Freedom or License

Freedom is an oft’ misunderstood concept, especially in the USA, where I live. It seems like most people understand “freedom” to mean that they can do whatever they want without consequences. They can say something, because they have the freedom of speech, and no one can do anything to retaliate to what they say. If they have a right to do something, then there is no right or wrong time to do it.

What is Freedom

I disagree with that position, both on when it is appropriate to exercise a freedom or right, and what freedom actually means. Freedom is having the ability to do, think, or say what you want, without hindrance. Two things can keep someone from being free: the laws of the State they live in, and their own capabilities. One of those things is circumstantial, the other is everything to do with you, and that is what we are responsible for day to day. I also want to say that I think that no one should be subject to their circumstances. To keep things relatively simple though, I’m only going to discuss what you can do with your own self.

Self Mastery

True freedom means that you must be the master of yourself. If you don’t, then you can only do what your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self will allow, and that will put a cap on your full potential. Neither you nor your family, nor the world can afford that! True freedom requires self mastery, self mastery requires you to “know thyself”, knowing thyself isn’t possible without knowing how to listen to yourself, and mindfulness is how you listen to and get to know yourself.

Physical Self Mastery

I’ve already written about mindfulness, so I want to write an overview of the 4 aspects of the self. First, and most obvious, is your physical body. Mastery of your body means making sure that your body is fit and functional and able to perform as you wish it to, inasmuch as you are capable. Do you want to be able to play and wrestle with your children, hike and climb, participate in martial arts, feel your best, live a long time and feel good all the while? This is where mastery of your physical self comes into play. Don’t let your body be a cage, it is meant to be a vehicle. Some things you can do begin mastering your physical self:

• Eat right. Your diet is the determining factor for how far you can go with your physical and mental health
• Exercise. Your body was made to move, so move it!
• Practice good hygiene. Being clean is important for health, not just for appearances sake.
• Stretch. Your level of flexibility is a real limiter on how useful your body is to you. Make sure you can use its full range of motion!

Mental Self Mastery

The second aspect of yourself is your mind, your intellectual self. Mastery of your mind means keeping it sharp and able to problem solve, think critically, and remember things. Brain function is vital if you want to live your fullest life. Without the ability to use your mind effectively, you cannot plan and build the life you want. Learning strategy, time management, planning, and having the ability to learn well makes you more valuable to yourself, and gives you the ability to not only be free, but stay free. Here are some things you can do to sharpen your mind.

• Eat right. Your brain health is just as dependent on the food you eat, as it is on exercising it.
• Play brain games. Your brain is like a muscle, if you use it and practice with it, it will grow and get stronger.
• Meditate. By now, it is common knowledge that meditating is one of the best things you can do for your mental and emotional health.
• Continue education. There is never a reason to stop learning. There are countless free college courses online, books to read, and websites dedicated educating the masses for free. Your brain likes this.

Emotional Self Mastery

Your emotions are the next part of yourself that requires you to master it in order to be truly free. Emotions are important, they give you valuable information on what is going on around and within you, and sometimes even what is going on around and within other people. But as helpful as emotions are, people tend to be enslaved by them instead of using them to their benefit.

Many people helplessly and thoughtlessly react to what they feel instead of evaluating the emotion and thinking through the best way to respond to it. This leads to your emotional life being hectic and confusing instead of peaceful and enlightening. Aside from learning how to respond healthily to your emotions, you can also learn to cultivate emotions that are happier and more peaceful. You can choose how to feel about the things that happen to you. Some ways to begin mastering your emotions:

• Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness helps you to take a step back and observe yourself and your feelings without passing judgment or reacting too quickly. It also creates a general attitude of peacefulness which is helpful when experience volatile emotions.
• Keep the other three aspects of yourself in check. If you are out of control of yourself, your emotions will go a little (or a lot) crazy. If you want your emotions to be well balanced, then all of you needs to be well balanced.
• Cultivate healthy emotions. Train yourself to respond differently to situations that normally antagonize you.
• Take time to really listen to your feelings when they arise. Learn to understand them. What exactly are you feeling? Why are you feeling this way? What does that mean about you?

Spiritual Self Mastery

Finally your spiritual self. Mastery of your spiritual self means keeping yourself clean inside. Do not do things that damage your conscience. Practice kindness and compassion, be honest and truthful even to your own hurt. Develop your own rules for life, some people call this a code, or their principles, and stick to them. If you are struggling against your nature, or constantly doing things that make you feel bad, how can you say that you are free? If you are religious or have deeper, mystical ideals of spirituality, as I do, then don’t neglect that aspect of your spiritual self either. Here are a few ways to master your spiritual self:

• Honor your conscience. If it feels wrong, learn why, and if it holds up, then don’t do it.
• Be truthful and honest. Freedom cannot be found in lies.
• Practice kindness and compassion. If you cannot be kind or compassionate, then you are a slave to some darker side of yourself.
• Feed the spiritual side of yourself. If your faith requires prayer, then pray. Immerse yourself in your spiritual life.

True Freedom

These four aspects of yourself determine how free you truly are. Become the master of each of them, and that is true freedom. It’s a never ending process, so it’s ok to start small and gain momentum over time. Just begin to work on one aspect, and you’ll notice that each aspect helps the others. If your work on your mental self, it will be easier to master the other 3 etc… It is hard work, but what is more valuable than your freedom?