[niki]

Do you believe in Fate/Destiny?
or some kind of "Higher Power" (many would term it as "God", although not necessarily have to be like in religions' descriptions) that perhaps we humans can't comprehend, that work 'mysteriously' in determining each of our fate, from our birth until we return to dust?
And how about freewill?
can two of them actually work hand-in-hand simultaneously?

[Alediran]

I know there are things beyond what our five senses can percieve, sharks for example can sense electric currents that we can't, so there is no reason to think that other invisible forces couldn't be there.

I do "believe" in Destiny/Karma because I see it as the whole network of action/reaction, cause/consequence that it is. When you start to think what previous events caused something you could stretch yourself to the begining of everything. It's not that there was no choice, the choice was made long before you were even aware.

[Lad]

I'm a hard determinist -- everything is pre-determined based on an antecedent casual chain of events. This coincides well with my Soulmate belief (meant to be together), but also revolves around the Chaos Theory of everything being interconnected.

In some ways, this helps me alleviate the anger I would have towards certain types of people because I believe they are a byproduct of those forces.

For example,
Let's say someone commits a crime and kills 5 people.
A determinist takes a broader scope and creates links as to "why" or "how" this happened for the purpose of understanding.
A Free-Will follower is really just looking at scientific facts to prove that this individual did indeed commit the crime. Basically, guilty or not guilty.

For this, and many other reasons, I believe I have more "free"dom through awareness, but additionally, the ability to exonerate myself from certain forms of guilt or self-criticism. I am who I am :D.

[SenhorFrio]

I think fate puts you in situation, and you have the free will to make decisions which in turn lead you down a path. Sometime when i get a bit up in my head i think my life is governed by some sort of narritve purpose, like certain things(usually bad things) had to happen because they are just part of the story. it may sounds like a bit of a cop out but generally when good things happen i consider it my fault, and when bad stuff happens it isn't my fault. If there is a God they aren't playing a direct role, She built a world the is supposed to make sense and divine intervention doesn't really fit.

[SenhorFrio]

@Lad

your post made me think a bit, as usual i took a very subjective perspective. got me to thinking does fate affect diffrent people in diffrent ways, like people who don't think critically as much and are generally more content with their lives maybe they had less decisions presented to them by fate.

[adagio]

I don't know if I believe in the text book definition of Fate, but I do believe that my life is guided. How and by who? I have no idea. But I do know that sometimes a series of highly unlikely events work at pushing me in a certain direction, to be in a certain place at a certain time, and they're quite inexplicable. Let's say (this is all hypothetical) you're sleeping and then suddenly you awake and can't go back to sleep. You decide to go out for a drive, late at night, and you end up on a lonely road and you suddenly run out of gas when you know you had a full tank that morning. You walk to a house to ask for help and there's a dead body on the floor and nobody else. Suddenly the police arrive and begin asking you questions. Very Kafkaesque. How do you explain how you arrived there? I suppose most INFPs have similar stories.

I often wonder how much of what we see or experience happens in the real world and how much happens inside of our heads. Dumbledore said, "Of course it's all in your head, Harry. But that doesn't mean it isn't happening in the real world too."

If we both go to see a Superman flick, we will both agree that we're seeing a flying man. But is the man really flying? This is like Jimmy Olsen saying to Superman, "Have you realised that we're not really Olsen and Superman, but two actors repeating lines from a script?" And Superman replying, "And have you realised that we're not even flesh and blood? We're merely a 2D light image projected on a screen." Have you ever seen The Truman Show? Obviously, I'm getting around to Holographic Universe because it's that time of night.

Are we merely sitting in a library somewhere with VR glasses and experiencing events which appear extremely real to us? It makes more sense than trying to explain how we humans could have evolved faster than is mathematically possible. Who's creating our reality? Our "higher" selves? Humans from the future coming back in time to speed up progress? Some Supreme Being? For what purpose? Did I really end up in a house with a dead body or did someone else imagine it and placed the memory in my head? What we imagine to be fate could be, in reality, merely electrical impulses in our brain.

For many centuries the Hindus have believed that we live in a world of illusion. How do we see behind the illusion? Through Zen and satori, perhaps? Zen masters say, "You are not born and you do not die." It's tremendously freeing to believe this. But it also robs us of opportunities to fully experience emotions and learning situations. It's like getting the answer sheet before exams.

Somehow I suspect this is not the sort of reply you were seeking, so I'll stop here.

[Aurum]

I will take the seemingly absurd stance that both freewill and determinism exist for us. I had an epiphany about it a few months ago and will attempt to convey my thoughts into words.

For all intents and purposes we experience the wonders of freewill in which we have the ability to make choices and cannot predict the future. On the flipside, the chain of events that unfold in this physical reality are based on specific cause & effect laws that must happen in a very specific way and cannot be altered. Even our own thoughts are cause & effect as much as we would like to deny it.

We have the unique situation of seeing existence as more than it is. This is the joy of "time". Think of it as the difference of knowing the outcome of a football game vs. watching the game in its entirety. The result is the same, but watching the game gives you more information about the thing that is "the game".

If we see all that is as "the game", we know there is only one outcome and it cannot be changed, but we can experience what happens and see WHY it happens.

In a way, we are here to understand who we are... and we are all that is. Who are "we", though? Everyone and everything, from a pebble of sand at the bottom of the ocean to the furthest galaxies we haven't even discovered yet.

If this goes against your own beliefs, please don't take offense. These are my opinions.

[Eolande]

I did once strongly believe in fate, destiny and karma, cause and effect etc. I would consult astrology, tarot, numerology, runes, whatever other "sign" I could find to give me direction and clarity as to which path to take and discover the truth. At times I have had some amazing psychic-type events occur which reinforce my opinion that fate is at work and supernatural forces are just a given. I do believe this. But I have chosen not to attempt to uncover the future and calculate which path is the correct one that I was destined to take anymore because I have found it crippling to do so. What if I make a mistake and take the wrong path? How will I know? I do feel like I am supposed to be here on this planet for some reason, damned if I know what it is, but it can’t be to work a mundane job, buy a bigger t.v. and pay for insurance.
I now prefer to trust my intuition and synchronicity plays a big part as well. I am really trying to see the opportunities which are presenting themselves to me and using signs to guide my choices. I am more going with the flow although I give those flows a considerable amount of thought (obviously). I think that there are so many options available to us in this world that it is just so overwhelming. I get overwhelmed with these possibilities, I could have numerous destinies depending on an incalculable number of chosen options made throughout my life. How can you not go wrong somewhere along the way? Is it then for us to bring our choices back to the original destined path or are we damned. To walk aimlessly unfulfilled ? Surely not, I can’t buy that, therefore I believe in both fate, spiritual guidance or what ever you may like to call it, but I also believe that free will is a factor too.

[FreeBeer]

Every human has the same fate...to grow old and die.

What you do with your life till that moment depends on you. Certain things in life will push you towards a certain fate, but you still have the free will to push back and do what you want.

This is my opinion.

[Rather Unusual]

Sometimes I can't shake the feeling that I'm somehow being punished for something.