Freedom

Real Freedom and Hope for a Better Future

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With an attentive nature to our thoughts and beliefs, we will begin to awaken to how others have influenced the direction and choices of our lives. Hope lies in the action we take. We do not feel hope when we let life pass us by; it does not come through resistance, only pain and suffering happen when we make these choices; life becomes dull and there is an inability to live life to its fullest.

How much of your life has been influenced by the conditioning of family, society and the people around you? You will never know unless you start being attentive to your thoughts and beliefs. Your freedom lies in the exploration of your inner world, it will never come by blaming anyone or anything out in the world.

We are like the Rose

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When you look at a rose what do you see, are you looking at the entire rose? Where is your attention, only on the colorful petals? Part of the rose is its thorns, but how often do you look closely at them instead of the petals? Do you take in the whole plant or are you distracted by the colorful petals?

We are often distracted by what we perceive to be the colorful petals of others and do not see the whole person and yes we are like the rose in many ways. We have thorns, periods of flowering and times we are dormant in this life. Where we differ from the rose is that we often try to hide our thorns and do not want anyone to see them. This is because if they do, they may not like us or worse, not love us.

When our life is dormant, we can feel as though things will never blossom again. However, does the rose stop blooming because it has thorns or because winter came and went? Of course not, and our lives will bloom again if we stay true to who we are and do the best we can at each moment. It does not matter how many thorns we have because that is part of who we are in this life. Resisting our thorns, trying to hide them from others and ourselves only creates more pain. Embrace the entire you, because without the thorns you would not be you.

The False-Self and Releasing It

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Feelings of judgment, anger, and hate come from the False-Self. When we act from the False-Self, it is because of a lack of awareness of our own thoughts and beliefs. Kindness, compassion, and empathy come from the True-Self, our natural state. Through awareness, we can awaken to the influence that the False-Self has in our lives. Once we do, eventually we are no longer reactive and can respond appropriately to the events that occur in our lives. Our actions and words stop being destructive and we begin building connection and community instead of fostering separation from any one person or group because they are different from us.

This is not some lofty ideal, but your natural state and can be experienced through developing greater awareness and questioning your current thoughts and beliefs.

In the beginning, you will be pulled away from noticing your thoughts by the False-Self. Each time you discover that you have been distracted, bring your attention back to your thoughts. Do not judge yourself for forgetting, this is a trick of the False-Self to regain its seat of power. Once you notice you have been distracted, bring your attention back to your thoughts. For some, this will be easy and for others, it will be challenging, however, if you stay steadfast in your intention to have the True-Self’s influence greater than the False-Self you will be successful. You cannot fail because you are reconnecting with your natural state, that of the True-Self.

 

No More Change Just Let Go

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I find that many perceive and think that letting go means they have to change. Moreover, of course, we do not like change; we like to stay in our comfort zone even if our comfort zone is uncomfortable. I mean who likes struggle, suffering, and pain, which we often unconsciously associate with change. The truth is change is not required, only reconnecting with our True-Self through awareness is needed.

It does not matter how well, or bad your life may be, you can always let go, try it just once and see what happens. Even the best life, lived well, can be lived more fully.

Turning Your Life Around

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No matter our circumstances or life /body condition, we cannot give up living life to its fullest. What that means is we continually look for ways to heal our circumstances or body and we find ways to live life to its fullest each day within our current situation.

When we recognize that we are guided and helped by something greater than ourselves we no longer feel alone or forsaken. That may mean something different for each of us depending on our beliefs and conditioning.

The most important thing is to use your awareness and condition to learn about yourself and your life. This will allow your life to expand and become more fulfilling even when it may seem more difficult. The more you are able to do this the better your life will become, because now your problem has become an opportunity. Because of this change in perception, your life will be different and it will change completely over time.

 

FEAR

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As an individual, a country and a planet that is becoming more connected than separated we must learn from our deepest fears. Otherwise, we will continue to inflict suffering, pain and even death to others, and ourselves instead of compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and love. When will we learn? When will we face our fears instead of acting out from them? When will we have the courage to do the right thing?

“What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.”

– Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

THE SHIFT

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Beginning to Take Right Action

When we act from our True-Self, it is impossible to hurt another human being. The True-Self is our authentic self; we act from divine guidance, unencumbered by social conditioning. Social conditioning is the process of training people in our society to have certain beliefs, behaviors, desires and emotional reactions, which are approved by society in general or by a certain group within it. We all have social conditioning to some extent. Therefore, do not assume you are above it.

It is only when we act from this conditioning or the False-Self that we hurt others. The False-Self is the person we have become from this social conditioning. In addition to the social conditioning or because of it, we have created a persona to show the world that we are OK, strong and without problems or human frailties. We put on a good face in the midst of our troubles.

After reading this, the next time you lash out or take the wrong action, there will be a moment when who you really are, the True-Self will speak to you. It may happen during or sometime after the event, but it will happen. It will be up to you in that moment to hear the message and to then take the proper action going forward.

This will begin a life-changing chain reaction, it will gradually strengthen your connection to who you really are, the True-Self, and eventually your only choice will be the right action.

The challenge here is to have the desire to live from the True-Self and to break free from the False-Self through awareness. To live a life of right action, instead of continuing to live in your current state of habit, hardened conventionality and for many, a form of self-imposed hypnosis created by your social conditioning.

We Are All Part of the Divine

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What we tend to forget is that we are all part of the Divine, not just some of us, not just the ones who believe in this religion or that religion. Not just the people who belong to this political party or that political party, we are all part of the Divine. Not just the straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, we are all part of the Divine. Not just someone who is Caucasian, Black, Brown, Red or Yellow, we are all part of the Divine. We must stop seeing just our differences and see what resides in all people and all things, the Divine.

If we do not recognize this in others and ourselves then we are at war within and blocking the Divine. Being at war is what we seem to do the best these days, we have the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, we go to war with anyone or anything we do not like or want in our lives, including ourselves.

What we should really focus on is being better at living life from the Divine and shining this part of ourselves, this light, out into the world no matter who we are or what we believe. Remember today when you feel angry with someone or do not like him or her for any reason at all, they are part of the Divine just like you.

Do you want them to see this part of you or the part that is angry, hateful or mean? The choice is yours in each moment and you can start again fresh each time you slip back into war, just reconnect with the Divine again. If you do this reconnection enough times, eventually you will only act from the Divine with kindness and love in life. This may happen quickly for some and take years for others, but the more of us who reconnect the easier it will be for everyone because we are all part of the Divine.

What kind of world do you want to live in? You cannot rely on someone else to do it for you. You have to make the choice. Will you start today or not at all? Because if you do not start today and at least try your best, then we will all continue to suffer because we are all part of The Divine.

Awaken to the Present Moment

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Today is your day, your best day. Why, because it is the only day you have for sure. Do not compare today to some place in the past that you thought was worse or better. When you do, you have left the present moment and are now residing in the past. Do not look for your peace and happiness in the future, because once again you have left the present moment.

What you seek already lives within you, whether you seek peace, security, happiness, love or the energy to create. It is here in the present moment and nowhere else.

When we are in a state of worry or struggle, it is because we have left the present moment and stepped into the past or we are looking to the future because this moment does not meet our expectations. When we stay in the moment, our worry and struggle fall away. It is only when we want something different from what is, that we suffer. Accepting what is, along with gratitude, brings peace and allows us to create from the field of all possibilities.

Accepting the truth does not mean we have to like it or that it will be perfect in our eyes. Furthermore, it does not mean that it will always be that way. In fact, things are always changing and once we embody this truth, we will begin to allow and co-create something different with the Creative Energy of the Universe.

We must begin to look into the face of what is and trust that all will be well. If we are unable to do this, then we have lost our faith. I am afraid that faith is one of those things that if we try to live without it, we may find ourselves getting lost in life.

How many times have you been worried, struggling in life or endured difficult times? Remember these times and the struggle you have already experienced. That struggle brought you to this place and made you who you are at this very moment. You survived it all and if you leave your struggle and worry behind you will move through whatever challenges you face going forward in life with more ease and grace.

As long as we look through the eyes of our conditioning, we are guided by the False-Self. However, when we see things honestly and look through the eyes of truth, we are connected with our True-Self.

It is through awareness that we begin to see this conditioning and are able to release it forever. This process of letting go or more appropriately said, waking-up helps us to become more connected to the present moment and our True-Self. We are then able to live our lives more fully, with ease and grace, with more opportunities to create from the field of all possibilities.

 

Surviving the Rough Waters Ahead

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“If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll get seasick everyday.” – Leonard Cohen

Those who want to stay stuck in the old ways of thinking and behavior will continue to feel seasick. Their lack of understanding will only increase their suffering as they struggle to avoid the inevitable. You cannot stop the power of oneness that is bursting from the hearts of so many beings from around the world today.

Donald Trump and many others in power, in this country and around the world are an expression of this old thinking and behavior. Our continued evolution has brought it to the surface so that those who could not see it before can no longer avoid seeing the truth.

Those who continue to express the old paradigm cannot survive. Yes, this can be painful for those who still fear that our old ways have the power to survive and retake their lofty place in the world again. However, I can assure you this cannot happen; this will not happen. Let go of your suffering and use your fearful energy to focus on what you want; use it to catapult yourself forward, instead of holding you back. Fear is not your enemy; it can be your ally to healing when used for good.

We can no longer fear our neighbor, whether they are across the street or around the world, because in the end it will be love that brings us together, not hate, not fear, not anger; not anything that is not born out of our oneness. Deep in our hearts, everyone knows this, even those who do not seem to express it.

What many are seeing so vividly now is the expression of our deepest conditioning. If it makes you fearful, angry or worried, then you are part of the solution and you must transform this energy and use it for healing and nothing else. Otherwise, this energy will feed the very thing that makes you fearful, angry and worried. Then you will be prolonging the inevitable and your own suffering.

Remember, become the ocean and end your seasickness.