Do you believe that life is a series of cause and effect or do you believe that you are part of a master plan?

Cause and effect. I believe that everything is set in motion and whatever happens, had to happen, events that happen are inevitable. So, in a sense, I believe actions belong to a "plan", in that, there isnt anything you can do to stop the inevitable.

I find it hard to seperate cause and effect and the formation of what appears to be a "plan", this does not mean an intelligent being congered up future events, what it does mean however, is that, events, being that they are ultimately linked to past events, will unfold in a manner consistant with the pattern of cause and effect.

It could be both...