The Ego believes it can buy freedom. Money and power can provide numerous choices and options, but they are unable to acquire freedom because spiritual freedom is not a commodity, but a state of mind, a vibration of consciousness.
Freedom isn’t about living on your very own desert island or travelling the world non-stop constantly sending videos of what you’re up to – or accumulating more power and success than others. Freedom is a state of consciousness, a vibration of being.
Many on the spiritual path develop a thirst for freedom, in fact seeking freedom is a natural ‘spiritual’ impulse, but paradoxically it is the desire to accumulate freedom that prevents it from manifesting.
Spiritually speaking freedom is realized by letting go. Letting go of all that stands in your way. For you already have everything you need to be free. It is your birthright and your nature. If you explore yourself deeply, you will find it is already here, now and always.
As the singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder wrote;
Free
Like the river
Flowing freely
Through infinity
Free
To be sure of
What I am and
Who I need not be
Me
Having nothin’
But possessing
Riches more than all
And I’m free
To be nowhere
But every
Place I need to be
Freedom does not arise from being ‘somebody’ or through having more than others, from fame or winning the lottery. It manifests when you uncover what you essentially are. Who you are is your worldly identity, while what you ultimately are is the peace, love and freedom at the heart of existence.
Over the years, I have experienced a range of psycho-spiritual phenomena, and on rare occasions, my self-awareness dissolved into a universal blanket of absolute peace, joy and love. Hindu spiritual philosophy describes this subjective experience of the absolute as ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’ (Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss).
I have been around long enough to experience many of life’s highs and lows but have always followed the impulse to explore and study, create and share. When I first set out on this journey as an adolescent teen in the late 70’s I discovered a new form of self-expression through words and music, and by the mid-80’s, a passionate perseverance resulted in a slice of commercial success as a singer songwriter. I glimpsed freedom when I found a bit of success, but it was always transient and faded.
When the ego is running the show your ‘higher’ self is held back – and the reason we are here as human beings is to be that fuller expression, and to do that, we need to wholeheartedly seek, find and share our fullest potentials.
So, what is the path to freedom? How can you be free?
Here are some suggestions for you.
- Look at what makes you joyful. Deep down you already know what this is. If you are unsure, sit quietly, still your thoughts and enquire. Ask yourself. Meditate or contemplate who you are, what you are and why you are here. What would make you feel whole? Where can you find lasting fulfilment?
- The most efficient way to evolve your consciousness is to find and follow your passion, to express and communicate the gifts and qualities of your Soul. Recognizing who and what you are at deepening levels allows the realization and actualization of your most meaningful contributions – those benefiting you and the whole.
- What can you share?
- What would you love to express?
- What makes you feel true, connected and present?
- What do you or would you continue doing – regardless of outcomes?
- The greatest fulfilment comes from being yourself, your whole self, for then giving is also receiving, a completely reciprocal process.
The Ego is not wrong or bad, it’s just incomplete, and can never truly be whole or free. It dismisses and excludes other layers of consciousness. The fact that it believes it is already complete is what causes so much pain and confusion because it perceives life as a world of separate individuals living a purely physical existence. We are so much more.
When we look into the sense of ‘I’ and question ‘Who am I?’ we can uncover the truth for ourselves. Without following a guru or holding fast to a specific belief system, this truth is a universal reality within all humankind. If you keep up the practice of self-enquiry, you will not only unburden yourself and increase wellbeing, but it will reveal a liberation and peace beyond words, the freedom that you are, that we all are.
The only barrier to uncovering freedom is continued identification with the Ego. Soul consciousness or your higher self is naturally expressive, whereas the Ego is repressive. The Ego does not need killing, but to recognize it is part of something more, to realize that when in harmony with other dimensions of consciousness it is a valuable, functional aspect of a greater whole, something more than its own sense of self.
Ironically, we cannot find freedom without the prison of Ego. The Ego is a tool for finding Soul consciousness, in many ways it is an aspect of the Soul, as the Soul is an aspect of the Universal Self or Oneness.
When held captive by the Ego, we cannot experience the freedom we truly are.
Spiritual freedom is a choice, so choose wisely.
Article by More to Life Elder – Jonathan Harrison
Article published in More to Life – Edition 69
