Freedom, the Cornerstone of the Ideal Life

One of the aspects of the ideal life that keeps popping up is the idea of freedom.  We seem to take actions in our life that can be viewed as leading down two different paths.  One path leads to more freedom and the other to slavery.  Now I am not talking about actual slavery, but rather a metaphorical kind.  And there are many kinds – take any major area of your life, and you can become a slave to it.  There is cultural slavery, parental slavery, relationship slavery, religious and spiritual slavery, slavery to food and eating, career slavery, substance slavery and addiction, and the list goes on and on.  When it comes to establishing an ideal life, every decision we make, every action we take leads to either more freedom or more slavery. 

However, in these times the most pervasive and common slavery is economic.   It has become, in a way, an integral part of the American culture.  The proliferation of credit cards, easy credit, and easy payments accompanied by increasing health care and rising transportation costs have whittled down most American’s dreams of an ideal life to pipedreams, childhood fantasies, and ill-founded illusions of grandeur.  No time to dream; it’s time to work.  There is no time for additional education, no time to change careers, no time to play, no time (or ability) to sleep – there is just no time… no time… no time. 

This is slavery, not freedom, by any definition.

So, how do we reverse this trend?  If freedom is the cornerstone to living your ideal life, and your life has become a life of slavery, how do you free yourself?  How do you declare your own emancipation? 

The first step is to establish for yourself exactly what your Ideal Life should look like.  Simply write it down.  Make it as robust or concise as you wish.  Let it address everything that you feel it should.  Do NOT address what everyone else thinks it should.  Just let it flow out of you.  Modify it whenever you wish.  Do not worry if it is complete or what anyone else thinks of it.  It is your life.  It is uniquely yours.  Make it so.

The next step is to make at least one good copy of your ideal life.  Once you’ve done this, keep it in a special place – a binder, a drawer, a mirror, wherever works for you.  Then here is the key – read through it at least once a day.  No matter what your life is like, no matter how much slavery you have in your life, no matter how good or bad you feel, read through your ideal life at least once a day.  Make it a part of your daily ritual.  Set your core vibratory rate in harmony with your ideal life.  Allow yourself to feel what it would be like to have such a life.  Do this as often each day as possible. 

The final step is to become aware of each action you take, of every decision you make, and ask yourself what path it is leading down – the path to freedom or the path to slavery – the path toward your ideal life or away from it.  Our life is a journey.  We never really arrive at the Total Slavery Station or at the Total Freedom Depot.  Our lives will always consist of some degree of each.  To achieve our ideal life, we must choose actions which lead us toward more freedom and away from slavery, thus freeing ourselves a degree at a time. 

As long as we keep our focus clearly on the life we want to lead, and take actions down that path, down the path to more freedom, as our life unfolds, we will (we must by the very law that governs all things) move closer and closer to our ideal life.

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Creating the Ideal Life

What is it we all want in life?  I’ll give you a hint: it’s really simple, and it’s the same for each of us.  It’s just to be happy.  That’s really all there is to it.  That’s all there is to life.  And yet… each of us is different, unique in our own way.  What makes me happy may not necessarily make you happy.  We each have to understand what our happiness means.  What life, what ideal life, would make us happy?  Before we can have that life, we must understand what such a life would look like.  In fact, that’s the first step to make your life better – to understand exactly what you want your life to be. 

I first undertook this task several years ago.  I failed miserably.  It seems I really didn’t know what I wanted.  I thought I did.  Everything I considered was colored and tainted by my current situation and place in my life.  Things clouded my vision; my age, my home, my career, my health, my kids, my spouse, my parents, my culture, and my financial situation all influenced what I thought my ideal life should be. 

So, as I undertook this exercise, nothing I visualized ever resonated as true.  Sure, my vision of an ideal life was nice – I’d like to have it, but it never really felt like me.   Something was missing.  I suspect this is true of all of us.  But then, seemingly out of nowhere, I discovered two techniques, or tricks, if you will, that allow us to see through our ‘clouds’ and clearly see what our heart really desires. 

The first technique is a trick of the mind.  It probably is more relevant to the westernized world that elsewhere, but you live in an industrialized, capitalistic, materialistic world that most of us do, this will help.  To start, simply sit back, relax, take a few minutes to calm your mind, and then start to imagine what your ideal life would be.  Imagine where you would live, what your day would be like, what you would do for a living, and anything else that seems relevant to you.  Your ideal life is uniquely yours, so do not worry if you leave something out that someone else might feel is important.  What is important is only what you think.  Now here’s the first trick – imagine that money does not exist.   For this exercise, money is not important.  Divorce it from your mind. 

Did that change your image?  Did that affect where you live, what you drive, where you work, what you do for a living?  Does it affect what you eat?  How often you exercise?  What classes you take?  You are completely free to live life as you choose, with no monetary restrictions.  Imagine that.  How would you live it? 

When monetary concerns are removed from the equation, it becomes easier to see if money is influencing our decisions.  This exercise had a profound influence on my understanding of what I wanted out of life.  It also made me realize how much money influenced what I thought I wanted.   

For you, however, money may not be the ‘clouding’ issue.  It may be parents, or children, or education, or a particular job or boss.  Regardless of what obsession in your life might be clouding your vision, remove it, and imagine a life without it.  And THAT will be your ideal life.

There is another trick I have found that works.  Have you ever done something that energized you?  Have you ever talked about something that got you excited?  For many of us, we can literally feel the excitement rising in the pit of our stomach.  Some things will fuel that positive energy, while other things elicit fear in exactly the same area of our bodies.  If you are wondering what path may be right for you, just take a moment to ‘feel.’  Are you energized thinking about it?  Or are you scared or anxious?  Can you not wait to get started?  Do you pop out of bed ready to face the day?  This energizing feeling is a key.  It is a sign that you are on the right path. 

When you visualize your ideal life, observe your reactions and feelings.  Are you excited?  Do you feel that rising energy in the pit of your stomach?  Or do you have no real reaction, or worse, are you scared?  The energy you feel is a clear sign if you are on the right path or not.  Become aware of it, and let it be your guide.

If you remove money, or whatever obsession clouds your vision, and if you pay close attention to how different thoughts and visions affect your emotions and energy, you will be able to clearly understand what you ideal life should look like.

And once you’ve identified that, it’s just a simple matter of making it happen.  But more about that later!

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