This word is thrown around a lot, especially with regards to patriotism and the greatness of the U.S. It also has strong connotations of personal freedom from government control (especially in this election year!). I'm not here to argue with any of that, but I do want to explore another application of the word. Specifically, I'm interested in spiritual freedom.
In a basic sense, spiritual freedom can refer to one's ability to choose between options, actions, reactions, and beliefs. But I think there is a more meaningful application of this idea: that of becoming free by trusting that we don't have to control every single freaking detail of our lives, that we can rely on a Higher Power (whatever you want to call that - God, Yeshua, the Universe, human intuition, stillness) to guide us. And here's the thing I'm learning: when I put my faith and trust in that Higher Power, there comes a freedom from worry and stress and anxiety about every moment, direction, and aspect of my life. And then...good things happen. Without me forcing, or pushing, or sweating or agonizing.
The level of anxiety I'm talking about here is shared by all humans in all cultures, and it results in the worst aspects of our humanity: fear, hate, addiction, destruction. All because we fear annihilation, because we can't control things, and we don't know how it will all play out:
If I don't rationally figure out every piece of the puzzle, I will fail, I will cease to exist.Now I'm not saying in any way that we should stop using our brains, disengage from reality, or throw $500/hour at a psychic to tell us what to do with our lives. I'm suggesting that by quieting our minds using meditation or prayer techniques (of which there are many), or walking in the woods or on a beach, etc. with the intent to hear the wisdom that is begging us to listen, we can develop "ears to hear." We can hear the quiet murmur of the flow of our lives and begin to let go of the desperate loop of terror that we have to - but can't - control reality. When we can do this, we will start to relax into this flow and free ourselves of the constant itch and pain of vain human exigency. We will begin to taste true freedom.
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| "The jigsaw jazz and the get-fresh flow" |
