The Hidden Mechanism Within

Let’s take a biological example. Every day we eat different types of food — fruits, grains, junk, healthy meals. But no matter what you eat, the byproduct is always the same: waste. Urine and feces.

No matter how sweet the fruit, your body doesn’t produce sweet-smelling poop. Why?

Because the mechanism inside is fixed. The body processes, digests, and eliminates food without your conscious command. You only choose what to eat — or so you think.

But what if even that choice isn’t yours?

Where Do Desires Come From?

Suppose you suddenly crave ice cream.
Who created that desire?

You didn’t sit and plan it. It arose from within you. So who’s the real source?

This is the heart of the illusion. We think we are the originators of thoughts and desires, but in reality, we are simply witnesses to them. Desires come and go — much like clouds in the sky — and yet we claim ownership over them.

If free will existed in its true form, wouldn’t we always choose to feel good?
Then why do we often feel exactly the opposite?

The Cosmic Game of Thoughts

The human brain is incredibly advanced. It remembers, analyzes, predicts. It gives us a sense of individuality, agency, and intelligence.

But perhaps this intelligence is the very tool that sustains the illusion of free will.

We think we are doing things — waking up, working, choosing — but maybe things are simply happening through us. Our awareness of the action makes us believe we are doing it.

That’s the brilliance of the illusion.

“Live in the Moment” — A Flawed Advice?

Spiritual teachings often say: “Live in the moment.”
But if that’s the ultimate goal, what makes humans different from animals?
Birds live in the moment. So do dogs and cats.

What sets humans apart is buddhi — the higher intellect — that can analyze the past, observe the present, and imagine the future.

But even here, caution is needed. This mind can trap us in overthinking, anxiety, and guilt — unless we use it to truly observe patterns:

·What has really happened by me?

·And what has simply happened through me?

·Once we start asking these questions, the illusion slowly begins to fade.

You Are Not The Doer — You Are The Witness

This ancient realization echoes across philosophies — from Advaita Vedanta to modern neuroscience.

“You are not the body.
You are not the mind.
You are the one who is aware of both.”

Even neuroscience now suggests that decisions occur in the brain milliseconds before we become consciously aware of them. So what we call “my decision” may actually be a post-facto illusion.

Breaking the Illusion

Living “in the moment” is not enough. We must live with awareness of the moment.
We must observe our emotions without claiming them. Watch our thoughts without becoming them. And analyze our past — not to suffer it — but to see the pattern: how much of our life has been spontaneous, unplanned, and out of our control?

That is when we realize:
Life is not a project we execute — it is a script that unfolds.
And we, the supposed actors, are in truth, the silent witness behind the screen.

If everything is already written, perhaps our only true freedom lies not in changing the script, but in understanding it.

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