Will Power (Free Will) | The Bigger Picture

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Discussion #16 - Free Will

Of all the human abilities, this one is (by far) the most powerful & important. It's what separates us from all other living creatures, & allows us to over-ride our natural instincts (if we so choose). It's the reason why we are held morally accountable for our actions, & throw people in jail (or execute) if they break the law (regardless of drug/alcohol influence).

We have the power to make decisions, purely because we choose to, and for no other reason. We have the power to rise above any and all adversity, including being brought into the world in a bad way or circumstances. We may say that we are victims, or "the devil made me do it", but the world will not buy it. We also choose our attitudes, & how we treat each other. It's easy to see when someone is stepping on others to raise themselves up. We control our ego and level of selfishness, regardless of genetic tendencies. Will power plays a big part in creativity, allows us to come up with original thoughts & ideas, and drives our motivation. We choose whether to love or hate, be mean or friendly, do good or evil. You might say that it's our "God-like" quality, the main driving force in our soul. If we are held accountable for our actions & attitudes while alive on earth (by God), then free will is the reason why.

One of the most important roles of our God-given will power (in my humble opinion) is that of controlling (to a very large degree) our health and healthy longevity. How this is accomplished is not complicated, and lies mainly in our endocrine system. Specifically, two groups of 20 or so neuro-chemicals. One group being known as the "stress chemicals" (adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine, etc.) and the other being known as the endorphin chemicals. Our natural chemistry factory (a group of glands found throughout the body (mainly in the brain)) is responsible for this production, most of which is completely automatic.

The main goal of the endocrine system is to achieve/maintain homeostatis (we would die very quickly without it), but there are a few others. One is commonly known as the "fight-and-flight" response, one is natural pain suppression, among others. The magical thing about these two major groups of natural chemicals (hormones) is that they are highly controllable by our human will power. There are obviously external forces that are beyond our control, but many more that are completely within our control. There is a constant, never-ending battle going on in our body between these two chemical families, and this battle (in my opinion), is the holy grail of healthy longevity. This, combined with relatively frequent moderate exercise, moderate food and beverage intake, and basically moderation in general.

It is my opinion that this is where and how the mind-body connection takes place. A long period of time with the wrong chemical family being produced and secreted extensively can cause incredible damage. A long period of time encouraging the right chemical family, incredible natural healing. Both highly controllable by our magical will power.

An added wrinkle to this issue, is that there is definitely a genetic difference in our typical tendency (or capacity) to flex this God-given spiritual/biological muscle. In other words, it's quite obvious that some of us are far more "strong-willed" than others. When it's parents dealing with their children, it's typically viewed as a negative thing, but when these same children grow up and become independent adults, it generally becomes a positive. Will power is actually somewhat of a double-sided coin, the other (more negative) side being "intensity". Individuals who are genetically strong-willed will also generally come across as being more intense in personality as well. Although intensity is very different than anger, it has very similar effects on the body, and generates very similar reactions from other people.

Strong-willed people are generally not followers, but more likely to be/become leaders. The biggest challenge for many in this group is the desire to listen/learn from others. A strong-willed leader who is humble enough to listen and learn from others is generally a powerful force in this world. We all have our own personal set of ideologies about the best way to live this life. We don't generally like listening to anything that messes with these ideologies, but if we do, it makes us much stronger.

Free will is commonly a hotly debated topic in most religious arenas. The opposing views are normally whether or not we actually have free will, or is everything predetermined and we're just running through the motions (or some form of hybrid of both). In a nutshell, it is my opinion that we are all basically animals, except for one major difference. We possess free will, and thus are held accountable for our decisions and actions, regardless of outside influences and our natural instincts.

The fact that we humans have this amazing gift is overall incredible, but in some ways it's also a double-edged sword. It is, (along with much higher overall neurological horsepower), what elevates us above all other species on Earth. But at the same time, it also creates huge security risks.

All it takes now is a couple of human beings, with the right access or clearance level, to push a few buttons. And many millions of innocent and healthy people can be destroyed in an instant. It's not a thought that we like to dwell on very much, for obvious reasons.

This is again, why so many people in the world choose to compartmentalize their thoughts and emotions. It can make this mortal life on Earth seem a lot less scary to do this. Unfortunately, not ALL of us should be doing it. There needs to be enough people in this world who are brave enough to ponder these bigger picture issues, or the risks become exponentially greater. In other words, ignorance is NOT bliss.

It's common for people to think that only the top leaders in our world really need to concern themselves with these big picture issues, but this would be an incorrect and extremely dangerous way to think. This is why we do things like get involved in political activism, or take part in peaceful protests. To communicate with our leaders in a positive and meaningful way. They absolutely do (in a true democracy) listen and often act on this feedback.

Will power is what allows and encourages people to go off-script, which can in some cases be extremely dangerous, but it's also what makes us human. It elevates us far above machines, technology, and animals. This is why artificial intelligence will NEVER be able to do all of what we do. Will power allows us to have passion, determination, creativity, love, empathy, imagination, curiosity, kindness, intuition, entrepreneurial spirit, and so much more.

We must embrace the magic and incredible good that comes from human will power, and also improve how we deal with the bad. Sounds simple, but in fact it is the single biggest challenge facing us on this Earth. Always has been, and always will be.

To simplify an incredibly complex issue, the single most important solution to this problem is to start treating each other as equals, and knock off the idiotic tribalism that is so rampant in our world. This will give EVERYONE a sense of hope. When & where there is hope, there is also dramatically superior human behaviour.

You don't have to look very far to see hard proof of this last fact. The countries in the world with by far the best political stability, security, and quality of life, are ALWAYS those which are the least polarized, and provide the most economic opportunity for ALL in these societies. The more corrupt and divided, the more chaos and violent crime you will find. This is not rocket science, and societies around the world should have ALL had this figured out a long time ago. However, better late than never, and there is no time more powerful than the present.

THIS is when human will power shines the most. When those in our species simply take the bull by the horns, veer off the beaten path, and CHOOSE to make things happen to dramatically improve this life on Earth. And as a massive added bonus, depending on your spiritual belief system, these improvements may just benefit us for all of eternity as well.

We have many laws, to greatly reduce the bad behaviour from negative uses of free will. Unfortunately, as we all know far too well, laws alone are not a complete solution. There obviously ARE no complete solutions, but if we can start to prioritize EVERYONE'S quality of life, and not just the elite few, this should & would take us most of the way.

Things like war, terrorism, mass shootings, and crime overall, are all examples of human beings using their will power to go off-script in horrifyingly negative ways. However, the chances and frequency of this happening go down dramatically when the vast majority in a society have incredible quality of life.

Countries which are suffering from severe corruption and crime, can turn this around in no time by simply spreading the affluence around more. And wouldn't it also be a much better lifestyle for those in these societies who ARE wealthy?? Worrying about being the next victim of a violent crime does not exactly create an amazing quality of life.

When we as human beings KNOW that we have a really great life, the chances of us using the incredibly powerful forces of free will for good, instead of for evil, go up exponentially.

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