Freedom or Choice—Can we have Both?

Can humans think instinctively? Freedom of choice is precisely the state of not choosing. What is freedom of choice, when choice is the analyzing act of hesitation while making a decision and ignoring the instinctive action that has the backing of evolution?

While being a decisive person is considered someone who doesn’t stop to decide, a paradox in the definition itself which pauses me to examine. Why do humans approach everything backwards, abandoning instinct when they seem to know better? Thinking and words may have us spellbound.

Your mind, brain, and consciousness (whatever you want to call it) arises or evolves of the very stuff your thoughts are trying to analyze. No wonder it is such an impossible puzzle. And to examine what we consider the world outside ourselves becomes equally as frustrating, because it isn’t outside yourself either, although you’re inside it. Until one can release the duplicity of examining the world as separate and hostile, it will be utterly and increasingly futile to segment the universe, matter, and consciousness into words and formulas. Is there a more wholistic approach?

Snoqualmie Tunnel Hike today–2.3 miles each way, of course

To treat our brain differently from any other organ that functions automatically without thinking, so too, the subconscious mind functions in an amazing way, unless you try to put effort to it—that thinking, the very specific and narrow channel of conscious attention with which we identify ourselves is the most unreliable means of examining anything, because what is, is being analyzed by the most unreliable portion of the human computer.

The scientific and religious approach, from the very beginning assumes we are separate from what we know to be true—that we are stardust, and to examine what you’re made of using what you’re made of, is a daunting task that should cause a laugh with absurdity, but instead causes contention because we fail to scratch beyond the conscious attention. It has to be examined by what we’re not made of—what is not obvious on the surface.

Thinking and what “should be” is a projection of the mind that creates an illusion of separation. Thought takes time; thought is psychological time that distorts the timeless.

“But were human”, you say, “we have to live in the world we have, with the tools we have”, you say, but the very art of approach from our infancy is at odds with logic and reason, combatting instinct and the underlying reality we have been trained to ignore in modern life. Laden with changing fact and pointless claims of progress, infighting, outfighting, constantly choosing from two wrong sides of beliefs that have us exactly and forever where we don’t want to be.

But human behavior without the thinking is most often heroic, while at the same time the hero says (s)he just did what anyone would do—yes, if they didn’t stop to think about it first.

And after analyzing all the data, the best inventions come by luck, not the scientific method at all. It is used much less frequently than it is lauded, and often used in backsplaining the discovery that was made by instinctive awareness–or luck.

Advertisement

What is “Spiritual”

A few months back Ark asked, “what the hell is spiritually minded? If you can’t define spirit then such a term is simply fluff”. Well, I can define it.

What people think it is, is much different than what it actually is. Here is a sample definition—“Spirit is the ethereal conscious that infiltrates the corporeal being to cause and sustain life. Being aware of this duality in human nature is to be in tune with the eternal, external human nature beyond physical existence”.

What it actually is though, is a connection to our natural instincts. Being ingenious by trusting your gut based on thousands of years of hunches that continue to pay off, evidenced by survival.

“One cannot help but appreciate the power of this instinct, nor its effectiveness as exampled by humanity thriving—in spite of being populated by an idiot majority” yet somehow continues to thrive, now beyond natures ability to replenish it.

Every day billions of people use this instinct to make important decisions. After all the data is analyzed, prayers offered, pros and cons considered, the decision is typically made by snap-judgement, gut feeling, a hunch—and very likely on impulse or irresponsible wants. This is the “spirit” in action—the survival instinct, and its amazing how much it actually works. And delegating authority to the subconscious mind is a win, most of the time. Don’t think, just do.

To those who seek validation outside themselves, this they call the spirit. But it’s quite obvious it is ancient instinct talking to itself and subconscious genius protecting the masses, often from themselves. No belief required. It did fine before its name change to “spirit” and will do fine again without it.

The antithesis of instinctive action is waiting. Nothing is more useless than waiting on the Holy Spirit to direct your decisions when you already know what to do. More often than not, waiting on the spirit is a call to inaction—and excuses.

Delegating authority to instinct has the backing of evolution and a proven track record of success. Long before Abraham was, we were doing just fine trusting the gut to warn us of danger and prompt us to action when needed. Now we must go through proper channels to do so, only to do it anyway.