Category: liberty

The Prophet: “Freedom” by Kahlil Gibran

Today’s Thought:

Our world needs vision; it needs visionaries. Why not you and yours?

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Truly, Kahlil Gibran stands among the most intriguing voices ever to scratch words onto a page. His mystically beautiful and profoundly poetic prose burns to the very root of what it means to be human. He masterfully tackles issues we are all warned not to talk about and gently illuminates the darkness that separates the sides.

Gibran was born in Lebanon in 1883. In 1912, he moved to New York where he pursued his writing and art. Most consider The Prophet, published in 1923, to be his crowning achievement.  The work is a series of 28 short essays depicting an unnamed prophet answering the peoples’ questions about important issues in life.

Gibran’s writings are noted for their intricate wording that invites the reader to ponder their deeper meaning and link the ideas to his or her own life. He died an untimely death in 1931, but his work remains popular and relevant in a modern world seeking answers.

Freedom is one of the 28 essays from The Prophet. Few concepts resonate as resolutely in our 21st century world as freedom. Peoples the world over living under dictators, theocracies, and other repressive regimes still fight for their freedom. Meanwhile, the people in “free nations” struggle against the onslaught of intrusive technologies and power hungry governments to keep their freedom from being swallowed whole.

Internally, we are constantly fighting our own personal battle against the impediments to freedom that we construct in our own lives.

Gibran offers gems that set you on the road to freedom. Read his writing through a couple of times as it always yields more than the first reading. Recognizing the chains, within and without, is the first step on the road to true freedom.

“Freedom”

And an orator said, “Speak to us of Freedom.”

And he (the prophet) answered: At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom, Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.

Aye, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief, But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.

And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?

In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free? If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.

You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them. And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.

For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride? And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.

And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling. And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

Copyright @ Kahlil Gibran.

Follow your bliss. Experience your bliss. Become your bliss.

Ray

Ray Davis is the founder of The Affirmation Spot. He’s been studying and practicing personal development for 30 years. He’s also studied many of the world’s spiritual traditions and mythologies.

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The Freedom to Think for Yourself

Today’s affirmation is:
I empower myself to think for myself.

the_thinker.jpgWhen I hear the positive thinking gurus – many of whom I hold in high esteem – speak on their topic, they often ignore a fundamental component of positive, empowered thinking. That component is freedom.

Sometimes, in the rush to tie positive thinking to tangible benefits, they can sound like the NASA administrator trying convince Congress of the economic impacts of the space program rather than just selling the space program on its own merits.

 

These gurus promise health, wealth, and happiness in return for your efforts.The result of positive, empowered thinking might, indeed, be that you are healthier, happier, or wealthier, but the real benefit is that you are a free, empowered person.

Has it ever occurred to you that positive thinking is a freedom issue? What could be more inhibiting or more freeing than the ability to command your own thought processes and use them to build the life you want?

 

The power to think for oneself has been among the fundamental battles of humankind from the beginning. Since time immemorial rulers, religious bodies, or “the group” have sought to limit the power of the individual to think his or her own thoughts.

Even in a nation that supposedly values freedom, we demonstrate a profound unwillingness to allow others to think freely. The pressure is to conform; to join the herd even as it runs off the cliff.  We saw the ugly side of that a few years ago when the war was new. Reporters, professors, celebrities, and ordinary citizens were ostracized for not thinking like the herd.

Children too young to know what they were doing stood in the street stomping and burning Dixie Chicks CDs at the behest of their freedom-loving parents. An ugly spectacle to be sure, but the result of disempowered thinking masquerading as something noble – patriotism. Patriotism is a love of country not a hatred of freedom to think and to speak.

The herd was uneasy and frightened. Free expression was unacceptable. We needed to unify and think alike. The herd did not take kindly to its leader being criticized by mere citizens. Even though mere citizens, thinking and living freely, is the foundation of this country.

The empowered, positive-thinker overrides the herd’s external chatter. He or she focuses on creating the thoughts, words, and actions that best suits his or her needs. In short, these people have the power to create life rather than react to it.

Positive thinking is not only free thinking, but also clear-headed thinking. Positive thinkers are better able to look at situations objectively and see various sides. They are able to use their full capacity to reason, to feel, to draw on experience and make better judgments.

Negative thinking, which is really synonymous with not having command of your own thoughts, is extremely disempowering – even debilitating. Why? Think about when a negative thought comes to mind. The emotions and feelings associated with the thought start to rise. Who is in control at that moment; you or the negative thought? Raw emotions rule and reason and experience are dismissed as impractical.

The fact is that people who think for themselves (i.e. positive, empowered people) are independent, capable individuals who can achieve just about anything. People who allow societal norms or other people to do their thinking for them (i.e. negative thinkers) quickly become dependent and unable to move forward in their lives; and, sometimes, unable to resist book burning.

The principle of positive, empowered thinking can be applied to any area of your life. If you want to be a better football player, is thinking positively or negatively about your skills more likely to get you there? How about being a better spouse or a better sales person or a more committed activist, or a more compassionate person?

Clearly, the ability to develop, manage, and maintain your own thinking tends towards greater personal freedom. That freedom is the basis on which all achievement is possible.

One of your greatest challenges in life is to break free from the herd. Most people never do it. Successful people always have. Yet, now more than ever, we need a population tired of the world as it is and pushed forward by visions of the world as it can be. The future of our freedoms relies on our ability to become aware, empowered, and free thinking people.

 

Some closing quotes to start you thinking…

jfk.jpg“Too often we…enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
~ John F. Kennedy



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“A sect or a party is an eleggant incognito to save a man from the vexation of thinking.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson



buckminster_fuller1.jpg“Belief is when someone else does the thinking”
~ Buckminster Fuller







Be peaceful Be prosperous

Ray

Ray Davis is the author of Anunnaki Awakening: Revelation – order your signed copy today at AATrilogy.com – founder of The Affirmation Spot and an advocate for the potential of the human race. He’s life-long history buff and holds a B.S. in History Education. He’s always been fascinated by alternative views of history.

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