Gathering Awareness – Entry #12
Most of us are taught early in life about our inborn freedom of will. For many young people, the instructions on this subject seem to be blaring at them from every angle. So much so, that they feel overwhelmed by the flow of information, advised restrictions, and proper guidelines concerning the use of something they were initially taught, was free and available to everyone. Concerned parents, organized religions, educational institutions, political systems and even our closest friends want to offer us advice on the use of free will. Some sources will warn us that we do have freedom of will, but there is a potential for grave consequences if we should choose to lay claim to, and assert it, under any circumstances at all. Quite often, these teachings in particular are motivated by the desire to gain access to, and achieve power over, our freedom to express our personal will. Some people, in their deep desire for ultimate control, have chosen to exploit the free will of others to advance the expression of their own. In all fairness though, the people who are exploited this way are in truth, a willing party to that exploitation, in that they have handed over some (or all) of their will, erroneously believing that it is the best choice for them. Perhaps they believe that their will is weak, therefore they need to attach it to a stronger will in order to make it worthy. Others, in their fear, perceive a potential vulnerability that the expression of their free will may beget them. After all, if you are expressing your personal will (making it known), you are also opening yourself up to potential criticism, or at worst, physical attack by the possessors of opposing wills. And so, at a very early age, many of us begin to fragment our will, doling out portions to individuals, institutions and our own belief systems, until finally, we seem to have no stake in the determination of our own willfulness. We eventually perceive that our will is no longer free, it has been bought and paid for, it has been enslaved by the world at large.
The good news is, that all is not lost! In truth, there is no loss at all. We can redeem and reclaim our freedom of will, whenever we decide that the time is right. The only things that stand in our way are the misguided thought patterns we’ve adopted along the path. And, who better to discard misguided thought patterns than the one who adopted them in the first place. We can choose to stop entertaining negative beliefs about the current status of our will. We can decide to break our individual will free from the bondage of fear and systemic conditioning and allow it to return to its rightful position as the initiator and manifester of positive intentions in our lives.
Thank you for setting aside some moments to read here! I’m truly grateful for your supportive attention. I will continue to explore free will as it relates to the setting of positive intentions in tomorrow’s blog entry.
"Grand Providentia United" 