{"id":449,"date":"2015-07-16T10:31:04","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T17:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rickhanson.net\/?p=13933"},"modified":"2015-07-16T10:31:04","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T17:31:04","slug":"enjoy-the-freedom-not-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/justonething\/2015\/07\/enjoy-the-freedom-not-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy The Freedom Not To"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Do you got to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Practice:<\/em>
\nEnjoy the freedom not to.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re pulled and prodded by financial pressures, commuter traffic, corporate policies, technology, advertising, politics, and the people we work with and live with. As well, internal forces yank the proverbial chains, including emotional reactions, compelling desires, \u201cshoulds,\u201d and internalized \u201cvoices\u201d from parents and other authority figures.<\/p>\n

Sometimes these pressures are necessary, like a flashing light on your car\u2019s dashboard telling you to get gas. Even a broken clock is right two times a day.<\/p>\n

But on the whole these pressures are stressful and breed a sense of helplessness. Plus, a lot of the internal forces come from childhood, irrational fears, unfair self-criticism, ancient tendencies in the brain (e.g., its negativity bias), or the darker corners of human nature; acting out these forces is bad for us and others.<\/p>\n

Giving oneself over to these pressures is un-free<\/span>, like being a puppet tugged by many strings. It\u2019s the opposite of well-being to be \u201chijacked,\u201d \u201cobsessed,\u201d \u201caddicted,\u201d \u201cplugged in,\u201d or \u201ccompelled\u201d \u2013 which all imply mental servitude if not slavery.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, a sense of inner freedom is a hallmark of emotional healing, mental health, self-actualization, and the upper reaches of human potential. For example, a common term for enlightenment is \u201cliberation.\u201d 2 In plain English, we all know what it feels like to be pushed around . . . and what it feels like to have choices and be autonomous.<\/p>\n

So, lately I\u2019ve been softly saying this phrase in my mind \u2013 the freedom not to<\/em> \u2013 and seeing what happens. And what\u2019s been happening is great. A feeling of ease, of room to breathe, of not needing to jump to some task or to agree or disagree immediately with someone. A sense of shock absorbers between me and my emotional reactions, of not making a mess that I\u2019ve got to clean up later, of not embarrassing myself, of not swapping a minute of pleasure for an hour of pain.<\/p>\n

Being intimate with life while feeling free within it.<\/p>\n

How?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For one or more of the items just below, imagine what it would feel like for you to have the freedom not to:<\/p>\n