This free will experiment starts with one statement: You can’t do anything other than what you’re currently doing:
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Take a breath. Let yourself settle for a moment. Then read that sentence again and notice what happens:
You can’t do anything other than what you’re currently doing
Does your mind object? Does it offer something else you could do? Maybe you could stand up, reach for a pen, or stop reading. Before deciding whether the statement is true, watch how those possibilities appear.
In this episode of Inside the Minds Eye, I walk through that exercise and explore what it brings up about decisions, identity, and the way we relate to our own minds.
Try the free will experiment
You don’t need to stop thinking or produce a special state. Simply notice what’s already happening.
- Settle into where you are. Feel your body and take a breath or two.
- Read the statement: “You can’t do anything other than what you’re currently doing.”
- Pause and watch the thoughts, objections, and impulses that appear.
- Notice the feeling that there is someone behind your eyes evaluating all of this.
If the thought “I could do something different” appears, look at that too. Where did it come from? Did you choose it before it arrived, or did you become aware of it as it appeared?
You might agree with my interpretation. You might not. The useful part is looking closely at your own experience.
The character and the experience of being you
When I say there’s nobody here making decisions, I’m talking about what I find when I look at my experience from within.
There’s still an Adam in the world. He has a personality, preferences, conditioning, and habits. He likes computer games and watching people speedrun Mario. That character exists as part of everyday life.
At the same time, when I look for a separate person behind the thoughts directing everything, I don’t find one. I find thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and actions happening.
For me, the practice involves living with both perspectives: participating in life as a person while noticing how that life is experienced from within.
Why this matters in everyday life
The value of this perspective, for me, has been practical.
Over time, an extra layer of judgment, fear, and anxiety has softened. I still make mistakes. I still feel self-conscious. I still get nervous before speaking. Those experiences haven’t disappeared.
What seems different is how quickly they can dissolve when I remember that this, too, is what’s happening. The reaction appears, and the thoughts about the reaction appear. I don’t always need to add another layer of struggle on top.
That’s why I tend to think of this as practical philosophy. It’s something to explore and notice as you move through life.
Even the resistance is something to notice
At the end of the episode, I remember that I need to exercise—and immediately notice that I’d rather play World of Warcraft.
It’s an ordinary example of the same process: competing thoughts, preferences, and impulses showing up. The exercise doesn’t require a perfectly quiet mind. Even the resistance gives you something to observe.
What happened when you tried it? Did your mind argue, offer alternatives, or get quiet for a moment? I’d like to hear what you noticed.
