Thank you for the kind words.

“There can be no chance when you are in control of your own thoughts, words and actions at the deepest level of consciousness.”

I guess the concept of chance is elminated if a deep level of consciousness includes acceptance of what is.

Gary,

Here is the full title of the book. I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta . It’s listed on Amazon.com

You absolutely hit the nail on the head Gary. This, I thought, was the whole point of this thread – that we are so limited in our awareness that we don’t even realize the power of the tiger on whose back we are riding. If we could expand our awareness to take control of the tiger we would no longer be a victim of chance. There can be no chance when you are in control of your own thoughts, words and actions at the deepest level of consciousness. Its a pretty tall order and it takes a lot of practice but I’m told its where we all want to go eventually.

Aham Brahmasmi?

I think the choices individuals make are often with limited awareness of why they are making a particular choice. Limited awareness constrains the range of responses – more likely reactions that a person has. In an ideal world, I agree an individual has the freedom to respond to a given stimuli anyway they choose but as a practical matter for most of us our freedom is constrained by our history, culture and genetics. I think society has a right to hold individuals personally accountable for what they do.

I also think chance often has a significant influence on the outcome of what a person chooses to do. A person may choose one action but depending on the chain events which follow the action outcomes may be totally different. Lots people presume I take action A therefore it caused outcome B. I think it may be that Descartes duality thing (not really sure, I’m not up on that stuff). I don’t think this view of the world is necessarily representative of “reality”.

As for the free will question, I am guess I am of the opinion that most of us have free will “sorta” camp.

I’m not sure I know what you mean by free will “sorta”. We either have it or we don’t. An intermediate option is too mindbogglingly complex to entertain. Yes, external events happen and you can call that chance. However insofar as they affect us personally depends on how we choose to react to that event which is free will. The same event or life challenge can have completely different outcomes depending on who it affects.

“The straight warp of necessity, not to be served from its ultimate course – its every alternating vibration, indeed, only to tending that; free will free to still ply her shuttle between given threads; and chance, though restrained in its play within the lines of necessity, and sideways in its motions directed by free will, though thus prescribed by both, chance by turns rules either, and has the last featuring blow at events.”

Gary

I donÂ’t think scientists understand why consciousness has evolved the way it has or how it works. Although some do feel that they will be able to deconstruct it in time. I believe weÂ’ll understand a lot more in time.

I recall reading a book titled “ I Am That” which is a series of Q & A’s with a mystic in the Hindu tradition ( I apologize if the terminology is a little off). I have the book somewhere but I can’t put my hands on it. I believe he said “I Am.” is the primary reality and that we create our own world like a movie flicking across a white screen. He suggested each of us is a witness who is greater than any particular thing you can describe. We are reality and reality is the unmanifest and love is the supreme. This seems on the mark.

I get a little uncomfortable with terms like God, Godhood, and soul. I guess I would call myself Christian and feel that it is important to have a reference point greater than one’s self. For me the Bible is not literal, it is as they say in Pirates of the Caribbean “kinda like guidelines”.

It seems the focus of Western religion is oneÂ’s relationship with the outer world while Eastern religion emphasizes oneÂ’s inner world. Both have something to offer.

As for the free will question, I am guess I am of the opinion that most of us have free will “sorta” camp. I think some of the frameworks and disciplines in “I am That” expand our free will giving us a chance to nudge the tiger once in awhile.