On Free Will

[@nobodynowhere21]

This is all to say: All glory belongs to God. It changes nothing. There is no separate self to exercise such a "free" will. This is God's will. How do I know? Because it is.

[@iamishin7675]

@@nobodynowhere21nah

[@emils-j.3586]

I like to ask the question: “How would you perform an action that ran contrary to the will of God/the Universe?”

[@davidalbro2009]

@@emils-j.3586 That's good

[@davidalbro2009]

There is no free will, but to say you know it because you do is circular reasoning. There's plenty of philosophical reasons as well as empirical evidence that lets us know there is no free will other, possibly, the One.

[@oerantia9126]

Based on my own direct experience, there is from the standpoint of Reality no free will in a person. Every happening is purely scripted, but. - the Truth is always a paradox - Reality doesn’t need to know what is going to happen. Reality is totally careless about what is happening or going to happen (in the illusory universe), because it is without cause (no dependency on anything else) and it is deathless (never dies). Imagine you are the only “essence” that exists, you depend on nothing, you are an infinite potential , not limited by anything because there is nothing outside yourself that is greater (or even smaller but independent), how could we speak of free will even for Reality? If there is only ONE, how could there be a need to will something, you are already everything, you are already Perfection (beyond description). What would be there to will? Isn’t “will” or “free will” always related to a motivation? But by what should Reality be motivated? Out of the omnipotence of Reality, there APPEARED an illusory universe. But there is no known or describable process by which the universe “happened” or keeps on happening. We call it “dreaming”, but dreaming doesn’t explain one bit. The word “dream” only offers a word and a framework by which not yet enlightened people can be drawn to an alternative paradigm in which the universe is no longer considered real. Nothing is truly known!!! Once one has had a true Samadhi experience, one understands there was nothing to understand. There is only “being(ness)”, but beingness has nothing to do with personhood or animalhood or planthood or dirthood/rockhood, … Beingness is again just a word to draw people away from the gross physical/mental identification mechanism. To conclude: how everything truly is at the level of Reality, so it is ALSO on the level of the illusion (universe). So if at the level of Reality there is no such thing as understanding what one Truly is, all the investigations going on in the illusion on any matter remain as well totally not understandable. Physics or religion show always the Next Question that needs to be solved. And it will go on forever like that. There will never be a Final Answer or a First Cause to anything. Fundamentally everything remains unknown. The same applies to Free Will. As it is not present or needed at the level of Reality, so also is it truly ALSO not present in the illusion (universe). There is simply no magic whatsoever whereby we - as Reality - have turned its fundamental Not Knowing into knowing by creating an Illusion. So we the clues about the fundamental nature of Reality are hidden in plain sight inside the Illusion. We simply have to give up all concepts, and that means also giving up the illusion of Free Will. And lastly, ponder this!!! Let’s assume free will exists. Doesn’t the fact that you could exercise free will mean you are somehow unhappy or neurotic about something, doesn’t it mean you simply cannot accept a certain situation as it is!? Ponder this deeply!!!! And contrast this with the sayings of many saints/sages/traditions that have all made clear statements that “there is absolutely nothing wrong with the world”, there is a total acceptance of what APPEARS to be happening. Total acceptance in Realty stands in total contrast to the illusory concept of free will in the illusion.

[@MaithiliKulkarni]

This! 🙂👍🙏

[@pvgopiabnle]

@@oerantia9126 100% agreed 👌👍🙏

[@davidalbro2009]

But there is one primary desire. The desire to know awareness. That desire IS how reality is perceived. Without that desire there is no knowledge of reality and, thus, in effect, no reality.

[@oerantia9126]

@@davidalbro2009I wouldn’t call the desire to know reality/god to be a primary desire. I would call it the one and only desire that gets us out of the illusion. I had many primal (and primary) desires in my life that I have considered for a long time to be a lot more important for my happiness, for my life, then my desire for the truth. The desire for the truth has been with me from a very young age, but it took a few long winding side tracks, that made me belief I was on the right track to have my questions answered. In hindsight, if i look upon these side tracks, the questions why I was looking a answer for, there were clearly not fundamental enough. Although looking back at my life, I have been also thinking a lot at a very deep level, even when I was young. So “i” felt for many superficial traps that thought would bring me happiness and even truth. Our imaginary lives are meant to be a complete failure. Only then can we break free with the old imaginary patterns of thoughts/desires we cling to. There is simply no other way to escape an illusion as to first understand one lives in an illusion. That illusion can be absolutely anything. There are almost 8 billion people on earth. Almost all of them are mental illusory prisons. I have lived in a mental prison constructed by my own mental assessments of what is real/true and what makes me happy. Until … I understood that 43 years of living my life hadn’t brought me any understanding of life or of some true happiness. This happened in the second half 2017. Don’t be happy with any sort of understanding or any sort of belief. With what you are saying, as little as it may be, I see someone who is totally confused. You want to make some deep claims but you don’t yet understand the minds of other people and your own mind. Try to find out how “belief” itself works. See if you can find a process whereby a belief is “made”. The answer, or my answer to that sort of inquiry/contemplation would be: see that a thought related to belief appears to be there and as soon as it emerged the belief is there. Belief could be termed “an emotional investment that goes along with a certain thought, in such a way that you are willing to defend the thought that are of the nature of belief”. If I want to take it a step further I would say: see how all thoughts are truly non-existing. There is AT ALL TIMES, only awareness. In awareness there APPEARS to be a thought or an emotional burdened belief, but it is really NOT there. I feel that thoughts are a very good entry point into transcending and reaching enlightenment. If thoughts are seen to be purely imaginative, one can continue down the path and assess whether any physical sensation in the body is truly real. That one is harder to transcend. But if my words are of some value for you, you will be remembered of my words and you will (involuntary! 😊) start enquiring along the path that I have given you. But giving without taking leads to nothing. But you cannot do anything wrong. You are already here which is a lot further than most of the people are. I think you are a thinker. But you need to go deeper and try to investigate your life by questioning everything you still believe is a truth. Look around you at other people, how they function and look at your own inner world (mind and physical experiences). Be as neutral as possible, be pure awareness. Be that indescribable sense of awareness and nothing more when you investigate your life (and that of others if interesting enough for your path)

[@moksha2280]

Nice one, only one thing: Conciousness would never ask of free will bc freedom is its nature, so the question of free will only arise as ego and ego has no free will (on ultimate level). Free will cannot be free without freedom to choose between having free will or not.

[@oolala53]

Consciousness is the only thing that ever can ask or answer a question. It may pose as ego to do it. That is the freedom of consciousness. It can appear as anything, even ignorance. In fact, if you observe you’ll see that consciousness appears as ignorance, mostly by default in the human avatars. it is all inclusive. It embraces all.

[@moksha2280]

@@oolala53 Reflected Con is inert therefore no free will or freedom is involved. It is in fact matter. And "original Con" is nondual therefore no freedom bc it is not a doer.

[@jl5034]

@@moksha2280 Thank you! You explained it in a way that I can finally understand. The one who's asking about free will is the separate Self. Consciousness is always free! Now this is the part I don't get: If what you said is true, then who is making people choose wars, hate, violence, etc.? Who is "thinking " those thoughts? Who is running this show? My separate Self wants to know bc it can't understand why humans are destroying the earth. Thank you 🙏

[@davidalbro2009]

​@@oolala53Consciousness cannot ask anything. Otherwise it would have form. Consciousness is the answer to everything but is only perceives by the releasing of the question or mind into consciousness.

[@emilypotato9495]

Wonderful discussion! Joyful!

[@B9Form]

Great audience too

[@jacquesboutelet8643]

Krishnamurti adressed it and he says “What is will ? “

[@oolala53]

I’m sorry, but I would not call that a complete addressing of the issue but the beginning of defining terms.

[@manoramadivakar7840]

Wonderful discussion

[@sadafpouriliyaei9068]

Beautiful

[@skyofhoney7]

Brilliant

[@nisse242]

Thank you! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@edzardpiltz6348]

Ramana would have asked: who wants to know if there is free will. And that is exactly the point. Before there can be anything like will or freedom the has first to be a separate self to claim it. This is the expulsion from Paradise, the perceived loss of unity that's needing to control events and circumstances. 😘🙏

[@jl5034]

But who's then creating the circumstances and events? Consciousness? Why?! Ty

[@edzardpiltz6348]

@@jl5034 well, who is creating your dreams? And why? 😘

[@slowwco]

TLDR: "Freedom is on the level of consciousness-zero freedom on the level of the individual." Thoughts & Thinker: "If we look at the way decisions happen, they come as thoughts ... At the time of a thought, there is no thinker of the thought because consciousness is completely one with the thought. The perceiver (consciousness) and the perceived (thoughts) are one-they are indissociable. So, the thinker of the thought comes as an afterthought claiming, 'I (a separate entity) created this thought.' But, this separate entity that claims to be the thinker of the thought, itself is an object that appears in consciousness. It was consciousness that was the thinker ... Only consciousness thinks. Because decisions appear as thoughts, it is consciousness that makes the decisions, not a separate entity." Unfree (body-mind) & Free (consciousness): "As a body or as a separate mind, there is no freedom. But, on the other hand, you can say, 'Yes, but I feel that there is freedom when I decide.' At that moment, you are free, but as consciousness. So, then there is 'free will' or 'freedom to choose' as consciousness. 'Free will' means what? It means a will that comes from freedom. Consciousness is freedom. It may create a will-a will that comes from freedom ... The will that comes from freedom is always fulfilled, always executed ... The will that comes from freedom is the will of consciousness-it's the impersonal will ... It is only consciousness that decides. Our decisions come from consciousness. They are cosmic events, and all events come from freedom. The place of freedom is universal ... The place of true will is in consciousness ... We are free as consciousness. We are free, and we are consciousness." Ignorance & Liberation: "It's always consciousness that chooses ignorance because there is nobody else to choose anything ... Ignorance is a manifestation of the divine will, and liberation is also the manifestation of the divine will ... From the vantage point of wisdom, ignorance is not a problem."

[@nivedithakamath9388]

Thank you Francis 🙏🩵

[@krischnakrischna]

beautiful, concise and elevating ...🙏...

[@baronbullshyster2996]

Love this. It makes absurdity. But some people don’t like absurdity. This is why l tell jokes the no one thinks are funny.

[@ianjackson3050]

"God is a comedian with an audience that doesn't laugh"

[@davidalbro2009]

It isn't absurd, though. The idea that the separate self has free will is what's absurd. The very belief in free will IS the separate self.

[@lindalangdon9406]

❤ Francis

[@peaceone9733]

One can respond to this question much more directly and simply by pointing out that the issue of free will versus versus determinism only arises for the sense of a separate individual, a person, human being, however you want to say it. Only that false sense of self (small 's') would ask this question. Just see that - what you are not - and obviously, there's no issue. Going on and on talking about "consciousness" gives the impression of it being an object, and it becomes a (dualistic) system, complex, and just more thinking and delay. However, that requires a certain “maturity”, and what’s given in this video is good for those new to the understanding who have a lot of beliefs to deconstruct, and are of a more stubborn or “demanding intellect” as most Westerners are (*I* certainly was that way. :) ). The only problem then, is one then has to deconstruct the Francis “book” haha…

[@anamariliavillas60]

@@peaceone9733 The path isn’t linear!

[@ericplatt6884]

@@anamariliavillas60 Yes, and there is no path to what you are, in reality. Paths are all part of the "dreaming".

[@MegaUpstairs]

It is weird that each time I understand something, it is forgotten the next moment. But what can remain in the body?

[@emils-j.3586]

If you’re constipated, the answer is ‘feces’.

[@oolala53]

They needed to get a microphone to that guy helping out with the Sanskrit word. And thank you for all of the video posted.

[@ranga7333]

I don't understand free will. When I'm aligned in conciousness there is no question of decision

[@davidalbro2009]

It's perhaps very good that you don't understand free will because it doesn't exist.

[@larrymans4]

A thought is not the Thinker, great.

[@cosmicfield]

But a 'thinker' is a thought 😉

[@davidalbro2009]

There is no thinker. There is only thinking, including the thought that thinking is done by a thinker.

[@Grace-f7d]

😊❤GVB🎶💕🙏

[@peacenlove6502]

wow!! that was great ....

[@malaselvarajah5398]

❤

[@brouhnsandre561]

Ego is an impostor

[@davidalbro2009]

But a precious one that serves a purpose as does everything in reality.

[@maryamkouchakzadeh7209]

🤍💗💕🙏🏻

[@dblaine-rg7jw]

free will is impossible

[@oolala53]

Have you made a video presentation on that?

[@dblaine-rg7jw]

Do you think I should? It's very obvious and not hard to prove.

[@danieleslava115]

seems like God does not care about our galactic wars.... ;)

[@cosmicgliderBruce]

Thought forming 😂🤽