Freedom Is NOT Entitlement

Freedom Is NOT Entitlement

Our limits are here to help us all develop and mature from within to the outer…our greatest treasure is within. ~Siraj

“We the people…” simply do not have any real interest for what is spiritual in our life or this blessed world. We pay dearly for this indifference by living confined to and by our every desire, especially our delusion of freedom. We are filled with assumption and willfulness based on the fictitious misapprehension that we know what authentic freedom is.

The words “freedom” and “entitlement” have sadly, willfully and ignorantly become synonymous in our “land of the free” and the home of the obsessive. Our mania for the fulfillment of the “American Dream” is nothing but a fallacy that has been the mechanism of Western propaganda for many years and has caused “we the people…” great pain and sorrow as a nation and as a human race.

I am not a political guy at all. I know nothing about politics nor do I care to. But I do know human nature very well and to me politics are nothing but the drama of human nature at its worst on the world stage. We do not live in a great country, nor are we a great people. We are selectively “moral” and thus, highly religious…which forces us to fall into the coma of human arrogance.

Freedom is all about living passionless so as to enter into consciousness. ~Siraj

Through all of the “rights” and “freedoms” we have as people and a nation, we have become dull and slow to awaken, if at all, to the facts of life, much less the Truth – especially if the Truth shows us that we can’t do something we “want” to do. Through all of this we have developed a “hardness of heart” that has dwindled down our inner ability to perceive the consequences of any matter due to the mania of our many desires. And to make matters worse, we are actually proud of this, which is made evident throughout our politics!

This “hardness of heart” has become our “justice system” within and we admire this ill state of being as the euphoria of the strong, tough and self-righteous – the home of the brave! Maturity is just not possible for most of us when we are given any kind of political “rights.” We always want to leverage “rights” to accommodate the worst of us rather than the truth of Love that we authentically are.

In our “…more perfect union” we are only truly interested in ourselves and the money we can get (legally and illegally) in order to reserve our place in this republic and have what we call the “American Dream” – a euphemism for the fulfillment of our greed through the mania of our emotional insecurity. You see, it is not just our government that is falling apart, my dear ones. In fact, it is “we the people…” who are opposed to any kind of discipline or limits through which compassion and kindness can take the place of self-righteousness in our lives.

I realize that to the crazed person who lives for only the entanglement of emotional gratification and entitlement I sound very negative here. People, in general, do not want to hear about what they are doing to themselves, much less this country. But eventually we will have to look at the country as a mirror to ourselves.

Love does not sound “good” to the human urges so many of us live by. This is why Epictetus’ teachings here are so deeply important. Few have the “ears” to hear him on the subject of freedom. But for one moment in your life, pause and give consideration to what he is saying:

Freedom isn’t the right or ability to do whatever you please. Freedom comes from understanding the limits of our own power and the natural limits set in place by divine providence. By accepting life’s limits and inevitabilities and working with them rather than fighting them, we become free. If, on the other hand, we succumb to our passing desires for things that aren’t in our control, freedom is lost. ~Epictetus

To use the words “freedom” and “limits” in the same sentence would not compute for most people in our world. But what Epictetus offers is so deeply insightful, so profoundly presented to us, that it is hard for even the totally unconscious person to ignore. You see, we have limits to our abilities as humans and if we live in respect and patience with them, a new ability arises within us that allows us to grow as spiritual beings. That ability is the gift of compassion.

Compassion is the most powerful quality of consciousness a person can have and leads to the ultimate freedom – liberation from fear. Intrinsically we are nothing but Love. Getting the human to recognize this is impossible. Yes, impossible! The human cannot “hear” nor “see” anything but itself. By nature, if not balanced with compassion, the human becomes so narcissistic that it can only “believe” in itself.

Epictetus is telling us that freedom, authentic freedom, arises out of “accepting life’s limits and inevitabilities” and learning how to work WITH them which would crate a new power and presence withi…compassion. It is through compassion rather than fighting our difficulties through hate and fear that we find our real abilities. Compassion presents a new way of understanding through the insight of mercy. When I am willing of mercy, a new light glows within me and I can “hear and see” beyond the common logic of hate and fear. This is immensely powerful for all of us to embrace.

When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten. When the belt fits, the belly is forgotten. When the heart is right, 'for' and 'against' are forgotten. No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions...then your affairs are under control. You are a free man. ~Chuang Tzu

There is a price to pay for everything that we send out from us in the form of our actions and energies. Epictetus asks us to consider working with our seeming limits and allowing them to be the “glasses” we don to correct our inner vision in order to self-realize who and what we are. Learning to work within the framework of our life conditions and keeping the flame of Love burning is the inner posture of a person seeking consciousness. Please remember that consciousness overcomes all outer conditions for it is what we are all about–living in the essence of the intrinsic.

So, ask not what your country can do for you! Let LOVE live you and be willing to sacrifice everything for Love itself – it is the only true freedom there really is.

Live in the kindness of unconscionable generosity by simply not doing the things that harm you or hurt others

Give up the idea of freedom being the carelessness of just doing what you want - live with your limits and work within them and you will find that they are there to help you LOOK WITHIN!

Realize that what you and I do to one, we do to all - if you can feel the truth of this, a great Love will sustain you

Freedom is Love. It is all about Love. Just Love.

4 Comments
  • Gloria Hughes
    Posted at 21:22h, 06 July Reply

    Love is all you need : )

  • Mike
    Posted at 04:39h, 07 July Reply

    Just give and forgive

  • Sangit
    Posted at 07:04h, 07 July Reply

    “Ask not what your country can do for you…” a truly beautiful thing to remember for independence day. And for each and every day. Thank you for all your generosity in offering your insights to us.

  • Maria Rodriguez
    Posted at 19:04h, 16 August Reply

    Thank you so much for your generosity.

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