Finley Freedom From the Ties That Bind

The Secret of Self Liberation
1. Auflage 1994
ISBN: 978-1-61792-865-9
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 176 Seiten

Freedom From the Ties That Bind by Guy Finley Think for a moment what your life would be like if you lived in a world where reality and your happiness were one and the same -- where everything that happened in your life was always just what you wanted. Imagine it!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Finley, Guy

Leseproben

CHAPTER 1
Discover The Freedom
You Need To Live The
Way You Want
IN OUR QUEST TO WIN FREEDOM FROM THE TIES THAT BIND, we spend most of our lives struggling to overcome vague foes that fade in and out, like the shadows that move across the forest floor each time the sun moves behind a cloud. Yet, for all of these battles engaged and won, for all the changes we’ve made in our lifestyles and relationships, one thing remains basically the same. We still feel tied down! There’s a stone in our soul we can’t shake loose. And that’s why, even though everything else about how to liberate ourselves may remain vague, the following realization cuts through this psychic fog like the bright beam of a lighthouse on a stormy night: any real change in the world of our outer life is going to have to originate from a change in our inner life. Still more to the point: blaming any exterior condition in our lives as the culprit behind our feeling tied down or captive is like getting angry at our shoes for being laced too tight! If we’re ever to satisfy our longing to live the way we want, if we’re ever to be fully independent and free, we must let the facts speak for themselves: regardless of the way things may appear on the surface, the ties that bind us have their roots hidden in our minds. We are lashed down with our own thoughts. They wrap themselves around our hearts and make our spirit suffer. And that’s why our battle for freedom must be waged within, for that’s where the ground is that must be recaptured. Even the gripping fear of failing finances, or painful worry over the aging of the body, has its beginnings in the invisible interior of a person—in that individual’s thoughts and feelings—and more specifically still, in the level of understanding from which those thoughts and feelings arise. All freedoms, as well as the heavy spirit we bear in their absence, are a question of consciousness. This is why freedom from the ties that bind must begin with a change in our being. So now we know: the good struggle which we must take up isn’t with person, place, or circumstance, but with our present level of consciousness—a level of mind that is itself a captive of its own unsuspected enslaved condition. Johann von Goethe, the highly celebrated German poet and philosopher, spoke to the importance of this fact and its relevance to real self rescue when he said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Goethe’s wise counsel also hints to us that each bit of light we can direct into this darkness known as self deception is really the same as the seed of self liberation. So welcome the light by gladly volunteering for the upcoming inner exercise. FORTY WAYS TO DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL
OF INNER FREEDOM Want to know how free you really are? Good! You’re about to be presented with a unique opportunity to learn all about your individual level of inner liberty. Assembled here for your self study is a very special kind of test. But don’t worry! You can’t fail this examination. This test is unlike any you’ve ever taken before. It’s designed to help you gaze into yourself and then use what you see there as a gauge to help you determine your level of freedom. Here’s how it works. Following are forty simple internal indicators for evaluating just how far along you actually are on freedom’s path. As you review each of the inner liberties on the list, just note mentally to yourself whether or not that particular freedom belongs to you. If you have to think about whether you’re free in one way or another, you’re probably not as free in that area as you’d give yourself to believe. Relax. This is to be expected. Which means let’s not forget our aim in this evaluation. Our intention is simply to learn what’s true about ourselves, not to prove anything to ourselves. You may find some of the upcoming list surprising. If that happens, let it. And then feel free to consider you never knew such a freedom could exist for you because, up until now, you were sure you had no choice but to live restrained in this area. Now you know better! Allow these forty freedoms to awaken and stir that secret part of you that knows living in any kind of bondage is a lie. Then follow your own natural sensing all the way to the free life. You’re Well Along Freedom’s Path When: You have no desire to change places in life with anyone else. You step over setbacks without stopping or looking back. You don’t think about your sex life. You accept and appreciate praise, but never take it to heart. You don’t overeat or feel driven to diet. You meet and do what’s true without fear of the consequences. You really don’t want anything from anyone. You stop thinking about how much money you may or may not have. You don’t carry any upset from the last moment into the present one. You have no interest in old resentments. You start spending more time alone and enjoying it more. You stop dreaming of the perfect vacation. You lose all interest in trying to win mental arguments. You’re neither frightened nor shocked by the evening news. You stop making deals with yourself. You dress for comfort, not for compliments. You don’t blame anyone else for the way you feel. You forget what it was you didn’t like about someone. You’re awake to and spontaneously considerate of the needs of others. You see beauty in life where you never could see it before. Your life gets progressively simpler. You see where you’re wrong sooner than later, and stop defending yourself faster. You do what you don’t want to do, and you do it with a lighter spirit. You’re not afraid of having nothing to say or do, if that’s your true condition. You can take criticism without cringing away from the truth that it may hold. You have no concern for what others may think of you. You stop trying to make others see life in your way. You enjoy the sound of silence as much or more than the sound of your own voice. You see the same unpleasant traits within yourself that have made you shun others. You say what you want, and not what you think others may want to hear you say. You actually enjoy hearing about the good fortune of someone else. You see more and more just how unfree you and others really are. Your moods are fewer, lighter, and move on much quicker. You see society is destroying itself and that the only solution is in self change. You can listen to others without the need to tell them what you know. You don’t find a thrill in any kind of fear. You know that forgiveness of others is the kindest thing you can do for yourself. You realize the world is the way it is because you are the way you are. You’d rather not think about yourself. You can’t come up with one good reason why you should ever be anxious or frightened. There’s one more important point to bring to our attention before we continue with our self studies: never discourage over your present location! Discouragement is a negative emotion with more than one trick up its dark sleeve. It tricks you into mentally or emotionally dwelling in the very place you want to leave. Drop all such sorrow permanently by daring to see through this deception of the unconscious mind. The very fact that you know there’s farther to go before your journey to freedom is complete also tells you that wherever you may find yourself standing today—or a thousand days from now—is just a place you have to pass through on your way to where you’re going. And you’re going to be free! So agree to put all discouraging places where they belong: behind you! Who you really are, your True Nature, is no more tied to the kind of places or person you’ve been than the wind is tied to the skies through which it moves. Your past, who and what you once were, is just that: the past, a place within your psyche with no more reality to it than the picture of a castle on a postcard is made from stone. As you’re about to discover, through the hundreds of encouraging and healing insights revealed in this book, you have a Destination far beyond where you find yourself standing today. To help speed your inner progress, and for additional benefits from this chapter, go back over the entire list of freedoms at least one more time. In your second review of these forty points of freedom, notice which ones are most attractive to you. Mark down their corresponding numbers on a sheet of paper. For instance, as #27 points out, maybe you’re weary of being caught in that familiar losing battle of trying to make friends and family see life through your all-knowing eyes. It took a long time, but you’re beginning to see just how blind you’ve been. Now you want to be free of your own inconsiderate and impatient egotism. But try as you may, something within won’t let you let go of your unconscious certainty that you know better than anyone else. Good! You may not know it...