Destiny vs Freewill

Are our lives predetermined and governed by destiny or do we get to exercise more control over how our lives unfold?

Join me as we explore the spiritual perspectives of a long held debate about the role destiny vs freewill may play in our lives.

**To help you on your journey of deepening your understanding of yourself and your relationships, I have created the "Love Languages & Spirituality' workbook, which can be downloaded completed FREE, right here: https://07bb-tatiana.systeme.io/e709d8cb **

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Intro and Outro music: Inspiring Morning by Playsound

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Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be treated as psychological treatment or to replace the need for psychological treatment.

Transcript

Tatiana: 0:00

For those of you who have been following me for a little while, know that I am big on relationships and talking about the importance of our relationships. And you don't have to just take my word for it. There's an abundance of scientific literature that speaks to the direct and significant positive impact that quality relationships have on the overall well being and The health outcomes that we experience through life. So for those of you who are really looking to understand a little bit more about how to deepen your relationship with others, how to increase your self awareness and deepen your connection with yourself and your soul essence. I have created a free guide that is packed with self reflection exercises and practical strategies that are guiding you through deepening your understanding of how to incorporate your love languages or preferences with a more spiritual lens. You can get access to my Love Languages and Spirituality workbook completely free. There is a link enclosed in the show notes, or you can also find it in my Instagram at integrated underscore wisdom. Welcome to the Integrated Wisdom Podcast. I am your host, Tatiana Da Silva. Join me as we discuss what it means to live an integrated life and explore ways for you to create a life filled with greater meaning, peace, and connection by integrating the wisdom of spirituality, psychology, Neuroscience, Epigenetics and Energy Psychology are hoped to empower you to create deeper and more loving connections with yourself and others, whilst also paving the way for humanity at large to be reimagined and inspired to become the very best version of itself. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the integrated wisdom podcast. Thank you so much for joining me again today. So recently I stumbled across a new movie. That's come out on Netflix. And it's the first. Ever. Interactive movie that Netflix has developed. And by interactive. I mean, this movie allows you The audience. To decide. What unfolds in the story. So at certain key moments in the story, when you get to decide what the character does next, and ultimately what happens in the end. And, you know, not exactly. Cinematic masterpiece, but quite a quirky idea and very lighthearted entertainment. And as I was kind of playing around with the concept and. You know, choosing, um, Choosing a couple of different options and then going back and changing my choices to see how else the story could have unfolded with a different choice. It made me really think about. The parallels. Of. A framework like that. With the concept that's often discussed around whether things that happen to us. are, predetermined or destiny. Or whether we have an element of freewill. And that's actually what I wanted to talk about today. Because I think often in life with. We find ourselves grappling with certain core questions. That seem to repeat. All the time. And one of those questions is how much ability to control. What happens to us. Do we really have, how much free would we have versus. What we experience in life. Whether it's predetermined or whether it's fate. And so. For those of you that are curious about that, movie it's called choose love. So that's what I'm going to be talking about today. Whether we have freewill or whether things are predetermined or destiny. Now before I answer that question. I want to go back and just give an overview to this movie. Because I thought it illustrated some of the concepts in a, in a really interesting way. Now, of course in the movie, the character isn't making the choices we are making the choices. But it's a great analogy for how we would go through life. So the central character. Is in established, loving relationship and twist of fate means that she encounters two other potential guys. And gets caught up in this. Which one will I choose dynamic? So that's the ultimate end of the story. Like as the audience, you get to decide who she ends up with. But what's curious about the way that they constructed this movie, is that at different key. Points in the movie, you get to make decisions about really small mundane things. But depending on the decisions that you make. The story unfolds a little bit differently. so if you're curious, like I said, no cinematic masterpiece, but definitely lighthearted fun. Where you can just kind of play around a little bit. If you're, if you're interested in that sort of thing, I would highly encourage you. to have a go at it and, and see what you think. But I guess another movie that I think illustrates this concept really well. Is the old Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors. Well with this, that sliding doors moment. Where she either makes. The train or she doesn't. And in the movie, we get to see what happens in those two junctures. So what would happen, how her story would unfold if she made the train? And how her story would unfold if she missed the train. And what was curious about the way the movie illustrated this concept is that whilst the two separate paths did lead her in certain directions to a point she had different experiences as a result of. which juncture she went down. Ultimately some of the. The consequences or some of the things that she had to experience ended up happening anyway, just in a different way. So. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but This movie has been around so long. I don't think spoilers are possible. So for those of you who have watched the movie, you remember this, but for those of you who haven't. Gwyneth Paltrow was a central character. She was in a relationship with a person. And when she made the train, she found out she got home. Earlier than normal. And caught her partner. Cheating on her. And ended up. Um, You know, breaking up that relationship, meeting somebody else and having a whole other experience as a result of getting home early. And the character version of her that missed the train ended up not catching the partner in the act, staying with him a little longer, following this other different trajectory. Until eventually she realized who he really was. She found out about the infidelity anyway, and they ended up breaking up. And so I think in that movie, it illustrates much more closely to the truth of this debate of fate and destiny versus freewill in what we experience. So I've said this in a few other episodes where we have a. Uh, high level plan for our life. For The lessons that we're going to learn while we're here. Put some of the challenges and tests that we're going to sit. whilst we're here. We understand on a high level of overall themes, the central themes of these lessons and challenges, but we don't necessarily know in advance how it's going to be presented to us. Not in its fullest details. And there's an overall kind of map of where in our lifetime, certain lessons will come to the surface. But what happens is. Once we're here, we have free will we have the ability to decide. What we do and what we want won't do, and that includes some of the tests and challenges that we have preset for ourselves. So once we get to a point in our lives where we're confronted with one of those lessons. We are given the choice. To either go through with the lesson or not. So in thinking about. This argument of are things predetermined or do we have free will? The answer is yes to both. Some things are predetermined. And most things are driven by our freewill. So we have freewill in the choice that we make. But some experiences we must go through and they're preset. So we have free choice as to when we go through them or how we go through them. But there is some things that we absolutely have to go thorugh if. that makes sense. So if we were to draw out the kind of diagram of our life experiences it would look somewhat like the map of like a train track or a rail system, if you like. And at key junctures on that map. Would be points of choice. And so at that point, once we make the decision. In that moment. We're either going to be led down a particular predetermined path or another. If that makes sense. And that continues. For almost every core choice that we make, who we marry, where we live, the jobs that we do. And that's how, in some ways, freewill and destiny kind of integrate and co-exist. So, the core experiences that we must have in life. Well, the core lessons that we must have in life. are, pre-set that's destiny. And our freewill kicks in, in how our choices would then either push us towards one particular lesson or another. Those lessons are all on the same thing. They would just be presented in different ways. If that makes sense. So, if you think back to where we talked about. The concept of soulmates. It could be that we could very easily live a life with more than one partner. That we have already. Pre-agreed. But both partners will have that free choice. So if. Let's say myself and another person who I have pre-agreed to having a life together with. When we are here because of our conditioning and other things that have happened along our lives. When we finally meet. Let's say that person decides. They don't want to pursue the relationship. So they exercise their freewill. And decide, no, I'm not going to go down this path. And we break up. So, what would then happen is the lesson is that we were supposed to learn together. We're now going to find with other people who are also kind of. In agreement with us to sit through that lesson. So you will still find somebody else who is part of this planning part of, the predetermined lesson plan if you like, and they will then step into that role and help and work with you through that lesson or challenge that you were supposed to go through with the other person. So mostly every lesson that we're supposed to have here, there's a, there's a contingency plan for everything. So we get to exercise a freewill in how we go through the lesson. When we go through the lesson. But ultimately the things that we are absolutely preset to experience that we must experience, it's it's been programmed within that map. That we will still encounter those lessons, no matter which path we choose. And so much like. Uh, you know, the Sliding Doors movie, or even this interactive Netflix movie Choose Love, depending on the choice we end up having certain experiences. And. What we're suppose to, to go through or what we're supposed to, to learn. We're going to learn one way or another. And so you might be wondering, well then can I make a mistake? Well if I exercise my freewill and what if I make the wrong choice, what happens then? Well, I guess that's what I'm trying to highlight. That there is no such thing as a mistake necessarily. Right. When you exercise your freewill. You might be saying no to the way this lesson has been presented to you. Right. Whether it's let's see, a relationship or a job or a move you might decide. Okay. No, I don't want to, I don't want to go down this path. And so all the lessons that were kind of scheduled or preplanned for that path, will no longer materialize in that way. When you make a different choice, some of the lessons will change. Definitely. But like I was saying earlier, Everything that we are absolutely required to experience. We were going to experience. Regardless of the choice we make, you might, we might bring it forward or we might delay it. But it's going to be a lesson or an experience that we're going to encounter. At some point in our lives because it's part of our lesson plan. We can't avoid the lessons of our lesson plan. Now how does this correlate with when it's our time to die, for example. Which is, I think another thing that people often question. So when it's time to go, often that's that's preset when, when we will die. How will we die? To a point. But definitely some of our choices can lead to. Bringing some of that forward. Right? So certain lifestyle choices. If I'm making the choices repeatedly. To not look after myself. To engage in certain, Behaviors that are likely to deteriorate my health or bring about an earlier demise. Then that's where my freewill will then lead me down a particular path that wasn't necessarily meant for me. Right. It's never anyone's destiny. To come to earth and be tied up in addiction and die from that from an overdose or from alcohol poisoning or you know, from some of the other different lifestyle ways in which we can, completely undermine our health and end up having, an earlier death. A lot of that is our, our free will be exercised some of the lessons that might be there. Maybe lessons around. Self-love. It might be lessons around being able to, to create acceptance for, for difficulty. Being able to be present with. Uncomfortable feelings. some of those might be the lessons, but sometimes we will preset lessons for ourselves that we might underestimate just how challenging they might be when we're here. Or the conditioning that we experience might mean that we don't have The resilience To navigate that challenge, even though it was a challenge that we may have preset for ourselves. It may not be something that we're able to navigate with ease because the the strength of the challenge is just to big. it's too heavy for us. so in those cases, if we cause enough damage to the physical body, once it gets to a certain point of disrepair, all the energies that are they're designed to help repair our body. There, they become incapable of, of creating that repair because the damage has just been too great and the organs Can't be salvaged. There was some, obviously there are core organs in our body. And when they're damaged beyond a certain point it's very hard. For them to be, salvaged. So certainly exercising our free will in terms of how we move, how we lead our lives, our lifestyle choices. will, very likely play a big part in whether. we end up going earlier than what we were Pre preset to go. But for the most part. When we go and how we go or is already kind of predetermined. And so in some ways, The idea that we all have a predetermined date and time for when we depart our physical body and we have no way of knowing in advance what that day in time will be. It can be quite freeing, I think, to think about it in those terms, right. to think about the fact that. Well, that's the one part of my life where I can have certainty one day, that day is going to come. Um, but I just don't know how, and when. So we have the choice. So we have the choice of being completely terrified and paralyzed. By the fact that. You know, this impending expiry date is approaching from a dark corner that I can't see, or I can have it very much define how I live my life, you know, in the way that I show up fully, I am present in everything that I do. I live life as authentically as possible. As aligned with my values as possible. I prioritize and. Give everything I can to the relationships that I, that I value. You know, I think. Some in some weird way, knowing that that's going to come. And not knowing when. Can give us the opportunity to really make the most of life if we choose to. Today as it so happens as I'm recording this. It's the 22nd anniversary of one of the worst tragedies that I think we have witnessed in modern times, which was the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. So many of the people who, who perished on September 11 and were able to get phone calls out. The most important, the most crucial thing for them to communicate that day was their love for the people that they were leaving behind. That was all they cared about. That's all that mattered. And. I think. That's where the, the end can have such, a, a, sobering, but also clarifying effect on how we choose to go about day to day. You know, if I have at the forefront of my mind, how precious the relationships I have are what really matters to me. What I want to. To be remembered for in the end. That also dictates the choices that we make. Right. And so yes, there is an element that is preset. But that's where we get to, we get to exercise that freewill. By choosing how we construct a life that feels authentic. That feels aligned. That matters. So if I know that there was some things I'm going to have to experience. Right. That my ability to evade those experiences is very limited. But my choices have the power to decide to, to lead me towards. Uh, a lighter version, all of that lesson and a more challenging version of that lesson. I think when we recognize the ability we have to exercise that Freewill. It's really about taking that responsibility for ourselves. Right for creating a life of intention. And then. You know, we're no longer. Helpless. Um, puppets of fate. We become the masters of our life, the masters of of our fate. And I think to go through life from that perspective to be empowered in that way is priceless. So. I will always be an advocate for empowering people. And understanding how much control they actually exert in their lives and what they do and how they respond to things. And how their choices determine, ultimately so much of the quality of their lives and the direction that their life takes. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. You know, does the idea of having that level of, of choice, does that embolden you or does that scare you? In what ways are you already exercising some intention in your lives? In what ways are you already constructing a life that is aligned to you? That's values aligned. And in what ways are you starting to identify there is some disalignment? And maybe some different choices need to be made. I encourage you all to reflect on these things. And similarly, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. You know, I don't purport to be. the keeper of truth. If you have a different perspective on this whole destiny versus freewill debate, I'd love to hear it. So you're as always, you can contact me. On Instagram at integrated underscore wisdom and I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear our thoughts on this topic. I am here to serve, and I hope that that the information that I am convaying every week is going to be helpful to people. So if there is anyone in your circle who you believe will be able to benefit from the things that I am talking about, please share the podcast with them. Share my. My page with them on Instagram and encourage them to reach out. I would love to hear from you and from them. And that's it for today. I hope you all have a lovely week. And I'll speak to you next time. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Integrated Wisdom. It is my sincere wish that today's episode may have intrigued and inspired you to reclaim your power and step into becoming more fully integrated spiritual beings. New episodes are published every Wednesday. And I hope you'll continue to join us as we dive deeper into what it means to live an integrated life. So if it feels aligned to you, I invite you to hit subscribe and share it with others who you feel may benefit too. You may also find me on Instagram at integrated underscore wisdom. Remember, each moment is an opportunity to embrace your divine potential and create a world that is more frequently inspired. So for now, stay connected, stay inspired and keep shining your light. Into the world.