Where does the soul start and the mind end? This question is important because it gets to the heart of “free will”. Many religions are built on this concept that we have free will but if we break it down and really look deeply at even that concept we find that the line is really fine and that line is vastly different from everyone else. For some their conditioning from childhood will result in a completely different moral code than another. Who’s is correct? Who has more freewill? What about the chemistry of the brain? Does someone with a mental illness have free will? Because the therapeutic dosing for the chemicals in the brain change so vastly from person to person how can we reasonably expect to know if someone is acting consciously or if it’s all their experiences they’ve been involuntarily exposed to or the chemicals in their minds? I looked at my daughter today as she played at the park. She is happy and kind. Another child whose parents seem like they struggle financially and who appear to consistently be in a bad mood plays with my daughter and is kind but not very happy. These two girls likely started as embryos that were nearly identical. At birth they are still very similar in their behavior. Still by the time preschool starts they are very similar but as they grow and have an accumulation of experiences, nutrition, and injuries. However in 5-20 years these two girls will likely have very different outcomes in life. Why? Why does my daughter with the genetic lottery when it comes to food and shelter and a family that for the most part is in a good mood. Taking this concept one step further to extend to the whole world we find that the experiences and chemistry of each person is vastly different. How can we then say that we all have the same expectations placed upon us for our “eternal progression” when clearly there is a complete lack of understanding about where “free will” even starts. We can accept that free will exists on some level but not a single human is capable of understanding all of the factors associated with an individual’s behavior; how them can we remotely understand what the impact of an individual’s actions will be on the karma? How could we possibly judge someone else in this context? I have a dear friend who has a brother just slightly older than him. These two grew up in the same house with the same rules and with the same religious teachings. The older brother was sexually molested by a teacher at church while younger. The path of the brother eventually included drug abuse and prison associated with trying to deal with the childhood trauma. The congregation of their church looks down on the older brother as a “sinner” and “lost” which only further compounds the pain of his original sexual abuse. How many people walk silently through this life carrying abuse or shame or guilt. My sole responsibility in life is to love this person. This is the number one commandment for Christians and Jews. There are no conditions placed on that love. “Only help him as far as he’s willing to help himself”
