tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567088531564768724.post4899792147521681069..comments2011-11-23T10:42:28.558-08:00Comments on Thoughts on the universe: Fate and Free WillNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05937542214794246305noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5567088531564768724.post-51988786642007570742011-11-23T10:42:28.558-08:002011-11-23T10:42:28.558-08:00Nick, I've enjoyed browsing your thoughts - ke...Nick, I've enjoyed browsing your thoughts - keep it up. <br /><br />As a relative novice of the I-Ching I have noticed something about my experience which is relevant to the question of free will. Firstly that the act of using the I-Ching requires action on my part, it is also driven by some intention on my part (conscious or not!). This, I believe, is not unconnected to what then comes about (in my life). What I've noticed is that I am always drawn to one or two sentences, or even words, from the hexagram/lines I throw. And these aren't always the words that given me the 'easy' option either! Again my experience is that at this point the words become a reality. And the question is, have I now created this reality or was it there (in the universe) anyway? <br /><br />Using your car metaphor have I just chosen to take a left turn or have I decided to replace my car with a new model? Or have I even changed destination (or enabled the universe to change my destination) - I'm reminded of my first video game experiences with 'Scramble' where when you get enough points on a level the game 'stops' and you start again at the next level. So a question about your metaphor. Is it suggested that the term ‘car’ or the term ‘destination’ can only be interpreted in one way. Of course ‘journey’ could be Stroud to Bristol via Dursley, it could be from here to a medium sized city via the countryside, or it could be from where I am to somewhere else – this of course is the beauty of metaphor, it requires interpretation which can only happen from my perspective and therefore metaphor always works, it is fixed and not fixed at the same time. This is exactly what Iain McGilchrist talks about in his book The Divided Brain - Master and his Emissary as the differences between the two hemispheres.<br /><br />So back to the I-Ching - I know I am engaged in the act of creating my reality and it always works once I accept (or perhaps believe) that. Is this me collapsing the possibilities of the wave function in quantum mechanics? As a metaphor I could see this as taking responsibility for the quality of my driving on my journey, or perhaps whether I chose to ignore the diversion signs.<br /><br />This also brings to mind the work of Maturana and Verela in describing ‘autopoises’ (self-creation) which is being shown to describe the [biological] processes of life and their relationship with and to the environment and Sheldrake’s morphic fields. Aren’t these aspects of describing your paradox that life is both fated and free will?<br /><br />DickDickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203797793243420154noreply@blogger.com