fateproject.org

"The moment we try to apply our will to make ours something that is not ours, we are lying, stealing, failing the truth, failing diligence, and serving hubris."

"As Heraclitus tells us, 'A man’s character is his fate.'"

"In the end, we get what we are."

"There’s a great story about the philosopher William James (some say Bertrand Russell), who once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the Earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits the center of a vast body of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a diminutive old woman at the back of the room got up and said: 'Sir, what you have told us is rubbish. The world is really flat and supported on the back of a giant turtle.' James grinned knowingly, then replied, 'And on what is the tortoise standing, madam?' 'You’re a very clever, young man, very clever,' said the old lady. 'But your question is no good. It’s turtles all the way down!'"

"Look death in the face with joyful hope, and consider this a lasting truth: the righteous man has nothing to fear, neither in life, nor in death, and the gods will not forsake him." (Socrates)

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W. Somerset Maugham's, The Appointment in Samarra (1933), a modern recounting of an ancient tale:

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, "Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me." The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw Death standing in the crowd and he said, "Why did you make a threating gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?" "That was not a threatening gesture, said Death, "it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra."
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"The one choice we have in any situation—and this choice determines whether the outcome is favorable or not—is self-knowledge and humility or presumption and hubris."

"According to fate theory, however, free will and fate—and this means fate as a deterministic principle—are not mutually exclusive. The seeming contradiction between them is resolved when we recognize that our free will is itself the deciding factor in determining our fate, though only generally."

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fate first-aid:

1. Is there an important truth I haven't been willing to tell?
2. Did I tell an untruth that hasn't been put right?
3. Is there something I need to say to someone else?
4. Is there something I haven't been willing to hear from someone else?
5. Have I been living in fear of the worst?
6. Have I been pretending to know more than I really know?
7. Is there something I should have done that I've left undone?
8. Having done all I can do, have I been unwilling to let go of the outcome?
9. Have I been waiting for someone or something else to rescue me?
10. Have I been hiding who I really am?

A "yes" answer to any of the above questions indicates hubris and a need for mid-course correction. If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, take immediate steps to apply the principles of practice so that the truthful answer becomes "no," which will return you to friendly terms with fate. You should experience immediate relief. Further, the situation then should improve without your having to do anything else about it.
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