That is a very good question — and you are making me think here :)
Free will goes beyond self-determination. Because "self" is already a tricky concept. Who are we? The story we tell about ourselves? The one others tell? How do I know who I am if I'm constantly evolving?
There is a moment most of us have experienced: when we perceive something beautiful, time stops. Thought quiets. And what remains feels full, present, and real. That quiet witness — the one still there when the noise pauses — that is closer to what I mean by the deepest self.
Both body and mind are conditioned. But body sensations are less polluted. The mind interprets them, and that interpretation is already shaped by history, culture, fear, desire. When I feel satisfied but keep eating because the food is delicious — that is not the body speaking. That is the mind translating a sensation into a story, and me following the story without noticing.
Free will, I think, is already happening. Beneath the mind's commentary, something in us is always oriented. The question is not how to achieve freedom — it is whether we notice when we are mistaking the interpreter for the truth.
When we see the mind speaking — clearly, without judgment — we can choose. Not despite the mind, but beyond it.
I started off with an Atari that my Dad bought me. I was lucky I had a cool Dad. Started programming and the rest, as they say is history.
Namaste
Is this what freewill is?
That is a very good question — and you are making me think here :)
Free will goes beyond self-determination. Because "self" is already a tricky concept. Who are we? The story we tell about ourselves? The one others tell? How do I know who I am if I'm constantly evolving?
There is a moment most of us have experienced: when we perceive something beautiful, time stops. Thought quiets. And what remains feels full, present, and real. That quiet witness — the one still there when the noise pauses — that is closer to what I mean by the deepest self.
Both body and mind are conditioned. But body sensations are less polluted. The mind interprets them, and that interpretation is already shaped by history, culture, fear, desire. When I feel satisfied but keep eating because the food is delicious — that is not the body speaking. That is the mind translating a sensation into a story, and me following the story without noticing.
Free will, I think, is already happening. Beneath the mind's commentary, something in us is always oriented. The question is not how to achieve freedom — it is whether we notice when we are mistaking the interpreter for the truth.
When we see the mind speaking — clearly, without judgment — we can choose. Not despite the mind, but beyond it.
That, to me, is what freedom actually feels like.