Let Freedom Fly

“No one outside ourselves can rule us inwardly. When we know this, we become free.” Buddha Back in the 60’s, when the “counter culture” movement was really just getting started, a married couple I knew, both college degreed and successful, began to think there had to be something more to life. They decided to “tune in, turn on and drop out.” (For you young ones, that really was the mantra!) They felt that the way they were living was robbing them of a feeling of freedom, so they set out to change all that. To begin their lifestyle alteration, my friends sold their home in the suburbs, moved to a cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan, and very much removed themselves from their former social situations and relationships. They were off the grid, growing their own food, surviving on what money they made doing odd jobs, and selling their arts and crafts.

They were the picture of freedom. Right? Can you guess where this is headed? About three years later, I ran into the husband in Lansing. He told me a story I never forgot. I was in my early 20’s, and very interested in topics like “losing the ego,” and “finding truth,” etc, so what they’d been doing intrigued me. I was considering their experiment for myself, and wanted to learn all I could from it. “Ron,” (I’ll call him for anonymity), said that after about two years into their rejection of society’s norms and the culture they’d grown up in, he and his wife invited some family members to visit. They felt it was time to unveil this unique way of living. It was, indeed, very different back then, than what most young couples were doing. He began by showing everyone the meager home they lived in, emphasizing how little they owned and how simplistic things were. He took them outside and gestured toward the large organic garden next to their cabln, pointed toward the old station wagon they now drove, and with great passion, described to all, what a “humble” life they now led, and explained how much better they felt about themselves. In what he believed to be a subtle, even loving way, he dismissed the conditions and habits his family had stayed rooted in, encouraging them to discover the freedom he and his spouse had found, here in this remote, quiet location. Ron then described, to me, what I’ll never forget. “I went to bed that night, after they’d gone, and felt so empty, even sad. I didn’t understand it at first, but I knew I didn’t feel at all good about myself and the interaction I’d had with my family.” The next day, he got up and looked around, remembering his behavior the day before. It was far from easy, but he said to himself, “I have done all this to free myself from ego, but I am as proud, maybe even more proud, of all I’m doing now, then ever before.” He saw the cracks in his “humble existence,” as he tried to portray it, not only to others, but mainly to himself. He began to see that “freedom” had nothing at all to do with giving away furniture or not buying vegetables at a grocery store; nothing to do with how long he grew his hair or the sources of his income. Ron looked into the mirror inside and saw only one thing, from the experience with his family. He saw massive ego pouring out of him, the very thing he had tried to escape. Far from being kind and just loving those people, he had judged and spurned them for the ways they had chosen to live in the world. What he did after this is not important. Whether he made other lifestyle changes or not is not the point of telling this. The point, the issue, the question, truly: what IS freedom?

As we celebrate July 4, 2023, a day connected strongly to the ideals of freedom, at least in a political sense, let’s choose to look at our own lives , once again, and see if we, just as Ron had been doing, sometimes deceive or confuse ourselves about what we believe to be freedom, to be a truly free person.

Prem Rawat, author of “Hear Yourself,” during a recent address, said: “In peace and clarity, you will find your freedom.

Because freedom is not an independent state; it is merely for those ties, those bonds that bind you to be severed. And when that happens, when those anchors that bind you, are severed, you automatically go into freedom. When you are free, you can feel. Now you are free to feel this life; now you’re free to feel the gratitude; now you’re free to feel what that beauty is, inside.”

So once again, we have the beautiful opportunity to explore this most important topic, and to look at our lives with a bit more honesty and clarity. If we are lucky, we have community to help us along our own path, and we can help others, in return, to reach this feeling called “freedom” everyone seems to long for.

Do you have a deep soul need to free yourself from the chains and confinement of your past, relationships, places, or situations? If this resonates with you then join our resident Shaman, Jeannine Batterson on Saturday, July 15 from 10-Noon for a Freedom Workshop.

In this workshop you will experience a technique to release or forgive, set your soul free, ignite your inner power and create a new path forward

As we set the intention to love and care for ourselves we become our biggest priority. This intention enables us to focus on our own wellbeing, therefore releasing or forgiving and setting ourselves free to experience a life of love and joy instead of pain and suffering. Step out of the darkness into the light! Sign up HERE and commit to freedom this month!

“Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly,” said John Lennon. May you find the courage to fly, always, and when you just can’t seem to take off at times, may you have the strength to ask for help.