Freedom of Spirit at Harmony House

Finding your Space and Freedom within Relationships  English seminar by Aruna Ladva  Sat, 15th Oct. Meditation from  7 - 7:30pm  & session starts from 7:30 - 9pm Registration is required. In a world where we give so much of ourselves to others we need to find the space and the freedom to just be.  Balance is so important when it comes to give and take.  Learning to say No and setting boundaries is an important part of experiencing inner freedom.  When you find yourself, you have found the key to your freedom. This seminar is in sync with this week’s It’s Time article ‘Freedom of Spirit’ World Meditation Hour Sun, 16th Oct, 7 – 8:30pm Whether or not you know how to meditate, you are invited to join us on the third Sunday of each month at 7pm to 8:30pm radiating peace, love, care and adding to the power of peace to the world.   Everyone is welcome, so bring your friends and family. Wed, 12th Oct, 7 - 9pm Advance class in meditation (English).  This is for those who have completed intermediate course in meditation. Fri, 14th Oct, 5 – 6:30pm Hindi seminar.  Please register. Fri, 14th Oct, 7 – 8:30pm Evening meditation IMPORTANT note for REGISTRATION:  Please email to harmonyhousemeditationcentre@gmail.com  the program you are interested in, your name and contact number (compulsory, in case there is a change of program due to unforeseen circumstances).

Freedom of Spirit

Have you ever wondered what it is that truly makes your spirit free? Some believe it’s that dream job with better pay and prospects that is the highway to freedom. Others feel liberated in finding their other half. And some want the government to step in and free them from their mortgage and tax payments! Real freedom is not about running off into the country or buying a plot on the moon. It is about freeing oneself from one’s internal demons or negativity. Everyone wants to be free. From a small child to the old age pensioner – no one likes this feeling of being trapped or confined physically or emotionally. Freedom speaks up, raises it head and voice and won’t stop until it is heard. In the name of freedom we have actually set ourselves up in bondage! How? By giving away our power. If I want the government to fix my world, I have given them the reins to govern my life. I relinquish my power to my spouse when I expect him or her to be the sole source of my fulfillment. Any form of blame is a resignation. I have abdicated responsibility for my own life and thus my own freedom. In the name of love, we lose our individuality and thus our freedom of spirit. It’s a catch 22 situation. We thirst for the love, trust and security of our partner, but are not willing to put up with any investigative questioning of our whereabouts. And so even love feels like a trap. How we gradually let down our personal guard and boundaries as we let the other party into our world – fall (slowly) in love has been a theme discussed in many books. Even the fact that some cultures take on their spouse’s surname is a loss of identity. In personal relationships, we surrender to the other in the name of trust. However, with each layer of submission we also relinquish personal power. And while we are submitting we are also being trapped at the same time. It is akin to being protected and enclosed at the same time. In sexual relationships, there can be no give without take. And the moment, we have ‘taken’ from our partner on any level – physical, emotional, sexual – we are in debt to that soul to return the experience. There is no free lunch! As soon as we have become intimate and have entered the personal, private space of the other person, we have created a familiarity — a familiarity that if we are not careful can lead to disrespect and a dishonoring if we do not continue filling that space with spiritual power and wisdom. After the honeymoon is over, the ‘un’comfort zone of such relationships can feel more like an obligation than an act of selfless love. It is then a little too late, for we have already set in motion the cycles of action and reaction. Trying then to ‘remove’ that person from your internal world for better or for worse, can take a lifetime especially if feelings of resentment have developed. They have penetrated so deeply that they have trapped you from the inside. But take a reality check, have they trapped you or are you still holding on – freedom need only be one thought away. As your self worth increases the past will automatically drop away with ease, because you realize that you and your internal assets are too important in the face of such tyranny. Boost your self worth by respecting your time, thoughts, energy and other resources and don’t give others the leeway to take advantage – remember you are the master of your personal treasures. It’s a paradox but one important way forward to a freer spirit is to set clear boundaries on how far someone can enter your personal space and inner world. Remember it is you who is giving them the permission to enter! Although the boundaries may feel like bondage, they are actually there for your protection. A similar example would be to tie a seat belt and feeling the bondage of it, but somehow knowing you are safer and calmer for it. Dadi Janki once said, real freedom is when I am able to do the things I want to do without anyone or anything infringing on that, and also not being forced into doing anything, I don’t want to do. It is the mind that we need to set free because it can be stubborn at times and at other times delusional and easily persuaded. Sometimes attachment can justify its existence – oh but these people need me. Sometimes, ego rationalizes its position – I need the degree and designation in order to get things moving around here. Greed will also raise its head and make excuses – oh but my health will deteriorate without these comforts and lifestyle. The more we free ourselves from these frills and trappings, the lighter and freer the soul will feel. It’s time… to realize that as we begin to experience freedom from our inner negativity, insecurities and dependencies, we become agents of true and lasting freedom. I hold the key to my inner world and so let me discern carefully who should enter. And if I feel trapped – I should ask myself, what am ‘I’ clinging to. A truly free spirit holds on to nothing – it is this lightness that makes it fly so easily.