Reality manifests the day we're born. The "conditions" of the world then interpret our understanding of how the universe began.

Balance and chaos.

As a living being, we have neural mechanisms, or modules, which instill a preference for positive stimuli and an aversion from negative stimuli. We then inherently label objects and beings as having a positive or negative valence. Since this labeling exists along a continuum, the extreme value of positive are called goodness. Goodness can be in you (as we often think ourselves) or can be put onto you. We exist in a world of relationships.

As a living being, we have neural mechanisms, or modules, which instill a preference for positive stimuli and an aversion from negative stimuli. We then inherently label objects and beings as having a positive or negative valence. Since this labeling exists along a continuum, the extreme value of negative are called evil. Evil can be in you (as we often don't like to think but it is nevertheless true) or can be put onto you. We exist in a world of relationships. The only way to come to terms with the evil that exist within and around you is to liberate from these "conditions", maybe that's what we mean by death.

Listen, it doesn't take a genius to realize we're not perfectly free, just look on the news. On the other hand, only a rationalist believes is absolute determinism. There is a degree of balance and chaos in the universe. Your neurochemistry guides your thoughts so they manifest themselves from the subconscious. In this way, our minds are determined. However, with volition, I have the power to change my neurochemistry to produce the desired effects. Examples of this are consuming water and food, stimulant drugs like coffee, psychoactive drugs, and recreational drugs such as alcohol and marijuana. In this way, my choice to partake in this consumption changes the trajectory of the mind. Additionally, we are able to retrieve a good deal of information at will, this shows there is hope for a degree of free will.

The mind is not you, you are a manifestation of the mind. To be clear, there is the you, which is your chemistry, the physical you, and there is another you which is the passenger (the ego) which has some volition, but not to the degree we believe we do. The mind is manifested in a bottom-up process of sensation which is first recognized as feeling. Feeling, or affect, then posits a positive or negative valence on the object of sensation and provides a frame for the mind to interpret through reason.