Live Intentionally, In Freedom
by Eknath Easwaran
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 Modern psychology commonly asserts that we cannot enter the unconscious fully aware. The mystic responds, "Oh, yes, you can! I have done it." The journey cannot be adequately described, but I like to think of it as a return from exile. Into those strange and wonderful realms we too can go, to challenge the wild beasts that roam there, search out the castle where old King Ego reigns in our stead, and claim our throne and the vast inner treasure that is rightfully ours. For this is our own land, the one to which we were born. Even if temporarily we endure banishment, even if the kingdom lies in some disorder because of the usurper’s misrule, we can return triumphant and set everything right.
But "challenging wild beasts"? It is no exaggeration: I mean the selfish desires and negative feelings that stalk us. How powerful they are! It has always seemed to me a little wishful to say "I think" or "I feel." For the most part, our thoughts think us, our feelings feel us; we do not have much say in the matter. The door of the mind stands open all the time, and these unpleasant mental states can pad in when they will. We can have a drink, pop in a tranquilizer, lose ourselves in a best-seller or a ten-mile run, but after we come back the beasts will still be there, prowling about the threshold.
On the other hand, we can learn to tame these creatures. As meditation deepens, compulsions, cravings, and fits of emotion begin to lose their power to dictate our behavior. We see clearly that choices are possible: we can say yes, or we can say no. It is profoundly liberating. Perhaps, we will not always make the best choices at first, but at least we know there are choices to be made. Then our deftness improves; we begin to live intentionally, to live in freedom.
About the Author: Excerpt from ‘Meditation’ by Eknath Easwaran, a spiritual teacher and founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation.
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Live Intentionally, In Freedom
How do you relate to the analogy of returning from exile to enter into the unconscious fully aware? Can you share a personal story of a time you distinctly experienced freedom from the control of compulsions, cravings and fits of emotion? What helps you to live intentionally, in freedom? |
| david doane wrote: By definition, the part of us that we are unaware of is the unconscious. What I become aware of is no longer unconscious. I may think of the unconscious as full of nothing but wild … |
| Jagdish P Dave wrote: Choice making is in our hands. We all know that as human we have mead self-and-other hurting choices. In all relationships there is no the other without me. We all are intertwined. When I make … |
| Kristin Pedemonti wrote: Having choice or even the illusion of choice can be liberating. It takes some pressure off. We can choose different thoughts. We can choose how we react. How empowering! This happened the other… |
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Editor’s note: We often try to ensure that the young ones around us a develop a sense of values, and learn to build healthy relationships with others. However, more often than not, they surprise is — and we end up learning from them. The featured stories this week remind us that kindness is often something that they’re born with. We just need to create space for them to practice and sustain these qualities.
