Can you be free in a cage? [Wise Wednesdays]

Can you feel free anywhere? 

Well, according to those who’ve discovered the deepest freedom in their lives while in prison – yes.

 According to psychiatrist Victor Frankl who survived a concentration camp – yes.

 According to reports from people who are reconnecting with a sense of creativity and vitality during lockdown – yes.

 How is this?

 It’s possible if you accept this principle:

 Sticks and stones can cage your body but never your spirit.

 Of course, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t anguish and frustration (not that you don't take action. But it will not eclipse your freedom to choose how you experience life.

 We may be aware of difficult conditions but they do not define who we are or how we experience them. We decide that.

 Viktor Frankl put it like this:

 “Everything can be taken from a human but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way”. “We’re not free from conditions, but we have freedom to take a stand towards conditions.”

 The only cage that can truly be a prison, is the prison your mind creates for your spirit, however you define spirit which could be as:

•  your basic life force
• the mysterious ability to choose your identity/attitude through shifting focus
• the quiet inner-voice that whispers wisdom to you

 It’s not always easy. Some circumstances are more difficult than others. But it’s possible.

 The first step is to understand it. Your freedom comes from within. It’s not about the place or circumstances you’re in.

 As Maya Angelou said:

 “You are only free when you realize you belong no place - you belong every place - no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”

 Before you exit lockdown, exit your “mindset” – the cage your mind may have inadvertently built for your spirit. Know that you are free here and now. Then the action you take will be all the more powerful.

[For a few simple awareness-based practices to feel free now, see the video below.]

Have a great week,

Amina

p.s. You can still join us for the Leaders Circle: Exit Plan. Feel free to invite someone who would benefit. Registration closes at noon UK. More information and tickets here.