Do we have Free Will?
Welcome to the deeper you go, the where it gets. I'm your host,
Garett:Garett Renon. So greetings from the jungle. Today is 12/15/2023. At this point I have four weeks left on my year long Sama. I'm definitely getting excited to close this chapter and start the next one.
Garett:I'm also really looking forward to rebuilding my body and health. See I consider myself an expert at health and fitness and now I get to use myself as my own project. Anyway, this episode, this is an episode I've been working on for several weeks. It's about free will. Asking the question, do we have free will?
Garett:Are we in charge of our lives? Or was our story written in the stars long time ago? Well, this episode, I do my best to answer these questions and more. But before we start, I want to thank everyone who is supporting the show. If you are listening, thank you for your support.
Garett:More specifically, I want to thank all the people who have left positive reviews, bought gear, pine pollen, and fermented herbal tonics. There's a new Instagram page specifically for the show. The link for that is in the notes. Obviously, I haven't updated the Instagram page in a while since I've been in the jungle, but it is there. Also, I encourage you all to reach out with any questions you may have about my journey or anything I've discussed.
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Garett:This is because testosterone in both men and women is at an all time low, thanks to pesticides, microplastics, tap water, a sedentary lifestyle, and even wacky modern ideology. And the result of this epidemic of low testosterone is that most people are now overweight, unfocused, depressed, have minimal muscle mass, and almost zero sex drive. Not to mention the low testosterone is a major factor in why the masculine and feminine energies in our society are so out of whack and lacking harmony. So if you want to save yourself, save your relationship, and possibly even save the world, get you some pine pollen. My pine pollen is made with the best ingredients possible: raw, uncracked pine pollen harvested in the pristine Canadian wilderness, and organic cane alcohol.
Garett:It doesn't get any cleaner than that. Lastly, at the very least, if you enjoy this podcast, please like it, share it, subscribe to it, and leave a review. Specifically, you're listening to this on the Apple Podcast app, it's a simple gesture that'll take you no more than five minutes and it really helps me out. Alright, so let's get into the episode. So one of the most philosophically debated questions of all time is whether or not we have free will.
Garett:Have you ever thought about this? Have you ever wondered how much control you actually have over your life? Are we bound to fate? Has our story already been written? Are we just actors playing a part in a completed script?
Garett:Or is our story still being written? And if so, how much say or influence do we have over the direction of our own story? See I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially when I look at how my life has unfolded. In a lot of ways, it seems like it was destined to play out exactly like it has. That everything I have done, from the choices I have made to the people I have met, and even the mistakes, have all felt in a way predestined.
Garett:Like these things were meant to happen to move my story along. And I'm willing to bet that there are times when you feel exactly same way about your own life. So this idea of fate is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. It's exciting because it can make us feel special, like we are destined for great things and that we can't mess it up because our life was written in the stars long before we were born. But on the other hand, it is terrifying because it means you have no say or control over your own life.
Garett:See, it's awesome if you are destined to be a rock star or to cure cancer or to be the saver of humanity. But what if you are destined to be a garbage man or a convenience store manager or a mid level accountant? Not that there's anything wrong with those jobs, in fact, in our current society, we need those positions filled in order for the system to work. We can't all be rich and famous, right? Someone has to take out the trash.
Garett:Well, most people love to glamorize fate or destiny looking at only the good aspects and choosing to ignore the reality, which is, if fate is real, it is just as likely that you are destined to be a superstar as it is that you are destined to be a nobody, just a cog in the machine, just a pawn in the checkerboard of life. And I don't know about you, but that is a terrifying thought. So which is it? Do we have free will or not? Do we have the ability to control or influence our destiny?
Garett:Or has our life already been scripted? Well after thinking about this for a long time, the answer seems to be yes, no. It depends and it's complicated. See after contemplating this question, the first thing I learned is that our story seems to take place on at least three different levels, and that each one of these levels has varying degrees of free will and fate associated with them. And depending on which level you achieve, that plays a major factor in determining who or what is pulling the strings and how much control you actually have.
Garett:So the three levels are level one, escaping the matrix, your initial programming. Level two, escaping the matrix. I think I said that wrong. So level one, entering the matrix, your initial programming. Level two, escaping the matrix, journey of self discovery.
Garett:And level three, becoming neo. So let's look at each of these levels in more detail. So Level one: Entering the Matrix. So right off the bat, the answer to whether or not we have free will is 100% No. This is because from the moment we spring forth into this world, we are born directly into a prison we can't see, taste, or smell.
Garett:Just like the movie, we are born into a system that immediately programs us to act, think, and feel a certain way. This system is designed to keep us down so that we are forced to be nothing more than a cog in the machine simply for the benefit of those who design the system. Here's how it works. See, for the first seven years of your life, your brain is primarily functioning in a state of hypnosis called theta. Theta is a frequency produced by your brain that is not only known to put you in a hypnosis like trance, but is also known to give you a superhuman ability to absorb information.
Garett:And there's a very good reason for this, especially from an evolutionary standpoint, and that is so that we can learn how to operate in the world. During this time, we learn the necessary skills, mannerisms, and thought patterns needed to become a fully capable human being and a successful member of society. As we should all know by now, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. All truths are but half truths. So, on one hand, this state of hyper learning is critical for our development.
Garett:It is how we learn to become human. But on the other hand, there is a downside, which is that we become enslaved by this very same programming. This is because everything that we learned during those first seven years of existence becomes permanently hardwired in our subconscious mind. And two interesting facts about our subconscious mind which you should know is one, the subconscious mind operates in the background where you are unaware of its actions. This is the meaning of subconscious.
Garett:It means it operates below your consciousness. Below or outside of your awareness. And two, your subconscious mind controls approximately 95% of your total mind, which essentially means it's the one driving the bus. It means, for all intents and purposes, you are your subconscious mind. So let's talk about these first seven years a little more because this is where it starts to get interesting and even a little bit scary.
Garett:See, the most interesting fact about the most interesting fact fact being that the programming your subconscious mind received during those first seven years occurred without your awareness, knowledge, or even your consent, which means you are not who you think you are. See, I'm willing to bet that you think your thoughts and opinions are yours. I'm willing to bet that you think your political views, which you hold so dear and are so passionate about, are yours and yours alone. I bet you even think that your likes, dislikes, and even your goals are yours. Well, sorry to be the one to break it to you, but your thoughts, views, and opinions are not yours.
Garett:Who you think you are and how you see the world is just a product of your initial programming, nothing more. Don't believe me? Let me ask you this. Where did your programming come from? Well, came from your environment.
Garett:Right? And what did your environment consist of? Well, your parents obviously, or whoever raised you, but also your city, your country, your social economic status, your neighborhood, your religious influences, your schools, and your culture. And the crazy part about this is you didn't choose any of those things. They just happened to you without your awareness or knowledge.
Garett:Yet, all of those things are responsible for shaping your morals, values, likes, dislikes, your opinions, and even how you interpret the world. And if any one of those things were different, you would be a completely different person and you would see and understand the world completely different. Think about it. How much different would your life be? How different would your thoughts, views, and opinions be if you grew up rich instead of poor?
Garett:Or poor instead of rich? What if you grew up in Japan, Afghanistan, Africa, or North Korea instead of The US? Or, what if you grew up in a small town instead of a big city? What if you were black instead of white or white instead of black? What if you were born in the year February instead of 1980, '19 '70, or 1950?
Garett:What if you were born a female instead of a male? What if you were born blind or deaf? What if your parents were drug addicts? What if your parents were clean and sober? What if your entire family was taken out by a drone strike during a wedding by the military of another country when you were only five years old?
Garett:The idea is that you are not you because you are an independent free thinker, you are you simply because you were programmed to act, think, and feel a specific way which is all based on your environment. And remember, none of us choose our environment. Now I know some people like to believe that you choose your parents, but I'm not buying it. Only people who grew up in middle class America say that. I guarantee no one would ever choose to grow up in North Korea.
Garett:Maybe it's a karma thing or maybe not. I don't know. Anyway, you currently think, act, and feel a certain way only because you were born on a certain patch of dirt at a specific time and space surrounded by people whose views and opinions were shaped long before you ever arrived. Which is kind of a weird and even slightly disturbing thought. So what are you supposed to do with this information?
Garett:Well, this is your first Well, is where your first opportunity to have free will comes in. See, this is the part of the story where Morpheus is standing in front of you with a red pill in one hand and a blue pill in the other. This is where you are presented with your first real choice. The choice to either wake up and begin the process of freeing yourself from your initial programming or to go back to sleep and let your initial story play out. See remember, your subconscious mind controls 95 of who you are.
Garett:That means that there is still 5% of you that is not under a spell. So even though the odds are stacked against you, you still have the opportunity to free yourself from your mental prison. But just know that this process of waking up will not be easy. But what other choice do you have? As of now, your story has already been written, and it was written by a system that does not care about your livelihood.
Garett:It was written by a system that benefits off of you following your script and playing out your predetermined part. As Carl Jung said, until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. So what will it be? If you want to wake up and free yourself from the matrix, take the red pill and continue listening. If, however, you are happy with the story and life you were dealt, then take the blue pill, go back to sleep, and let your life play out as it was scripted.
Garett:There is no wrong answer here. It is your life and your journey. All I'm offering is the truth, nothing more. If you decide to take the blue prill, then there's really no need for you to continue listening to this episode. So take care and I will catch you on the flip side.
Garett:Okay. For those of you that are still here, let's proceed to level two. So level two, escaping the matrix. So the big takeaways from level one are: You have little to no free will because you were pre programmed from birth to act, think, and feel a certain way. And because of this, you are not you.
Garett:You are not a unique individual with your own thoughts and opinions, instead you are pre programmed cog performing a small role in a large script written by someone else. See, once you realize this, the next step is to free yourself from your initial programming and begin the process of discovering who you actually are. In order to do this, you must embark on a journey of self discovery. But what does that mean? I find a lot of people say that, that they are on a mission to discover who they are, but they are not exactly sure what that means or even how to go about doing that.
Garett:And I know I was guilty of this. I mean, what does it mean to find yourself? And how does one even go about looking for themselves? Well, I discovered what this truly means during this last year, during my SAMA. Those of you that have been following my journey know that I have questioned a lot of the restrictions and rules of the SAMA process, Not necessarily not necessarily because I have issues with authority, which I do, but I also question the restrictions because I am and was truly curious about the process.
Garett:I want to understand the why behind what I'm doing. See, I knew going into this process that it would be one of the hardest things I've ever done, so I wanted to make sure it would be worth it. I am all for making sacrifices and putting in hard work, but there is nothing worse than making pointless sacrifices and working hard when you could have just worked smarter. I want to do things that are effective, not gimmicky. But despite all my questions and reservations about the process, I took a leap of faith mainly because something kept calling to me, pushing me, and urging me to do so.
Garett:What was urging me? Well, that is something we'll get into later on in the episode. So the overall theme of the year long Sama can be distilled down to two words, restriction and isolation. Now, as most of you know, this is the part of the process where I had the most questions. Well, turns out I got some answers.
Garett:The purpose of restriction and isolation is to help you shed your initial programming. In order to deprogram yourself, the first thing you have to do is remove yourself from the source. For example, let's say you have a drinking problem and you want to quit. One of the first steps is to separate yourself from all the things that are associated with drinking, right? Which means no longer going to bars, not having alcohol in the house, and no longer hanging out with your drinking buddies, you must isolate yourself from the world of alcohol, at least temporarily.
Garett:Well, the same is true for removing your initial programming. This is why periods of isolation and restriction are common in many different spiritual practices because in order to free yourself from the matrix, you have to find periods of time where completely cut yourself off from the source, where you completely cut yourself off from the matrix as much as possible. And what the periods of isolation and restrictions do is, well, they make you bored. And when you are bored, you are left with nothing to do but go inward and look at your self. And what you start to find is you, the you that is separate from the patch of dirt where you were born.
Garett:Remember, you are not your city, your country, your culture, or your race. You are something beyond all of that. So when all of that is removed, who is left? That's the person you are looking for. So isolation and restriction give you time, give you the time to think about things, to discover how you feel.
Garett:Not how you were programmed to feel, but how you truly feel. Not only were we pre programmed, but we are also continually being overfed and overstimulated with information and entertainment. And this overstimulation does two things. One, it distracts you from finding your true self because you have no time to digest anything. See, was just talking about this with one of my friends here at Niue Rou the other day.
Garett:This is why the integration process is so important, because you need time to marinate in the new insights you receive during the ceremony. Well, same is true about anything you do in life. If you read a new book, you should dedicate some time after you're done or maybe even after each chapter to sit in silence and actually absorb the information. But instead, we stop reading, then immediately grab our phone, start scrolling while listening to a podcast, and then starting another book soon after we finish our current one, or oftentimes before we've even finished the current book. As a result, we are consuming lots of knowledge, but retain very little wisdom.
Garett:And two, this over stimulation kills your intuition. See, our intuition is a very important tool for self discovery, but it is a very sensitive tool. Our intuition easily gets overwhelmed and overpowered by mindless consumption, consumption which is not good because if you have any hope of getting to level three, you need to start developing your intuition now. And I am learning that the SAMA process that I'm on is a great method for developing intuition. See, when you are at level two, this is when you have the most amount of free will, which is awesome.
Garett:But it also means you have to put in the most amount of work because what is essentially happening during this level is that a battle is being fought over your mind and even your soul. And on one side of the battle is your true self, and on the other side is the matrix, and both are fighting for your attention, both are fighting for your energy. So this is the level where the choices you make have a huge impact on determining which side is going to win. And I obviously love everything about the matrix, but one part that was done well that no one really talks about or no one really noticed was how bad the real world actually was. See, after Neo was extracted from the Matrix, he learned the truth about the real world, which was that it was a war torn hellscape where a war is currently being fought between man and machine.
Garett:In fact, it was so bad that all the humans living in the real world have to live underground hiding from the machines. Neo also learns that at this point the machines are basically winning the war and if something isn't done soon, humanity will be wiped from existence. See after Neo was extracted, he was brought on board the ship the Nebuchadnezzar, which was basically a submarine. And on that submarine, all they had to eat was some oatmeal type slop that contained just enough nutrients to keep them alive. It was a pretty grim existence.
Garett:This is why Cypher turned on them because he felt a simulated world would be better than this reality. And honestly, it's hard to blame him. And I think this is what happens to a lot of people. They do the work necessary to free themselves only to realize that the truth is scary, terrifying, and even grim, and that there is still a lot of work left to do. But the one thing the real world provided Neil was an opportunity.
Garett:And that opportunity was the ability to level up. The opportunity to reach his full potential, the opportunity to fight back, and the opportunity to write his own story. And while the same is true in our world, level two is where you are confronted with the truth about reality, which can be scary and grim, but it can also be hopeful because you are also given an opportunity to decide your own fate. You get some say in how your story will end. So during this part of your journey, you have the free will to decide if this is a battle worth fighting.
Garett:You get to decide between venturing into the unknown where there are no guarantees, just possibilities, or heading back to your comfort zone, back into the matrix. This is not an easy choice to make because heading into the unknown often means turning your current life completely upside down. For me, freeing myself meant giving everything, meant giving up and losing everything. Some people are willing to do that, others aren't. And depending on how deep you are currently trapped in the matrix, this task can seem almost impossible.
Garett:But I'm here to tell you that it is doable. But the thing is, I can't tell you how to do it. That is something you have to discover for yourself. Everyone's path is different. What worked for me will not necessarily work for you.
Garett:We all free ourselves in different ways, but at least you have a choice, and that choice is to continue or turn back, fight or give up. Now, remember I said that something was calling to me to do this year long psalmah? Well, what that was or who that was was my true self or my higher self, which starts to lead us into level three. So level three, becoming Neo. When you start to reach level three, this is when things get interesting or even more interesting.
Garett:See in level one, you have little to no free will because of your initial programming. In level two, you have lots of free will, but no guarantees. Well in level three, it seems like your free will starts to go away again. But this time, it's a good thing. During level three is when your True Self really starts calling to you.
Garett:Your True Self is always there calling to you, but when you are at level one, it can be hard to hear the call. But the further you go on your journey, the easier it is to hear the calling. And once you start the process of self discovery is when the call becomes louder and louder. And once you start to pay attention and follow this calling, this is when doors start opening and opportunities start showing up. This is when you realize that there are no such thing as a coincidence.
Garett:This is when you follow that that when you follow your calling, things happen to you for a reason. This is when the parts of fate that people glamorize actually become a reality. See, we are all we are all born with potential to do something great, to make a difference, to bring a change and perspective to this world that only you can bring. That is all real. But where I think people make a mistake is not doing the work, not making their unconscious conscious.
Garett:So they believe the opportunities being presented in front of them are from their Higher Self when they are most likely from the Matrix. The Matrix is set up in such a way to trick you into believing you are on your path. Again, just like Carl Jung said, until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. See, the matrix is not dumb. It is a very sophisticated program designed to keep you trapped and the only way to free yourself is by shedding your initial programming and making your unconscious conscious.
Garett:So once you begin the long journey of self discovery, once you spend a good amount of time in level two contending with the unknown, you will notice that your life starts to become guided again, which is awesome, but also weird. It's awesome because after spending a long time in the unknown, it feels good to finally find your path. But at the same time, it is weird because you realize that once again, you are not necessarily in control of your life, but at least you are being guided and pulled in the right direction so that you can fulfill your potential. So to answer the initial question, do we have free will? The answer is still yes, no, and it's complicated.
Garett:Overall, the answer seems to be no because it seems like we were sent here to do something special and to make a difference. But along the way, we have to make choices and if you make the wrong choices, refusing to make the necessary sacrifices and do the work required, then your potential and your prophecy will never be fulfilled. Like I said, there is no guarantee in this life. This game we are playing, it's on expert mode. So even though there are no guarantees, you are more than capable of winning.
Garett:You just have to be ready and willing to do what is necessary. So as I wrap up this episode, I will give you some tips. Like I said, I can't tell you which direction you need to go. It is your journey, not mine. But I can tell you how to prepare yourself for your journey.
Garett:See, no matter what your journey looks like, there are certain things you can that you must do and can do now. In fact, let me be real with you for a second. If you don't do these things, you are probably not going to make it. It is worth noting that these things I'm going to tell you are 100% within your control. In fact, these might be the only things that are within your control.
Garett:So here goes. You have the free will or the choice to take care of yourself, to stay informed. You have the choice of what you put in your mouth and your body, of what you feed your mind. You have the choice to exercise, to accept challenges, to pursue greatness, and to stay focused. And if you don't choose to take care of yourself, if you don't choose to exercise, to eat healthy, to feed your mind, to accept challenges, to take risks, then there is no point in waking up.
Garett:There is no point in going any further in your journey. The further you go in your journey, you realize that you have very little control over anything. So if you are not controlling the things that are 100% within your ability, then what's the point? What's the point of going on a spiritual journey or a journey of self discovery if you can't put down the booze, or the vape pen, or you can't turn off the video games, or you can't stop watching porn, or put down the phone, or can't stop eating junk food, or can't get off the couch? If you don't do these things, you will never be ready for your potential.
Garett:I can't tell you what your potential or true self looks like, but I can tell you what it's not. It's not an overweight, unhealthy, mindless person who's addicted to social media, who blindly follows orders, and who is afraid of challenges. That is not your story. If you want to reach your potential, then you must be of strong mind, body, and soul. But unfortunately, these things will never be given to you.
Garett:You can't buy them. They can only be earned. You must earn your potential. So for those of you that are up for a challenge of a lifetime, I'll say this to you. Safe travels, enjoy the ride, and see you on the other side.