I enjoy when I have to question my own beliefs and explore them more thoroughly. I am both a fatalist and someone that believes heavily in the Law of Attraction, so in some aspects those can seem like very contradictory ideologies, but it's really all a matter of our own perspective view of reality. I view everything that exists as energy at its' base and today I'll do my best to explain how a fatalist can believe in the Law of Attraction without being in conflict with oneself.
I shared this post yesterday as part of my curation and it may have been part of what led me down this particular rabbit hole. If I view all consciousness as energetic existence, which I do, then understanding how energy operates is fundamental to my own life. Law of Attraction is based around the entire concept of like energy attracting other like energy, and in turn, focusing on what we do want attracts it just as easily as focusing on what we don't want will lead to a perceived negative outcome. So what does this have to do with fatalism?
From a fatalist perspective, everything happens for a reason and leads us down the only path that we could have ever taken. It's a more or less "all in" approach to existence. The problem that I feel some people have with fatalism is that they use it as an excuse or justification for their actions instead of seeing it as a cause and effect chain of events that lead from one point to the next. Regardless of our own awareness or interactions with the universe around us, we can see from the double-slit experiment that unobserved energy is more or less endless infinite potential at any given point. The act of observing it is what defines it and changes it.
If we look at life from an observational standpoint, we are the observer and thus the one defining and shaping our own energetic existence. From this perspective, fate is not some thing that happens to us and we are not at it's mercy, but it's more of a connective force that connects us from one point to the next. Law of Attraction, at least in my mind, requires the acceptance and understanding that we are all infinite possibilities of ourselves at all times. I have heard others try to describe this as infinite parallel universes running simultaneously, and while I don't really dwell much on that school of thought, it makes sense in my mind that if we are all of these infinite possibilities of ourselves that there can also be infinite versions of existence playing out at all times, it just isn't really relative to the current state of existence we are occupying so I don't worry about any other reality than the one I want.
In this observational state, call it zen or mindfulness or whatever you want, if we are aware of all of these possibilities that exist, then that also seems to conflict fatalism. On the contrary, I view fatalism as recognizing that there are different pathways throughout existence, but that we can't choose to walk every one of them at once. For example if I said everyone reading this should raise their hand, there are now an infinite number of possibilities for what happened. Everyone is now either aware or unaware of that request, those that are aware either complied or did not comply, but there are an infinite combination of all of those events and participants that could comply as well as an infinite level of awareness that could have been reached in regards to the outcome. Some people will exist without ever having known that I existed in the first place for example, so while it's irrelevant from their perspective, it's as relevant to anyone that is aware as they want it to be.
If existence were a movie, perhaps fatalism would be playing out every possible scenario based on every possible change or interaction possible, and ultimately settling on one final perspective. In turn, someone has to be the director, but we can't be both the director and the actor at the same time. Perhaps this is also why I don't put much stock into the concept of time. If we think in terms of energy and how it goes from point a to point b, at any given instant it isn't actually moving. It is either always somewhere or always nowhere. There is no in between as it's simply the path from point a to point b that the energy occupied. Thus while we can change ourselves and our own perspective to affect the outcome of our desired reality, fate still handles the details in between and connects the paths from one point to the next. At any given point, we can alter ourselves and thus change the reality we exist in accordingly. Namaste.
I don't believe in fatalism. It is a well planned scheme at best by very rich and powerful individuals who control the mass media and/or the police.
"All is moving according to plan" is something a sinister manipulator would think anyways. The average man reacts to the every day's little things. Lack of ambition you might say, but power corrupts and absolute power... well... creates some really nasty fatalism XD.
From a generally curious standpoint, I feel the need to ask this:
If you don't believe in fatalism and you believe that it's a scheme created by powerful people, then why are some people more prone to seeking power and others not? Fatalism can be viewed from a victim standpoint of being at the mercy of fate, or how I view it and describe it above, as a simple connecting force that leads us from cause to effect. Are you saying some people are just "powerful" and others "aren't" and that's the way it is? It comes across as a pretty bleak outlook on existence and while I've felt like that at points in my life, it magically went away as soon as I stopped viewing life as a competition. If you take the power struggle out of the equation, then people are ultimately just where they're at in life because they haven't decided to change the part they are playing yet. Perhaps some people just prefer a life without having to make their own choices and other people enjoy a life of ruling others. Personally I enjoy just not participating in that system at all.
For powerful people, ambition is dubbed destiny, for weak it's just something fated to happen. There is nothing more to it. If people don't have power struggles or care about money and authority, then they have no concept of fatalism.
Interesting perspective, I'll have to ponder that one for a while. It seems that to exist is to desire and while we can avoid being ruled by our desires it doesn't mean we don't have them. Perhaps the ambition and power struggles just stem from unhealthy obsessions and when we are able to clear ourselves of unhealthy obsessions it just seems to matter less and less. Interesting indeed.
I assume you have heard the concept of "free will does not exist because it is an oxymoron". We can never be trull free as long as we want something.
Yes, and there is no way to desire less because that is a desire in and of itself.
thus it's impossible to be free, therefore we are slaves to our desires and our desires define what we consider fatalistic
As a kind of hard determinist, I tend to disgree with a number of your assertions.
First of all, I believe that man acts in accordance with their nature, their proclivities, their biological and genetic predispositions. To help you understand where I am coming from, I do not believe man possesses the power of contrary choice.
If I was presented an opportunity for one thing or another, it is because my nature determined I would make that choice. My nature dictated that I would not raise my hand and thus, I did not.
Perhaps, such a perspective on reality seems rather droll than supposing that we had an infinite number of possibilities. I don't find Heisenberg uncertainty to be compelling enough to draw this manner of conclusion.
I don't know if I would call my self a fatalist; however. I imagine a lot of these consign themselves to no action because they think the outcome cannot be changed but I don't view it in such a manner. We have power to shape our destiny but I think the end state has already been defined before we get there. Our choices our merely a revealing of this and is compatible with the deterministic paradigm.
I also like to alluded to one making a choice on what ice cream we eat. Let's say I have an option of chocolate or vanilla. At the instant preceding my decision in my mind, the the ice cream I choose is the one that I desired most, maybe chocolate this time. I contend that I cannot in this instance have chosen vanilla. We choose according to our nature and our nature encompasses our desires.
I'm going to read your article again when I get home but next time more slowly. It's a pretty lofty topic and requires careful inquiry. Look forward to discussing further.
It's kind of funny to me because I don't necessarily disagree with what you're saying as that's how I thought about existence for most of my life. It's curious to me whether or not it was determined that at some point I would shift away from that line of thought into the one I have now. It's a paradox in and of itself because if it was determined that I would move away from deterministic logic, then does that mean that it was determined that at some point I would outlive the usefulness of that logic or am I just in denial of my old mindset. Interesting food for thought indeed.
Ok. I see. I think it would be safe to say utility plays a part in your adopting a philosophical point of view. I think this largely depends on how one would define utility. What would you consider makes a philosophy useful?
In my case, my ultimate determining factors are veracity, consistency, and intelligibility. I have a hard time conceptualizing libertarian free will in a mechanical sense which in my mind is something I have not been able to reconcile because I think it is evident that there are a lot of material factors that affect our decision-making.
I suppose personally it just helps me to make peace with my own existence. It's not really a tangible utility I suppose, but if life isn't worth living, then no amount of utility is going to change that. Rich people commit suicide just like poor people, I think if anything utility is probably inconsequential to mental health and spiritual well-being from my perspective. I had the whole career, decent money, American dream, and all that but it was never enough to make me happy doing things I didn't want to do. Perhaps it's all just personal preference on how we progress through life.
Oh @clayboyn, so much material...
I'll just put this here instead. lol
Fair enough. :)
(I'm mostly just a Ferris Bueller fan. Just re-watched this one over the past week, actually!)
But yeah, I'm the guy who gets itchy feels over "belief systems" and "isms" unless I get to sing "Danke Schoen."
I just like to explore all of them and pick the parts I want to keep. Like as much truth as I've found in Buddhism, I know I'm not a Buddhist in any sense of the word. I don't think following a path of thought to its' logical conclusion makes us the thought anymore than believing something makes us a belief.
What you said is precisely how I walk my faith in life. I do this rather than believe in anything...though I have studied the theological and philosophical pursuits extensively, myself.
This life path 11 has been an invocation of sheer obsession with the world of Spirit and Being. So having questioned everything, faith walk is all I got, yo.
This provides a fresh perspective for me into fatalism. The law of attraction seems to explain my I'm always having some reoccurring events.
Thanks for sharing
Do you mean "energy" as philosophical concept here? Because I don't think physics works like that.
It's about energetic frequency and resonance. Like if you look at the ocean or a lake, the waves are generally moving in the same direction. If you were to zoom out and look from a higher perspective you can see that waves are moving in multiple directions and group up with other waves that are moving in the same direction. There are points of contention where they clash with one another, but the energy keeps moving. Similar frequencies are drawn together. Metaphysics are usually based around energy that we have no way to quantify or measure. Like emotions, you can't really quantify how much you love or hate someone. You can't say, "I love you 10.4 hug-a-watts and I measured it with this hug-o-meter." Recognizing that there is energy in our thoughts and emotions allows the application and continuation of physics principals into things that are widely regarded as not being quantifiable. Perhaps philosophical or spiritual energy may be an easier term to apply to it, but physics itself has laws that would lead me to the same conclusion, such as:
I like the way your mind works. I also contemplate these things.
Are you familiar with Caroline Myss? She discusses the law of attraction, free will, and the difference between fate and destiny very compellingly.
I think that the law of attraction has been copted for the mainstream, which continues the same old vending machine in the sky god.
I have a lot of issues with the law of attraction as i have seen it presented, and have observed a lot of people trying to live new age lives. It becomes very solipsistic in practice.
When I did the Magician medicine bag, I finally read the 7 hermetic principles, and realized that a lot of spiritual / new ageisms derive from hermetics, which is a huge rabbit hole. Magick is made at the level of choice and becoming is an alchemical process involving reality (fate) and our free will in choosing what to do with it (destiny).
Much love and thanks for making me think <3
I'm going to have to look into her for sure. I am not a big fan of the picture that things like The Secret paint of LoA, so I can see the turn off with the whole "new agey" thing. I think people don't fundamentally get that there is no competition in existence and that wanting to do "the right thing" for any reason is more or less about wanting to "win." There is nothing to win if it's all about the experience. It just is what it is.
Well said!
I like to make mine an interpretative dance ;)
Cheers and I hope your "is" is what-it-is wonderful
Your opening statement is the key to this entire concept:
I enjoy when I have to question my own beliefs and explore them more thoroughly.
This is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Too many of us hold "beliefs" that aren't really even ours to begin with. They're our parents, our our friends, or our cultures beliefs, and we hold them as our own not because thats what we also believe, but because thats what is in closest proximity to us.
We MUST continually question our beliefs. It is only through doing so that we are able to both:
Followed, upvoted, and resteemed! If you have a moment, consider checking out my latest piece here and let me know what you think! : )
Agreed and will do.
A little poetry usually helps clarify things...
Sometimes language get's a bit swervey
when all of the meanings are topsy turvy.
Some speak in riddles to hide all their lies,
and others disguise meanings contrariwise.
The greatest mystery of all, gives no clue,
how could anyone ever know: Who are you?
This post is philosophical post..This writing is awesome...Resteemit...
nice post on philosophy
great the psychological post
keep it up dear
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you can cheek
@clayboyn
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great explanation !! Hope for the best
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