In July we in the U.S. celebrate freedoms we enjoy as individuals and as a nation. When we consider the freedoms we celebrate, in our country and around the world, we are often appreciating freedom from exterior constrictions or freedom from threats to our ability to live our lives in the ways that we choose, within the limits of our legal system and our ethics.
But there is another kind of freedom that is perhaps more vital to our individual happiness and our ability to enjoy lives of meaning and purpose—inner freedom.
.
.
What Is True Freedom from Within?
Inner freedom is true freedom. It is our natural state. From within we are wholly free and we can return to that state of existing in freedom in any moment.
Letting go of anything limiting your inner space for expansion is the first step to true freedom.
As we deepen our self-awareness and reconnect to our true center, we can release attachments to what no longer serves us in life and open ourselves to the experience of greater freedom and possibility.
Attaining inner peace and experiencing freedom within does not mean that your life will be free of challenge and difficulty. Yet, when we reclaim our inner freedom, the power of anything external is diminished. We are better able to navigate life and its challenges and find we are no longer controlled by or as reactive to difficulties that arise.
When you operate from true freedom you realize that you have the power to change your experience.
When you claim your inner freedom, you are no longer held hostage to difficulties that arise in your life. You decide how you experience each moment in your life, choosing peace or conflict.
.
Interpretation and True Freedom
As you consider inner freedom, you realize that what matters is not the situation itself, but how you judge and interpret it. Every situation can be experienced in a state of peace.
The energy you give to outside obstacles and influences that diminish your view of yourself or constrict you from being your true self will prevent you from connecting to freedom and wholeness.
It is not possible to experience true inner freedom when you give your power to false beliefs. You can make the choice of true freedom or you can opt to remain a hostage of your beliefs, limiting thoughts, and outdated narratives about yourself and others.
A PRACTICE TO CULTIVATE INNER FREEDOM
Spend a few minutes in quiet reflection about your life right now.
- What words or images come up for you when you think about true freedom?
Consider: ease, spaciousness, joy, letting go, able to be myself, living from my truth, letting go of negative, self-limiting thoughts, trusting myself, flow, love, peace, soaring, lightness, forgiveness, accepting and embracing change, impermanence.
- Are you currently experiencing inner peace and inner freedom?
- If not, what is standing in the way of your experiencing inner peace and inner freedom?
- Are you tired of remaining small and constricted in your life?
- Are you ready to experience true inner freedom and blossom fully?
.
At the deepest place within you, where your True Self resides, you are already free. Over time you may have built up layer upon layer of false beliefs about yourself. You may have forgotten this truth.
Your True Self may have become masked with false ideas about who you are. These masks and layers of beliefs about who you are often stem from your ego personality.
Michelangelo is reputed to have said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
Likewise, we can set ourselves free when we remove what is causing us to forget the truth that lies within.
.
.
Removing Blocks to Inner Freedom
Until we recognize the obstacles that block our path to connection to inner freedom, we will continue to live in a confused state. The pathway to the true self and true freedom begins as we begin to recognize and navigate around what blocks our vision.
A few common blocks to true freedom include:
- childhood wounding
- early life experiences
- fear and shame
- a scarcity mindset
- doubts and distrust
- emotional reactivity
Limiting beliefs about the self is one of the most common obstacles to peace of mind and inner freedom. A limiting belief is a state of mind or a thought about yourself that restricts you in some way. It is a judgment you have made about yourself—a judgment that you think or believe to be true.
For example, you may have come to believe that you are not smart enough or that you are not an interesting person. You may believe that you do not deserve to be truly happy. Limiting beliefs can keep you from living a full and purposeful life.
Limiting beliefs hold us small. They restrict our creativity and limit our self-growth.
Until you recognize and release these limitations, you are unlikely to fully expressing who you really are.
To delve deeper into this topic, see the first of five pathways to the return to true community, beginning with a return to your true self, in the book Wholly Connected as well as the book Come Home To Your True Center by True Center founder Eve Willson.
.
.
Releasing Attachment to Find True Freedom
The Buddha said that the cause of our suffering is attachment. We cannot be truly free until we can release the attachments and desires that bind us. You will know true freedom when you remember your connection with the True Self and return home to your True Center.
Have you been operating from a place of attachment?
Has your ego been in the driver’s seat of your life?
Releasing attachment does not necessarily mean we have to give up all earthly pleasures and possessions or choose to live an ascetic life. Rather, non-attachment is simply about becoming aware of the influence of the personality and the limitations it has imposed on your life until now.
Non-attachment will support you in enjoying the experiences of your life without becoming emotionally attached to them. Let go and allow the unfolding.
Life on earth is dynamic. It is ever-changing and impermanent.
Many resist change because of their fears of uncertainty and the unknown. Yet, we experience greater freedom when we let go of attachments that may include patterns of behavior and habits, limiting stories about ourselves, or addictions and distractions that prevent us from a life of growth.
Often we become attached to certain outcomes for ourselves or others. This attachment to outcomes is usually based in a desire or perceived need to control our experience. When the outcomes we have wished for do not happen, we may experience sadness or anger.
In practicing non-attachment, we are able to let go of outcomes
and the perceived need to “fix” everything.
Inner freedom does not mean that you become free of life’s difficulties and challenges, but rather that you can meet what life brings to you with equanimity, discernment, and inner peace. Rather than reacting, you can respond in a calm and balanced way.
Challenges constantly arise. That is a natural part of life. Now, rather than being beaten down in reaction to challenges, you can meet those challenges with the power of choice and renewed confidence.
Reflecting on True Freedom
As you consider ways to practice non-attachment and embrace your inner freedom, reflect on these two questions:
- What am I holding onto that prevents me from experiencing true freedom?
- What would true freedom look like? What would it feel like?
Best wishes from True Center for a summer of true freedom and possibility!!
Leave a Reply