“We seek retreats for ourselves, houses in the country, seashores, mountains.  But … we have in our power to retire into ourselves.  For there is no retreat that is quieter and freer from trouble than our soul … perfect tranquility, the right ordering of mind.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

I read that quote and it speaks to my heart in such a profound way…and therefore, it has my respect.

I ask myself, what is true freedom?  And, what is it that I need to be free from?

True freedom is not an external circumstance or condition, and it most certainly is not doing whatever you want at any given moment. The freedom to which I’m referring is known as Spiritual Freedom… it is the freedom of the mind/thought.   This freedom is where your authentic power lies and it is what your soul longs to experience.   I would say that the number one block to true freedom begins with blame.  We all like to blame either our parents, partners, teachers, religions, societies for when our lives are not as “good” as we had hoped… but the truth is, that we cut ourselves off from our freedom by not being responsible and aware of our thoughts, words, feelings, behaviors and decisions.  We are in charge of ourselves and always at a point of choice. This call to awareness requires emotional maturity, courage and dedication.

An example of when we can really use this call to freedom, can easily be found in our romantic/love relationships.

Many of us have experienced a deep sense of neglect when we were children. The form of neglect varies, however the result is the same…a lack of self-love and nurturance to and for our very selves.  When another gives us that love, we feel so elated, confident and secure… we feel full. We continue to want that exact same feeling of “full love”, so much so, that it almost becomes like a drug or addiction.

Inevitability, as time passes and the relationship grows, some of the “high” fades away. When this happens we probably feel some pain and suffering since we were so attached to that initial blissful feeling. We begin to realize or wake up to the fact that we are relying on someone else to “complete” us- to give us a sense of inner fulfillment. 

We realize that we are not taking responsibility for ourselves. We have given our power away to someone outside of ourself because they are the ones whom we have allowed to control our own sense of well being.

To be free from all that binds you is to be liberated…. this is your Divine, Spiritual Nature.

To live without the constant processing of the past, the worrying about the future, and to know that your self love is the key to liberation will allow you to live in a place of tranquility… in true freedom.