Short Story: Freedom of choice is a bit of a furphy
@innertalks (21057)
Australia
December 1, 2023 6:59pm CST
Rabbi Easton Brown was espousing his ideas about freedom of choice to another Rabbi.
Here is what he said:
"Freedom of choice is more about the choices of our mind self, rather than our soul self."
"Our soul, being connected to God, has pure thoughts, when it stays connected to God."
"For mankind to fully utilise his grant of free choice, there needs to be choices available to him, and this is one reason why evil still exists in this world."
"We need alternatives to be able to choose between them."
"Our thoughts, our deeds, our actions, are the attributes that we build on our soul, for it to live through us, as us here. We clothe our soul so, to show it to the world."
"If we have bad thoughts, and bad actions, our soul will not be itself within us, as we are not living by its standards, but by our own woeful mind choices instead."
"When we have an idea, or a thought, it changes us, and manipulates us into being the same as our idea, and our thoughts, and our outgoing words, are describing us to be inwardly as these thoughts are too."
"And so, we stand in the same place as our mind's thoughts, unless we can live rather by our higher soul-produced thoughts instead."
"We need to adapt the attitudes, and ways of being, of our soul."
"The wake-up call to be your soul self, comes to you from God in your soul, and cutting yourself off from God, also cuts you off from your soul."
"Rather than our trying to believe in our self, we need to believe in God first, and then our soul self, connected to God, will come fully alive in us, as us, then too."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
We need to live our lives from a higher spiritual plane, rather than stay just with the Worldly plane.
Are we really ever as free as a bird?
4 people like this
2 responses
@just4him (307132)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
4 Dec
@innertalks No. It shows that it's the only way we can be saved. Salvation is a choice. It's one I hope everyone will embrace, but I know it won't happen.
2 people like this
@innertalks (21057)
• Australia
4 Dec
@just4him We are to love the lord our God, with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul, and so this means that we should choose God with/from our whole person, and not hold back from choosing him in any way.
As you have said many times, some people have chosen God, with their minds, but their hearts remain not in it fully, or their body keeps them trapped in traps of the body, like smoking, gambling and excessive drinking, for example.
True choice affects all parts of us, and all parts of us must be involved in that choice, so that we choose to follow God from all parts of ourselves too.
@innertalks (21057)
• Australia
4 Dec
Thanks.
It was written a bit tongue in cheek, showing that anyone who lives from their mind alone, does not really have true choice, as they miss out on including the greater scope of choice that includes God, and anyone that lives from their heart, and soul, realises that their only choice is to follow God, and so in a way, that limits their choosing too, as they never want to stray from the choices of God set up for them for their lives.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Acts, chapter 4, verse 12.
My father used to tell us that he thought that this also means that we must be saved, as he thought that the use of the word "must" here implies a lack of real choice, in that we must be saved, and should not circumvent that choice.
@Shiva49 (26224)
• Singapore
2 Dec
We take a view we need to be practical in this world - worldly-wise.
That leads to a path leading to worldly vice getting attached to our thinking and action.
When we imbibe a take we are from the same source, our thinking too is transformed away from fixation to material pursuits. Then less strife and more love and peace.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (21057)
• Australia
2 Dec
Yes, the worldly person misses out on seeing any spiritual light, as his world of light, from his worldliness, seems to lighten his mind in its way, lighting up the lights of greed, and desire fulfilment, in him, but he misses out on then seeing altogether the true light of God, that shines above any worldly light, with the true light of truth, and not ever from the dark light of worldliness, instead.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26224)
• Singapore
3 Dec
@innertalks We are running from point A to B to C etc every day.
Then our bodily needs keep us occupied and at the back of our minds all the time,
Soon we are done for, and waiting for the departure flight at the gates.
Are we then packed with the right mindset to take the one-way flight?
We then realize we have climbed the wrong mountain exhausting our time and energy.
We leave empty-handed due to our misplaced priorities or just drifting all our lives.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (21057)
• Australia
3 Dec
@Shiva49 Yes, most people drift, and are deadwood within society, instead of active forces for the good.
A lot of people think that it is their right these days to be carried along by society, and even pampered with luxuries too.
