Cracking the Code of Decision Making, Choices, and Free Will: The Intriguing Science Behind the Bereitschaftspotential
(Yes -- Bereitshaftspotential is all one word)
Have you ever experienced that split-second moment when you're about to make a decision, and it feels like the entire universe holds its breath?
Have you ever taken an action or made a decision, and felt -- or even said, “I didn’t have a choice?”
Have you ever found yourself pondering whether or not we actually have "Free Will?"
It's time to dive into a fascinating phenomenon that delves into the depths of our free will and spiritual understanding. You might just want to fasten your seat belt! From choosing a career path to deciding what to have for breakfast, every decision is a dance between the cosmic potentiality and your conscious choices.
There is a compelling amount of research on the power of choice. Scientists the world over agree we cannot not make a choice. Essentially, we are wired for choice. And not only are we wired for choice, we are wired to make every choice our choice and no one else’s! And we owe this bit of failsafe choice-making to what is called Bereitshaftspotential. That is not a typo! It really is all one word -- and a mouthful at that!
What on earth is Bereitshaftspotential?
The Bereitshaftspotential, also known as the readiness potential, is a phenomenon in neuroscience that refers to the brain's preparation for voluntary actions before we consciously make the decision to act.
In 1964, Drs. Hans Helmut Kornhuber and Lüder Deecke used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity and discovered that the readiness potential can be detected several hundred milliseconds before a conscious decision is made. They coined the term the Bereitshaftspotential. This finding appears to suggest that our actions may be influenced by unconscious processes, challenging the idea of complete free will.
A simple practical example can help illustrate the implications of the Bereitshaftspotential. Imagine you're standing in front of a buffet table, trying to decide what to eat. You may think that you're making a conscious choice, but the readiness potential suggests that your brain may have already initiated the decision before you were aware of it. This raises questions about the true source of our choices and the extent to which we have control over them.
But wait! There's More!
In 2010, Dr. Aaron Schurger, a researcher at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, had an epiphany. He repeated Dr. Libet's experiments with an entirely different perspective and discovered that people's subjective experience of a decision matched the actual moment their brains showed signs of making a decision, effectively debunking Dr. Libet's findings.
The debate continues among neuroscientists! Essentially the bottom line says that "the Bereitschaftspotential may not be what we thought it was. That maybe it’s in some sense artifactual, related to how we analyze our data.” (Uri Maoz, a computational neuroscientist at Chapman University.)
So What's the Point, MetaSpiritually?
From a MetaSpiritual perspective, the Bereitshaftspotential invites us to explore the idea that our actions are not solely determined by our conscious mind, but also by deeper, unconscious processes. It challenges us to explore the interconnectedness of our thoughts, emotions, and spiritual beliefs, and how they influence our decisions.
Regardless of how neuroscientists decide to interpret the data, we like to emphasize that "moment in time" between thinking about a decision or action ... and putting it into action. We also believe that understanding the Bereitshaftspotential reinforces why it is so important to maintain a regular Spiritual Practice. As our spiritual Beliefs, Principles, and Practices become our "default," they have a powerful influence over the decisions, choices, and actions we make.
Do We Have Free Will?
We'll let the philosophers and neuroscientists argue over the final answer to this pesky question! However, we do have a viewpoint, from a MetaSpiritual perspective.
We believe that we do not have "FREE" Will -- because our "will" is definitely influenced by a number of things: our beliefs, our values, our past experiences, our past lives, our friends, our filter bubbles, what we read, who we listen to, our culture, our biases, our news preferences ... you get the idea, right? All these things -- and more -- influence the everyday decisions, choices, and actions we make.
So, what we really have is INFLUENCED WILL!
However ... and this is the critical point ... we are the ones who get to "influence our influence" through our choice to question unquestioned answers, challenge our confirmation biases, and create a regular spiritual practice that strengthens our understanding and beliefs.
Spiritual Practice:
Using Your Bereitshaftspotential!
Use your Bereitschaftspotential awareness as a failsafe mechanism to barometer your alignment with your Higher Self. Keep this .35 second checklist in your Spiritual toolbox and use it regularly:
- Will the next action I take be in alignment with my professed spiritual beliefs?
- Will it represent the Real Me or the counterfeit me?
- Will the next thing I say be congruent with my stated principles and values?
- Are my behaviors consistent with my professed standards of conduct?
- Is the choice, decision, or action I am about to take representing Me as My Highest and Best Self?
