DREAMS, SCIENCE AND GOD

Our dreams usually contain people we have met before and people we have not met before.

Strangers in dreams | Psychology Today.

It is as if our minds are tuning in to something like foreign radio stations, or other people's worlds, or the collective subconscious.

Stuart Hameroff, an anaesthesiologist at the University of Arizona, Tucson, wrote in New Scientist that dreams resemble quantum information with their "multiple coexisting possibilities, timelessness, hidden meaning and bizarre logic."

A quantum theory of dreams? - Telegraph.

Our bodies are made up of tiny particles.

The 'double-slit experiment' suggests that our minds can decide the behaviour of particles.

The experiment "demonstrates that matter and energy can display characteristics of both waves and particles, and that the behaviour of the particle changes based on a person's perception and consciousness."

Studying the cosmos.



Can other people's minds affect the particles that make up our bodies?

Can good doctors work 'miracles'?

"The 'Copenhagen interpretation' of quantum mechanics states that a particle exists in all states at once until it is observed.

In other words, you are both happy and unhappy until you decide which state you are in.



The cat in the box is both alive and dead, until you open the box and decide its fate.

In the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, a cat in a box is both alive and dead until someone lifts the lid and observes it.

Only then is the cat discovered to be either ‘alive’ or ‘dead’.

The Quantum Zeno Effect suggests that a particle that could decay, if observed continuously, will never decay.

If you GOOGLE the word 'dreams' this is what you might get-

Dream Beds 50% Off RRP - Bedroom

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Mattresses at Dreams | Quality Single, Double & King Size Mattresses

But eventually you may find something more relevant.

Carl Jung came to believe that dreams present the dreamer with revelations that can uncover and help to resolve emotional or religious problems and fears.[32]

Fritz Perls sees dreams as projections of parts of the self that have been ignored, rejected, or suppressed.[34]

I knew a lady who believed that while she was asleep she could actually visit her relatives who lived on a distant island.

"Quantum physics itself is pointing out that this seemingly objective universe of ours is more like a dream than we have previously imagined. 

THE STUFF OF WHICH DREAMS ARE MADE

"Upon further inspection, to quote noted physicist, mathematician and astronomer James Jeans, “The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.” 

"Quantum physics points out in the Observer Effect that, just like in a dream, in the act of observing we affect and actually evoke the very universe that we are observing.

"Being like a dream, we have much more power to creatively give shape and form to our waking reality than is generally realized. 

THE STUFF OF WHICH DREAMS ARE MADE.

"The discoveries of the new physics point to the hitherto-unsuspected powers of the mind to mold seemingly external reality rather than the other way around. 

"This God-given power of how we co-create reality with this universe of ours is being shown to us night after night in our night dreams...

"Things that seem to be obstructing our journey through life are actually getting dreamed up... The obstacle itself is, in disguised form, the very catalyst we need to transcend the obstacle..."

THE STUFF OF WHICH DREAMS ARE MADE.

Your Dreams: Analysis by Lauren Lawrence.

WALKING ON WATER

According to the scientists, a bottle of Coke exists in all possible locations, until it is observed existing in one particular location.

Atom Is Seen in 2 Places at Once - New York Times 

The observer apparently decides where the bottle of Coke is to be found.

And, just as a bottle of Coke can be in more than one place at once, it can also be in more than one time period at once.

The observer apparently decides the time period in which the bottle of Coke is to be found.

Our understanding of time and space may be out of date, according to the scientists.

"The world has the incomprehensible property of existing in a 'superposition' of possible states and every so often plumps for one or another."

Can Quantum Mechanics Explain Free Will?

Jean Piaget[7] stated that young children have to learn about time and space.

There is a lion somewhere ahead of us.

Perhaps we observe it right in front of us, about to eat us.

Or, perhaps we observe it sitting peacefully, eating manna from heaven.

Particles appear to exist in all states simultaneously according to the experiments in quantum superposition

"Experiments in quantum physics seem to demonstrate the need for an observer to be present to make potentialities become real... 

"Basically, what quantum theory says is that fundamental particles are empty of inherent existence and exist in an undefined state of potentialities. 

"They have no inherent existence from their own side and do not become 'real' until a mind interacts with them and gives them meaning. 

"Whenever and wherever there is no mind there is no meaning and no reality."

Buddhism and Quantum Physics

Filmed in Portland, Oregon, What the Bleep Do We Know presents a viewpoint of the physical universe and human life within it, with connections to neuroscience and quantum physics.

Some ideas discussed in the film are:

1. The universe is best seen as constructed from thought (or ideas) rather than from substance.

2. "Empty space" is not empty.

3. Matter is not solid.

4. Electrons pop in and out of existence and it is unknown where they disappear to.

5. Beliefs about who one is and what is real are a direct cause of oneself and of one's own realities.

6. Peptides manufactured in the brain can cause a bodily reaction to emotion.

In the narrative segments of the movie, Marlee Matlin portrays Amanda, a photographer who plays the role of everywoman as she experiences her life from startlingly new and different perspectives.

In the documentary segments of the film, interviewees discuss the roots and meaning of Amanda's experiences. The comments focus primarily on a single theme: We create our own reality.

What the Bleep Do We Know!?

THE REAL JESUS?

www.smc-mb.net 

The early Christians had various theories about Jesus.

Jesus did not become 'officially' divine until 325 AD.

This was when the Council of Nicaea, set up by the Roman emperor Constantine, decided that Jesus, like many Roman Emperors, was divine.



Most scholars agree that Jesus did actually exist.

"Amy-Jill Levine states that ... 'there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life' in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, debated Jewish authorities on the subject of God, performed some healings, gathered followers...."[68]

Christ myth theory - Wikipedia



In The Historical Jesus; Five Views, Robert Price suggests that the story of Jesus in the Gospels contains borrowings from pagan mythology.

In the same book, Professor Luke Timothy Johnson lists all the things historians can know with 'a very high degree of probability' about Jesus - Jesus taught in parables, Jesus healed people, Jesus taught about God's Kingdom.

The Recliner Commentaries: Five views of the historical Jesus


Osiris's resurrection is celebrated on the third day

Does the story of Jesus show strong parallels to myths of dying and rising gods?

Apparently not.

"Early in the 20th century, Gerald Massey argued that there are similarities between the Egyptian dying-and-rising god myths and Jesus.[22]

"Massey stated that the biblical references to Herod the Great were based on the myth of 'Herrut' the evil hydra serpent."

However, the existence of Herod the Great "can be well established without reliance on Christian sources."[23] 

In other words, Herod was not Herrut.



"The overall scholarly consensus is that while the examples provided often involve death of the deity, they do not generally involve resurrection of the same deity.[2] 

"Eddy and Boyd state that upon careful analysis, it turns out that there is often either no death, no resurrection or no god in the examples used to construct each of the examples in the category.[17]

"Jonathan Z. Smith, a scholar of comparative religions, writes the category is 'largely a misnomer based on imaginative reconstructions and exceedingly late or highly ambiguous texts.'[1][37]


Mithraism

Is Christianity similar to the Roman religion Mithraism?

Early Christian authors "took an extremely negative view of Mithraism" and saw their practices "as evil copies of Christian practices."[209]

Stanley porter notes that "Mithraism only reached Asia minor in the latter part of the first century, after the basic elements of the gospels were in place, and hence could not have influenced the essential elements of the gospels."[211]


www.ellenwhite.info

David Strauss (1808–1874), a German theologian, believed that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and that the encounter had influenced the views of Jesus.

However, Strauss believed that "the additional elements of the sky opening, the dove descending on Jesus as the Holy Spirit, etc. were subsequent miraculous embellishments by the authors of the gospels intended to emphasize the importance of a key event in the life of Jesus."[220] [225]

Strauss believed that the divine spirit was embedded in all of humanity.

In 1890, Sir James George Frazer published the first edition of The Golden Bough which showed "the shared elements of religious belief."

Frazer himself believed that Jesus existed.[235]

William Benjamin Smith (1850–1934) argued for a symbolic interpretation of the stories about Jesus.

Smith argues that in the parable of the Jesus and the rich young man there never was a young man, and the young man symbolizes the nation of Israel.[254]

Dying and rising gods



What evidence is there that Jesus was (A) an opponent of the Establishment, or (B) a tool of the establisment?

1. Jesus shared meals with outcasts, which annoyed the Pharisees, strong supporters of the laws and traditions of the Jewish people.

Jesus said: "Be on your guard against the Doctors of the Law, who like to walk about in robes and be saluted in the streets... who devour the livelihood of widows..."

2. Jesus talked of 'good people' being his 'brothers' and 'sisters'.

3. Jesus urged people to 'renounce self'.

Jesus said: "If anyone wishes to be the first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all."

Jesus said: "Why do you call me good? No one but God is good."

4. Jesus said: "How difficult it is for men of wealth to enter the Kingdom of God."



What about Quantum Physics, Jesus and Intuition?

"Free will allows us to choose to continue to influence reality with our memories (Ego) 

Or we can choose to accept our identity as projections of the Father and consciously co-create with the Father...

"Quantum physics has proven that the belief of the observer is translated in the test tube. 

"Each energy packet can become particle or remain as energy depending on the expectation of the observer. 

"This is known as the observer effect.

"Positive Thinking is Merely Scratching the Surface of Truth: We must be attentive to intuition

"As the Quantum physicist has discovered, our beliefs come true. 

"This is the key to the kingdom which we forgot shortly after birth. 

www.peje.co.za 

"Our parents probably forgot that we are connected, just as they are connected to the One. 

"In this same way, Herod of Judea forgot that he and Jesus were both born of the Creator/Father/One. 

"Herod attempted to kill Jesus by ordering all the newborn children of Bethlehem to be slain.

"But, since Joseph was attentive to his intuition, (for intuitive training go to Andrea Hess...) he was warned by the One/Creator/Father to flee to Egypt. 

"Jesus was safe during His childhood. They only returned to Israel after they were told of the death of Herod.

"When Jesus was grown, he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before beginning His ministry... a month of fasting will cause an altered state of reality.

"When Jesus was tempted by His Ego to turn the stones into bread, He reminded the tempter that 'man does not live by bread alone.' Thus He determined to finish his vision quest...

"Jesus told the Ego to get behind Him because it is only the One/Source/Creator who would be served.

"To accept our identity as co-Creators with the One, we must put our finite Egos behind us. 

"Our Subconscious mind is connected to our Higher Mind and to the Creator/One/Source. 

"The Ego is only connected to our conscious minds and helps keep us involved in this physical world. 

"But, at the same time, we must learn to influence our Subconscious Minds in order to create our reality..."

DISCLAIMER: THE POSTING OF STORIES, COMMENTARIES, REPORTS, DOCUMENTS AND LINKS (EMBEDDED OR OTHERWISE) ON THIS SITE DOES NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, NECESSARILY EXPRESS OR SUGGEST ENDORSEMENT OR SUPPORT OF ANY OF SUCH POSTED MATERIAL OR PARTS THEREIN.

CREATING YOUR REALITY?

"Recently I took a trip from California to the East Coast with my older very bossy and vocal cat, who has never been outdoors except for annual visits to the vet.

"She cries out loudly every time she is put into the carrier and shivers nervously until we are on our way home.

"I knew that the plane ride could either be a nightmare with her being upset, meowing loudly and disturbing other passengers, or shivering and causing me alarm...

"I told my kitty we were going on an adventure.

"I said, 'You’ll be with me every moment. You’re going to feel safe, loved and secure and you’ll be silent!'

"The trip was just fine..."

Understanding Quantum Physics and Creating What You Want



Water has memory?

Dr. Masaru Emoto studied crystals formed from frozen water.

"He found that water, exposed to loving words, produces brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. 

"In contrast, water, exposed to negative thoughts, produces incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colours."

https://www.hado.net/watercrystals/index.php

Masaru Emoto claims that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water.

Commentators have criticized Emoto for insufficient experimental controls,[6] and for designing his experiments in ways that leave them open to human error influencing his findings.[8]


Planck

Max Planck, who originated quantum theory, had this to say about man's effect on matter:

"There is no matter as such. 

"All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. 

"We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind." 



Victor Stenger, a American particle physicist, has repeatedly criticized those who use quantum mechanics in support of the paranormal, mysticism, or supernatural phenomena,

Victor J. Stenger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Knowing that you create your own reality does not mean that it always feels as if you are creating it – in fact, when distressing things happen, it doesn’t feel as if you are doing it at all.

"That’s normal – and that’s also when it’s important to remind yourself that, using your subconscious mind and the way the world works at the subatomic level, you are indeed creating it...

"The world is invisible waves of energy until we manifest it by observing and experiencing, so therefore nothing is real until you pay attention to it.

"You get what you focus on...

"We each have a hand in creating what goes on and we can improve our economic world!"

Creating Your Reality in a Frightening Economy



Richard Dawkins is a sceptic.

Dawkins believes in absolute reality.

He does not believe that reality is malleable

"Dawkins admits his understanding of quantum mechanics is foggy and so declines to delve very far into that topic."

The Magic of Reality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wave of energy. beeskneesdaily.com

"What we learn from quantum physics is that nothing in our world exists until we create it – at the very moment we observe or experience it.

"In reality, until we observe it, everything in the world exists as an invisible wave of energy.

"It is our act of observation that gives it form.

"As humans, the way we observe – and what determines exactly what we experience – is based on what’s in our subconscious minds...

"You need to change what’s in your subconscious mind..."

The Secret’s Law of Attraction sounds Wonderful, it’s just Not Accurate



What do we learn from Quantum Physics?

"At the fundamental level of atoms and particles, things could be in two places at once.

"They could even move in two different directions at once.

"And it seemed they could also be entangled - engaged in a quantum version of telepathy in which they are somehow able to sense and affect each other instantaneously from a distance.

From New Scientist magazine. http://www.newscientist.com/c



Visible light is an electromagnetic wave. The frequency of the wave determines its color: 4×1014 Hz is red light, 8×1014 Hz is violet light. An electromagnetic wave can have a frequency less than 4×1014 Hz, but it will be invisible to the human eye; such waves are called infrared (IR) radiation. At even lower frequency, the wave is called a microwave, and at still lower frequencies it is called a radio wave.

"The solidity of our world seems indisputable, yet Quantum Physics has proved that our physical reality is nothing but a very elaborate mirage...

"So how do we see, touch, feel, smell the things that surround us if none of it really exists?

"The answer is that all physical matter is the result of a frequency.

"A frequency that if you alter, change or amplify in any way, you change your physical and current reality...

"Basically, the substance of the Universe, of your reality, is consciousness...

"In other words, consciousness is the programming language of the Universe and everywhere that consciousness explores with the expectation that something will be there, it also creates...

Create Reality Using Your Thoughts – Scientifically Proven Methods ...

"So, to simplify… the act of exploration is the act of creation...

"So we should be very careful about what we believe. Since reality is holographic, you help create it by believing it.

"To change your current reality, all you need to do is change the frequency of your thoughts...

"On the physical plane, music is identified by frequencies per second, known as hertz. Just as the brain exports frequencies, so does a piano, violin, trumpet, or any other instrument. Octaves double the frequency...

"When you are unhappy with your current reality, it is very often the case that you are operating from the wrong frequency."

Create Reality Using Your Thoughts – Scientifically Proven Methods ...


The Illusion of the Self : An Interview with Bruce Hood : Sam Harris...

"The one place where the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer.

"When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible. 

"Thus the question should be put aside."

No-self or Not-self?

Theravada Buddhism considers an individual's ego or personality is a delusion. 

"Once freed of this delusion, the individual may enjoy the bliss of Nirvana.

Mahayana Buddhism considers all physical forms to be void of intrinsic self.

The ideal in Mahayana is to enable all beings to be enlightened together, not only out of a sense of compassion, but because we are not really separate, autonomous beings.

What Is the Self: What Buddhism Teaches About the Self

~~~~

Aferrismoon: STREETSWEEPING

aferrismoon left this comment:

We may be able to 'create reality' but , let's not forget that 6 billion others are also creating their own reality.

Many of our thoughts are compulsive, not based on our spontaneous creation of reality but rather acc. to habit.

I wonder if 'reality' are those individual thoughts that group or cluster together to create an overriding reality, like the earth appears to us as 'spherical', or that the towers fell down as 2 butterflies hit them smack on.

Voicing 911 scepticism may be coupled with the fear-based responses of a media-hypnotised greater-in-number general public who will compulsively attempt to change your reality.

or something.

By the way , in the first photo of the ones I've just put up you might notice that the Yves St Laurent ad, in the background uses 'Sandy Hook Violet' , I assume its fashionable now.

Cheers

PLATO'S CAVE

The philosopher Plato imagined a cave whose inhabitants could see only the shadows of certain objects, not the objects themselves.

Scientists wonder if the basic building blocks of the Universe are 'waves' or 'particles' or something else.

The answer may be yes, and , no.

At present, the scientists see only shadows.

Is there a hidden hand trying to nourish us, or, is life pretty random?

The answer may be yes, and, no.

If we are in tune with 'the divine', things may work out well.

We miss the bus, but someone gives us a lift.

If we are not in tune with 'the divine', things may not go so well.

Most religions would suggest that if we want to be in tune with 'the divine', we should be compassionate, forget the 'ego', and 'go with the flow'.

If we throw a dice, we expect to get a 'six' only occasionally.

But, if someone gets a 'six' three times in a row, this could be the 'hidden hand' at work?



Some Hindus believe that the 'Universe' is made up of (1) 'consciousness', which consists of many 'selves', and (2) 'matter'.

When 'consciousness' gets bonded with 'matter' then there is 'egoism', and, both pain and pleasure.

Some Hindus believe that 'matter' is an illusion.



Erwin Schrodinger studied Hinduism; Werner Heisenberg looked into Plato's theory; Niels Bohr was drawn to the Tao; Wolfgang Pauli to the Kabbalah; and Max Plank to Christianity.

"The many-minds interpretation of quantum mechanics is an extension of the many-worlds interpretation by proposing that the distinction between worlds should be made at the level of the mind of an individual observer. 

"It is the principle supporting the theory of quantum immortality. 

"This interpretation of quantum mechanics theoretically makes it possible for a human observer to have a continuous infinity of minds in parallel universes."

Science - near-death experiences

WHAT IS REALITY?

Is Justin Bieber real? 

1. There are the things that appear to our five senses - things we see, touch, smell, hear and taste.

We can see Lady Gaga, touch Miley Cyrus, smell Shakira, hear Rihanna and taste Katy Perry.


Selena Gomez is made up of quarks.... Website for this image

2.  But, can we see 'dark matter', touch 'infinity', hear 'quarks' or taste 'electrons'?

Dark matter and dark energy make up 95% of the universe, according to the scientists.



3. Max Tegmark of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that "physical existence and mathematical existance are the same."

What is reality? - New Scientist

Think of 0 = +1 - 1

Nothing and something appear to exist at the same time.



4. Experiments in Quantum Physics suggest that a particle can be in more than one place at once.

The human observer may see the particle in only one of these places.

A particle can also be both a wave and a particle at the same time.


Typical YouTube video seen by lots of kids. Do we all see things the same way?

5. Matthew Donald, a philosopher of physics at the University of Cambridge, says that a person observing these experiments actualy sees all the different states of the particle, but, each with a different mind.


Beyonce has a good mind?

6. All matter may have a 'mind'.

The astrophysicist Arthur Eddinton said, in 1926, that "the stuff of the world is mind-stuff ... not all that foreign to the feelings in our consciousness."

Max Planck, the founder of quantum theory, said in 1931: "I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness."


Olsen Twins

7. There is the possibility that there is more than one 'reality'.

Is it an illusion to think that all things are not linked up? Are we all linked up to Selena Gomez?

8. In trying to describe reality, the Buddhists refer to 'emptiness'.

This 'emptiness' is not nothingness.

"Emptiness refers to the fact that ultimately, our day-to-day experience of reality is wrong, and is 'empty' of many qualities that we normally assign to it."

"Describing this ... in words is not really possible... 

"Trying to explain this experience - which contradicts our normal perception - is a bit like explaining colors to someone who is born blind; difficult to say the least."

Wisdom of Emptiness - View on Buddhism

WHY HITLER?

"The eight-year-old Hitler sang in the church choir, and entertained thoughts of becoming a priest." (Adolf Hitler - Wikipedia)

1. What makes one person turn into Adolf Hitler, and another person turn into Mother Teresa?

People answering this question start off with certain 'premises' or assumptions, which may be wrong.

For example:

A. the atheist starts off with the premise that life is an accident and that no one has a spirit or soul.

But,"the first scientific study of 'near-death' experiences has found new evidence to suggest that consciousness or the 'soul' can continue to exist after the brain has ceased to function."
(Soul-searching doctors find life after death - Telegraph/FREE WILL?)

"The best that neuroscience can do is to show that behavior X is neurally correlated with activity in brain structure Y.

"This has precisely nothing to do with determinism because non-deterministic effects could be present at much more physically fundamental levels than those dealt with by neuroscience and never show up on the neuroscientist’s radar." (http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/free-will-roundtable.html)

B. The believer in God may start off with the premise that at some point in the past 'God' decided to create various spiritual creatures.

But some people believe that spiritual creatures have always existed.

The Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyah claimed that 'created things have always existed'. Mormons believe that we have always existed.

"The death of his younger brother, Edmund, from measles on 2 February 1900 deeply affected Hitler. He changed from being confident and outgoing and an excellent student, to a morose, detached, and sullen boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers.... After his father's sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's behaviour at the technical school became even more disruptive, and he was asked to leave in 1904."

C. Westerners tend to think of people as individuals.

But, according to the Taoists, everything in the universe is single, whole, but composed of opposites.

According to the scientists, "under certain circumstances subatomic particles are in some form of intimate connection with one another no matter how far apart they may be." (Quantum interconnectedness - Economic Times)

D. Some people do not believe in 'acts of God'.

Life magazine reported (The Mystery of Chance):

On 1 March 1950, all the fifteen members of a church choir in Beatrice, Nebraska, due at practice at 7:20, were late.

For example, one couldn't start her car; and one mother and daughter were late because the mother had to call the daughter twice to wake her from a nap.

At 7:25 the church building was destroyed in an explosion. The members of the choir, Life reported, wondered if their delay was "an act of God."

"The Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna rejected Hitler twice, in 1907 and 1908, because of his 'unfitness for painting'... After being rejected a second time by the Academy of Arts, Hitler ran out of money. In 1909 he lived in a homeless shelter, and by 1910, he had settled into a house for poor working men... He was a frequent dinner guest in a wealthy Jewish home; he interacted well with Jewish merchants and sold his paintings almost exclusively to Jewish dealers."

2. One could argue that neither Hitler nor Mother Teresa had achieved full 'enlightenment' (Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith)

To Carl Jung, God may be an evolving being.

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875 - 1961) said in Memories, Dreams, Reflections:

"Natural history tells us of a haphazard and casual transformation of species over hundreds of millions of years of devouring and being devoured...

"But the history of the mind offers a different picture. Here the miracle of reflecting consciousness intervenes."

French theologian and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) also sees God as an evolving thing. De Chardin argues that all things are evolving and the unity of the universe is grounded not in matter or energy but spirit.

"Hitler became fixated on warfare after finding a picture book about the Franco-Prussian War among his father's belongings."

3. If we do have 'free will', it could be seen as a burden. (Existential Primer: Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Dostoevsky points to characters who do bad things, knowing that they are bad, in order to assert their uniquness and independence.

Some might say that God does not have this burden, as, presumably, he is incapable of choosing evil?

Dostoevsky, and others, seem to suggest that all creatures go through a long learning process, which can involve suffering, in order to achieve enlightenment.

Hitler was 'lucky' enough to survive a number of assassination plots.

4. Eastern thinking often has less of a problem with the question of 'free will' and 'good and evil'.

"When you are aware of the Tao and feel it, you can flow with it, and the right action appears for itself, spontaneously."

Henry C K Liu wrote in the Asia Times about Taoism. Where does evil come from? There can be no ‘good’ without ‘evil’.

"Controlled quantities of the bad can be good. Excessive amounts of the good can be bad. Poison kills. But when handled properly, it can cure diseases. Without poison, there can be no medicine. To employ poison to attack poison is a Taoist principle, which is validated in modern medical the practice of vaccination, the use of antibiotics and chemotherapy treatments." - (Consider the lilies)


5. Is there a bit of God within Hitler?

According to The Upanishads, the Hindu New Testament (Life And Death Explained?):

God is within all the created world (immanent) and outside all the created world (transcendent).

God becomes immanent (within all) until the end of evolution when the immanent has all again become transcendent (outside the created world). The created world evolves into the transcendent God.

Why? For the joy of creation.

Why is there evil? For the joy of good arising from it.

Why darkness? That the light may shine more.

Why suffering? For the instruction of the soul and the joy of sacrifice.

Why the infinite play of creation and evolution? For pure joy.

The more the lower self is forgotten in good works, and in the realisation of the beautiful and the true, the quicker becomes the process of evolution.

6. Timothy Conway has written of (3 Levels of Reality) "the old, largely forgotten Christian idea of ... universal salvation taught by Origen and Clement of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa: God's love is so powerful that no creature can exile itself from this Love forever."

"Chhotu is an intelligent boy who belongs to a poor family in Rajasthan. Born into poverty, he is forced to find work at a roadside food stall."

7. If we do not have 'free will', and everything is determined by such things as our genes, is that going to lead to the elite 'choosing' fascism?

According to Professor Philip Adey of King’s College London, a child's IQ can be raised by the right stimulation

"If general intelligence was indeed largely in the gift of the genes .... then we would be driven towards the deterministic and racist scenario of eugenics.

"Fortunately, all of the recent evidence points to the plasticity of general intelligence, the fact that a child’s IQ can be raised by the right kind of stimulation."

"The best that neuroscience can do is to show that behavior X is neurally correlated with activity in brain structure Y. This has precisely nothing to do with determinism because non-deterministic effects could be present at much more physically fundamental levels than those dealt with by neuroscience and never show up on the neuroscientist’s radar." (http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/free-will-roundtable.html)

8. The following makes use of an article entitled 'Free Will' at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Most of us think that we have free will.

But, what is free will?

According to philosopher David Hume, the 'nature of free will' is the big question.

1. We can talk about 'Free Action', 'Free Will' and 'Moral Responsibility'.

If Hitler had been kept in jail, he would not have been free to invade Poland.

While in jail, Hitler may have felt that he still had 'free will'.

Hitler, once in power, was free to invade Poland.

If, as some scientists and philosophers suggest, there is no such thing as 'free will', then Hitler may not be 'morally responsible' for invading Poland.

2. Plato and Aristotle believed that if we have an intellect or brain, then we have free will.

Hitler used his intelect and decided that invading Poland was 'good'.

He had the 'free will' to invade Poland?

We use our 'free will' to do what we consider is 'good'?

3. 'Determinism' is the opposite of 'free will'.

A determinist would say that Hitler's actions were the result of such things as 'being beaten by his father', 'having inherited a disturbed character', 'having, met certain people'...

Website for this image

4. Discoveries in 'Quantum Physics' suggest that 'determinism' may be wrong.

The movement of 'particles' cannot always be predicted.

And every particle, every thing, may be connected.

We may all be part of God or linked to God?

And the concreteness of reality may be an illusion.

Consciousness may create the brain, the body and everything we interpret as physical. (Life And Death Explained?)

5. Some people, called 'compatibilists', believe that people can have free will, even if determinism is true.

Hitler may have been affected by his past and by his nature, but, over the question of Poland, he still had a range of options and it was not innevitable that he would choose to invade when he did?

6. When we use words such as 'gratitude', 'resentment', 'forgiveness' and 'love', we tend to assume that people are responsible for their actions.

7. Some religious people claim that God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens.

But, this suggests that people have no free will and are not responsible for their actions.

If 'theological determinism' is true, then whether or not people repent is ultimately up to God, not to the people themselves.

Why does God not will that everyone is saved?

We might conclude that 'God' may not necessarily be as described by certain fundamentalists.

So, what about free willy?

9. "Do you believe that you have control over your destiny?

"If you do not, then you are more prone to bad behavior."

This is according to findings from studies by experimental philosophers and psychologists, reported by John Tierney in the Times." (If You Don't Believe In Free Will, You Are Likely to Be a Cheater ... / Changing belief in free will can cause students to cheat.)