The "distortion" of free will & the issue of mental illness

[AmelieJolie]

hi everyone.....

i haven't read the law of one lately, but i think i will return to studying them at some point soon. i have read the first two books so far.

i just recalled something whilst pondering the topic of "free will" today, that, interestingly, ra used the term "the distortion of free will".

what does "free will" really mean?

maybe it exists, but perhaps in a distorted way?


i was thinking today about the issues of mental illness and how these might effect free will. for example, when someone has severe clinical depression, caused by a chemical imbalance, which takes away their motivation and makes them feel joyless....they might be an incredibly loving person deep down, but are unable to express it in their daily lives because of the way their brain chemistry makes them feel.

perhaps these things, these illnesses, happen to people not as part of some punishment or as a result of any fault of their own.....perhaps it goes a lot deeper than that. perhaps the reason why these things happen is to allow us to evolve (love) towards a deeper understanding of each other. the people suffering from mental illnesses such as depression must learn to love themselves, and stop blaming themselves/ self-loathing. the people around them who find it difficult to understand people with such conditions must eventually learn to understand and learn not to judge them.


in the ideal world, it would be a simple case of "mind over matter". people who are paralyzed or disabled in any way would be able to walk or be cured through the sheer power of their will and thought. we would all be able to transform our bodies to be whatever we desired. in the same way, illnesses like mental illnesses which are not as obvious as the more external ones, but just as real, would likewise be able to be cured.

it does happen....these kinds of "miracles", from time to time.....however, as a general rule, this is not the nature of the 3d world that we have come to grow and learn in.....and i feel that there must be a reason for this. if all of these types of things came to us so easily before we were evolved enough to handle such capabilities, it might not be a good thing.

so basically, what i am trying to say, is that there is not always a simple answer to cure illnesses such as clinical depression, as those who perhaps don't understand would like to believe.


therefore, to get back to the topic....free will.

if clinical depression and mental illness (which are just as real as any physical illness) affect a person's emotions, etc to such a strong degree, then perhaps they cannot always be in control as those who are quick to judge and condemn might like to believe.

could this possibly be what ra meant, when they referred to free will as "the distortion of free will"?

i am certainly not saying that i think that there is no such thing as free will, as some philosophers believed.

on the contrary, i often find that what feel most right, on many subjects, seems to lie in the middle somewhere.

so maybe, when it comes down to it, all we really need to learn is to just love each other, and ourselves, a little more.


love.

[FIIISH]

could this possibly be what ra meant, when they referred to free will as "the distortion of free will"?

perhaps free will could be viewed as a distortion in the context of "all are one"?

or maybe it's something to the effect of having the blessing of making a choice, but not always being able to control the choices available?

it appears to me that many of the challenges and difficulties we face are catalyst to learn, grow, and love.

as someone who has suffered from various forms of depression for most of my life, i can affirm that it has indeed help me foster compassion and understanding for others, and myself.

[soup]

that's curious - how "the distortion of free will" relates to depression etc.

generally there seems some related idea called the law of confusion that somehow supports the idea that the creator will have free choice in the ways it desires to know itself. so if there wasn't confusion, if we weren't veiled, than from some standpoint of greater awareness we may better choose somehow.

the idea of choice seems to imply consequences and the dire states in question may be in some regard a consequence for some choice in some way.

i've met a couple schitzo people who read me like an open book - in some amusing way, i saw nothing wrong with them other than an incompatibility with socially accepted behavior. so maybe the labels and social systems are consequence to a choice which limits a person to a depressing extent.

i knew a person contending with post partum depression syndrome, i learned that lack of regular sleep can lead to a depressed state which can lead to all sorts antidepressive pharmacutical solutions which can then lead to other less than great states of being.

possibly the relinquishment of healing authority to others such as doctors can seem in some cases a choice with consequences which enslave us in dire states of being. and possibly we need to get sick and tired of being sick and tired before we can break out of less than great thought cycles that support the quandry - and begin living in some other way l

[Adam of All]

ra would consider everything a distortion, simply because it deviates from the idea of complete oneness. by this logic, anything that is outside of oneness, or in other words, definite, is a distortion.

i also believe that free will was mentioned as being the first distortion of the law of one, rather than just being distorted.

[mwr1026]

ra would consider everything a distortion...

adam is on the right track here. we tend to think of the word "distortion" as meaning perverse, damaged, or inferior in some way. but as adam points out, everything is a distortion of the law of one. ra even referrs to love as a distortion. ra is making no value judgement in using this term.

the easiest way for me to grasp what distortion means in the context of loo is to consider a musical chord that contains all the notes of an octave held constantly with no variation at all. if you hear such a chord you will probably notice it at first, but after a while it becomes white noise in the background and you cease to hear it. but distort that chord in any possible way: pulse it rythmically or erratically, turn the volume up or down on various notes in the chord, tweak the shape of the complex of sound waves of the chord in any way, and suddenly you hear it again and perceive it as being varied and complex. reality is like this chord: pure, undifferentiated oneness. distortion is the modulation of that oneness that makes it possible for beings such as us to perceive the potential complexity and sophistication of the chord. this distortion is infinite in potential.

[Adam of All]

adam is on the right track here. we tend to think of the word "distortion" as meaning perverse, damaged, or inferior in some way. but as adam points out, everything is a distortion of the law of one. ra even referrs to love as a distortion. ra is making no value judgement in using this term.

the easiest way for me to grasp what distortion means in the context of loo is to consider a musical chord that contains all the notes of an octave held constantly with no variation at all. if you hear such a chord you will probably notice it at first, but after a while it becomes white noise in the background and you cease to hear it. but distort that chord in any possible way: pulse it rythmically or erratically, turn the volume up or down on various notes in the chord, tweak the shape of the complex of sound waves of the chord in any way, and suddenly you hear it again and perceive it as being varied and complex. reality is like this chord: pure, undifferentiated oneness. distortion is the modulation of that oneness that makes it possible for beings such as us to perceive the potential complexity and sophistication of the chord. this distortion is infinite in potential.

that is an excellent insite on the subject. i'm very happy to have read that at all. thank you for posting that :-)

[transiten]

hi mwr1026

i love all alludations (is that a word?) to music in connection to our universe. as a guy said in the sacred geometry-thread -our matrial world is "frozen music".......

[KassandraLoves]

i feel that most or all people have actually chosen to deal with all kinds of physical and mental disablities previous to incarnating for very good reasons. it might sound like a stupid decision to us now, but when we are in our spirit bodies, its probably looked at totally differently and objectively.

i feel its definitely a "heavy catalyst" as i call them, for growth. not only for the person it affects, but for those involved with that persons life as well. its an immensely difficult thing to struggle with, therefore it can yeild great advancements when assimilated properly. i know that its very hard to do it, but it wouldnt be an available life experience if it didnt have the capabilites of doing something good for the soul.

as an example, 3 people in my family (and even i used to) support the physically and mentally disable for a living. my mother has done it since i can even remember remembering and is still doing it so ive been around it for my entire life. and theres a lot to be learned from an onlooker or an indiviual involved with even just 1 person that has a disablity. its an amazing opportunity for service-to-others just to help someone in their daily lives like this. its a very hard job, too. and i think that disabilities come in many forms and even struggling with depression/chemical imbalances could be called somehwat of a mental disability. but the goal in experiencing it is there, its just really hard to see at times.

these are issues that we actually chose to incarnate with or around to grow. yes, people that have chemical imbalances can do some not-so-fun things like murder or rape or even just make their own lives more difficult on the lighter side. but at the same time, ive seen some people with forms of disability who have 10 times the happiness capacity than the "regular" folks.

my opinion all in all, is that we chose these things to deal with for our collective betterment. its like jumping in the water without floaties on. you'll learn waaaaay quicker the rules of swimming than the kid who wont let go of the poolside and every limb is wrapped in floaties. its seems a difficult thing while we are here right now, wrapped in confusion and having forgotten most of what we know, but i know that when we are incarnating, chosing these things to deal with is noble and a great way to accelerate if you think you can use it correctly...

[dazcox]

i think that there are moments of appreciation in the lives of all humans, even if that appreciation is from the humblest of meals and appreciation is always a free will thing.

if you can find a moment of joy in a situation where there is little comparative joy then you might justr be getting the big picture.

[soup]

possibly as part of out human condition there is a predestined healthcare component which in some ways can act to channel society's resources back into itself, healthcare seems expensive.

possibly thousands of years ago the pyramids were likewise part of some healthcare system which fell into the hands of the ellite.

people talk about our consumerism as if we are a disposable society. instead of fixing something when it is broken, many times it will be thrown away and replaced with new instead.

such an attitude may be part of our health issues, that instead of taking preventative measures we simply surrender to the idea of replacement.

from another perspective, the lions often hunt and feed upon the weak of the pack and this keeps the pack strong. instead of a slow painful miserable death the weak are put to chase and end in a quick glory of excitement. is the healthcare system like a feeble lion who mercifully milks the prey and is humanity a pack weakened by complacency having such a merciful predator?

somehow the fact that lifespans have shortened due to some shift in attitude needs to be reconciled - has the power/control influence ra mentions effectively weakened us? from the standpoint of longevity, what change of attitude has supported our progression so? were we meant to dysfunctionally baby each other in some codependant way which diminishes our quality of life as alternative to giving thanks and joyous praise for the glory of our being, or is this just another matter of so many choices and consequences?


soup