Finding Freedom to Be You
Stop searching for the missing piece when it already exists within you
“Nature makes of man merely a natural being; society makes of him a law-abiding being; only he himself can make of himself a free man.” — Rudolf Steiner.
Can you confidently say you have 100% freedom? If not, do you feel like you are living in captivity, without being behind bars, by responsibility, expectation, society?
I’m the youngest of three siblings and always thought to be the rebel in the family. Not being heard, I resisted at times and did what I wanted. The truth is, no one had the time to listen: they were too busy caring for members of an extended family, a total of 11 members when growing up, later seven, and then five. It wasn’t easy as I found myself drifting between free will and restraint. To sum up, I was given a taste of freedom by default.
Freedom is the state of being free, the opposite of restriction, constraint, dependence. Freedom should represent autonomy, expression, no judgement, having the right to choose, being different, having rights, equality, opportunity, diversity, and peace.
Inner Freedom Doesn’t Need Permission
Freedom looks different at different times in your life. It can’t stay the same. There were times when I succumbed, going against the fabric of my being. My life started taking a turn, and I found myself going in the opposite direction, lost. We live our lives governed by rules, morality, and a sense of ethics driven by conformity. Yes, it can lead you to live a life with structure, on the straight and narrow. Or it can cause you to become too narrow-minded in your perception of the world, which led me further from the freedom that I sought.
I was stuck in an endless loop and didn’t even know it. Like a movie on repeat, until a pivotal point is reached and the cycle broken. You either surrender to your situation and circumstance without wanting to search for better, living in the confines of your mental construct or refuse to accept it by redefining what being free means to you. The choice is yours, and if you want it, it comes with freedom.
In the book, Free will and consciousness: How might they work? Kathleen D. Vohs says: Freedom might be conceived of as the sum of executive functions and goal-directed, future-oriented behaviours, which include rational choice, planning, intelligent thought, and self-control.
The only obstacle in your way is you. Something we all fail to understand is that we don’t always need to ask for permission. I’ve been trapped in a situation because I thought I didn’t have a choice, and I even felt the need to ask for permission to get out. But, I had created that trap for myself. No one can have that hold over you to deny you of something. By doing this, I was offering my life and my freedom for others to hold. The moment you feel the need to ask for permission, you creating the bars of a cell, which you will inevitably occupy.
You Are the Roadblock to Freedom
Letting go of judgement, of preconceived notions, allows you to see where you stand. To take stock of who you are and who you want to become. So many of us today are afraid or unwilling to let go. We are scared of losing people, yet we lose ourselves.
I only wanted the freedom to be me again, not having to pretend for the sake of others, not having to conform to make others comfortable, leaving me uncomfortable. Freedom should not be a struggle. We don’t need to seek freedom from the outside world it’s in every one of us. We have to reclaim freedom from our inner thoughts, to get out of our heads.
You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts — Philip Arnold
Edgar Lushaju, aged 24, from Tanzania, illustrated this picture. “Freedom is a sense of mind,” he says, “but is it freedom or is it just a very long chain that only allows us to get so far?”
Consciousness Breeds Freedom
Freedom is within you and around you. It can’t be limited, but it can be threatened and suppressed. Ultimately you get to determine whether these will constraint you or liberate you. Is freedom not going from a life of doing to a life of being? A conscious state?
Jung suggests that freedom is an emergent property of consciousness. Our capacity for freedom is proportionate to our degree of consciousness. By consciousness here we should understand principally, although not exclusively, self-awareness, i.e. the degree to which I am conscious of my own internal psychic life- motivations, drives, internal impulses and imperatives. An awareness of our psychic life seen from the perspective of an internal objective observer, a point of view able to temporarily disentangle itself from the usual stream of thoughts, ideas, impulses and achieve a meta-perspective.
Seekers who are free within, become finders. It’s quite impossible to find anything meaningful when you are caught up in the stress of daily life, which can be all-consuming. Once you are able to detach from that stress, a new reality can enter your consciousness. — Wim Hoff
The Pursuit of Freedom
Freedom from the past?
This freedom sought from the conflict between individualism and conditioning. According to Carl Jung, the development of consciousness leads to Individuation, to a unique individual who chooses what to do what he thinks is right consciously. An individual who reaches a higher level of consciousness by choosing not to be limited by collective norms. These self-realized Individuals are more aware of distinguishing innate potentials from the collective.
Martha Beck, author of The Way of Integrity says, all humans long for the same four things — joy, love, freedom, and peace — but we’re looking for fulfilment in all the wrong places. To truly achieve all, burn every bridge but truth.
Freedom from fear?
Fear is something that if you suppress, the bigger it will grow. And you can try everything from distraction to a positive mindset. The only cure for fear is to overcome it, and this leads to freedom from fear. The journey from fear to freedom goes through five phases:
- “Better safe than sorry.” Become aware of your need to stay in your comfort zone.
- “The only thing certain in life is uncertainty.” Be compassionate to yourself, praise yourself for admitting your fear of the unknown.
- “I’m curious about the unknown, but I have my reservations.” Notice the freedom in questioning uncertainty and being cautiously curious.
- “The flip side of the fear of uncertainty is the excitement of possibility.” You attracted to uncertainty and approach uncertainty with discernment.
- “The only way to experience life’s richness is to surrender to the unknown.” Trust the unknown that good and bad things can happen. You value freedom more than certainty.
Freedom from responsibility?
You can’t separate the two as they go hand in hand. To seek freedom is to accept the consequences of our actions and choices.
Excerpt from ‘Living Dharma’ by Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche: If I have the freedom to think, it is my responsibility to think positively. If I have the freedom to speak, it is my responsibility to speak properly and meaningfully. If I have the freedom to act, it is my responsibility to act correctly.
The first step is never to blame anyone. We blame others because it’s the easiest and safest route to take. Try it and see for yourself. But, it won’t help you. What it will do is be a mirror and show you your true reflection. You need to take responsibility and be accountable to yourself. It’s one of the hardest things to do, but once you do, every choice you make after that will come from your free will.
I have walked that long road to freedom, I have tried not to falter; I have made mistakes along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come, But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibility, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended. — Nelson Mandela
Last Words
Now that I’ve rediscovered my freedom, what’s next? It’s a whole new world of growth, happiness, choice, and purpose. I’m confident now when moving forward, knowing whatever I choose, I will be satisfied with and can deal with the consequences. Whereas, compared to before, I steeped in analysis paralysis, indecision, regret. Freedom for me is being authentic after stripping away the world. Be who you are, and you will be free. No one can take that away from you.
“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.” — Jim Morrison
