Manipulation, Forces and Free Will
Question: So, even though every experience may NOT necessarily be “part of the plan”, nothing ever happens to us that isn’t either 1] a direct result of our past actions/decisions, or 2] a design of our soul [or both]. Correct?
JJ: Close, but not quite. To be technically correct we need to take out the word “our” and just word your first statement thus: “nothing ever happens to us that isn’t either 1] a direct result of past actions/decisions.”
The individual does have some things happen to him that may not be the result of his past actions and decisions but is the result of the past actions of the group to which he belongs. For instance, when a nation becomes involved in a war both good and bad people are affected. Many did nothing to get it started but still may suffer from it.
We are all part of a greater body. Take a look at your body. Perhaps your head wants to go on a roller coaster ride and makes that decision. During the ride the stomach becomes upset and thinks, “I didn’t ask for this.” Once the body decides then all parts are affected. Even so, we are all parts of a greater body.
Question: Could you talk a little more about these “subtle forces”, maybe give some examples of what might constitute such a “collision of subtle forces”?
JJ: These forces are caused by a number of things. For the individual it may be problems going on in his life.
Let us say that Ben has been living a carefree life when suddenly he discovers his wife is having an affair and on top of that he may lose his job. This creates a stream of emotional energy that distracts him and makes an accident much more likely.
On the other hand, distractions leading to accidents can come from more subtle things.
Let us say that Jim’s son is being bullied at school and is depressed but acts like everything in his life is fine. As Jim is driving home his subtle body picks up the negative vibe from his son. He does not register the negative energy enough to consciously understand it, but it does have the effect of distracting his attention and making him more accident prone.
In addition, the distractive negative energy may be coming from a number of different sources.
If one feels such subtle negative energies it is important that he be very careful when driving or in any circumstances where an accident is possible. When I feel such energies I say to myself: “You do not need to have an accident today.”
Question: Is manipulation infringement on the free will or not?
Good question. In other words, if you manipulate circumstances so the outcome changes have you infringed on free will? For instance, suppose both you and Bob are up for a promotion and Bob is more qualified. Then you spread an ugly and untrue rumor about him that causes the boss to promote you instead. Have you infringed on Bob’s free will?
The answer is no. The fact is that manipulation changes circumstances and circumstances change for us almost on an hourly basis. There are dozens of things happen to each of us every day that change or manipulate our circumstances.
Even if you take out the trash you are changing the circumstances so no one else in he family is faced with the decision to take it out. If you kiss your spouse you affect his or her circumstances so now she does not decide to initiate the affections because you did it first.
Manipulation by itself is neither good or bad, positive or negative. It is neutral like money and can be used to create a good and or bad depending on the intent and the luck of the initiator.
Instead of taking away free will manipulation increases it because each manipulation presents the one manipulated with additional choices.
Let me give a couple examples.
Brad drives ten boring miles to work everyday. During the drive he is almost in a trance and nothing much happens. The drive is the same every day.
One evening a couple kids siphon most of the gas out of his car. They think it’s funny that Brad will run out of gas on the way to work. Sure enough after about five miles he does run out of gas. Because of this he has to exercise more free will than normal and make some extra decisions. Should he call his wife for help, the AAA or walk to a nearby gas station? He decides to walk to a gas station and a sexy blond sees him and offers him a ride. They hit it off and she invites him to lunch. Now, instead of a boring ride to work all kinds of decisions confront his free will.
The kids thought it was funny that they were manipulating Brad’s circumstances, but they did not alter his free will. Instead, they provided him with additional choices.
If standard manipulation does not take away free will then what does? What does take away free will is an act that attempts to take away the power of decision in a certain area. This is normally accomplished through a government or some authority figure.
Let us suppose you lived in a country where the punishment was death if you even disagreed with your dear leader. Would this interfere with your power of decision to write a letter to the editor stating what you really think?
Yes, in this case free will is restricted and fewer decisions are made.
Let us suppose the fine was $5 if you were caught not having a seat belt. Would this interfere with free will? Only slightly because you could afford to pay $5. But suppose the fine was $1000. Would this interfere?
Yes, even I would buckle up whether I wanted to or not if the fine was that great.
Suppose you were a member of a cult with a prophet leader who you believe speaks for God. He tells you that God wants him to sleep with your wife. You do not want to allow this but feel forced into it because you think it is God’s will. The prophet is using your belief system to restrict your power of choice.
People have boundaries, which, when crossed, will yield their free will. Those who push the people through these boundaries are agents in limiting free will.
Forever is a long time, but not as long as it was yesterday. – Dennis H’Orgnies
Feb 23, 2013
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