Freedom

Shamanism, as old and mystical as it is, may be re-appropriated and practiced by Westerners in their everyday life and may constitute a new way of life based on ancestral wisdoms. Our ancestors understood that freedom is based on fitting into a Cosmos where all is One and where the One carried an expression of all. With the rapid polarisation of the modern world into ego driven desires and conflicts from a self orientated towards itself, we have lost this sense of balance and are in great danger of living in a selfish world which moves away from Life. Now, more than ever, it is important to create a bond between the deep balance of Nature that is the essence of Life and our daily activities. In the future, this balance will probably become more common in the economy, philosophy, politics and the general thinking of Western societies, as more and more people practice spiritual disciplines oriented towards the realization of this harmonious goal. Humanity will be always preferred to death, just like freedom will always be preferred to limitation.

What makes Huachuma shamanism so special is that it considers freedom as a gift of Nature and the Cosmos to mankind? One can fully experience freedom as a gift when one perceives life through the conscious inner Self. Spiritual work is about understanding and going beyond the negative forces that prevent us from saying “yes” to Life. These forces are actually a manifestation of imbalance. The choice is then to live according to the forces of imbalance, creating disharmony inside and around us, or to create a balance in our lives, by living in harmonious relationship with natural and cosmic forces, which is what shamanism is about. This is what our ancestors did and what some people in traditional societies still do today with much less distraction than in the modern world.

When we start to abandon our everyday life distractions and we become conscious of the forces of imbalance, which affect our deep Self, a question emerges completely naturally: “Until when will we allow these forces to disturb our balance?” All is a matter of choice and expression of our freedom. Making the good choice allows us to go beyond what causes limitation in our life. And if from the deepest part of the Self we understand that the limitation is a creation based on a simple thought, we can then use this thought – as limited as it is – to reinforce our intention to turn us to the present rather than to the past. Being present to our body, our mind and our emotions gives the freedom to experience Joy and Love. This freedom expresses the inner Self in a very creative way.

The experience that consists of finding Totality or Unity in our lives is the true significance of Love. We can be dissatisfied when this Joy and Love do not animate us and do not surround us, when we feel that reality is made up of violence, poverty, disease and wounded souls. In Huachuma shamanism, these things are not reality but rather thoughts that create our experience. Life has decided these things for us but we always have the choice to avoid being internally disturbed by the external circumstances. We can, for example, decide to not be moved by praises or criticisms. We can assume the responsibility for our actions and refuse to consider ourselves as a victim. A choice of this nature changes everything.

Each thing has its place in the world, even suffering. If we accept it as a part of ALL that IS, the suffering becomes an opportunity to free us from negativity. It can magically be transformed to become an experience of Totality or Union. Suffering is a gift of Nature because it is the law that prevents the Universe from collapsing, the law that maintains the unity of the Cosmos. This law of balance appears everywhere and also in every human being. The only problem is that the mind and the ego, that distinguish humans from other living beings, prevent them from experiencing this balance.

When the mind and the ego make the distinction of the external world as separate from oneself, they create a complex of thoughts and feelings that produce a system of beliefs. They then only answer to external situations without being able to make a choice, without the freedom to see beyond the illusion of the separation they have created. Circumstances come and go, but the external determinant persists and, day after day, is reinforced. Because of the feeling of lacking freedom, they end up running after things considered as conveying joy and constantly experience great discomfort. Some think that through the control of this or that with more money, more health, more protection against the hurts and violence, that their lives could be merrier. And maybe it is for a brief moment, but then circumstances change again and again, and to experience happiness we continue our search for joy while trying to change the external world. We think that by detaching ourselves from the suffering we will be happy. But the realization of these desires does not bring happiness because it is based on an avoidance of Life.

The more we try to control the world that surrounds us, the less we have freedom. The discomfort we feel results from the resistance to know the truth and in the belief that the mind and the ego, which express separation, can understand Totality and Union. However, Joy and Peace come from Union and Totality. They are not external to us but are rather an integral part of ourselves and an extension of all that we do. True freedom comes from the inside, which does not know separation.

As soon as we recognize that the mind and the ego do not offer satisfactory answers on our quest for Happiness, for Love, for Joy, for Peace and for Spirituality, and that any fight, any research and any waiting for something separate and outside of ourselves are a waste of time, then we can experience freedom. To let go of this belief is really magical. One calms down quite naturally and in this peace one can be in touch with Totality. Like the Phoenix rising out of the ashes, a new attitude emerges for life. A comprehension is formed in our hearts. We can reorient our beliefs and create a foundation for freedom and transformation. This place of understanding from which we feel comfortable in all circumstances comes from inner peace rather than from waiting or researching anything. Then each step we take on our path naturally becomes an expression of Freedom, Joy and Love. Loneliness, if it occurs, does not cause sadness any more as our needs are no longer determined by the external world. We do not need to fill up our life with this or that.

Happiness is quite naturally present in the deep experience of non-separation. One then understands that it is not necessary anymore to focus ones life on the outside, to separate from the world, to hide in a cave, inaccessible to Life. Quite the contrary, it is a matter of being deeply united with the world, of experiencing Life in all of its totality – of opening oneself to situations and to circumstances in a balanced way, in order to feel calmer, more at peace.

Happiness in its purest form brings light and awareness on to all of the shades of discomfort. Our consciousness slowly moves in a direction where all becomes a part of it, all becomes lighter. It is a gradual process where space and energy arise in two basic forms: expansion and contraction. In Huachuma shamanism, the consciousness of breathing reflects a fundamental law of the Universe. We know that through the inspiration we experience expansion, and through the expiration we experience contraction. But it is important to realise that the universe and all creation are also experiencing expansion and contraction. The awareness that the Universe and all Creation are in a continuous process in which we are included requires a deep quietude inside.

Trapped by external imbalance, we live in the shade of the night, forgetting that the darkness and the suffering are simply expressions of an incomplete bond depriving us from the freedom to realize our unlimited potential; depriving us from experiencing Joy. But, the more we raise the level of our consciousness with the idea of the interconnection of each thing, the more deeply we experience well being and spiritual vitality.

To have an inside quest with the intention of adjusting oneself to the order of things helps to create a feeling of trust; providing a deep respect for oneself and the world. Imagine becoming still, quite naturally, and, in this stillness finding wholeness. What a marvellous feeling to be in harmonious relationship with All that Is – a feeling of right participation in the Universe.

 

Excerpt from ‘Shaman’s Wisdom‘ by Tony Samara.

 

Tony Samara, author of ‘Shaman’s Wisdom,’ ‘The Simplicity of Love Meditation,’ ‘Different Yet the Same,’ ‘Karma, Mantra and Beyond’ and ‘Discover Your Inner Buddha’ has been inspiring thousands of readers to discover inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives, through the power and simplicity of practical Spirituality. At the core of his teachings lies the evolution of human consciousness, which in today’s world is vital for achieving deep, personal happiness, inner peace and the illumination of one’s inner quest.

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