July 2023 Newsletter
Finding Freedom
Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude.
Frederick Douglass
Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude.
Frederick Douglass
Dear Ones,
It’s the fourth of July and I’ve been meditating on Freedom. Today is my daughter’s birthday. It’s also the birthday of the United States of America. The founding “fathers” declared on September 9, 1776, that all “men” are equal, that the business of government was to protect the right to freedom and equality, and that the people are free to revolt if these rights are not protected. But, are we truly free? Are we treated as equals and do we treat others as equals? Can we speak our truth without fear of persecution, enslavement, or being shunned while having our basic natural rights denied? Perhaps it is time for a revolution? Not a revolution with guns, bombs, and weapons. We can see how well that is working in the world. Maybe it is time for a revolution of the heart!
It’s the fourth of July and I’ve been meditating on Freedom. Today is my daughter’s birthday. It’s also the birthday of the United States of America. The founding “fathers” declared on September 9, 1776, that all “men” are equal, that the business of government was to protect the right to freedom and equality, and that the people are free to revolt if these rights are not protected. But, are we truly free? Are we treated as equals and do we treat others as equals? Can we speak our truth without fear of persecution, enslavement, or being shunned while having our basic natural rights denied? Perhaps it is time for a revolution? Not a revolution with guns, bombs, and weapons. We can see how well that is working in the world. Maybe it is time for a revolution of the heart!
Where do we begin this revolt against tyranny and injustice? Perhaps by questioning and exploring our own inner sense of freedom. Do we feel free to express our most authentic selves in the world? If not, what is stopping us? What are the self-imposed limits and restraints that keep us silent in the face of injustice, enslavement, and habitat destruction? What is the genesis of these barriers to self-expression? Do we feel safe in the world? Do we feel separate, alienated, and alone in the world? Do we have a sense of belonging or do we sometimes feel like an abandoned outcast in a world of madness? Perhaps our freedom doesn’t have anything to do with external restraints?
True freedom is always spiritual. It has something to do with your innermost being,
which cannot be chained, handcuffed, or put into jail.
Osho
which cannot be chained, handcuffed, or put into jail.
Osho
For many years I felt I had been ambushed by life. Every corner I turned there seemed to be a new personal or collective disaster, death, or traumatic event. Over the years I have engaged in so many spiritual, transformational, and personal growth programs you’d think I’d be enlightened. But, in my almost eight decades of traveling around the sun and a good part of this world, I have finally come to realize that awakening is not a destination. For me, the slow process of continuously deepening presence and what I call presencing has slowly brought me closer to a sense of inner freedom than I ever imagined possible. What we do in the world is important, but I now look to and engage in that deep inner spiritual work as the foundation for outer change.
It feels like I’m spinning my wheels, trying to change the outer world without attending to my own habitual beliefs, patterns, and thoughts that condemn me to repeat my personal, familial, and ancestral mistakes, traumas, and transgressions. Healing is built into life. Life wants to live through us. That’s how we got here. Freedom is a question to live into, explore, and get curious about. I have adopted a new habit of regularly asking myself, “Am I free?” If not, what is keeping me restrained from living my most authentic, fulfilling, and self-expressed life? Bringing a deep meditative curiosity to this question has helped me to see the depth of imprisonment I have decreed upon myself.
It feels like I’m spinning my wheels, trying to change the outer world without attending to my own habitual beliefs, patterns, and thoughts that condemn me to repeat my personal, familial, and ancestral mistakes, traumas, and transgressions. Healing is built into life. Life wants to live through us. That’s how we got here. Freedom is a question to live into, explore, and get curious about. I have adopted a new habit of regularly asking myself, “Am I free?” If not, what is keeping me restrained from living my most authentic, fulfilling, and self-expressed life? Bringing a deep meditative curiosity to this question has helped me to see the depth of imprisonment I have decreed upon myself.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
The contemplation of freedom is not a violent act. It is a kind and gentle exploration and deconstruction of our personal narrative, recognizing our habitual self-violence, and feeling and sensing how our words and thoughts are shaping the changes we long for in the world. I have found what I call mistakes can act as road signs to guide me to ever-deepening states of awareness and connection with the larger whole of humanity and nature. Can we be as kind, compassionate, and loving towards ourselves as we would like others to be towards us? Can we go so far as to honor and celebrate those things we call mistakes, flaws, or shortcomings?
Today my daughter turns 45. I’ve made many mistakes as a father. But I have always loved her and tried to be there for her. I wanted to be a better father to her than mine was to me. I have forgiven myself for the places where I fell short. I now know that her freedom is somehow bound up in the work I do to deepen my freedom, transcend negative thinking, and honor the innate wisdom that lives in every one of us. Our awakening is the awakening of the world. Exploring our relationship to freedom may be the most important thing we can do for not only the freedom of humanity but the continuing existence of life on our planet.
I hope you will join me in the contemplation and meditation on freedom in your own way and that you might take some time to contemplate the questions I am asking in this month’s newsletter. Let’s discover together our part in bringing forth a Revolution of the Heart!
May all beings be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow. May all beings be safe from harm. May all beings recognize their deep intra-connection with all of life…
with infinite love and blessings,
michael
Today my daughter turns 45. I’ve made many mistakes as a father. But I have always loved her and tried to be there for her. I wanted to be a better father to her than mine was to me. I have forgiven myself for the places where I fell short. I now know that her freedom is somehow bound up in the work I do to deepen my freedom, transcend negative thinking, and honor the innate wisdom that lives in every one of us. Our awakening is the awakening of the world. Exploring our relationship to freedom may be the most important thing we can do for not only the freedom of humanity but the continuing existence of life on our planet.
I hope you will join me in the contemplation and meditation on freedom in your own way and that you might take some time to contemplate the questions I am asking in this month’s newsletter. Let’s discover together our part in bringing forth a Revolution of the Heart!
May all beings be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow. May all beings be safe from harm. May all beings recognize their deep intra-connection with all of life…
with infinite love and blessings,
michael
If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself,
if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is negative in yourself.
Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.
Laozi
if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is negative in yourself.
Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.
Laozi
