Digital Veil

[DISCLAIMER]

On lyricist Vinnie Paz’s album Burn Everything That Bears Your Name (2021) is the track “Digital Veil” that features M.A.V. and a vocal sample of an origin unknown to me. The man on the snippet appears to be speaking to a group of people, as the introduction of the song states:

Everything, as far as I’m concerned, everything is predestined. Everybody’s scared shitless of that word—predestined. It’s all predestined. Everything’s…this is predestined. We didn’t know all this was gonna go down today. And people can’t accept, generally, cannot accept that.

But that’s part of the game that’s being played, too. Some people accept it. I accept it. Other people don’t. Don’t you follow what I’m trying to say? Everybody wants an answer to “why I did this,” “why all this happened.” Ultimately, there’s no answer to it.

Everything happens the way it’s gonna happen. Nobody’s in charge. It’s all gonna go down. Ya know? Iraq War, Napoleon, serial killers, wars, all of it—never know what’s gonna happen next. We think we’re in charge. Ten seconds from now, none of us in this room know what we’re gonna be thinking or saying. So who the fuck’s in charge?

I appreciate the philosophical perspective of the sample, as the orator addresses the concept of predestination. Regarding this topic, one source states:

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God’s omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism.

Personally, predestination is a matter related to unfalsifiability (incapable of being substantiated as false). Specifically, this topic doesn’t meet the standards of falsifiability. For context, one source states of this topic:

Falsifiability is a standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses. A hypothesis is falsifiable if it belongs to a language or logical structure capable of describing an empirical observation that contradicts it.

When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), it isn’t uncommon for clients to present to sessions with unfalsifiable claims which don’t hold up to the falsifiability standard. Many of these beliefs are irrational, though not self-disturbing.

For example, a person may believe in predestined outcomes associated with a Matrix-esque digitally-veiled reality in which (a) programmer(s) outline(s) each order of events for humans. In this example, it doesn’t matter what anyone does, because endings have already been written.

An individual believing this concept has no evidence to support it. Similarly, I have no evidence to refute it. Therefore, a Matrix-esque digitally-veiled reality is unfalsifiable, as are claims of predestination.

Nevertheless, the person with this irrational belief may not self-upset regarding the matter when other people don’t subscribe to this concept. As such, it’s flexible use of an unfalsifiable belief that doesn’t cause self-disturbance. One may be surprised how often I encounter these beliefs.

All the same, I don’t self-disturb with irrational beliefs about other people’s wacky beliefs. I understand that science neither proves nor disproves ideas. Rather, it accepts or rejects data based on supporting or refuting evidence and revises conclusions based on additional evidence.

Likewise, I comprehend that not everything in life is detectable or verifiable according to the scientific process. There very well may be a digital veil that masks reality regarding a predestined series of events. I doubt it, though I acknowledge it may be possible.

Though I don’t maintain this belief, I’ve often concurred with the sampled vocals of “Digital Veil” when asking myself, “So who the fuck’s in charge?” I doubt I’ll discover the answer to this query in my lifetime. Is it God? Programmers of the Matrix? No one at all? Who knows?

This is why I appreciate the cited vocals on Vinnie Paz’s song. I’m reminded of unconditional acceptance (UA). Particularly, I remind myself to practice unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acceptance (UOA), and unconditional life-acceptance (ULA).

I’m a fallible human being with limited control and influence, as I can’t learn all there is to know in life (USA). The same is true of you (UOA). Also, as neither of us possesses perfect knowledge, we accept that life is impermanent and uncertain while we remain ignorant (ULA).

Now, I invite you to practice UA when encountering unfalsifiable beliefs. After all, you don’t have to upset yourself with irrational scripts regarding the fact that some people hold ideas in their minds which are different than your beliefs. In such cases, UA can go a long way!

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

References:

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