Deep Spirits

The question itself implies that it is predetermined... otherwise it would be impossible to know when and how you are going to die...but OK...

No, I wouldn't want to know. No, I do not think those things are predetermined.

I don´t know what to think about it. Until I heard about the House of Palm Leaves, I could believe in many things, but not in the exact day of death. Then, on one of workshops I attended I met a brilliant guy,young scientist, well known all around the world. I am happy I met him and I was even in the position to work with him. He has such a pure heart and mind, that I was deeply impressed. Such purity is influential and it changes people around. I first heard from him about Palm Leaves. After that I read what Chopra said about it.
So, after he discovered about this Palm Leaves he wanted to see what is it all about himself. He didn´t want to believe anybody about that. Being open minded and curious about everything, the same time scientist in mind, he visited one of such houses in Ceylon. His experience was amazing. Things that were said to him were of the kind that nobody could ever know about them except him, himself. And, they told him the day of death too. He said that after the whole experience, there is no doubt for him anymore and the fact that he discovered the date of his death is not scary for him, but motivating in the sense that he really seizes his days even more so that he does all things he should do before leaving.
Deepak Chopra explained in his book about experience of that kind, telling more or less the same about the day of his death, that he also now knows.
What I know now is that I understand much better those psychological exercise connected with a famous question: "What would you do knowing that you have one more day to live". People say that realization about the date of death, as death for itself is very evident thing, and nobody escapes it, helps them to do so many things that they miss to do, as death seems always to be far away, more than in fact it is.
Do we really do our best every day, do we really say what we feel, do we tell enough time how precious some people are to us and how much we love them, which could be the best legacy we can leave? There are more questions of that kind. Maybe knowing such date could help at least some people to figure such things out and make a change. I don´t know...
For myself, I try to live like I have already known this date.
Mirjana

Yes, I would like to know. I am not scared of death at all, I am curious instead. Because I want to know if something happens after death to me, what is it.

I am a bit of a soft determinist I'd say, I do think our lives and deaths are in a way predetermined. Ever heard of a philosophy exercise called Laplace's Demon? It says that if there were a being, who'd know every detail of the past, and every single physical law that governs the universe, he would be able to predict the future, every second of it. If the connection between this idea and my thinking of why our lives are somewhat predetermined isn't clear, ask, and I'll explain :)

mirjana wrote:...After that I read what Chopra said about it.
So, after he discovered about this Palm Leaves he wanted to see what is it all about himself. He didn´t want to believe anybody about that. Being open minded and curious about everything, the same time scientist in mind, he visited one of such houses in Ceylon...

Mirjana,

Could you tell us a bit more about this?
Let's say I want to visit one and have my future, incl. my death, read to me.
Where are these houses? How can they be found?

Sabina

Actually I can not Sabina. I am sorry. As I said, it was how it was said to me and as it came from the person I trust, I said it here because the subject just called this answer.
But, I think that those who are interested can easy find it following these information about the name and country. As far as I know there are such places in India as well.

Mirjana

Mirjana,

I looked, but I didn't find any information on it. That's why I asked you.

Metatron wrote:I am a bit of a soft determinist I'd say, I do think our lives and deaths are in a way predetermined. Ever heard of a philosophy exercise called Laplace's Demon? It says that if there were a being, who'd know every detail of the past, and every single physical law that governs the universe, he would be able to predict the future, every second of it. If the connection between this idea and my thinking of why our lives are somewhat predetermined isn't clear, ask, and I'll explain :)

David,
Yes, please explain. :)
So, then you reading this question and being on this forum, etc. was all predetermined as well, right?

Sabina

Addendum
I found more information on palm leaf reading, so I posted a new topic about it:
Palm leaf reading

I am very curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this...

Sabina

Sabina wrote:David,
Yes, please explain. :)
So, then you reading this question and being on this forum, etc. was all predetermined as well, right?

Sabina

Well, not in a mystical "higher force" way, but yes, I believe it was predetermined the first day I got interested in philosophy, that I will end up on this forum, even if it didn't exist then.

As for the Demon, it is a good example of how action and reaction works. If we knew the exact actions of each and every single human on the Earth, past and present, we could determine the future up to a high degree, since an action is a reaction at the same time. Just think about it, there is a reason for everything you do, you wake up because you go to work or school, or if you don't it will have a consequence. I am also chosing a university right now, that's also based on my preference and skill. I'm not saying everything is neccessarily predetermined, but lot's of things are.

For example, in my mind I can do a lot of things, but never act upon them, either because Í'm worried about the consequences, or because I simply don't have the desire to.

I know there is a reason for everything I do, and everything that happens.

Metatron wrote:For example, in my mind I can do a lot of things, but never act upon them, either because Í'm worried about the consequences, or because I simply don't have the desire to.

.. or because it was predetermined that you/someone would only dream of them and never do them?

I don't accept that though, even though I believe that everything happens for a reason.
I do believe in free choice, and I believe that I can do whatever I decide to do.
Then again, maybe I believe these things simply because it was predetermined that I believe them.......
I just don't like that idea, so I choose to have free will.

What if it as simple as that? Free will as a choice.
If you say you don't have free will, then for you everything happens in a predetermined way:
if you say you do have free will, then you get to choose your adventure...