Thoughts that Illuminate
Your Freedom does not Depend on Others
Many years ago I had become frustrated and unhappy with my life. I had spent years trying to teach others
how to behave toward me, how they could change to better our relationship and taught myself how to be
resilient to life’s many challenges. After years of this “learning” I found myself feeling hopeless that I would
ever find the magic key that would change others or make the outside world meet my need for happiness
and peace. Seeking a new direction to go, now that I had dried up all of my own resources, I entered into a
counseling relationship. During a session there was a pivotal moment that would forever change my life.
Up until this moment, I believed I could only be free; happy and at peace when others responded or
behaved in a certain way; when nothing serious was going on, or my day went smoothly without mishaps or
uncomfortable feelings. After years of living this way, I had a sudden epiphany in the counselor’s office that
day. This never works! I had said to the counselor, “I am realizing that ‘they’ may never be able to change,
or the world may never be able to give me what I need. I don’t want to fight this battle anymore.” The
counselor, shifting in his chair asked the question that would turn my seeking in a whole new direction. He
asked, “What is it that you do want then?” Without hesitation but said through the tears of someone who
had come to the end of her rope, I responded, “I just want to be free!”
What I meant by these words was that I wanted to be free of being at the mercy of the world and others. I
wanted to be free to love no matter what the other person was doing or experiencing. I wanted to be
free to be at peace no matter what happens. At the time I made this declaration, I
didn’t realize that wanting freedom above all else would lead me inward to my mind that held its false beliefs
and fantasies. I was so use to fixing the world “out there” that I thought freedom would come from the
outside in. Instead it came from the inside out. Our path to true freedom takes on many different forms.
Although the form may be different there is one thing that is the same about every path that leads to the
mountain top. It points the traveler in the only direction that leads to freedom….not outward to the
world, but inward to the inner Light.
Since this moment I have learned that true freedom can only come by traveling into the depths of my own
mind. I have learned that the path of the spiritual warrior is to see that the battle is not ‘out there’ but
going on inside the mind. It is the battle of identity, the split between believing I am a body and knowing I am
Light. I am learning to discover and release all the thoughts and beliefs that are imprisoning my mind. I am
learning of a Self that was there all along. I am learning of the glory of this Self and have found a treasure
house full of peace and happiness. All because of a call for freedom I made that day in the counselor’s
office.
Are you growing weary of the ego’s way of trying to find happiness and peace outside in the world?
Are you feeling the call to be free rising into your awareness? If so, ring the bell for freedom by letting go
of the need for the world “out there” to set you free and go within to the only place where you will find
true freedom. It’s not “the world will set you free”, nor “others will set you free”, but “The truth will set
you free”. When you discover this one truth about your Self, you will be free forever; You are not a body,
but a holy Son of God, a child of Pure Light. “There is nothing else that I could ever really want to find. Let me
remember You. What else could I desire but the truth about myself?” (W.#231.3)
What I was calling for that day in the counselor’s office was the freedom to be happy and at peace without
the world dictating to me when and if that happened. Isn’t that what the 4th of July is? The declaration that
All have the right to Life, liberty (freedom) and the pursuit of happiness? We can make any day, the day of
our independence….the day we no longer depend on the world for our happiness but on the truth to set
us free.
Ring the bell for freedom by making the statement that you do want to accept and know this truth about
yourself. The Holy Spirit always hears the ringing of the bell and He knows exactly how to respond to your
call. Listen and let Him Guide your footsteps to where you need to go to be free. Give your journey into
His Loving Care and He will lead you away from the world, inward to True Life, Liberty and happiness.
Written by: Patti Fields
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