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Free Will
Stephen:
It’s very simple to take apart the concept of free will and
you’ll see there is no free will. Not only is there no free
will, there is no separate entity who can exercise
free will. Whatever is expressing itself is a mystery. There
are a lot of different words for it, Universal Intelligence,
God, Life Itself, the Buddha Mind, Christ Consciousness, all
these different terms.
Darren:
So what do you do with your life?
Stephen:
Life is happening. Everything is happening. It’s like asking
an oak tree that question. Just because there’s a brain here
doesn’t mean it has any more control than an oak tree. What
does an oak tree do with its life?
Darren:
It just responds.
Stephen:
It produces leaves and acorns. So what does this body do?
Whatever the universe wants it to do. There’s no way to
know. We can ask, what is the purpose of the universe? Is
there any way to know or is it a mystery? The purpose of the
universe! If we have no idea what the purpose of the
universe is, then how do we know the purpose of this tiny
little speck in the universe? How would we know? How could
we possibly know that?
Darren:
Well, some people say it’s easier to deal with one speck
than the whole thing. But if the whole thing is meaningless,
then the speck is meaningless also.
Stephen:
I don’t even know if it’s meaningless. How could we say? Is
there any way to know that? The entire universe!
Darren:
Well, in the Landmark Forum they say your life is empty and
meaningless, and it’s empty and meaningless that it’s empty
and meaningless. So, don’t make up some rationale as to why.
Stephen:
Yes, I would say that’s true. But I don’t believe it because
someone says it’s true. That’s what I see. I don’t see how
we could possibly know our purpose on a macro or absolute
level.
Darren:
So what does one do with one’s life?
Stephen:
One doesn’t do anything. That’s like asking an oak tree,
what will you do with your life? There’s no difference. What
does an oak tree do with its life? It’s an oak tree. What
does a human being do with its life?—whatever the Universal
Source does with it. It’s like a puppet—no different than an
oak tree.
Darren:
I’m trying to see in practice how my stance would change if
I realize I’m not in control. In the back of my mind I have
the sense it’s true. I did not choose to be in this seeker
mode for the past thirty-five years. I did not want it. My
best friend thinks the whole thing is nonsense, and he has a
great life. I didn’t choose this. My head went into the
tiger’s mouth, and I got stuck. That tells me I had no say
in the matter. So, I have some sense it’s true. My question
is if I were to shift my perspective to seeing I’m not the
one in control, what next? What next?
Stephen:
What’s next is just watching. If you are not the one in
control, then what are you? A thought comes in, a feeling, a
sensation, and then an action happens. Everything is
happening spontaneously. There’s nothing that is not
spontaneous.
So we see there is
no individual free will. I’m not a controlling entity. I am
consciousness. What is the role of consciousness? It just
watches, it witnesses. So, what do I do? I watch. I witness.
I watch the activities of the body/mind.
Darren:
You mean the big ‘I’. Not the ego ‘I’. The ‘I’ that runs the
show.
Stephen:
Yes, there’s just one I. The question is what do I do? The
only thing I can do is watch. I can do that. It’s what I am.
It’s what you are—this life essence that’s aware of
everything. You ask, what happens when you realize this—you
watch. There’s nothing else to do, because everything is
being done.
