question
a therapist once said to me 'we all feel trapped within who we are at times'
it's really coming to me today -
Does anyone feel this way as well?
I've also wondered if in fact "free will" doesn't exist.
Robert Sapolsky, a renowned professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, argues that humans do not have free will, and that our actions are determined by biological and environmental factors beyond our control.
I was a raging child during services today - I forget what triggered it but I just needed
and had an ubridled appetite and although I kept my focus - my insides were raging with panic and dismay
and all the host of crap wondering if others ever feel this instable - I really needed to focus my attentions on taking care of this my inner child
today - and go for pleasures but also guide myself as an adult in carrying out my responsibilities.
I'm starting to think again about this subject of free will. I'm up here in my room now - and getting
some things done. I know I have to take care gently of myself - and not be
so militaristic about my responsibilities and regimentation and I say that because the latter is a forceful thing that brings
on fatigue and illness. Stress really triggers the illness for me - and I know it's a common trigger for a lot of us.
At times I hope for a broader scope within which to operate my life and vision for my moving forward actions.
Very often it's the steps right in front of me - one step at a time that seem to be what's available to me -
as well as how I get started with the pragmatic things in life - whether it's taking care of work or others or
eating and washing and all those things involved with taking care of life. Maybe it's my own hubris
and desire to see outside myself when it dawns on me to struggle to see out of this 'taking care of life zone."
Replies
We are complex beings in a BRUTALLY complex world.
I couldn’t have even fathomed how complicated the world would be as I ventured into adulthood.
Some will argue with me that it’s not that complex - you are just a Hobo lady that makes it complex yourself.
I have been taking the reins of navigation to the best of my ability for a long time, and dodged a lot of control from others, and that continues. But navigating each moment- in the here and now -with cognitive strength and a confidence in our own self and abilities will give us a sense of ownership of our own spiritual self. If that sounds hippie dippie so be it.
But as you administer spiritual lessons on others, you may be embarking on something bigger than oneself where the minutiae hands itself over to an inner peace. At least that’s what I hope for you Markus.
I keep busy with work of all kinds, but lately have been feeling a sense of loss of self and I am trying to ground back into my own identity. It’s a weird world when you are expected to be that but not this, do this but not that, criticize criticize criticize, join this group, do this exercise, partake of that. So having a solid sense of self matters in order to NAVIGATE and trust the process.
I don’t know if anything resonates here but just some lunchtime thoughts I wanted to chime in with.
thanks nikki. yeah fear of the unknown can be a big thing. I mean - the fear of it - I might be open to discovery -
it's just the bends in the road along the way tends to get me stuck .
I get stuck and forget. The original goal as well
I start looking for the predictable where truly it’s the individual solely at play
this disabled vet would not have thought to use the word, "militaristic" to your life philosophy, markus. the sense of militaristic behavior i acquired in boot camp was unquestioning loyalty. mine is not to reason why, etc., etc. you question everything. for a refugee from the throwaway kid camps of the world's richest country, it was a salve for my heavily abused questioning nature, especially the part of 3 hots and a cots. boot camp was my first experience with 3 meals a day and a bed of my own. when the drill sergeant gave the lecture on how to make an army bed, she held up the blanket, pointed to the u.s. printed on one side and announced, "this side down. there is no us in these beds." i almost broke out in a happy dance.
i agree with Robert Sapolsky on the nature of the human biology, but not so much on the absence of free will. even my dog has free will. still. . . keeping the focus on those spots where i DO have free will --such as turning life's inevitable pain into martyred suffering-- i spend far less time trying to control the uncontrollable and declaring myself a wise person while i attempt to control.
I think the formative years also make a huge impact on our lives
They messed me up a great deal from which I've truly never healed
Some things seem impossible to me such as an inability to trust when it comes to intimate partners ..I just can't get close to a person in this way
Not that I didn't want to...I think trauma therapy may have helped me a great deal but alas...
I agree that we all have our 'stuff' for whatever reasons
I don't think that we have total free will either
Turning to God has helped me though a great deal as well Marky
I have been very blessed in my life though and I am grateful
I think that there is a lot that we can work on to improve our lives
There are different ways to look at something as Arfie pointed out
thanks Arfie! Thanks Jan!!
@ SunCloudJD turning to God was what saved me as well, but it wasn't the God of my religion....it was the God in my heart that had been waiting for me for 60 years to speak to him....not with repetitive prayers but like I was talking to my own Father! Only then did my life begin to change for the better...hugs
Thanks Bob!