July in America bursts onto the calendar with the energy of July 4--American Independence Day! For the 4th, Independence is virtually synonymous with Freedom, signifying the power of a newly formed country--fighting for independence from colonial rule--to structure its own government and set its own laws, based on new values that emerged from early settlers and ongoing revolutionary war.
On a more personal level, our individual sense of freedom evolves through our life experience. Freedom is tied to unfolding skill and growing independence, as we encounter and adapt to the responsibilities and demands of life. Freedom is an aspect of learning as well as self-mastery, skill, and creativity (arriving at our own unique ways of being). I recently watched my grandchildren in a preschool setting. The routine of the day was structured circle time: listening to the teacher, following the discussion, answering questions, etc., interspersed with periods of self-chosen activities, free to wander and explore project stations, play with peers, roam the playground, or move through rooms in expanding independence and the joy of freedom that held safety. This is a simplified model of our personal self discovering a freedom that includes social responsibilities, work, relationships, rules and procedures and limits, with areas of life that are "free time", which we personally define in varying ways. Ideally, community and/or society provide some structured "safety" that allows the time and space to explore new ways of being. We have not fulfilled the ideal, but rather its shape changes with each succeeding generation.
When we look at freedom from a spiritual perspective, we have the concept of free will: that is, a choice to follow a particular spiritual path, or turn away from a spiritual connection altogether. Turning away from spirituality can mean a range of things from dark despair to an existential freedom through affirmation of the human being and it's self-contained potential. A spiritual path on the other hand, opens possibilities of freedom beyond personal limitation and human struggle. Yet, beyond that is a dawning awareness that self-will is ultimately illusion, because there is no independent self. Freedom is awakening from separation. You are the world. You are the Beyond-the-World. You are Freedom. (Susan Nettleton)
For a sampling of insights on freedom from hillsidesource.com, follow the links:
https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/6/24/freedom
https://hillsidesource.com/affirmation-prayer-for-freedom...
https://hillsidesource.com/.../little-shack-chooses-freedom
https://hillsidesource.com/freedom-and-god
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