Wrap your head around this: From the very second you're born, your life is nothing but a tangle of opportunities. The resulting you that's sitting there is the culmination of chance, the winning streak of random events throughout an eternal chain of eventualities. You just happened to be. The you that is sitting there wouldn't be the same if that one teacher in first grade had been of the opposite sex, because you would've been influenced differently, maybe minimally, though differently still, possibly just enough to affect your perspective on certain matters, later on changing the outcome of your entire life. The point of the theory is, you are who you are because you happen to walk the paths you're set upon. The related questions, however, are boundless: Do you have power over your course or is it already destined by your past experiences? Is it given that you will act a certain way in a certain situation simply because of every single tiny memory you have stored leading up to said situation? Could you react differently than you did, or is it controlled by your nature, your being? Could it be so that we are extremely hard to predict because of our elaborate patterns of behavior, yet actually predictable, once one figures out the connections between past experiences and resulting actions? If so, everything could make sense, anything could be explained, everyone would be interpretable and any sort of behavior could theoretically be abolished.
One side of me craves explanations and understanding. I have this inner drive to observe, interpret and predict behavior, even sometimes to manipulate and construct it. I find it likely for actions to be predictable and influenceable based on the person's character, which again is shaped by his or her past. Different characteristics respond to the same actions differently and even though each individual person has a unique set of memories, most end up within the boundaries of certain archetypical characteristics. By being aware of these and their given pattern of behavior, one can predict or even manipulate their actions by playing out scenarios certain ways, or by enhancing certain aspects of a scenario, such as specific feelings, words and actions. In larger settings with several characteristics involved, the task is graver, requiring one to foretell the behavior of each and every individual as well as how they affect each other. The resulting concoction of chance is immense at the very least, and I daresay most will never even fathom the concept of such trickery, and even fewer will be capable of enabling it. There does, however, seem to be a possibility for lesser minds such as myself, to enable smaller aspects of the theory. Even though I find myself aware of these workings, they still effect me equally to others, and so I presume they're in effect for everyone, no matter how bright they might be. One simply has to take the fact that the subject in question is aware of the matter into consideration, and act accordingly. It would seem there's always a rule to follow and a solution to discover.
The other side of me wants to believe that there are boundless truths being told every second. Everyone has free will and is predisposed to act accordingly. Sometimes there are no reason, there's only chaos. You stay, fate stays, you act, fate changes. Different acts, different results. It seems logic, yet it appears unprovable. The idea is old, the idea of dimensions. A seer, or an oracle if you will, has the ability to see strings through time. They're intertwined and together construct a grand design of infinite possibilities, as one string splits into several new strings every day, dictated by your choice of actions, and thus effecting other strings which again split based on new actions and other individuals' actions. The complexity of the ability should drive a man mad, as he would be able to foretell any eventuality possible for any and every being, yet find himself somewhat helpless in arranging or influencing said eventualities. The trick I reckon, would be to focus on a few given individuals, and grasp the general outlines of their path, as well as the major conjunctions. I believe we're all able to foretell certain outcomes based on actual history or imagined history. Our imagination might be the key to said power, and I like to believe that we're all but ready to enable it.
The competitive side of me likes the idea of free will and alternate dimensions. I'd thus be able to influence my own perceived reality, as I'd be able to control my own actions and life-string in this dimension; making it as I see fit, and hopefully better than the alternate paths. I would beat my other selves and beat life as if it was a game, mastering the eventualities. My goal is keeping an ace up my sleeve at all times, to be one step ahead of current events, foretelling resulting possibilities of given actions and choosing the most favored path towards my desired outcome.
The way I see it, it matters little if it's the one way or the other. I'll probably never know. All I can do is play Life as I see it, with the cards I'm dealt, and hope to be as good at it as the fates will allow me. Whether the decisions I make are mine because of my free will or because of a predetermination of the culminations of my experiences, I will be best served hoping for free will, and warily searching for signs of lack thereof.
I am back out in The Beyonds, and I will bring balance to The Force by creating a new Core Center.
How I fare you'll know next time I zone in.
Or maybe not, who knows?
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