The Background Truth
You don’t have to live determinism. You are living it anyway, exactly as it’s determined. And it’s usually determined that you live a life believing in free will and choice 99.999% of the time.
The value of having “discovered” the truth of determinism is that it remains in the background, to be remembered and recalled as the basic truth of the human situation, as well as the truth of the universe. Remembered now and then.
This is a huge and ever present comfort that most peop;e don’t experience and are not even aware of.
It’s not a nihilistic philosophy as often described. Its a beautiful explanation of how things actually are. The truth. The understanding of which is a relief.
Peace
Rather than trying to force a religion or a self constructed philosophy of happiness on yourself, it is better to go for the truth.The truth is discovered by the hard work of our cleverest human beings. The scientific truth.
Once this truth is understood, it is accepted, and a great peace follows as the burdens of the human situation are lifted. Just knowing the truth is a pure delight in itself. Its implications are difficult, but can be quickly accepted and integrated. The inner psyche then relaxes more and more as the understanding deepens.
Once you Know
Once you know and understand this purely scientific, logical view of life, humanity, and self, there is no need to seek anything anymore from human society. Food, shelter and friendship- yes, but no longer and competition to succeed or search for further answers. There is plenty to live for and more to keep up with and fine tune, but any urgency, dissatisfaction or refusal to accept is now gone. All is now understandable.
No Choice to be Made
So when you know that everything is fundamental particles and all is cause and effect and there is no free will and the future is determined by the present and the present is determined by the past.
And you know this, and then you turn and say: “Donald TRump is a so and so”, or “I love chocolate”. How can you justify such personal and subjective views?
Once you “believe” in determinism there is no choice to be made, even about the next thought or exclamation, no matter how “objective and correct" or how “personal and prejudiced".
Living the Truth
There is a place to go.
It’s all very well to have a “theory” about life and the universe. And reading a book or two and even digesting the details and trying to understand and to evaluate the theory. You may find one you like and then you can bring it to mind during intelligent conversation, or tell your friend about it.
But what about living the truth. If you finally find a true theory, or the true theory, then that will become part of you. It will influence how you think about yourself and other people, about free will, and the real truth of what you are.
It will encourage you to pull back and view yourself and society and the universe from a distance. It will provide you with a challenging perspective of your own and others’ lives.
Can You Live it?
Can you live according to the principles of determinism? Of course you can’t because all your living it is already determined, so your trying is not required.
But even though you can’t, of course you can, because you are!
You are living according to the principles of determinism, all the time, without even trying!
A Truth-Living Entity
In a determined universe, tell me simply: Is it possible to live the truth of how things are?
The answer has to be- no!
In the simplest terms, every thought of mine (and yours) is determined and not the result of logical, truthful thinking.
Every thought and action is made to happen by the universe and we are a result, a product, not a free acting, truth choosing entity.
In a strange way, we are living the truth of how things are. But as a puppet, not as a free agent. A truth-living entity could be determined by the universe but it's one in a billion, and even then, that entity would not have contributed a thing toward it.
Nothing Changes
Determinism means what it says but nothing changes.
Instead of ruining your sense of spontaneity because everything is determined, it allows everything to remain the same because every single little thing is always determined.
When a bird darts out of the trees across the path of your car, it was determined, it had to happen, but you are still startled because it was a surprise. You would never have known about it.
Determinism has always existed and has run the show, so you can expect your future adventures to be as equally unpredictable and exciting as your past.
Fun and Freedom
You can’t say there’s no fun, no freedom, no choice or free will in this world, because all those things already exist in this world right now. And this is the world that is determined.
You don’t have to believe the world is determined, because it is anyway.
Everything is determined, even your belief that it’s not.
All by Itself
It did it by itself
No one to blame
No one to thank
No one to obey
No one to disobey
No one looking
No one judging.
This is a relief - to no one.
But there is an appearance of someone being this no one
And that brings the whole thing to life.
Free to be Determined
Because everything is determined you are not needed. You are simply free to experience it. It’s free experience, not free will.
Determinism is freedom to experience, you don’t have to make it happen. You are totally free to be determined.
This Whole Thing
This whole search-truth-scientific understanding thing is really an emotional search for:
Satisfaction Clarity
Truth Inspiration
Knowledge Direction
Peace Meaning
Life’s goal Understanding
Once the pieces begin to fall in place, the desire to do anything with it begins to fall away. There is no point in stopping to talk about it, or tell anyone else about it, only the present satisfaction of the current understanding, and then more searching for a clearer and deeper picture of what we are and what the universe is.
The desire for success in the human world may drop away, and take the urge to know all with it. You may be left with a peaceful acceptance of things as they really are.
Predeterminism
If not one atom has free will, how could human free will arise?
If every action of every particle is determined, where could the freedom of anything come from?
The feeling of free will is all that we have, and that also is determined.
Determinism is unintuitive, however predeterminism is the pits. No one wants that. But they are the same thing.
And our total inability to predict the future gives us the amazing life of surprises that we love.
Consequences of Determinism
Everyone is living their life exactly as they should. Every negative thought and feeling is perfect. Not to mention the positive ones.
Knowing determinism you can forgive everyone, or blame everyone, depending on the day. And you can feel right or feel guilty or wrong, it’s all available.
It’s known and deeply felt that there is a truth behind it all. That truth may be available only fleetingly, but it’s enough.
Off The Hook
If you look at life from this perspective you can really let everyone, and yourself, off the hook. There’s no reason to blame anyone for being themselves. And if you do still blame everyone and yourself, you can let yourself off the hook for that.
If you can’t, you're not looking at life from this perspective, yet amazingly, you’re still not to blame.
Don’t Despair
Determinism, meaning the state of the universe now, determines the state in the future. So we have no control over our lives, at all.
But don’t despair because determinism often creates the feeling of control or the apparent making of decisions. This is good enough for a life.
So not only don’t despair, but don’t worry at all because everything is unfolding with or without your help, exactly as determined.
The Relief of Finding
There is no changing now! There is a peace and a sense of ease having found the final path, if not the final details. Even travelling this path now has become joyful, effortless.
The foundations are enough, and the details are extra.
There is no changing now, because there never was any changing anything, to be done at all.
Even if it’s Wrong
Can you live your life as if it’s determined?
Yes! Of course you can.
Because it is!
And because you are!
Nothing needs to be changed.
Nothing can be changed.
Not even the thinking about it.
Everything is right as it is.
Even if it’s wrong.
People are Illusions
People are illusions and the best you can do is have compassion for these illusions. The best you can do is have illusory compassion for illusory people.
But illusions can deliver what feels like real pain, and real pleasure.
You can’t go Wrong
Whenever you forget about determinism, and that the world and yourself are a seething mass of particles obeying the physical laws. Whenever you forget that, and catch yourself lost in the story of your life, worrying and planning - remember that lostness and worry and planning are also seething masses of particles doing exactly as determined by the laws of physics.
You can’t go wrong. And if you feel you have gone wrong, that too is the very thing you’re looking for.
It’s always staring you in the face.
Sit Back and be Lived
You just have to sit back and be lived by life.
All you have to do is ride around in your body and answer to your name.
What’s determined for you today or tomorrow can be unacceptable and you can fight it with all your might.
And yet that fighting determinism is still determinism and so all you have to do is sit back and be lived by life.
Big Decisions
When you're making a big decision, take the pressure off yourself and remember that the outcome is already determined.
The only catch is: whether you remember that or not - is also determined.