Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) The Social Contract 1762
“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” Voltaire
If you are not free in thought, word, deed, vocation, relationship, and any other aspect of your life, make a decision today to become free. After all we are free if we make up our minds to be. We are each free to overcome the obstacles that block us from gaining our personal freedom and knowing authenticity and joy. It all depends on our own will, values, attitudes, personal philosophies and attainment of spiritual growth.
Lack of freedom results in ignorance which breeds fear. Fear distorts the individual’s perception of reality and results in restricted understanding.The individual lives in the prison of his own limited emotional and psychological scope encouraging suspicion, hatred, and confusion.
To those who perceive themselves as helpless, bound, too fearful to make a break their chains, let the love within you and your own inner wisdom show you the way to become free. A person can become free in a prison, jail, the military or a hospital. It is a matter of turning your stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
Freedom comes from within. There is no one’s permission you need to get. No authority you need to submit to in order to get your freedom approved. No one can tell you that you can’t be free on the inside where it counts. They can hold your body hostage, but not your mind, heart and spirit where it counts.
Forgiveness and unconditional love are two paths to inner freedom. You can be imprisoned by your hatred and resentments just as securely as if you were in a maximum security prison. Other paths leading to inner freedom are overcoming the hurdles of anger, self-pity, false pride, envy and bitterness. All of these negative emotions eat like a cancer and keep you from finding joy and freedom.
Freedom is the result of having the willingness to do whatever it takes to overcome any road blocks that stand in your way. Perhaps fear is the result of perpetuating illusions you have believed for too long. You may believe if you take a risk you will be helpless in an uncertain future. If you aren’t choosing freedom, you’re choosing fear.
Let go and let God, or your higher power or the universe. Fear, it is said, is False Evidence Appearing Real. It is a fake boogieman that carries no real threat where there is love.
Fear is the opposite of love. Get in touch with the love within you. Be one with the God (or your Higher Power or the universe) within which is Unconditional Love. Experience the Oneness of Higher Consciousness.
Commit to excellence. The rest is merely illusion and fear. Freedom is an awakening. Be prepared to be roused from your comfort zone of lulled sedation and habitual mind-sets of “I can’t. I’m trapped.”
Your natural state is one of happiness, health and abundance. Are you cheating yourself out of the having the freedom to enjoy these qualities for some reason that doesn’t even have your full awareness? Your refusal to confront your fears, leave your comfort zone or give yourself permission to alter your life is cheating you out of pursuing your dreams and having the universe manifest them in your life now.
If you don’t meditate, begin. You will find the strength within to decide you want inner freedom and joy. You can begin with ten minutes a day sitting in a straight back chair or on the floor with legs folded trying to focus on your breathing. Thoughts will gradually come to you from a deeper source other than the rational mind. You will begin to tune in and feel at one with your higher consciousness.
When “monkey-mind” thoughts pop up to interfere with your meditation, just regard them as clouds in your sky. Say “thought” in your mind, and go back to focusing on your breaths. In time, it will get easier, and you will be able to meditate for longer periods of time and tune in more directly with your higher consciousness which has always been free.
A great hero of freedom who overcame severe obstacles to rise to become the first elected President of South Africa is Nelson Mandela. Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist who was convicted on charges of sabotage, which really meant having the courage of his convictions. He served 27 years in prison, 18 of these years on Robben Island, a very difficult place for prisoners.
Mandela was very angry when he went into jail. He was furious over the lack of justice. But in prison he mellowed and even became gentle and compassionate. He practiced forgiveness. Most social and political thinkers believe he could never have become the political and moral leader he did if not for the suffering he experienced.
During his time on Robben island, he and a group of other Black prisoners would be taken outside every Thursday. They were then commanded to dig a six-foot trench. When they finished it, they were then told to get into it. The white wardens then urinated on them. Then they had to fill the trench and return to their cells.
When Nelson Mandela was about to be inaugurated, he invited these same wardens to his inaugural dinner. The first time he sat down to break bread as head of state those same wardens were his guests. He had freed himself from his anger and resentment. Actually, because of forgiveness, he was free long before they opened the prison gates to let him out.
You have the freedom to make your dreams reality. Be committed to the path of freedom. Stop using old habits of thinking, interpreting and responding to a life that no longer serves you. Look at the world with fresh eyes.
“Set a goal to achieve something that is so big, so exhilarating that it excites you and scares you at the same time. It must be a goal that is so appealing, so much in line with your spiritual core, that you can’t get it out of your mind. If you do not get chills when you set a goal, your not setting big enough goals.”~Bob Proctor