Take from the tarot, tea leaves fortune thread. Do you believe your future is set or that you can change it?

Moon Maiden

I often wonder about this and I end up giving myself brain ache.

I often wonder how different my life would have been if I'd gone to a different University for example. I never would have met those people I met at Leicester Uni. If I'd made different decisions, like choosing Sheffield Uni (I did apply but when I came to visit we ended up going to the pub and not looking round the Uni!) then would I have met some of the people I now work with who studied in Sheffield? Was I "destined" to meet them eventually anyway? Maybe I'm reading far too much into it and it's unimportant!

I honestly haven't decided on this one but I voted "my future is in my hands" because for some reason I PREFER to think that I make choices to change my future. Or something... I'm getting brain ache again.

There's an incredibly powerful, and thankfully short book by James Allen called "As a Man Thinketh" (it was written in in the 19th Century so forgive the lack of P.C.) - you can read it online here. (http://website.lineone.net/~jamesallen1/think.htm#chapter%204)

His idea is that our whole life is a reflection of how we think - so change the way you think and you can change the outcome of your life. I was reminded of this book yesterday by Jamie who was reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey which is a much heavier read but covers much of the same ground. The best thing about Covey's book is that it promotes interdependance as the highest form of personal development (as I remember)... that means working together (like here on this forum hopefully) is better than being independant.

Anyhow - I've managed to dramatically change many things in my life for the better, which took lots of effort but what led me to make the effort? Was it chance or predetermined fate? How could you prove either way?

Now I know how you feel Lou :confused:

I used to believe that nothing can be random, and therefore anything that happens happens because it was meant to. I recently revised this theory though, because I now believe that nothing can ever be constant, so therefore there must be an infinite amount of factors at play. That means that some things almost certainly happen at random. Wether or not this means that we can control our destiny though, I am unsure.

I believe that Tarot and others can predict a possible future if you carry on the same path. However like when Nos gave me the reading with the stones it's only a short term (4 weeks reading).

And in it he said unless I do something about it, my partner (or me) would spend a large amount of money that we will end up losing.

So I banned myself and her from making any purchases other than for food and normal bills for the 4 weeks period.

That I believe can help you aviod things you dont want to happen.

So I believe that the future isn't just set, it can be altered and changed, but eventually you still end up at the same point fate has for you... at the minute of your life!

Guess it all comes down to the question of whether you believe in freedom of choice or fate. You can't believe in both as they contradict each other.
I'm not sure to be honest, I think I believe in fate, things happen for a reason and if you 'choose' to do something then it was your fate to choose that choice, therefore there was no freedom of choice! This one can be debated for hours!

I often wonder where I'd be now if I'd chosen something else when I had major decisions to make, but it makes life easier to believe you chose what you did because you were destined to do so! There's no point wondering what if what if, it doesn't get you anywhere!

I'm a firm believer in creating our own futures.

If we "go with the flow" we end up drifting to somewhere we may not necessarily want to be.

If we don't like a situation it is within our power to change it by taking control, making decisions - and acting upon them. Leaving our futures in the hands of the tea leaves is a dangerous strategy!

Option 3: Your future is random, neither wholly in your hands or out of it. Your sphere of influence is weaker in some areas than others.

All accurate predictions of the future are based on current information.

Any predictions of the future based on anything that hasn't happened yet can be proved incorrect with sufficient notice.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Option 3: Your future is random, neither wholly in your hands or out of it. Your sphere of influence is weaker in some areas than others.

All accurate predictions of the future are based on current information.

Any predictions of the future based on anything that hasn't happened yet can be proved incorrect with sufficient notice.

What he said :thumbsup:

Life is just a series of Peaks and Troughs, you dont know you are in the troughs until you're climbing out and you dont know when your on the peak until you're tumbling down.

Im tumbling down :P edit: no, it seems im climbing out :lol:

Each person makes his or her own future, whatever an individual decides to do in their life makes that path that they follow.

Life is a succession of dilemas, shall I do this or that and it depends what we choose where we go in life, so it is not fate but ourselves that guide us on the way.

Originally posted by halevan
Life is a succession of dilemas, shall I do this or that and it depends what we choose where we go in life, so it is not fate but ourselves that guide us on the way.
But it could be said that the decisions we make are fate also. It could be fate that you don't believe in fate so you decide to do something radicle. There's no way you can either prove or disprove fate.

Ying did tarat cards and was told she would get married very soon!!!
so guys be carefull Ying's on the prowl and shes a mean one too

she beat up Jamie *gasp*

Originally posted by Fletch
Ying did tarat cards and was told she would get married very soon!!!
so guys be carefull Ying's on the prowl and shes a mean one too

she beat up Jamie *gasp*

Yeah ... that's right Fletch !!! ... she shoved me and knocked me flyinging in to the crisp bowl .... and then kept battering me with cushions all night ... got a violent streak that one !!!

Brian:

I like interdependence ... it's fun !!

Another interesting concept ... is to have control over where you focus your attention. Think 'magnifying glass' ... whatever is in the focus of your attention increases ...

I kinda link this to the 'assembleage point' idea discussed in the carlos casteneda books.

On the subject of is your future set ... here goes:

I believe each of us is a 'manifest expression' of the totality of existance (and non-existance) ... the unnameable all and nothing.

We are each of us like the waves on the surface of the ocean ... insignificant expressions of something more vast and profound ... the ocean herself.

</ramble>

So is the future set !? ... here's an analogy for you ...

Consider yourself to be driftwood floating downstream ... if you do nothing the river will take you where it will ... it takes energy and intent to change the course of your life.

Of course ... you need to choose wisely (or feel) where you focus your energies ... and some courses of action will yield better results than others.

Originally posted by Jamie
Consider yourself to be driftwood floating downstream ... if you do nothing the river will take you where it will ... it takes energy and intent to change the course of your life.


and you can expend all the energy you want but you willl still end up in the sea :)

hehe ... of course !! ... all rivers flow to the sea ... but you can change things within the scope of this lifetime's journey ... and maybe behond ....

i would say this ... sometimes it is best to do nothing ... just wait and listen to the sound of the ocean.

however ... this is most difficult to do and i find myself expending energy on projects left right and center ... and v often they don't come to fruition *sniffles*.

i think the skill is very much in *feeling* when to act and when not to act ...

IMHO, of course the future isn't set. When will people just accept that we're simply just another evolved species living on this planet - nothing special. Theres no God, theres no fate, theres just life and death.

the idea of your future being set is an odd one because we cant find out can we??

tommorrow ypu could try and suprise you future, instead of having break fast, not have breakfast, but has your future already said you will do that???

Its impossible to find out, you could try and change you future as much as you like but there is always another thing to do once you have done something, is this because of chance or has your future set it up??

Originally posted by t020
Of course the future isn't set. When will people just accept that we're simply just another evolved species living on this planet - nothing special. Theres no God, theres no fate, theres just life and death.
Nobody had brought God into this until you just did. Why should fate have anything to do with God? If the universe started all over again with exactly the same constraints and parameters do you not think time up until now would happen in exactly the same way? If not how can you prove that it wouldn't?

I was watching Horizon a few weeks back, which was about time travel. It said that technology is now getting so good that in a few years time we will be able to simulate Earth's history. If we ever do this, then it becomes highly likely that our existance is merely that of a simulation of the past of a more advanced mankind. If this is true then fate is almost certainly reality.

Originally posted by t020
Of course the future isn't set. When will people just accept that we're simply just another evolved species living on this planet - nothing special. Theres no God, theres no fate, theres just life and death.

t020, nothing is set in concrete, you really should keep an open mind. Remember, it was people like you who once said the world is flat and would brook no argument.

You really must learn to preface your remarks with In my opinion. It would make life a lot nicer and you wouldn't upset as many people as you do, in my opinion.:)

Originally posted by Max
t020, nothing is set in concrete, you really should keep an open mind. Remember, it was people like you who once said the world is flat and would brook no argument.

You really must learn to preface your remarks with In my opinion. It would make life a lot nicer and you wouldn't upset as many people as you do, in my opinion.

Done (see last post, edited, above), just for you max!

Originally posted by t020
IMHO, of course the future isn't set. When will people just accept that we're simply just another evolved species living on this planet - nothing special. Theres no God, theres no fate, theres just life and death.


t020's most sensible contribution to this forum yet.


IMO.