Free Will is possible, not probable
As humans we seem to know truth when we hear it…
“Man is a moving being. He is either moving towards that which is good… or surely he moves towards that which is not.”
So how does one improve their life and choose to “move towards the good”? That would of course require the power to make conscious choices aka free-will. Some argue we have no free-will, we are acting out a cosmic play in which we are simply the witness to an unending stream of thought and action whose locus cannot be found. Others argue that we have a “soul” or a something, that is at our core that does have the power to choose, and thus each individual is responsible for their every action and thought.
I’m more of a both/and thinker on this. I propose that conscious access to free-will is extremely rare, (though not impossible to experience with proper training). Most the time, most of us are acting on auto-pilot, with our nervous systems jacked up on coffee or iPhone-induced dopamine rushes, we speak and act in reaction to most stimuli. You may have even experienced being consciously aware that your words or actions ran counter to how you wanted to act but still couldn’t help yourself from saying or doing something you wish you hadn’t! For many this happens most often when they visit family, and long ingrained patterns of behavior take over our minds.
Philosophically most people believe they have a choice about how they think, act, or speak however, one’s ability to consciously choose, ie, one’s ability to activate their free-will is diminished their nervous system is hijacked by fear, anxiety, frustration, guilt, shame, etc… Interestingly, these unhelpful moods are only experienced when one’s nervous system is in a Parasympathetic ie fight/flight or a Dorsal Vagal ie freeze/submit state. When one’s nervous system is dominated by the Ventral Vagal ie (Rest/Reflect) state, then instead of the unhelpful moods listed above one will experience, openness, curiosity, reflection, and relaxed body awareness. These states of nervous system activation are measurable…
So I would argue that as humans we do have access to free-will, but the only way we can access it consciously is first by bringing one’s nervous system into a Ventral Vagal state. (Thus the importance of practices like mediation, yoga, music, sport, etc.) The depth of the ventral vagal state one experiences will lead to more first principles reflective thinking and awareness of one’s primal needs, desires, and goals. Yogis of various traditions have often defined these different conscious states as levels of Samadhi. It’s my belief that meditation and yoga are tools to access one’s free will, and that living from a place of more conscious choice brings a deeper sense of peace and human flourishing.
One of my favorite practices is warming up with some yoga to release tension from my body, then meditating for 15-20 mins, followed by self reflection through first principles. IE, asking my Ventral Vagal self: “Is the way I’m living helping me to flourish? What is the purpose of my life? Are there actions I’m taking that are harming me and others?” It was through this process that I was finally able to give up my smart phone as I realized through conscious analysis that it was causing me and my family more harm then benefit.
Meditation is a super power habit… I can’t recommend anything more really and hope you will join me in a free class, and that it will lead to you “moving towards the good.”