Question 3
Do you believe in coincidence or does everything happen for a reason?
Do you believe in "meant to be"(fate and destiny) or is our life what we make of it and nothing more?
posted by punky @ 11:28 AM
22 Comments
An Unfettered Mind
Pink Emerson Radio
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Do you believe in "meant to be"(fate and destiny) or is our life what we make of it and nothing more?
22 Comments:
Can one's "free will" be part of their destiny ... like even if you choose another path, certain things that are meant to happen will happen anyway ... but later. Like the movie Sliding Doors?
Yes.
Coincidence is just that, I think it usually happens because you were working towards that end anyway. You also tend to surround yourself with people who havethe same interests, so it would not be a surprise that they would have the same thing happen to them.
I believe it is something karma like. I think that if you are consistent in the way you do things, then your life will be shaped that way. Consequnces to the way you do things. If you do a bad job at work don't be surprised that you get fired.
Whats that boss? Coming
And sometimes Sh*t happens no matter what you do. Destiny no, just unlucky.
Generally no to fate or destiny, yes on free will (though other forces can and do have effect).
Life IS what you make of it, AND a whole lot more.
-cbol
1. punky, I can't believe someone else saw Sliding Doors!
2. This is one of the great philosopical questions that's become a religious question.
Which is too bad because if you believe in fate and destiny people will think you're a brain-drained religious fundamentalist.
Maybe questioning fate and destiny is a sign of an open mind and intelligence.
Which is my defense for answering "Who knows?".
tamara, I absolutely agree. Goodness, I'd never criticize punky or any of you!
Seriously, sorry if I offended anyone. I really didn't mean to!
I like a good philosophical discussion. So much that I majored in Philosophy. For about a minute. It doesn't take deep thinking to realize that a degree in philosophy = working the take-out window at Wendy's.
So I majored in psychology and got a job as an assistant office assitant.
But, the good news is that, for the price of tuition + room and board, I learned how to inadvertantly offend people!
wow - you guys are deep
my opinion: there's no pre-destined plan for everyone - everyone makes their own destiny - if your life sucks, than do something different
sure, there's bad breaks and coincidences, but it's just stuff that happens - the important thing isn't that it happened, but how you deal with it and fix it
Truthfully, I'm still working on that.
Also - I love the line Even Fate Couldn't Change Their Destiny
I think it's from a romance book cover.
-cbol
I believe we are all hooked up to a "cosmic switchboard". All conscious and unconscious thought flows through it. And some people are more hooked up than others (kind of like Force, but no Jedi allowed). So, when coincidence happens, its not really luck, or randomness, as much as it is receiving the current signal.
Then, when it comes to the idea of "meant to be", it is not exactly destiny, but more like sharing the same circuit in the cosmic switchboard.
This theory explains a lot: psychic communication, the instant bond between certain people, coindicence, "luck" and destiny.
random thunking
PS, Punky: it's called the "Shift" key.
I utterly believe in coincidence. That's how I met TCMH! I don't believe in fate or destiny.
I'm an atheist - I think I've explained that before. Hence "free will" is paramount to me - but I have nothing against people believing what they will.
I think our lives are what we make of them. I also believe the harder I work, the "luckier" I get.
I was channeling e.e.cummings.
step off.
:)
Earlier, I had said I'm still trying to work this out..... but I do have somewhat of a position on it.
I’m a woman of faith and darn proud of it. There are some Christians who believe that our whole lives are planned from the get-go. But that’s not my brand. To believe that and that things are “meant to be” would mean that God planned the tsunami, Katrina, 9/11, the BTK killer and a friend’s baby’s death. I don’t think He did. I personally think He shudders at the term “act of God” being equivalent to a natural disaster. He is there BECAUSE stuff like that is going to happen. He gives us solace at times like those and gives us guidance in how to deal with it all.
And as far as coincidence; friends of mine (and some of my children) call them Godincidences. I don’t go along with that as that falls under the “meant to be” column. But when they happen and they are good, I enjoy them and thank God they did happen. When they are sucky, then I mumble and grumble and go on about my way, try not to blame the big guy, but ask for help in dealing with it.
Damn, I wrote a comment that was full of eternal truths and secrets to the universe....including what the heck is in Veinna Sausages....and this blogger thing ate it. Now I can't recall a single bit of it.
Okay, trying again.
I think that there is some form a karma that happens.....do something bad and something bad will come your way. Do something altrueistic and good and the same returns to you. Not alwways right away, but eventually. Now, whether this is because, by our actions, we have pre-disposed ourselves for this type of thing, or we have set in motion a chain of events that make this happen, or if (I'll use a term that Stephen King coined in his books...just cause I like the visual of it) a Wheel of Ka, I don't know. I like to believe that even if we have a general direction our lives are supposed to go, there are many things that can deflect that direction that it boggles the mind. Heck, just not finishing that last sip of coffee in you cup this morning could have a profound effect on the course of things.
That being said, I do think we are all connected in a way. We are all a form of energy....it's what drives our bodies and more importantly, our minds. What that energy is, I haven't the foggiest. But it is there. So, with that, why wouldn't we be able to connect with each other in a way that isn't merely terrestrial?
Ow, I think I just sprained something.
Need to go to the comics website to recover.
OK I'll start by declaring my prejudices. I believe in God, evolution and free will. I would consider my self a Christian, although I do not belong to an organized religion or church. I have studied and lived with Jews and Moslems, living in the middle east (Isreal, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus) for about a year and a half. I sometimes wonder which one of these three major religions has got it right or whether we have all missed the boat.
As I said, I believe in free will and the many minor and major decisions that we make each day have an effect on our lives and the lives of those around us. I believe that God gave us the right to make bad decisions and suffer the consequences, hence the need for us to be educated by him in the right way to do things. At the same time, I feel that at least a part of our lives is predetermined. That some things will happen to us not matter what we do. If we are hit by a car or win a lottery, it happens for a purpose that we can not see or know of because it is too big a picture for us to see.
Thats one reason that I think the intelligent design argument was so stupid. I think that God created the universe and has been sitting back to watch what we, the many things living in it, do with it. Evolution is a form of free will - choosing to survive by adapting to new surroundings and being better at surviving.
But at the same time its all his plan, he can see what will happen next and occassionally he nudges us in the right or wrong direction.
If you ask why I believe in God, its because I can not explain with any reason how we live in a place that can be so beautiful. Pure cold scientific evolution would not give us a beautiful sunset or the ability to appreciate it or even understand the idea of beauty and ugliness. We would not feel love or the pain of the loss of a loved one. There is no rational reason that I can come up with that could explain a evolutionary reason for this. So I answer this question to myself through faith. Faith that there is someone, something more powerful somewhere that made us all and gave us these gifts. It is not logical, but faith sledom is.
Sorry for the heavy thoughts, but you asked the questions. Now back to cheap humour - time to bring out the pole Punky - I need a lap dance.
sorry it should be Muslims. No offence intended.
I believe we can choose to step off the path, or that we can fall away from it by not paying attention, but that if we do stay on the path/in the flow, the most amazing and serendipitous moments occur.
For instance, I met my husband 20+ years ago and loved him at first sight (I actually remember thinking, "I love you," when I first laid eyes on him). We didn't begin dating until 10 years ago, though, when we moved to the same city within 3 months of each other and were finally ready to be together.
I have to call that destiny, even though I could have, at any time, ignored the signs or made choices that would have made our coming together moot or impossible.
As for bad things happening ... as I said, I believe in reincarnation and karma. And I believe that as souls we decide what lessons we wish to learn in each lifetime ... not as a conscious choice, but on some other level that we can't understand using the 10% of our brain that we currently use. When people die at a young age ... when people lose children ... when someone is born with a disability, I believe that there is a specific karmic lesson they are learning or debt they are repaying - voluntarily. What may appear bad ... may not be ... in terms of the much larger picture.
For example ... if someone needs to learn the lesson of being loved, instead of always being the one to love, they may come into this world with a disability that would require those in their life to care for them and force them to accept their love. And I don't mean romantic love.
*dodges guys with straight jacket*
*continues slightly out of breath*
There is a theory that the children being born today are being born as Indigo children in larger and larger percentages. If you have never heard of Indigo children (or adults) ... google it if you are so inclined. These Indigo children are drastically altering the vibration of our world. And they have abilities far greater than ours and they use much more of their brain then we do. 60 minutes actually had a special on it a few months back.
Also, with the coming on the nano-age ... there is a theory that we will be able to see all that will and all that has happened in our universe. And that we will be connected to one another in ways many of us never imagined ... in a new dimension ...
*plays hide and seek with the men in white*
*whispers*
Anyhoo ... I think that we are all right ... because reality is our perception ... or belief. As I said before ... just because someone isn't on my road, doesn't mean they are lost.
Thank you guys for sharing your intimate thoughts on your faith and your beliefs. You are amazing ... each of you.
*climbs out of dresser drawer and runs from men in white*
Does God exist? I love that question.
I was atheist for years. But I now believe in God. Why?
Well, it's about energy. Energy is the reason that I believe in God when I never used to. I realized that any system requires energy to work.
For example, look at a brick wall. Look at the pattern of the bricks...the design. How did that happen? Did a brick factory blow up and each brick fell in perfect alignment one on top of the other? Of course not! That would be silly. A mason created that wall. A mason provided the energy that led to a very specific and intricate result.
I believe that God is that energy in the systems of the greater universe, in life.
I also believe in predestination...with a few caveats.
1) I don't believe in specific predestination...that is, I don't believe that on January 13, 2006 I was predestined to be in northern Michigan running a surveillance. I DO believe that predestination exists in so far as it show a tendency. I think predestination is a manifestation of our personalities. Although I might not have been predestined to be RIGHT here RIGHT now..I probably was predestined to end up in a profession life PI work because of who I am.
2) Predestination is subjected to free will. (Not only our own, but the free will of those around us, too.) I think that predestination might be an undercurrent that nudges us, but free will is the trump card and will always have more power to shape our existence.
So Polly is that you in the car parked outside my motel, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and eating cold pizza for the last two days? I better go back across the border to Canada - you seem to be on to me!
You guys should read God's Debris by Scott Adams. It's free to download off the Dilbert website and it's a quick and interesting read.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home