Do we have free will or is everything predetermined?

H Williams
Mar 16
3 min read

Q: I would like the tea spilled on the free will conundrum. if there's no free will why are we persevering, planting seeds in our minds and holding ourselves accountable for experiences of misery and separation and sometimes straight up selfish and egotistical behaviour, in your perspective?

A: As a spiritual mentor, most people I work with inevitably ask this question. Does free will exist? What's the point of doing anything?

And it makes sense that many people end up in this inquiry. I teach a form of non-dual spiritual philosophy-- a worldview in which everything is fundamentally One thing: God.

So, inevitably, as you begin to deeply explore the philosophy of "everything is God" you naturally wonder...

"Well, if God is everything, then God is doing everything.

So... am I doing anything?

Do I have free will?!"

This age-old question has perplexed thinkers and aspirants for thousands of years.

And when people ask me what I think about this, I usually just shrug my shoulders and say:

"Who cares?"

My own guru doesn't even have a definitive answer to this question; but he tends towards no. To me, the existence of it or not doesn't matter nearly as much as how its existence (or not) influences my behavior.

If you do have free will, how does that impact your experience?

What does that mean for your life?

If you don't have free will, how does that impact your experience?

What does that mean for your life?

Feel free to use these questions ⬆️ as prompts; open up your notes app and write down what you think.

I don't know if we human beings will ever have a complete answer to the question. Perhaps it's just one of the Divine Leela's [Divine tricks] that the Mother plays with us to keep us enamored by Her mystery.

But to be quite serious: it's not about which answer is absolutely correct, and more about which answer results in the most spiritually beneficial experience.

If you believe: "I have free will," that statement has the potential to reenforce your limited identity; the "I" in the statement. As in, it's a belief that could give more power to an unexamined ego.

If you believe: "I have no free will," that statement has the potential to reenforce a more devotional and expansive identity, so long as you situate yourself in the view that God is doing everything, not you in the limited sense.

So, my real answer is: I don't know, but which perspective is the most spiritually beneficial?

The truth is, asking "do I have free will" is not the most important question.

It's more important to examine the "I" in the statement itself.

You're asking: Do "I" have free will...

...but, WHO are YOU?

WHAT are you?

And, are you REALLY what you think you are?

Those questions are much more spiritually fruitful than wringing your hands over whether or not you have free will. Who's wringing whose hands?

Now, this conversation is veering into the territory of the ego, karma, and the immanence of God. All concepts that are wrought with confusion, especially when it comes to discussing spirituality on social media.

These complicated philosophical questions are exactly why I have my patreon. These talks will help you to understand the free will conundrum:

DEVOTION 101

THE EGO 101

UNDERSTANDING KARMA

Hope to see you inside! ♡

🌟 Want to dive deeper into your spirituality? Let's connect:

📧 Email: immanent.divinity@gmail.com

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