Seeing the true reality makes your choices true choices. Rather than saying something arbitrary, honestly rather thoughtlessly like “I could never kill anyone“, why not say the truth? Under the right circumstances I would kill someone, and understand why. Rather than say I would never steal, why not say that if I needed to steal to survive I would, and know what moves you?
That way we take back our part of the world’s darkness, and heal it. By understanding when and why we would kill and steal. Yes, you get my point. Freedom is no part denial. Freedom is all understanding. What you would be free from, you must claim. What you disown claims you. What you put outside of you is also out of your power. I am bound by that which I bind. I am contained by that which I contain. What you make rules about, what you hedge in with definitions, is yourself. You are restricting you. When you carve something in stone, you’re just cutting the bricks of your own prison cell, and the world that you feel surrounds you has the power to overwhelm you.
What about when you say it to others, “You can’t fool me” and so on? You are permitting them to fool you. Your being on guard is self deception. The cat or dog who’s watching you in your house isn’t on guard against you, but they never fail to respond. They will flee if threatened, or attack, but they don’t have rules and are never slow to respond. There is a way of freedom, and it’s in stand off with nothing. In the way of freedom there is no enemy anywhere, especially not within. It’s the path of what Buddhists call right action, no attachments to judgement.
Some animals have trauma, then we can consider them human.
Usually rules are for those who can’t make choices that will keep them safe. Teach your children well? Not usually, but ideally. Nominally that is what rules are for, and if taught well the child will adapt the rules. Use them as tools to help as they are grown up, but that’s not how our rules work mostly, is it? Too many rules negate the purpose. Too many and too rigid.
Ever watch Jackass on TV? Are they expressing freedom when they do stupid stunts? In a sense, yes they are. Their stupid stunts are entirely their own decision. They consent to do those things.
We form a rule for everything now. Whenever one unaware person does something stupid we need a rule to ‘protect’ everyone as an example to others. There are more productive ways to do it? Oh, there certainly are, but in our extremely fossilized society it’s fossilized our brains also. It’s really a rather natural reaction.
In my country there are so many ways to hurt yourself stupidly, very few safety regulations and people very rarely do hurt themselves that way compared to America. The autobahn doesn’t have a meaningful increase in traffic accidents, and they have no speed limit.
When a rule is set up that I was following anyway, it doesn’t impact my freedom at all. So again freedom is internal? Yes.
Someone showed me a no kissing sign posted at their local train station. Eek, humans strike me as insane.
Even though freedom is internal, it can be restricted by authority, yes? Yes and no. It’s in relationship to the concept of authority, and those who dub themselves authorities. Regrettably there are many authorities, but authorities have their power because people don’t want to do everything themselves.
Is being dependant the opposite of being free? No, being dependant isn’t the opposite of being free, being reactive is. Ecosystems are a chain of very real and natural dependencies. We’re actually all dependent. You are dependant on food. If you have a reactive behaviour regarding the presence or absence of food, you aren’t free.
Freedom is accepting? Accepting and choosing, not reacting and shifting as conditions shift. Adapting.
Exercise your freedom regardless, doesn’t that somehow make authority unreal? War and violent conflict are reactionary, they aren’t freedom. But as Ghandi showed, you can act without regard to a feared authority. Reaction in ignorance isn’t wise. To ignore authority isn’t wise, but your power to act is unchanged.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~