Complete freedom for your mind

How about freeing your mind in a way that feels liberating and expansive and leads to inner peace?

Philosophers and sages have been asking this question for as long as we have existed. Some of them came up with very nice answers. Inner freedom is possible.

Today, I invite you to practice this kind of emotional freedom. Really give it a shot, if you’ve ever craved inner peace and contentment.

Walk through it, one step at a time.

Step One: Notice how we create bad feelings

Notice how we create many negative feelings about ourselves and others. They are creations of our minds – they are not “imaginary”, but real limitations and real pains that we create for ourselves.

Let me list a few ways we do that:

We feel bad all the time. I wasn’t as productive as I was, so I feel bad. I didn’t live up to my expectations, didn’t exercise, wasn’t on top of things. So I feel bad. Maybe I was a bad parent, or friend, so I feel bad.
We create expectations for ourselves, which make us feel bad.
We want to make others feel bad because they are not meeting our expectations.
We shy away from things because we worry about not being enough. We avoid, procrastinate and stay safe out of fear of not being enough.
We worry a lot, because we worry that others might think we are inadequate. “What do they think of me? Do they think I’m dumb, or ugly, or awkward, or mean? Do they like me?”

You may notice that The expectations we create Feeling bad about ourselves, feeling bad about others, feeling inadequate. These expectations are mental creations.

These creations are not a problem. I ask you to notice them.

Step Two: Notice what it’s like without it

Try to imagine what life would be like if you stopped feeling bad all the time.

What if you have no expectations of yourself? Other people? Earth?

What would it be like if you no longer had to worry about being inadequate or good enough?

For me, imagining this moment without all of that … it feels peaceful. No worries about being enough – I am already enough. Others have no judgment – they are enough. There is really no need to do anything, because this moment is enough. So peaceful!

Step Three: Try to make mental creations disappear or change

It’s a skillful thing to notice whenever you have a mental build-up like an expectation, or some idea that you’re inadequate, or that others are bad. If you can target mental creations, you can defeat them. Or create something different that makes you feel more enlightened, or at peace, or grateful.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying you should never feel bad. We are human, we have emotions and they are all right. But even when emotions do come, what if we let go of the expectation that we should feel differently, and accept the emotion as it is, as part of a moment that is perfect as it is?

If you notice a mental build-up—an expectation, a desire for things to be different, a feeling that you’re inadequate or someone else is bad—try to make it disappear. Like making a mental picture just poof! invisible

Or try to come up with a new mental image — what new way of looking at yourself, the other person, or the moment will create something new?

For example:

Gratitude: By imagining this moment without it we can always find something to be grateful for. I can be more grateful for my loved ones if I imagine a world without them. I can be more grateful for people with whom I disagree politically … if I imagine a world without other people.
compassion: It helps me think of another person who is behaving badly … someone who is hurting, anxious, stressed. It doesn’t excuse the bad behavior, but I can feel more compassion for them and be more at peace internally, without having to carry resentment.
connection: When I start judging other people, I can picture the ways in which we are alike. If they are selfish, I remember how I am sometimes selfish? If they are inconsiderate, can I remember how I am sometimes inconsiderate? Visualizing how we are the same helps me feel more connected to others.
surprise: I can photograph any ordinary object or moment with a sense of wonder and magic. It gives me a sense of wonder—what a wonder this world is!
curiosity: When I feel closed off, I like to try to imagine the person or the scene in front of me as if it’s brand new, and I’ve never seen it before — not only do I feel more surprised, I can be more curious about this interesting thing in front of me.

These are just a few examples, but we can change our mental creations in infinite ways. And can free us at any moment.

Let me remind you that this is sometimes easier said than done. It’s hard when we’re stuck in our mental creations and can’t see anything different. It’s okay – we don’t always have to be free.

It’s hard to even notice that we’re stuck in it, and remember to free ourselves. This can take a lot of time and practice. This article does not solve it, but only points to the process of mental independence.

You may indicate any objections you may have to such release. Maybe it seems wrong in some way, or impossible. It is also a mental creation, and I find it interesting that we have it! Protecting our creations, usually because doing anything else feels somehow wrong.

However you take this approach, I wish you peace and freedom.

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This post was Previously published in Zen Habits. Oncopyright Courtesy Leo Babauta.

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