Is believing in destiny a silly conceptual racket?

Am I distracting myself to think destiny could exist? Is it difficult to know how I feel about myself if I care what "god" intended for me? Did I once have the power to change my own destiny? Why do I feel so powerless now? I am very certain it is important to care what others think but ultimately aren't we responsible for creating our own future as we know it. I mean, not saying at this point in my life I believe I could be a spacefarere( a new word to me) but I would like to regain a few of the dreams I have lost hope on.

If believing in destiny helps you, then by all means don't change your way of thinking. If you want to pursue some lost dreams, go for it. What have you got to lose, except for time?

I firmly believe we are the creators of our own destiny and life map. What we do is within our control, as well as the directions we choose to go in. One has to make many different kinds of life choices along the road of life. I feel we choose our own paths, and can certainly take control of our own lives, if we feel we have no control.

In the spiritual sense @ann bog, yes, I think there is destiny. Everybody's lives, I believe, are heading somewhere already mapped out as Have Hope pointed out [previous poster] and it's foreseen. I think the universe/higher power relies on this dynamic partly as it's own existence. But always stay on the good path, a difficult path at times for me, because the destination already planned, known, will come sooner rather than later. The universe has all the time in world, it seems.

Thanks for your thread. Very interesting topic.

My first username was Mysterious because life is truly a mystery and destiny is one of the concepts we use to understand the vast mysterious universe. Thinking that we all are special (we are!!) and all have been given our own unique path is a bit comforting and, taken to the extreme, could even be a way of excusing ourselves for bad decisions we have made (usually a bad decision just means we need to learn a better way. )

However, try to think of destiny as a concept. Most things in life are not black and white but fall between two poles. We rarely completely hate or love anyone (maybe there are some people who do but it is usually and illusion to think someone is perfectly good or bad. In the case of the concept of destiny--the poles to me are destiny verses free will. Even if we try to accept and follow the path that we think was meant for us--there are so many judgements we make every day of our lives that could alter the course of that path. However, I do think fighting "destiny" can be harder that accepting the path we were born into.

I actually find this "destiny" stuff empowering. Why? I used to do what people asked even though sometimes my "voice of intuition" was screaming something was wrong. I now look at "destiny" as trying to connect with my true internal essence (takes time, am still discovering) in order to use my free will to create a life from the things that my destiny has so far given me to work with. God/the universe put me on a path when the time, place, family, etc were chosen for me when I was born. Even my name is part of my destiny. When I went to: You By Your Numbers it said that my life destiny number is 11 (11/2) 11's Destiny is to discover spiritual truths so they may inspire and bring joy to others by sharing their knowledge. An 11 Destiny is carried by "old souls" with a deep spiritual connection to the workings of the universe. They are meant to work for the good of all of us--to transform the lives of others for the better. However, when I didn't understand my path and was making bad choices I was definitely the opposite of inspiring, joyful, etc. I also have the ability to create a lot of chaos and destruction if I allow myself to be irrational and impulsive.

Do you know what your destined life path is? Once I found out--it made a lot of sense for me!!

To me, we all have a potential to help others relieve their suffering or to focus on our own selfish wants and desires. Everyone needs so much food and shelter and rest and clothes, but if we spend all our time focusing on our own self and are still not content, doesn't that sound like a waste?

We have a limited amount of time on Earth and we can use our talents to help others. To me that feels more fulfilling than just trying to get more for me.

What do you think?

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. a few of my beliefs were confirmed as well as a few new thoughts to think about. I suppose it is silly to believe it is possible that a form of destiny does not exist. thank you all for your feed back. a lot to think about here and hopefully, with enough time, things will fall into place for me.

Not to get too New-Agey, but with our current understanding of spacetime in physics and quantum mechanics, it seems possible that we live in a specific line of time. That would mean that the future and the past are equally fixed.

This is known as the deterministic principle, and it's currently the subject of debate between scientists. It isn't, strictly speaking, proven one way or the other. However, there are good arguments for determinism which elevate it beyond silliness, and they don't all depend on hidden variable theories.

That's because, using a Many Worlds interpretation, the specific world we're in might be fixed even if it's indistinguishable from another until a certain point in time. It's all rather technical, but my point is that determinism could very well be real and it's hard to imagine what a world would be like that has a "present" independent of subjective observers.

I don’t believe that destiny is a “ silly conceptual racket “. Life has so many variables that “destiny” is a very complicated concept. I believe that we are born with a DNA blueprint that makes us who we are. We are locked into a space time continuum that interacts with our personal selves. I believe that we live a life that is BOTH predestined but also changeable,( certain aspects ). We can make choices , but I believe all the choices we make are “ predetermined “ in a sense because choices are a result of cumulative past experience, our DNA , and outside influences. In reality there is no past and future....... only NOW , this moment.