Youâre an insider, so you get access to this full in-depth article. Thanks for your support đ Free subscribers only see a preview. Become an insider.
"True freedom comes with realizing what the mind is like when you stop pretending youâre controlling your experience." â Sam Harris
I used to think of freedom as merely financial, geographic, or circumstantial, but now I see it more through the lens of psychology.
Freedom is a state of mind, says my friend Peter Sharp in a dramatic video of him dancing in a fountain.
And heâs right.
But true freedom is not the ability to think freely, feel more emotions, or even choose your thoughts. Itâs the opposite.
True freedom comes with relinquishing control over the mind.
Let me give you some context. When I began meditating, I thought I had absolute control over my mind. I was in charge. I was thinking the thoughts. I was feeling the feelings.
But this wasnât true.
When you meditate, you learn that thoughts, feelings just appearâwithout explanation. They emerge from nowhere.
Freedom lives in your response to these random perceptions.
You know what people who arenât free do? They try to control the mind. They get frustrated. They try to force their body into this feeling or that thought.
But me? I prefer freedomâthe freedom to let my thoughts and feelings emerge suddenly and mysteriously, and then fade.