Living and Thriving in Freedom Blog

I have dedicated my life to discovering new paths to break away from the past that has been conditioned into a human existence, from the thoughts, values and dreams of others who have sought to perpetuate their beliefs for you to follow. Each of us was in a deep hypnotic state from birth until nine or ten years old when we were helpless to explore our true self and learn how to develop it. Instead, we were imprinted by the families and groups around us telling us how to think, what to become and the right way to live our life according to their principles. We were told what we should strive to have, who we should support politically, how we should work worship religiously, what we should eat, what holidays we should celebrate, and who and what we must respect to ensure a continuation of the conditioning they had received from their parents to perpetuate. This creates links to one’s ancestors that give power to antiquated attitudes which we now know can be intergenerationally tagged onto our genes to pervert our DNA’s true expression.

Every child is told how if they blindly follow the demands and expectations placed upon them, they’re considered good, respectable, part of the group, and included in the power structure to receive their love and support. Freedom becomes being free to choose what you have been told to do in your life and how to do it, by those authorities who raised you. That sounds like slavery to me. This will be the focus of next weeks blog of how family systems can create a cult-like atmosphere that rivals a powerful religious cult and can dole out consequences even more severe.

Having someone demand your obedience to their values and ideas is imprisonment, not freedom. It can be terrifying to realize this, and it takes a lot of courage to stand up to these parental and group spells and say NO, No More, I’ve Had enough. You must face the possibility you will be rejected and punished for not towing the family, community, or cultural identities you were forced to adopt. And hardest of all is the voice inside you of your ego which does not want you to look within and challenge its authority.

Yet challenging the foundation of who you have become is vital to repudiate the beliefs that keep you in the wheel of sin, guilt and fear. This has been my approach since I began as a teacher and therapist in this field thirty years ago, to challenge one’s beliefs. As Nelson Mandela shared “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” False ideas accepted as “truth” become your “law” to create suffering and make fools out of those using them to guide their thinking and actions. Yet, it is far easier to fool someone then to convince them they have been fooled. The ego’s motto is “I’d rather be right than happy,” say this so well.