent limitations. Do you ask these questions because you doubt the validity of non-dualism in general, these points specifically or are you just curious? Because of the inherent limitations, pursuing them is ultimately futile, but for most of us, are necessary to get us to a certain point of awakening. A great sage once said that one of the things that cannot be fully understood is the "why" for creation. Leela or divine play is but a pacifier. My experience is that the mind/intellect is superb for what it is capable of but not beyond that so we must benefit from it as much as possible, but then learn to leave it further our Awakening. I stopped asking "why?" a few decades back. I haven't discarded my reasoning and intellect of course, I've just learned the limitations of my understanding and trust the wisdom and guidance from those who are fully Awakened. Instead of asking "why", I just accept there is a perfect and valid reason that I'm not able to understand yet and isn't necessary I do. It is like children who ask "why" of certain things that you know they are not yet ready to understand but will some day so you answer them with something they can. This doesn't impede their growth.

[@konnektlive]

Reverend Eslam Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely look them up.

[@konnektlive]

saidas108 Hi there, To make it a little more clear, the very urge or if you want thirst of oneness was with me when I was a little child and then in time it somehow pulled me towards studying both academically and personally on a wide variety of sacred texts, ancient languages and comparative philosophies to be able to satisfy that eternal thirst of realizing the nature of reality. So I studied philosophy of both East and West for more than fifteen years and it undoubtedly helped me on my path so far. I still remember that when I was a teenager a simple object which was a glass full of water somehow gave me this basic and yet important realization that what we see and recognize as objects are just manifestations or if you want appearances out of an ineffable source which is immanent in that very world of manifestations while is transcendent. That the words, infinity and eternity in the language are the representation of the edge and limitation of our rationality. Infinity and eternity both exist when we want to make sense of what is ineffable via words, languages and mathematics while in reality there are no such things as eternity nor infinity as even these concepts are ultimately nothing but anthropocentric concepts we created to make sense of 'that primordial thirst for truth' in each one of us. To answer your question, I did not expect to have the answer for those questions here or in fact anywhere or from anyone. I simply asked those questions here because it was an excuse to do so here so I could share them with some other people who are in the same/similar state of awareness/experience that I am so they might be able to help me. I know that the absolute reality stands beyond any notions or concepts of language and I am certain that the absolute reality only seems paradoxical to us, the moment we try to rationalize the events, or when we unconsciously are certain that this individuality and separateness is real. I simply wanted to share those questions that I have for more than a decade. After studying and contemplating the sacred literature of almost all the world traditions, philosophies and religions. I even tried to learn many ancient languages to be able to access the first hand materials so I could read and study them without the barrier and limitations of the process of translation. Again, I simply wanted to ask the ineffable, immanent and absolute reality or Godhead, I know that I do not know, I know that knowing leads me nowhere, I know that the divine wisdom stands beyond the notions of knowledge and ignorance, I have reached the edges of the rationality and I know the true answers are not to be found in the limited realm of rational thinking. These questions usually put me in a deep silence that I stay in for couple of hours without even thinking or rationalizing. They somehow fly me to the edges of logic and rationality and pass me over and this is right HERE that it gets confusing, paradoxical and mysterious while at the same time gives me temporary joy and peace... The why of things can not be understood because the very act of understanding is based on the notions of knowledge and ignorance. But the essential 'whys' stand beyond the pragmatic, rational and empirical realm of duality included knowledge and ignorance. In other words, understanding can not lead to answer the fundamental 'whys' because one can not realize the true nature and cause of a system from the inside of that very system. It is simply impossible. Thanks,

[@konnektlive]

Quantum Atom Theory an artist theory on the physics of 'time' Thanks for your suggestion. But after watching that very interesting video, to me it does not explain anything and instead adds even more questions to the already existing rational problems we have with the universe. It seems that this theory simply accepted some of the empirical scientific theories as facts in the first place to be able to explain its own theory which is problematic in my view. Coming from a scientific background myself (before philosophy I studied physics and quantum mechanics) I know that the very so-called scientific notions such as electron, photon, wave and so on are simply interpretation of what we think we recognize. The Quantum physics and its behavior can not be understood with pure rationality and intuitive thinking. Quantum mechanics begins where our understanding of the material world reaches it dead end. Yet we still want to use the out-dated and useless terms we use in the classical physics in the so-called quantum physics to be able to understand and simplify the outcomes. But we forget that those terms will be meaningless in such uncertain realm of the so-called subatomic particles. For instance the very term of 'quanta' as the packets of energy or information is simply based on our intuitive and classical understanding of particles. The world, events and phenomenons are not limited to our understanding of them but instead we are limited. The phenomenons are not based on mathematics as a tool we created to make sense of the apparent world but mathematics is simply a very superficial and limited tool which though has its own use but is limited it is scope. My problem is the the very essential approach of empirical sciences when it comes to answering or dealing with the fundamental questions about the true nature of reality. I think the best solution would be to simply avoid trying to answer those fundamental questions from the limited and childish scope of empirical sciences. But this is just me. Good luck and thanks.

[@greenJoker8]

I knew that! This is the hidden link between Bentinho Massaro/Eckart Tolle and Tony Parsons/Paul Smit/Lisa Cairns. Damn. I don't want to choose to surrender, because I don't trust it, because I don't know if this all is true and if this is worth it. And because somehow I just don't want to. Maybe I don't see the true reason I don't want to, I don't know.

[@markbrad123]

+spiritualEgo Using the words 'surrender' or 'acceptance' could be regarded as choice although that is probably not what it was intended to mean. 'Neutrally float and pass in stillness' maybe a clearer expression.

[@greenJoker8]

optizap That sounds to me like a choice, too.Every advice implies choice for me.

[@markbrad123]

spiritualEgo Paradoxes pass away into nothingness.What is that quality that unifies the duality of apparent contradiction ? In Tai-Chi pushing hands they call it 'running is sticking'. With cars they call it anti-lock breaking. Wish could find a word for it.

[@greenJoker8]

optizap You mean "flow"?

[@markbrad123]

spiritualEgo Wouldn't use the word "flow" as it might be interpreted as going along with an outside influence. Some people are easily led..