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In America, we look at the
month of July as the celebratory beginning of
our nation’s independence from King George of
Great Britain. As children of the world’s
then-superpower, we revolted against the
constraints of the remote royal family and
declared our path, thus forging a life based on
freedom of the individual and of each state.
When we step back and look at our spiritual
choices, we see that our beliefs, long held and
practiced, provide a sense of comfort, yet also
keep us close in a circle and cycle of ritual
and acquiescence. Daring to step away from
aspects of our beliefs to explore new territory
of self-expression, we declare our Spiritual
Independence and develop a new understanding of
our own essence as we operate as sovereign
beings in the world.
What would it look like?
The population of America in the 17th and 18th
Century comprised of people seeking religious
freedom, as well as those desiring an
opportunity for prosperity. The “great
experiment” in which people governed themselves,
shone as a new and unfamiliar concept in the
known world. Almost impossible to imagine, the
notion of a country not ruled by a church, or a
monarchy, proved fearful for most, including
early settlers. While most emigrated to the new
world for a better life, in many cases, the
adjustment demanded they forfeit their prior
limitations of thought and action – for others
and themselves.
In our spiritual lives, true independence also
takes a toll on our reality. While we learn and
stretch our belief systems to seek new ideas and
considerations of philosophies, we often revert
back to the well-rutted synapses of our past
thinking. Even though we open ourselves to the
possibility of looking at our spiritual centers
in a different way, we compare and contrast the
new information we gather against our old
thought patterns and beliefs. In short, we judge
ourselves based on our past thereby limiting our
opportunity for something new to enter our
lives. In short, it proves difficult to imagine
moving completely away from our old ways to
operate entirely in a new set of beliefs because
we simply don’t know what it looks like.
Witch trials
From the self-imposed limitations of Calvinism
in the new world, to the oppressive dogma of
Puritanism, our young country experienced some
hypocritical growing pains. Borne from the
flexed muscles of religious freedom, our young
country operated under the strong arm of the
Crown, wielding its power thousands of miles
across the ocean. Desperately seeking the
ability to choose one’s interpretation of
spirituality, the early settlers found
themselves in the new world but stuck in archaic
concepts of governance. In one glaring instance,
the Witch Trials in New England provide a clear
example of a small group of transplanted
religious revolutionaries unwilling to embrace
the rebels within their own faction. While
taunting their heroic separation from the church
in Europe, small communities of settlers
practiced the very same unforgiving methods of
intolerance from which they fled.
Our own personal and figurative witch trials
provide us with divine insight into our
spirituality. Often, we stretch our limits, test
new methods and thought patterns, yet use the
same tired concepts to measure the distance
between the old and new experiences. Punishing
ourselves through negativity and doubt,
suffocates our potential and dares to challenge
our quest for advancement. As we recognize the
enemy within ourselves, we discover the forces
at work against us are superficial and weak, and
like the witch trials, based on fear and the
unwillingness to move away from our suffering
and the status quo.
Recognizing Freedom
A dozen or more generations removed from the
brave souls who set out in wooden boats to dare
seek a better life – a free life – we often take
for granted the comforts our freedom affords us.
We move peaceably between state lines, speak
freely for/against our government, reserve the
right to work at vocations which inspire and
please us, and freely associate with one
another. Many countries, even today, do not
allow these freedoms to citizens, yet some
people take risks to exercise their choices in
spite of their laws.
With basic freedoms and rights in place in North
America, we enjoy the luxury of pondering more
esoteric concepts of expression. In every port
of freedom docks an armada of lessons. Waiting
to be called ashore to our present moment, our
earthly education waits patiently, riding the
tides of our indecision, the unfathomable depths
of our doubts and the choppy waters of fear.
With our practical needs met, our spirit breaks
free to entertains such philosophical
preponderances with the liberty to recognize
coincidences in our lives; the freedom to
develop and grow without restriction; the
freedom to accept life’s inevitable lessons and
understand the impact; the freedom to integrate
each lesson and thrive from it; the freedom to
release and let go.
In the timeline of human history, man’s inherent
freedom appears as a mere moment on the scale.
Comfortably ensconced in suffering and spiritual
slavery, we fall back into the rocking chair of
old thoughts and practices. When we dare to set
forth on new adventures to seek the freedoms
endowed by our Creator, we break the chains of
restrictions imposed on our delicate souls and
dare to cross the vast ocean of lessons to reach
the promised land of understanding and spiritual
sovereignty.
Today, think differently. Measure your progress
not from the first knot of old thinking you
towed with you from your past, but from right
now – this moment. Leave behind all the old
trappings and thought patterns which brought you
here to the banks of possibility, and dare to
venture forth into new worlds of independence.
You’ll never know what it looks like until you
step onto the shore.
© Copyright 2010 Marlene Buffa. All rights
reserved. |
