Free Will:
"I Don't Have To, I Want To"
As published in the Spiritual Niagara Newsletter, February, 2013
Lightworker's Way: Column 29
Also included in the published ebook
"Lightworker's Way: A Spiritual Niagara Column - 30-Month Gathering
“What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change.”
~ Madeleine Albright.
Free will. This is a concept I speak frequently about, almost daily.
I believe we all create our paths before we are born to each lifetime, in partnership with a higher presence, the Source. I also believe, once born, we are given the highest gift of free will. Intuition is our link between our chosen journey on our life path and our earthly choices using free will.
To me, one of the two most significant and powerful universal laws present in our existence is the law of free will. The other being law of attraction. In doing some research, I realized quite quickly that the concept of free will is very controversial. A lot of people, from a lot of difference belief systems have had a lot to say about the subject. I read from different perspectives; from scientific to religious to psychological and philosophical theories. From this plethora of words, the message that resonated with me was, first of all, that yes we do have free will (some scientific and religious views believe we do not), and following, I feel that free will can be defined as the ability to choose a course of action from among various alternatives as a means of fulfilling some need or desire; being responsible for one’s actions and accepting the resulting consequences.
There is a book that crossed my path several years ago called “Letters from The Cosmos”, published by Clermont Press, written by a husband and wife team. Let me just share with you the words on the cover, “Inspiring, instructive and sometimes controversial messages; written and transmitted by an unnamed, unknown source; received and recorded through an extraordinary psychic process”. I wanted to quote the cover simply because I couldn’t have described the book better. This book provided me with the first opportunity to consider our world and God from a very fresh outlook. We have been given this beautiful gift, the gift of free will. God saw us as children at one time so he gave us rules, as a parent gives a child. Boundaries. In my home growing up they were called, “ground rules”. In history they were called “The 10 Commandments”. Now we are older souls, like adults, expected to have learned lessons along the way that serve to guide us along our paths so that we now must take charge of our own lives, learn how to trust our intuitive nudges, and use our free will to make our own choices, and very importantly, be responsible for the following outcomes, whether they be positive or negative.
I read the book in 3 hours.
IMPORTANCE OF FREE WILL AND THE AFFECTS OF LOSING IT
So, when considering the possibilities around our choosing our own paths before we are born, free will, in partnership with intuition, determines whether we stay on path, a.k.a. whether we experience true happiness or not. Imagine the affects of being in a situation where someone is overpowering you. Someone is decided how you should feel, what you should believe in, what your decisions should be, what is best for you, telling you that all that you are experiencing is wrong. This would be like putting handcuffs on your free will, one of the most important tools of survival. Of course, there’s always the possibility that being in that particular type of situation would be a part of one’s path; however if so, wouldn’t it also be a part of one’s path to find a way out of the handcuffs?
Lightworker's Way: Column 29
Also included in the published ebook
"Lightworker's Way: A Spiritual Niagara Column - 30-Month Gathering
“What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change.”
~ Madeleine Albright.
Free will. This is a concept I speak frequently about, almost daily.
I believe we all create our paths before we are born to each lifetime, in partnership with a higher presence, the Source. I also believe, once born, we are given the highest gift of free will. Intuition is our link between our chosen journey on our life path and our earthly choices using free will.
To me, one of the two most significant and powerful universal laws present in our existence is the law of free will. The other being law of attraction. In doing some research, I realized quite quickly that the concept of free will is very controversial. A lot of people, from a lot of difference belief systems have had a lot to say about the subject. I read from different perspectives; from scientific to religious to psychological and philosophical theories. From this plethora of words, the message that resonated with me was, first of all, that yes we do have free will (some scientific and religious views believe we do not), and following, I feel that free will can be defined as the ability to choose a course of action from among various alternatives as a means of fulfilling some need or desire; being responsible for one’s actions and accepting the resulting consequences.
There is a book that crossed my path several years ago called “Letters from The Cosmos”, published by Clermont Press, written by a husband and wife team. Let me just share with you the words on the cover, “Inspiring, instructive and sometimes controversial messages; written and transmitted by an unnamed, unknown source; received and recorded through an extraordinary psychic process”. I wanted to quote the cover simply because I couldn’t have described the book better. This book provided me with the first opportunity to consider our world and God from a very fresh outlook. We have been given this beautiful gift, the gift of free will. God saw us as children at one time so he gave us rules, as a parent gives a child. Boundaries. In my home growing up they were called, “ground rules”. In history they were called “The 10 Commandments”. Now we are older souls, like adults, expected to have learned lessons along the way that serve to guide us along our paths so that we now must take charge of our own lives, learn how to trust our intuitive nudges, and use our free will to make our own choices, and very importantly, be responsible for the following outcomes, whether they be positive or negative.
I read the book in 3 hours.
IMPORTANCE OF FREE WILL AND THE AFFECTS OF LOSING IT
So, when considering the possibilities around our choosing our own paths before we are born, free will, in partnership with intuition, determines whether we stay on path, a.k.a. whether we experience true happiness or not. Imagine the affects of being in a situation where someone is overpowering you. Someone is decided how you should feel, what you should believe in, what your decisions should be, what is best for you, telling you that all that you are experiencing is wrong. This would be like putting handcuffs on your free will, one of the most important tools of survival. Of course, there’s always the possibility that being in that particular type of situation would be a part of one’s path; however if so, wouldn’t it also be a part of one’s path to find a way out of the handcuffs?
I often remind people that, when its time to heal, its time to go back to where we left ourselves. I often get the question, “When is that?” In my belief, each person has their own point of the beginning of that separation, but I think that for a lot of us, we start to lose us around the age of 2 years old. At 2, we start to scream, “No! No! No!” and have our little temper tantrums. We will be heard!! And the adults start to let all the other adults know, while also apologizing, that we have entered the stage of “the terrible two’s”.
The terrible two’s.
And they’d all laugh and nod their heads knowingly.
For many years now, I’ve been coming across the theory that when a young human being hits a certain age, somewhere between the ages of 2-4, this individual begins the development of his or her free will, the ability to start making one’s own decisions (age appropriate, of course), the ability to say no.
Given this, consider it, at the time we began to develop our free will -- one of the most important tools of survival -- we were being labeled as “terrible”. Not the parents’ fault. They probably weren’t aware of the affects. Lots of that going around back then. But we can be aware now, and we have the free will to change our beliefs and use of our free will today.
We can take the handcuffs off.
JUST SAYIN’
Deuteronomy 30:19 gives us a choice: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both you and your seed may live".
“From common sense logic: If there is no free will, then there is no choice of belief, and therefore no convincing. People who deny the existence of free will are convinced there is no free will. Therefore we have free will.” Anonymous
TIME AGAIN FOR INVENTORY!
Grab a journal, notebook, or just a bunch of paper. Doesn’t matter. Just notice and write. For a week or so, take notice of your decisions. Are you making your decisions based on what is right and best for you? Or are you making your decisions based on avoiding disappointment and disapproval of others.
Yes, as one half of a partnership and as a member of a family, you do have to compromise and even at times sacrifice, if you want to share your life and love with others, but for personal decisions based on your needs and your life purpose, your level of happiness will be directly connected to how many personal choices are made based on your internal influence and not external influence.
Keep record and find out what influences you. Awareness is a pre-requisite for positive change.
Love and light, my friends! Spring is on its way!
~ Christine.
The terrible two’s.
And they’d all laugh and nod their heads knowingly.
For many years now, I’ve been coming across the theory that when a young human being hits a certain age, somewhere between the ages of 2-4, this individual begins the development of his or her free will, the ability to start making one’s own decisions (age appropriate, of course), the ability to say no.
Given this, consider it, at the time we began to develop our free will -- one of the most important tools of survival -- we were being labeled as “terrible”. Not the parents’ fault. They probably weren’t aware of the affects. Lots of that going around back then. But we can be aware now, and we have the free will to change our beliefs and use of our free will today.
We can take the handcuffs off.
JUST SAYIN’
Deuteronomy 30:19 gives us a choice: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both you and your seed may live".
“From common sense logic: If there is no free will, then there is no choice of belief, and therefore no convincing. People who deny the existence of free will are convinced there is no free will. Therefore we have free will.” Anonymous
TIME AGAIN FOR INVENTORY!
Grab a journal, notebook, or just a bunch of paper. Doesn’t matter. Just notice and write. For a week or so, take notice of your decisions. Are you making your decisions based on what is right and best for you? Or are you making your decisions based on avoiding disappointment and disapproval of others.
Yes, as one half of a partnership and as a member of a family, you do have to compromise and even at times sacrifice, if you want to share your life and love with others, but for personal decisions based on your needs and your life purpose, your level of happiness will be directly connected to how many personal choices are made based on your internal influence and not external influence.
Keep record and find out what influences you. Awareness is a pre-requisite for positive change.
Love and light, my friends! Spring is on its way!
~ Christine.