The definition of freedom (kaivalya in sanskrit) can vary widely and has attributes that correspond to one’s personal life experience. Life experiences, and the ideas, conditions, and beliefs we hold as a result of them, can either be perceived as a pathway to freedom, or a set of obstacles to our attainment of freedom.
Our mind has a memory track that holds all of our past thoughts and actions. This memory is held in the cells of our physical body called cellular memory. Cellular memory creates a physical reaction to experience, and since it has no concept of time, it responds to what is taking place in the moment based on experiences that occurred in the past – maybe even lifetimes ago. These subconscious patterns and urges become the force of action and reaction in our daily lives. Because we feel them in our body, we think they are real, giving them more validity and power.
Freedom, like restriction, is a feeling and a state of mind. Attributes of freedom are stability, balance, clarity, and vision. Freedom unlike restriction, however, is the ability to make a choice with awareness. It is also a willingness to be accountable to the consequences of that choice – even if the consequences are restrictive. In this sense, feeling free and feeling restricted are a comparable experience; they vary only in our level of awareness, perception, and ultimate accountability. If we want to feel free, it is vitally important that we become more conscious of our choices. We must lift ourselves from the perceptions of restriction that we’ve created, and move toward decisions which give rise to attributes of freedom.
When we express and expose the true nature of our being beyond the restrictive memory of – fear, envy, isolation, and discontent – we feel a sense of freedom. This feeling can be nourished and sustained by creating new memories, new perceptions, and new attitudes that begin to shift our way of being. Just as trees shed their leaves each autumn, so too does the mind need to shed layers of thought and conditioning, to expose its truest form – pure consciousness. When one’s perception is not clouded, freedom is felt.
Everything is cyclical in life, including our thoughts and actions. If our thoughts are naturally producing conditions and memories over and over – just as the leaves of a tree continue to re-bloom – be sure they are blooms that nourish your roots. Choose freedom over restriction. In doing so, you not only transform your personal thought patterns, letting go of restriction, but you shift the patterns of those around you.
Daily Reflections
Ask yourself. . .
How do I perceive my daily choices? Do I tend to feel restricted by life, or free?
What restrictive thought patterns am I ready to shed?
How can I draw an attribute of freedom more readily into my life?