Quote:Ok-the question now is, if you, the individual freebird living in the now, you the freebird including all of your sum totals of past, present and future, and you the freebird as part of the collective conscious that has gone before and exists for all time did not create all of your current reality or your view of collective reality, who did? ???
That's an easy one: God.
God created me and created you, both our physical bodies and also our spirits. Every spirit that exists and every physical particle and physical law that exists is a creation/emanation of God.
It is because I believe in God, a Supreme Being, that I believe there is an objective reality which is what is really true in an absolute sense. God's perspective on reality is objective reality. Our various limited human perspectives are less accurate versions or perceptions of God's ultimate reality. They contain some truth and some error. On the other hand, God contains only truth and no error, because that is by definititon what a Supreme Intelligence is.
Quote:Remember you can’t blame outside forces because there really aren’t any to be blamed for our own personal view of our reality or our view of collective reality.
If God created us and formed us according to a higher plan that precedes our existence, then yes, indeed we can look to forces beyond ourselves for certain aspects of our view of reality. For example, God gave each of us a spirit with certain inclinations, and we find ourselves in a body with certain genetic programming, parents, formative experiences, etc. It is possible that we are allowed to choose what body to incarnate into based on our own free will (although that idea is open to question), but even if so, the way we have chosen is due in part to the tendencies of the will which is an aspect of our spirit which God created. Therefore, everything we choose is ultimately because of the way God made us. In the final analysis, if there is a God, then all things proceed from God and all things return to God. God is all that really exists, and everything else, including us, are merely emanations of God.
That's how I see it. My view is based heavily on belief in a Supreme Being who is totally in control of everything that exists and occurs. Within this theistic framework, even our own "free will" choices are influenced by the plan of God beyond our knowledge or control.
Quote:Even scientists can’t agree on one ultimate objective reality that applies to all things and all individuals.
True. I would say that is because only God is omniscient. Limited human beings cannot know everything, because our brains are limited and we are living within the universe, precluding the possibility of looking upon it from an external perspective. Perhaps when we leave the body at death, we might gain such capabilities of greater knowledge and a superior perspective.
Quote:That’s also why the same “bad” thing can happen to different individuals and the reaction to it can be so varied. Some go into deep depression while others create support groups.
There are various reasons contributing to such differences. Some of it could be because of the level of certain chemicals and hormones in the brain or the condition and number of receptors for neurotransmitters, which strongly influence our thoughts and behavior. Some of it could be because of the relative strength of different people's spiritual abilities to deal with challenges and overcome them. Some of it could be because one person has more help from God, angels, spirit guides, or other beneficial external forces than another person. Some of it could be because of slightly different circumstances or initial conditions that lead to big differences in the final outcome.
Quote:Your analogy of pressing 300 pounds is good, except how many of us really choose to do this?
My point was that some things are difficult to do and require lots of training to achieve, which shows that human freedom is not inherently absolute, only
potentially so. The same principle should apply in regard to spiritual things such as the ability to conquer great obstacles, perform miracles or overcome the laws of the physical universe through willpower.
Quote:Note: I’m defining reality generally as the multi-dimensional universe including but going beyond the merely physical. Maybe that’s the problem. Anyhow, what do you think?
I certainly agree with you that without the limitations of being incarnated into a physical organism, there should be a much greater degree of free will available to us. When I argue that free will is limited, I am generally referring to the condition of life on earth in an incarnated condition, not the afterlife beyond the physical world, which we know much less about.
Freebird
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