Freedom! What does Freedom mean to you? How does the idea of being FREE fit into your life – the way you act, feel and live? What about your personal freedom? Physical freedom versus mental or spiritual freedom? Imagine the feeling of running with the wind, flowing gracefully, enthralled, uplifted and stress free! Lucky for us, whatever our current physical circumstances may be, this feeling of freedom is within our grasp, because freedom of mind & spirit is always within our control.
Please enjoy these 10 ways that you can bring freedom into your every day life – free your mind and feel more FREE!
#1 – LET GO of the past – Sometimes it may feel like the past has a hold on us, when in fact the opposite is true. It’s not the past that is grasping onto us, it is we who are not letting go of the past. When we remain chained to the past, it is impossible to move forward. You could be holding on to guilt, blame, regret, anger, sadness – none of which feel very good – all due to dwelling in the past. Sometimes, we find it difficult to let go of the past because we do not want to forget it, we could even be holding on to or trying to recreate positive feelings from the past. Letting go of the past does not mean that you must forget the past or deny that the past has happened. However it is very important that you realize that the past is just that – passed. It has no power in the present unless you make the choice to give it power by inviting it in with your thoughts. You can focus on your present moment, where you are now and how it differs from the past. Despite what may have happened in the past, you are free to live in this moment and to make choices based on what’s happening in the present reality.
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
#2 – Recognize JOY! JOY is an automatic path to freedom. When we are free, we feel more joyful – when we are joyful we feel free! We are meant to be happy so it only feels natural when we are. How do we tap into joy? Think about what you’re grateful for – what are the things in this world that make you happy? Allow yourself to be grateful & you’ll notice joy begin to stir within you. As you go about your day, remember to notice the little (or big) things that make you happy in the moment. If the opportunity presents itself, have a good laugh – don’t hold back!
You’re entitled to your joy, we ALL are. Do not allow your own ideas or reservations about your worthiness for happiness keep you from the freedom of expression of your joy! When you feel the bubble of joy rise up, allow it, let it free your soul and express it with your shining eyes, beating heart & smiling face.
But what if you can’t find joy – what if you’re in pain? For now, just knowing that it exists will help lead you back to joy. In order to feel pain, you must also know joy. Recognize your pain as evidence that your joy does, in fact, also exist, but that it has just taken a backseat for now. It is still there, underneath all of the drama & turmoil, patiently waiting for the moment to reveal itself again, because everything is always changing and things do get better. This too shall pass.
#3 – FORGIVENESS – There isn’t much more that makes us feel more spiritually bogged down than being angry or upset at someone or something. We’ve been wronged, we’ve been hurt, we’ve been offended and we have a myriad of bad feelings because of it – feelings we can’t escape. Or can we? What if we chose to forgive the injustice, the person, the situation and move on? What if we truly decided to look deep within ourselves and really forgive – how would we feel if we were able to? Lighter? More free? Free to be happy again, free to move on. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we don’t acknowledge the issue or that we are saying the injustice wasn’t unjust. It’s just that we have chosen to move forward with a clean slate, for our OWN good and to experience the freedom that comes from forgiving. What if we don’t know how to forgive or we feel we CAN’T? This is ok, just the DESIRE and WILLINGNESS to forgive is a step in the right direction. For more guidance and information on the freedom of forgiveness, check out this article including practical application and the benefits of forgiveness.
#4 – Free your MIND – Our brains work very hard to protect & preserve us. What a wonderful tool, we’ve been given! But like all important working systems, the mind needs a BREAK every now and then. Take the time to free your mind – give it a break from thought through breath and meditation. Close your eyes and focus on your breath only. Any time a thought comes in, notice it, but don’t hold on to it or allow yourself to get wrapped up in it. Imagine each thought as a balloon passing through the sky of your field of awareness. Each time a balloon comes through, snip the string and allow it to float away. Do not judge yourself on the number of balloons or worry about anything, simply continue to diligently cut the strings and allow more & more open sky in your mind. This process is a clearing of your thoughts, the more balloons you have simply denotes the more thoughts in need of clearing. This exercise of letting go of thoughts and allowing your mind to take a break from constantly running through ideas, will lighten you. Set a timer and practice this exercise for 5-20mins. A break during the middle of your hectic day is a challenging time to be still & clear thoughts, but can be most effective in bringing you freedom from any stresses of the day.
#5 – Free your BODY – You may have noticed through personal experience the strength of the mind–body connection. The way we think can have effect on our bodies: stress and worry can tighten the muscles around your neck & shoulders or positive excitement about an upcoming event can energize you or give you butterflies in your stomach. This link between the mental & physical is the same when it comes to freedom – Physical freedom affects mental freedom and vice versa! So with that in mind, if you want to feel more free – free your body! Get moving! Exercise, dance or physical activity that gets your heart pumping, your lungs breathing and your body moving without restraint, frees your mind as well! Endorphins released during physical activity are known to have an effect on the brain, making you feel more happy – more free!
#6 – Use PERSPECTIVE to your benefit – How you perceive things makes all of the difference in the world (YOUR world). Once you recognize that it is up to you how you choose to see a situation or a person, you will experience a level of freedom that is unparalleled. When we learn to recognize the moment we are in and take a step back to view it before reacting, we can have more control over our choices and therefore more freedom! 
The first step is to have the awareness that at each & every moment your feelings and thoughts about that moment are due to your perception of it. Usually, if you are feeling good, there’s little reason to question your perception, but if you are feeling bad for any reason, this can be a signal to check in with your perception of what’s going on and the choice you are making on how to see things. Stop for a moment in check in, how do you feel and why? The “why” will lead you to answers about how you are perceiving the situation. Sometimes, we notice that in the grand scheme of things the problem we are so upset about is really quite small in comparison to other worldly issues, or maybe we’ve made an assumption about a person that was based on our own fears, not actual events, and we now realize our assumption could be false. Recognizing and choosing different perceptions lends you the FREEDOM to choose your next move. Click here to read more on how to tap into the power of perspective.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor E. Frankl
#7 – BE AUTHENTIC – Constantly worrying or obsessing about what others might think or how to impress others is stressful and limits you from your full potential. Let all of that go for a minute and tap into your authentic self. When we’re authentic, we have the freedom to be ourselves and often that’s a lot more attractive than trying to be something you’re not and it’s certainly more liberating. Check out these tips on finding your authentic self for some extra guidance towards authenticity.
“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way” – Richard Bach
#8 – IMAGINE – It’s amazing the things we are capable of when we allow ourselves to use our imaginations. There are so many possibilities, so many ideas. Take some time to use your imagination to be creative or simply to daydream. Visualization opens us up to possibilities – making us aware that the sky’s the limit. Work on a creative project such as a vision board, art project, gardening, cooking or even journaling – whatever activity you choose the important thing is to allow yourself the freedom to be creative and have NO rules or limitations on your ideas. Try new things and unlock the creative abandon that lies within you!
#9 – JUST DO IT! Procrastination – most of us are familiar with this phenomenon and more than anything I think we can all agree that it HOLDS US BACK. Usually, procrastination has to do with some underlying fear. Want to feel more free? Identify what is really holding you back and decide the first step you really need to take – Start with that one thing and you’ll feel so much better once you’re acting on it instead of pushing it to the back burner over and over again.
#10 – Flow with CHANGE – It’s bound to happen, change. We all know it’s so and yet, often, we resist it. Even when things aren’t going that great, we may feel safer keeping things the same rather than accepting and embracing change. When we are resistant to change, we become stuck, unable to flow FREELY into the next chapter of our lives. Not only can we embrace change as it happens in order to feel more freedom of spirit, we can also use change as a powerful tool to free ourselves from what may not be working in our lives. Don’t be afraid of change, it can be your ally, and it too can set you free.
“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” –Voltaire
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Thank you for this Newsletter.