Create Inner Freedom
The best way to improve your life is to create some inner freedom. Inner freedom is the ability to be flexible and adaptive in the face of changing circumstances, and we certainly have plenty of those! This inner freedom allows you to:
Have a more unstructured and open view of both present and future Acknowledge your present reality and still be open to other possibilities at the same time Have a creative frame of mind See your creativity rather than your circumstances as the primary factor in your life Be more sophisticated by inviting all possibilities to the table of your life
How We Lose Our Inner Freedom
Our preconceived ideas tend to render us predisposed to a particular expectation or experience. These learned ideas about life can cause us to define “reality” in such a way that we may temper our ambitions, desires, and most importantly, our sense of possibility. Often, our experiences lead us to a set of assumptions that foreclose possibilities, creating a closed-memory system that causes us to give up an important part of our minds: our imagination. Imagination can seem like feeble competition for one’s memory, which builds its catalogue of events over time, defining what we perceive reality to be. When that happens, we have given our memories power over our lives when life is meant to be created anew each and every moment. Are you letting this happen? Are your past memories running the show of your life? Do you fear a repetition of disappointments stored in your memory? Are your memories limiting your sense of possibility?
The Emotional Overhead of Our Memories
The human memory has its value, but can be one of the most limiting forces in our lives. We could learn a great deal from animals, who do not live in their memories, but in the present. Many animals, even if they have suffered serious abuse, will recover and leave the past behind in favor of a more joyful present and future. We humans are often less flexible, usually because of our memories. Our memories—which are tied to a nonexistent set of circumstances—can cause diminished expectations, which in turn can affect how we operate in the present. If I believe that I “do not stand a chance” in regard to a specific situation, my interest in it diminishes, as does my motivation. Now my chances are really gone. These beliefs are often based on a memory which caused you to have the expectation of failure before you even began, which is why beliefs and memories need to be reexamined. When people pump themselves up it is often to counter the effects of their memories’ hold on their expectations. Our memory provides us with a lot of emotional overhead that has to be either dealt with or maintained—like a hidden tax on our energies that we are often not aware of. How about taking the emotional load off?
The Gift of Imagination
Our imagination lets us have a playful attitude toward the present that can let us solve serious problems more easily. Embracing our imaginations and whatever possibilities exist in the present is not about pumping ourselves up to face another day, or challenging ourselves to do the impossible. It is not about proving ourselves or denying whatever harm we have experienced in the past. Our imaginations:
Encourage us to consider the unknown when we are looking for solutions to problems Let us see the history of the human race as a continual growth and learning process where we work with current circumstances to create something that was not there before Allow us to see ourselves as part of the creative evolutionary process of the human race Make it easier to commit to the long-term because we can have a more relaxed and playful perspective
So much of existing human infrastructure and achievements are a testimonial to the triumph of the imagination over memory, which is often riddled with fear. What a great legacy we have to work from, and reminds us what a courageous bunch we are!
To a Great 2013
I suggest that you accept your memory as only one influential factor in your life: let it have its voice without letting it have the last word; let your imagination out to play as well, and help others to do the same. Featured photo credit: Fantasy surrealistic background with an elephant with a hat via Shutterstock
