Is there Such a Thing as Free Will? | Parisse Deza

Is There Such A Thing As Free Will?

-Do We Have It or Not? And Why It Is Important To Know

In a recent piece presented  on Substack by spiritual teacher Salvadore Poe, he shares a letter from one of his “friends,” Tim Lott, a student at a workshop Sal offered in Greece. The subject of the letter is Sal’s take on if we have free will and an individual self and Tim’s response to it. It is worth reading.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-174913165

Answering this question can be very enriching; it can lead to a deeper knowing about what we are, what we are doing here, and how to handle it. This is my take on the subject…

Do we have free will or not?

The answer is the ultimate koan, because, as we live in a paradoxal world, both are true. And since we are having a life experience, an ‘incarnation,’ but this is supposed to be a dream of sorts, an ‘illusion,’ we are both here, and not here, depending.

Folks like Ramana Maharshi used to refer to “the Self” all the time. But he was referring to the true nature of a person, the unity consciousness Self, not the little self ego.

The question arises, are all the folks who teach that we can “create our own reality,” including Louise Hay, wrong in their basic premise? I think not, because there is a natural desire to create. It is inborn. Spirit created Creation because it wanted to, and it is all about new things being born. Desire that is pure creates new things that are aligned with Source.

What I have found is that it is not possible to “create my reality” that well from the ‘I am a little ego person who needs something different to happen’ standpoint.

Change occurs when ‘little me’ surrenders control to the greater-ness that I am, and when I am aligned with that, I seem not to be choosing something, but rather acting out something that is spoken from ‘above,’ that is coming from true nature, the higher self, and that feels natural and right. It is more like I am following instructions from within. That’s when “Not my will but Thine” makes sense. There is no actual separation from the eternal Self we really are then, and we become like little channels or agents of its lifeforce down here in 3d – Dao Jedi. Then there is only the One, and no need to be the one who is doing the creating; it happens spontaneously ‘from above.’ This, in Daoism, is called wuwei – doing without doing. We listen for guidance and wait to be moved. Lifeforce then trusts us to use its power wisely – after we have matured – and will obey our commands.

What I find is that to attain that naturally aligned and creative state where there is no one there to create yet something is happening, one must relax into the present moment, with no stress to make something happen. No need, no desperation, no striving, no fear or worry, no personal attachment, no need to control. No forcing. Only trust, enjoyment, peace, optimism, sense of flow and rightness, surrender, relaxation.

I have learned through experience that my ego self has been stuck hard in trying to make things happen and worrying about having a future in which they won’t. When I do that, I suffer in the extreme. The only remedy is to literally force myself to come back into the present and refuse to obey the pushy, needy voice that talks so loudly. (Finding out what that part of oneself really wants and giving that to it is not the same as obeying its orders.) In the present there is peace and possibility, and a sense of safeness. Everything is alright, and I do not have to worry. I am not separate, but one with What is larger than myself, therefore safe. In a very real sense, we have to not care at all about what’s happening.

It is from this place of peaceful surrender to our Center – our ‘Creative’ – that we best manifest what we desire.

Artists of all kinds, particularly musicians, really know how to relax and let go to the Muse inside them so the music flows. That’s when it gets really good; the left brain stays in its proper place and the right side guides.

Experience is the great teacher. We learn largely from our mistakes. They teach us how to choose in the moment what is best for us. We can either go with the Guidance or choose not to. I think this is a fundamental part of the process of true creation. Practice makes perfect. As we sharpen our ability to listen to Guidance and align with it, our experience gets better and better. That may be where our free will really lies.

But the fact of the matter is that ‘Something’ is creating all this to happen and ‘we’ are part of it.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it. I love comments, so please offer them.

Here is the Archive of all the articles I’ve written on Substack:

https://parissedeza.substack.com/archive?sort=top

Everything here is freely shared because we are one big family and family members share from the goodness of their hearts to make sure every member is taken care of. If you resonate with this understanding, and want to cocreate it on a planetary scale, you can do that by sharing back with me here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/P07Wa1USry

This is how we bridge the old paradigm of scarcity to the new one of abundance.

About the author, Parisse Deza:

Metaphysician, teacher, writer, multidisciplinary artist, mentor, contemporary Renaissance man, PhD in Consciousness and Creativity. Birthing the new paradigm of America’s original vision of freedom in relationship with all Life.