Summer of Freedom

On the Summer Solstice in June, I did some deep meditations, a yoga class, and a tarot card pull and chose the word "freedom" as my word for the summer season. Since then, I've started seeing the word pop up everywhere and I've been really contemplating what freedom means to me. Let's dive in!

"There is no greater freedom than the freedom to be what you are now." Alan Watts

Total acceptance is freedom. The desire to wish or want something different indicates a shackling to something else, to an "other." If you find yourself wishing you had another job, lived somewhere else, had a different partner, had a different life, that day-dreaming or wanting is pulling you out of the present moment. Sure, you can "fix" certain things in your daily life to improve it - if you're thirsty, drink or hungry, eat. But, if you find yourself constantly wishing for another life, you are not free. You are bound to a future desire, unable to live presently, which is the only reality we have. If you can be the person you are now, in the environment you're in now, with all the components that make up your life (house, job, car, stuff) now, and with all the relationships you have now, and you willingly accept it ALL - that's freedom.

"Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from." Vernon Howard

My journey with sobriety and substance is something I keep to myself purposefully. This exploration of freedom has brought up many emotions associated with substance and the "need" to have something in order to have a good time. It's common to hear people say they "need a drink" or two or three to socialize, dance, relax, decompress, etc. Drugs are common in the live music / jam band culture and it's not a surprise when people "need" to elevate the experience with drugs (mushrooms, LSD, Molly, etc.) to enhance their night. But any sort of "need" is imprisonment. This concept got me to reconsider my dependency on substance. In July, I attended my first Widespread Panic run (all three shows) California sober (meaning marijuana as my only substance, well… and caffeine) and it felt AMAZING. The shackles of substance were completely removed and I noticed a huge difference in my ability to stay present and connected to the music and people around me, and I felt immensely more free. I never once had to think about if I needed more, if I was high enough, if the reality I was building with substance was "better" than what was actually going on around me. There's no reason for me to escape reality with substance. In fact, substance just creates fiction - it's a false reality you're tied to, addicted to, craving - and that is NOT freedom.

 "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!" Marcus Garvey

Healthy relationships support freedom. Those friends, partners, lovers, etc. will help make you feel MORE free. They'll want you to do what you want to do and encourage you to explore activities, people, travel, hobbies, and ways of thinking that support the feeling of being free. My natal Venus placement and the aspects associated with it make relationships a VERY big deal in my life. (Please contact me if you’re curious about your natal placements!) I can put all relationships on a pedestal, but especially romantic connections, and my worth, mood, and sense of freedom can all easily become tied to a romantic interest. Since being single in March, it became obvious that obsessing over the potential of a romantic partner consumed me. Through my exploration into freedom, I've learned that even the "idea" of a romantic partner was another shackle. Through an incredibly enriching phone call with a very good friend (in other words, a free therapy session with my soul brother), I came to the realization that in order to feel fully free I needed to choose only myself. I hung up the call proclaiming that I would be my own best friend, I would be my favorite companion, and I would be my best lover. By consciously choosing myself (and celibacy) for the season of summer, the obsession, worries, and anxieties over potential romantic partners completely dissolved. I freed myself from the mental slavery of the "what ifs" of romantic relationships and I certainly felt emancipated. With a single simple and easy change of thought, I became free! 

"When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free." Charles Evans Hughes

Please be you. Please embrace your uniqueness. Please shed your veil. Please let your soul shine and set your soul free. Freedom truly is the ability to do what you want, when you want. Freedom permits you to change your mind at the last second so that you can fully listen to your intuition and follow your dreams. Freedom allows you to live authentically, to remove all the masks you may wear throughout your life. Freedom means you have everything you need in this moment, and no "needs" for anything else. Freedom means you have NOTHING shackling you - everything that you do is YOU saying "YES!". You're not doing anything out of obligation or for somebody else. You're not doing something because you're concerned or worried about time, dying, or attachment. Freedom is embracing and welcoming the unknown and the beautiful uncertainty of life. This requires leaning into trust: embracing the knowledge that you are Divinely guided and protected, and that your path is always unfolding perfectly.

If you are struggling to access freedom or can’t  feel fully free, please reach out. Even if you feel stuck (financially, professionally, or situationally) now there are tools and techniques we can discuss so you can still access freedom, even if it’s a small slice.. 

Freedom is a full-send expression of self. Are you full sending? I hope this blog inspires you to fully embrace your authenticity and to shout from the mountain top, "I AM SO FREEEEEEEE!"

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others," according to Nelson Mandela.