Things are the way they are. The present moment is the universe manifesting itself now. Everything is conditioned, everything is predetermined. Meaning: everything requires certain conditions and circumstances to exist in their current state. Everything came to this current state based on prior causes. Anything that happens in this present moment is an effect with prior causes, it never stands alone, it is never exempt from causation arising from prior conditions. The words or actions we express, follow these same principles. We ought to not allow ourselves to be conditionally pulled along to a causal reaction that is negative, yet, we oftentimes do, despite our good intentions and awareness. A clear understanding of the causality behind valuable phenomena, such as in science, behind meaningful actions and our own subjective experience, through introspection, serves to inform our comprehension of the causal tethers which bind us. While knowledge and understanding of who we are is inextricably linked to causal information, also, our management and navigation of novel experience and arising phenomena within our own conscious gaze can be mitigated and modified by a greater understanding of the determinacy of its arising, and thus can be utilized in a practical method to influence the content of our experience. When some event goes counter to our subjective will in a way that sparks anger, irritability, or in a more general way, an unpleasant feeling, it is wise to remind ourselves of the causal web prior to the event. In a fundamental “universal” way, it is out of anyone’s hands – the event, our reactions, this moment, is all just reality’s expression of the next moment in its unfolding, yet, in a “conventional” or practical sense, the content which affects us and our reaction can be modified to be better suited to a positive experience or in alignment with our value system based on intentional conditioning, or the process of forming habits, proceeding from conscious direction.

We can scientifically test the causal nature of material phenomena, and external events, and can verify its truthfulness through establishing mathematical models of the physical world that accurately predict and describe phenomena as they change. This provides us with a verifiable method in which to base our objective understanding of the world’s causality, and, as far as determinacy has evidential claims, the works of physicist and scientists have been unraveling the laws which constitute the physical world for hundreds of years. While their claims are repeatable, and observable to anyone who looks towards applying them, they still remain fallible in their fundamental conceptions, meaning, they follow the rational and logical principles which constitute “truth claims” but, from a philosophically absolute sense, the rational and logical principles which are presupposed by scientific laws and theory are only those which we have uncovered being the beings which we are, in the space and time in which we find ourselves. Excluding that specific phenomenologically uncovered caveat, we can say with a high degree of certainty, due to the ability to be reproduced and evidential datum, that causality is universal across the world in which we find ourselves. Most people, at this point, tend to agree with these points as to the scientifically formulated nature of deterministic qualities in the world outside of us, it is only in the cross of the same principle towards our inner experience in which people find it difficult to accept.

Being that we are part of the same universe in which science is describing, that we are made of the same matter that constitutes the rest of the observable universe, there is no reason not to naturally extend hard deterministic causality to the experience of our own Being, outside of course, of the subjective experience in which convinces us otherwise. It is only when we lack proper mindfulness that the intuition of freewill manifests itself. Upon proper introspection, in a short time, we can see that such a concept holds no weight as an accurate truth claim. Merely by paying attention to the content of consciousness, within the present moment, we can see that the next thought, the next idea, the next experience of consciousness, is merely arising. If the thought arises, “I will raise my right hand, to prove my free will” and then I raise my right hand, it would be naïve to suppose that this proves the existence of free will, as the question remains, from where did the initial thought arise? Who chose for that thought, and not any other thought, to emerge? Why did we act on the thought, and why didn’t we choose not to? It is because things could not have been otherwise. They had to happen in the way that they did, otherwise, they wouldn’t have, and this is only true because of the causal determinacy that underlies all phenomena. While it appears we are choosing one path or the other, the very inclination and “push” to choose it, is, in all cases, not chosen. “While we can do what we will, we cannot will what we will” as Schopenhauer famously remarked. It is obvious our decisions are, in an absolute sense, out of our control.

If it is our very Being which produces the causal chain that emerges in our conscious experience, and this very Being is preconditioned genetically, and through perceptually integrated phenomena that then arise in subjective experience, how can we possibly claim that the causal nature of the physicists doesn’t apply to our experience? We have evidence as to the chain of influence which flows from external phenomena, to stimuli, to sensory receptors, through the nervous system, to specific areas of the brain, through the organizational structure, then, consciously, we can denote an experience. We have scientific evidence of this. While this only explains sensory phenomena, it doesn’t fully encapsulate the totality of our being, and, being a merely empirical study, it obviously falls short of philosophic coherency necessary in a complete truth claim, but, further evidence, to further phenomena and their relations, only seeks to further justify our understanding in the direction of hard determinism. The more evidence we acquire, the stronger the claim is supported, the more evidence we have to the lack of evidence for any other conceptualization of reality, the more it seems our initial intuition of some kind of “special circumstance” in regards to consciousness is disregardable. The point is, the more scientific data produced by neuroscientists, geneticists, psychological behaviorists, and the more data they conclude in their findings, the more we are able to discern the causality that is inherent to our very Being, in the same manner in which it is inherent in all phenomena that exists, for how couldn’t it be? This same method of repeated verification, and mutually supported experimental evidence is used in any scientific theory, such as gravity, the laws of motion, the mathematic underpinnings of the four forces, they all have repeated verification in scientific testing, and as our experimental quality and quantity grows, the more the data seeks to confirm the hypothesis. We are a far distance from conclusively being able to scientifically pinpoint the causal interrelations between all subjective experience and its precursors, yet, with the constant striving of scientific endeavors, we have become increasingly more informed as to the content of our Being and the environment we interact with, and their relation towards the development of different psychological phenomena, character traits, actions, speech, emotions, and in general, behavior. The more information we have in the different domains, whether it is to our relation to DNA, the relation of our subjectivity to our perceptions and their filtration through hour value systems, the very creation and formulation of our value systems, i.e. the more information we have on our own causal tethers, the better we are able to understand ourselves, and optimize our further experience and the phenomena that influences us towards creating who we wish to be.

Being a witness of reality unfolding, rather than subjectively losing ourselves in the emotional or mental processes that are conditioned by this moment’s environment and the neural memory of prior moments, enables us to mitigate the suffering inherent in life’s consistent desiring, and creates the space for a certain mode of inner peace. This awareness and present moment mindedness creates an acceptance of the mental phenomena unfolding, no matter of which nature they may be, positive or negative. The assent and voluntary withholding of desiring change to that content, being content with the suffering and the pleasure, unwavering in constitution regardless, produces a fortified mind in the face of extremities in either direction. When our brains are producing a biochemical reaction that is experientially felt as negative emotions, anger, sadness, etc., you can still observe reality taking place and find peace in accepting it as it is, albeit, the stronger the emotional reaction the more practice and training in mindfulness will be needed to modify the mode of being. From this place of mindfulness, the natural reacting and speaking, thinking and acting, all still take place, but they come from a place of rational understanding, rather than emotive unconscious reacting. The mind is a tool to be used, not a labyrinth to be lost in.

On a skeptical note, even the understanding of the ultimate blamelessness of others, and their actions being based on factors that they are not “responsible” for in an ultimate rather than conventional use of the word, this state of understanding, even being mindful itself, is still a production of the brain, of the human organism, it is still itself a conditioned state, based on prior causes, existing only due to outside influences (outside of the thing in itself of consciousness.) The major factor is that it is a better state of consciousness then our default mode of operating. What is important is the potentiality to have a consciously directed experience that is modified in such a way to be better than the momentary spontaneous reaction which is presented to us, we contain the potentiality of producing a richer experience of life, and is a skill which forges opportunity of a brighter future.

What is the benefit in the realization of reality’s conditioned and determinate nature? While such conclusions may not be beneficial for everyone, those who seek the truth can find comfort in the discovery of such truths as being immediately experientially validated through careful attention to the present moment, and in an honest analysis of oneself. The beneficiality of such truths is useful in the diminishment of egoistic pride, and in the blamelessness stemming from other’s ignorance in regard to our judged conception of a negative action. The results of such knowledge can lead to the knowledge of the causal determinations arising from the content of which we spend time engaging in, and what we pay attention to. This can be used to the optimization of our experience, in a way which is potentially wisdom enhancing and can produce a better preparedness in regard to navigating novel situations with competency. If we realize which content is a stimulant for the arising of mental phenomena, we can diverge conscious effort in the direction of what is meaningful to us, to the exemplification of the things we uncover as being high in our value structure. Without the attentive realization of the present moment experience which we undergo, the necessary connections between causes and effects and the relation they have in consciousness would go unnoticed. In regards to the truths of determinacy, and our immediate unpleasant reaction to them, it can be said that when evidence is provided that implies a result that is contradictory to what we would like to be true, we can be more or less sure that it is actually true. This realization in practicality opens up a world of opportunities in navigating our subjective experiences of reality, grounded on a firm foundation of truth. Whether the immediate positive emotion is lacking or not in the discovery of such truths, is merely something to be overcome. The removal of ignorance is altogether, in the end, contains a net benefit to most of us, and will prove to be of use in the management of our conscious experience, and our orientation in the world towards what is best for ourselves and those important to us.

Why be mindful and pay attention to the content of consciousness in the moment? Because you gain the experiential knowledge and insight of things which are fundamental to improving individual quality of life, understanding of reality, and conduct, in an increasing quantity of situational encounters. It’s one thing to mentally understand something on a conceptual level, it’s another to experientially know something as true, the benefit of personal experience is a thousand fold that of conceptual, the wisdom gained is immense, and the practical application with practice improves, meaning an improved character, relationships, and influence upon our expanding circle. As to the personal arising of suffering, and its mitigation, and how the dependent chain is interpreted through a Buddhist lens, see the essay “Dependent Origination (Buddhist Conditionality)”.

It’s impossible to understand the whole without understanding the pieces, and while we cannot, in practice, uncover “all the pieces”, we can still verify that the truth claims we do make are firmly established, so as to produce a conceptualization of the whole that is not false. The more firmly established our truth conceptions, the more we are able to vet additional information, and, if it is true, it will coincide in an uncontradictory manner to the pre-established verified truths. Non-self, impermanence, the cause and diminishment of suffering, present moment awareness, determinism, objective morality, all fit together into a picture that corresponds scientifically, philosophically, and psychologically. If you believe in freewill, but at the same time non-self, you will experience cognitive dissonance. If you see the causal connectedness necessitated by the physics of the outside world, but fail to apply it to the physical underpinnings of our consciousness, dissonance will arise. If you believe in determinism, but believe you have a permanent unchanging soul, you will experience cognitive dissonance. If you believe in a traditional Christian God, but believe freewill is an illusion, something is wrong. This is because contradictions don’t exist in reality, the whole truth does not contain falsehood. This part of the inherent logical necessity of truth claims we know to be objectively true (at least recognized as a foundational standpoint to reason and logic). The truths are mutually supportive, and rectify the emergence of each other, that is, if they are true, and one falsehood will unbalance the structure.