Personal Freedom Day

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see."

-John Lennon

Not long ago, we celebrated Memorial Day. We honored all that have served and fallen for our country. It made me think about our societal beliefs and our personal beliefs about fear, freedom, and violence.

Could our societies, our religions, and our governments ever reach the point of not killing each other? Will we ever evolve to a point where we understand our differences, rather than fear them? Will we ever evolve to the point where we share land and natural resources, rather than fight to control or conquer them? Will we get to a point of true acceptance, accepting that people will have different views, different religions, and different lifestyles, and that none of us really know what is "right?" Not only do you need to charge at your dreams, but it also respecting other people's right to charge, and helping increase tolerance in the world!

In our own personal lives and in the world, some people constantly seek to judge, control, and hurt others and ourselves. They judge others by what they see as correct because of the information that was fed to them by their parents, their teachers, and their televisions. Few people ever stand up to question the ideas that were forced upon them. In society and in our personal lives, we have learned behaviors handed down from generation to generation. And we wonder why sometimes we cannot achieve happiness, peace, love, wealth, and success. Most of us have been programmed to fail. Programmed to believe we cannot, when we actually can.

When will we as a society move beyond these self-limiting beliefs and start to evolve into a more loving, understanding and peaceful existence? The answer is simple! It can only be achieved in society when we first achieve it within ourselves. We must first remove the chains that bond us to outdated ideas, thoughts, and concepts founded in fear-fear of the unknown, fear of other cultures, and fear of protecting what we have. The rules you live by, the ones forced on you at a young age from your friends, families, teachers, and society, were sometimes founded in fear. Creating a society and controlling a society by fear will only create more fear, more hostility and more violence.

How do you fit into this bigger picture? The change begins with you. If the glasses you are currently wearing are dirty, remove them so that you can see the truth and start making decisions from the positive rather than fear. As a child, you did not get to choose your beliefs. As children we believed everything the adults in our world told us. If they taught us love, we believed in love. If they taught us violence, we believed in violence. We were taught what actions were acceptable, what thoughts were acceptable, and what ideas were acceptable.

Often when we rebelled, we were put back in line, ridiculed, or restricted. We were taught to fit into the norm. You may have been judged constantly, and that judgment has brought you to where you are today. You have restricted yourself to live in a world created by the generations before you, whether it is right or wrong to you. Don't live in the hurt of the past; don't live in a world of pleasing the "norms" of others or following society's whims. You were born to be free, to express your true happiness, to follow YOUR passions, and move forward from the thoughts of previous generations.

"The freedom we seek is to use our own mind and body, to live our own life, instead of the life of the belief system." -Don Ruiz

We have a choice. We can be captured and restricted by the belief system imposed on us by others, or we can stand up and take life by the horns! We can create a new future. We can hold ourselves to a new standard, and live a life based out of loving ourselves and others, rather than living in fear. As we change ourselves or help change others from a fear based person to a confident, giving, and serving person, we will bring more peace and understanding into our lives. As we continue to grow and more people accept this way of life, we will change our society. As we change our society, we will change the global belief systems that have caused the wars and suffering of the past.

Action Steps: 
1. Examine the key beliefs in your life. Are they your beliefs or beliefs forced on you? If you don't agree with them, change your life and your belief!

2. Eliminate negative self-talk and the belief systems that hold you back from happiness and success! You are good enough to be wealthy, successful, and happy or anything you dream to be.

3. Stop perpetuating the untruth. Stop doing things and teaching things that are inconsistent with what you believe in your heart. Help your children evolve into more caring, intelligent, and loving people. If there are enough of them, they will change the future.

4. Buy the book, "The Four Agreements," by Don Ruiz. It will make you question your beliefs and examine what makes you happy in life!

You can get a copy by clicking on the image below.

This companion book focuses on implementation. Click on the image to order a copy. 

The 5th Agreement takes things to a new level. Click on the image below to learn more.

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