Free yourself from you

Personal liberty comes at the cost of the personality.

~Hilarion 

Most of us have a particular vision of personal liberty—the ability to do what we wish to do. We feel limited by the needs, wants, and requirements of others, which we feel prevent us from doing what we want. Circumstances seem to circumscribe our ability to act as we might choose as well, narrowing our options and resources.

The problem with this interpretation of personal liberty is that is arises in separation consciousness—the thought that one’s self is separate from the rest of existence. Believing ourselves to be separate, limited, and therefore flawed, we struggle to understand the reasons why we aren’t who we wish to be and can’t achieve what we hope to achieve. Separation consciousness offers us the perfect opportunity to project it all outward and place the blame outside of ourselves, firmly on the backs of anyone but us. This perception of personal liberty turns us into victims and strips us of our power.

Many of us bristle a bit at the concept of connection consciousness—the thought that self is intrinsically connected to all existence. The idea feels kind of warm and fuzzy until we realize it implies giving up our discrete definition of who we are. Personality is overshadowed by the concept of a united, divine whole—the sharing. Connection consciousness asks us to place less importance on our defining characteristics, traits, and talents and to invest more in the idea that a portion of the divine resides within us, inherently connecting us to everyone and everything.

Even if we are willing to take the conceptual step into connection consciousness, it still may seem that in giving up our overriding sense of individuality we cede our hopes, dreams, and aspirations. How can we get what we want if we don’t have a clear definition of who we are?

Part of our confusion arises because we’re not clear about why we exist. If we take a closer look at the concept of the sharing—the totality of all existence sharing experience equally and without judgment—we understand that in attempting to define who we are, we actually are the ones limiting ourselves. If we don’t have rigid ideas about who we are, what we are capable of, and what we might enjoy, we’re far more able to enjoy a broad range of experiences.

In losing our concept of ourselves, we gain a universe of possibilities. When we take responsibility for our perception of life by choosing how and what we experience, we acknowledge our role as divinely inspired co-creators. Personal liberty is seen as the ability to choose how we perceive and enjoy life. As Hilarion says, “Freedom isn’t doing what you love. Freedom is loving what you do.”

Let’s spend a few minutes in conscious connection with the divinity housed within us—our sharing within—to explore how this might work. We’ll begin by visualizing our sharing within as a sphere of golden light in the center of our chest, as we relax our breath and let it become slow and regular. Inhaling, we’ll picture the light growing strong and bright. Exhaling, we’ll see the golden glow filling us and our surroundings. We’ll continue until we feel conscious connection with our inner divinity; we will feel calm, steady, and sure.

We will think of one current situation in which we feel limited in life, particularly if we’ve seen the limitation as arising with others. Perhaps we are conflicted in a relationship with someone we see as difficult. Perhaps our desires seem to take a backseat to the needs of others. Perhaps we’ve been unable to succeed professionally or financially. Whatever our situation, we’ll take a moment to acknowledge and feel our frustration fully.

Now we will breathe golden light from our sharing within and place a bubble of it around the situation, as we ask for clarity and a new way to perceive the scenario. Perhaps we’ve asked Spirit to help us be more patient, and the troubled relationship is a perfect opportunity to do so. Perhaps we’ll be shown that in caring for others we’re achieving a generosity of spirit we’ve felt was absent in us. Perhaps inability to succeed forces us to re-examine our beliefs in our own limitations and flaws. Whatever we hear, we will trust that the information is perfect and true for us.

Finally, we’ll breathe golden light in the situation once more as we re-frame our perception of it. We will recognize that seen in a new light, what appeared to be a personal roadblock is actually an opportunity to expand further than we thought to be possible. The limitation is actually a gift, when viewed from the standpoint of connection consciousness. We’re grateful for this awareness and will breathe our gratitude out with the golden light. With the help of our expanded perception, we are ready to enjoy this experience.

Divinely unique and beautiful reader, are you willing to let go of your limited concept of self? Please share…