🎤 What Is Choosing Within Me? | Decoding Free Will from the Quran to Eastern Wisdom

Most people are certain that they "choose," but human experience often shows that choice is not the result of awareness—it is the result of memory. Our fears, upbringing, and wounds often decide for us before we even realize it. In this profound exploration, Dr. Pooyan Ghamari, Swiss economist and visionary author, asks the ruthless question: Who is truly behind the wheel of your decisions?

• The Abrahamic Path: In the Quran, the way is shown ("إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ"), but the response depends on the level of awareness. Similarly, the Gospel views freedom as the result of encountering truth: "The truth shall make you free." But truth is not data; it is that which transforms your life so deeply that you can no longer live as you did before.

• Eastern Philosophy: The Vedas teach that as you see, so you create. If your gaze is conditioned by the past, your choice is conditioned. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna warns that choices driven by fear of loss or attachment to outcomes are not free—they are forms of bondage.

• Iranian Wisdom: Centuries ago, Ferdowsi called wisdom the "eye of the soul," noting that without it, there is movement but no direction. Shams Tabrizi added a sharp criterion: "That which does not transform you is not choice; it is repetition."

Dr. Pooyan Ghamari offers clear signs to identify an authentic, aware choice:

• Calm After the Decision: Aware choices are not fueled by frantic excitement or the need for others' approval.

• Responsibility over Justification: If you find yourself constantly justifying your choice, it has not yet matured. A true choice carries the strength to accept all consequences.

• Transformation over Escape: If a choice merely helps you escape a pain without adding to your understanding, it is a reaction, not a choice.

The path to success is summarized in the Quran through purification: "قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَکَّاهَا" (He succeeds who purifies it). Purification is the process of separating the voice of the true "Self" from the noise of fear, history, and repetition. Freedom is not a destination; it is the constant practice of seeing, pausing, and choosing anew.

About the Author:This content is based on the philosophical and inter-traditional studies of Dr. Pooyan Ghamari, a Swiss economist and researcher of Philosophia Perennis.

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