Freedom has different meanings for people, but most would agree it is a deep value, one held close to the heart. It can refer to the freedoms that we enjoy here in the Western world, or the freedom to be and to speak denied many because of who they are or where they live. What I’m thoughtful about today isn’t the freedom ‘to’ but the freedom ‘from’ that we experience when we are able to be fully present in this moment and see clearly. It is that freedom that gives us the power to choose, the power of right action. That kind of freedom takes practice.
In our world, most of us need to train our nervous system to be fully present, to return to coherence after overstimulation or the encounters with the big and small traumas of living. Freedom requires us to be present. When it is our intention and choice to be free, we open to becoming increasingly aware of the conditioned thinking that can cloud our vision or all the things that can distract us from presence. Self-awareness can reveal our projections, and our human propensity to disown that which we do not accept in ourself. When we make the choice of compassion, of freedom, we can reel in our projections and hold space for our human wholeness. It is from that place that we can see more clearly that we are not separate, and that all things are connected. Once we are aware, we then have a choice, and to choose is to change, to be free.
Our attention, our awareness, is a superpower, and one that is easily squandered. Our attention is the vehicle of our freedom…where we put our attention can be a passive not-choice or an intentional choice. We get to choose where we put our attention (and by not choosing we are also making a choice in a way). The capacity to focus attention can be trained, our awareness can be developed, and it is a worthy endeavor to do so. What we give attention to, we endow with power, we energize. Combined with intention, it is a powerful thing.
To train our attention, while simple, takes consistent practice. Meditation and breathwork are potent ways to train the attention, but any time you intentionally direct your focus here in present time and hold it there for a while, you are training your attention (for example, doing art or something that completely engages you without distraction). The key is doing it regularly and consistently. Training your attention and deepening your awareness serves you in so many ways…it is a key to freedom!