The Truth about Free Will
According to the wisdom of Kabbalah
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Viktor Frankl
Do we have free will? Yes we do.
Each and every day we are inundated with opportunities to choose freely — those exquisite moments in time when we may choose our future direction and that of the universe. Truly. Choice is that powerful.
What is lacking often is the understanding of what it is we are really choosing. I may opt to turn right or left at an intersection, or to go straight, but how I turn the steering wheel is not the choice. What comes next is. Where do I want to end up? The desired outcome defines the choice, and that outcome then becomes an arena within which to make more choices. For example, there’s a crash ahead on the freeway, so I consider altering my route.
But there is a bigger picture here that has to do with the very essence of the universe, of nature, of the reason for our existence, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah.
A Force called the will to bestow, in order to manifest its giving nature, created an opposite force called the will to receive. This is the common soul and it came into existence out of non-existence having no choice in the matter. The soul’s immediate desire was to be like its Creator, setting off a series of interactions between these two forces that resulted in a shattering — known as the Big Bang — of that common soul, and we now find ourselves in this form called matter, disconnected from each other. It is in this form, in this lifetime, that that we follow a spiritual path toward reconnecting all the broken pieces of the soul.
From One Tiny Point to An Expanded Universe
From the time of the shattering, four levels of existence have evolved — the inanimate, vegetative, animate and human. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe had a beginning. Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. Our universe began as an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, small point that burst forth into what became the inanimate, or still, level of matter — atoms, molecules, gases, rocks, stars, planets, and so on.
As the universe began to cool down and develop precise forms, within the oceans developed the coral. Like the still level, existing on the ocean floor, coral is passive. However, corals have nerves and are able to respond to and interact with their environment. This dual capacity designates coral as the transition into the vegetative stage of development. Plants on this echelon are limited in that they remain rooted to the earth. However, they are able to direct themselves toward the sun, to absorb what is helpful and emit what is harmful, and to reproduce themselves. Different species have their own reproduction, feeding and even migration mechanisms, yet the basic nature of all plants remains the same.
The transition into the animate level is quite fascinating. It is a plant/animal species that is now extinct called Siphusauctum Gregarium. This strange being, called “the dog of the field,” lived in clusters amongst other vegetative matter, but had a feeding system that was unique only to animals. From this point on, more complex life forms began to develop. Animate beings are not confined to their immediate environment, and have a greater desire for autonomy, and a heightened sense of self. However, they have sensations only of themselves, not of others.
The development of these three levels completed the preparation for entry of the human species into the system. It is known that certain species of primates evolved into the human level, thus are the transition out of the animate tier. As humans we have virtues or more advanced qualities. We may act against the will of the Upper Governance. We are not confined to contemporaries like the vegetative, but are independent. We feel each other so are able to celebrate and regret with the others, to care for or reject them, to remember the past and plan for the future. Just as with each succeeding level, we hold within ourselves all the elements of those life forms that preceded us. In other words, the whole world is inside us, individually and collectively.
The most important distinction to understand is that there is no free will found within the first three levels; rather instinct drives action there. Imagine the above image as made up of planets, flora and fauna that are relentlessly driven by those around them, interacting with each other in perfection in order to maintain the integrity of the greater system. Now… identify one cogwheel as you and imagine for a moment being within this whirring, purposeful and orderly structure.
Humankind has been given the ability to choose to remain in alignment with the system or to reverse the direction in which we are rotating. We are experiencing all around us the effect of the latter on our relationships with each other on all levels, from individual to international.
Giving and Receiving — The Only Forces of the Universe
As described above, a Force called the will to bestow, in order to manifest its giving nature, created an opposite force called the will to receive. This is the only act or creation, something from nothing, existence from non-existence. All else developed through the tension between these two forces of bestowal and reception that resulted in constant, evolutionary development of everything that is — combining these left and right lines to form a middle path toward development. This is how the universe works.
We humans live within the will to receive, spending our lives figuring out how to satisfy all of our desires. And herein lies the point of free choice. Alongside this will to receive exists an attribute found nowhere else in nature — ego — the tool by which we exercise freedom of will. Ego is the engine that developed our societies to its current environment where we live with relative ease and comfort. That process, however, is essentially completed. We have everything we need, but ego has grown its muscle, so to speak. It is now more forceful that ever in the history of the universe, and in order to expend its energy, it is exposing its other side — greed, self-aggrandizement, hatred. So we find ourselves in a world of chaos and are beginning to realize that only by managing our egoistic desires will we survive.
Intention, Not Action, is What Matters
To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.
Goeth
The ultimate choice is whether I govern ego or ego governs me. Do I annul myself to the flawless and benevolent design of nature or do I become the cogwheel that reverses its direction? For the outcome toward which I am aiming is the impression my action will imprint on the field of thought by which humanity is influenced. The correct action is not determined by what I want vs what others want. It is by blending the two so that I fulfill my own desire while at the same time conferring no harm on others.
The profound reality here is that I, and I alone, have the power to create the character of that imprint on reality, and this confers upon me unmitigated responsibility for the well-being of the entire system. And so too for all other 7,500,000,000 humans on the planet.
So I think. I form an intention, a vision, so to speak, of that place within the collective unconscious where my action will permanently stamp an impression that will unalterably affect the substance of that field. The intention emerges after I engage in scrutiny and calculation. I scrutinize my desire to change my driving route and decide whether or not to fulfill it. (The fact is that desires can be ignored and unfulfilled.) I calculate what would be the least effort to attain maximum gain. Will getting off the freeway be faster than remaining? Ego is at work here, guiding my decision about what is best for me. So I can honk my horn and demand entry into another lane, or I can consider others on the road — slowing down, using turn signals, proceeding cautiously. Intention determines how I carry out my decision, egoistically or altruistically.
Consider this. Without ego how would we comprehend the bigger picture — the perfection within which we live? Without the context of the perfection of the system of nature within which I live and breathe, how would I direct myself? There would be no purpose for life because we would have no standard against which to measure ourselves. And without ego pushing us toward greed and single-mindedness, how would we be able to choose independently? We would be creatures of instinct, no different than all the entities that reside on the other three levels. This is what is meant by ego being a tool by which we can constantly examine our relationships with each other. This inner survey can take us, step by step, to that higher place within ourselves where we can glimpse and be in alignment with the full reality.
On the spiritual path, understanding this point of choice is called growing up. It is the maturity to examine our inner selves and be guided by the vast system of nature of which we are a part. It is the difficult work of the productive adult within us. Ultimately, it is the joining with the efforts of nature toward unity, harmony and balance.
My views about internal work and personal responsibility are found in most of what I write.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider searching for my other articles on Medium.com or going to my blog here.