I just finished reading “Mans Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. In his book, Frankl describes his experience as a prisoner in the Nazi death camps during World War II.
Even though he was hungry, beaten and humiliated, Frankl realized that he had one freedom that could not be taken away from him: The freedom to choose his thoughts and to create his own experience and what was meaningful about that experience. The meaning he chose to create during his captivity was that he needed to remain alive to tell the world about what had happened.
Frankl made it out of the camps alive and went on to become a successful author. His book went on to sell millions of copies and is considered a classic. His message gave people hope: even though the body may be enslaved, the mind is free to find potential meaning under even the most miserable circumstances.
As we approach the celebration of our country’s independence day, we acknowledge that we live in a country with freedoms that are sought and valued all around the world. Even so, the struggle for freedom is ongoing within all of us.
I think it’s important to ask ourselves “How free am I, really?” To be truly free implies that you can exercise a choice.
However, if I have no choice but to inhale poisonous fumes into my body, then I’m not really free, I’m a slave to my habit and my addiction. If I feel that I can’t control the type or quantity of food I eat, then I am imprisoned by my desires. Am a truly free if I allow my day to be ruined by traffic, a problem with my computer, or not enough foam in my latte, or am I no better than a leaf at the mercy of the wind?
Furthermore, if my goals, dreams and desires are shackled by my own doubt, negativity, and limiting beliefs, than I am in a prison much more effective than any that can be made of brick and steel.
True freedom doesn’t depend on laws or treaties, bars or chains. True freedom is of the mind. True freedom is having the ability to choose, powerfully, in any minute, in the face of any situation that may present itself. It is to be able to respond, this is, to be responsible, rather than to react. There is no freedom in reaction.
As a hypnotherapist, I help people free themselves from their own minds. However, it’s not easy to free yourself from your own mind, even with help. Once a belief is in place, people will spend the rest of their lives defending it and trying to prove that it’s right. It might not even matter that the belief might cost them their happiness, their health and even their families. Their beliefs chain them to the life they are living. But beliefs are rarely “true”, they are most often simply just opinions.
Do you really want to be free? Then ask yourself the following questions:
- What do my beliefs do for me? Do they support me in living the life that I want or do they hold me back?
- Where did my beliefs come from? Are they based on my own experience or were they handed down to me?
- If they are based on my own experience, is it the experience of a child? A teenager? A mature adult?
- Are there beliefs that I continue to wear even though I have out grown them, even though they restrict me?
- Do I even know what my beliefs are? Can I articulate them?
- What are the meanings that I attach to the circumstances of my life? Do these meanings empower me or do they imprison me?
- What are the thoughts that I have that hold me hostage to fear, doubt and anxiety? Am I ready to free myself from them?
You alone are responsible for freeing yourself from whatever is going on in your mind that keeps you from joy, happiness and peace. However, I can help you. If you are truly ready to celebrate your own personal Independence Day, give me a call.
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TMan
Ted A. Moreno Personal/Small Business Coach Certified Hypnotherapist www.TedMoreno.com (626) 826-0612
Great book and nice points.