Independence

Every Fourth of July, when we (in the United States of America) celebrate our independence from the British, I am moved to contemplate Independence in a spiritual sense. Rupert Spira, born and living in England, has chosen to consider the same topic in this recent post.

Independence is often understood as freedom from – freedom from domination, from injustice, from imposed rule. And rightly so.
This form of freedom is hard-won and essential, and history is shaped by the courage of those who have struggled to win it.

But once the grip of oppression loosens, a deeper calling emerges: the journey toward freedom within.
It is a subtler revolution, not waged against kings or regimes, but against the tyrannies of fear, longing, and the endless project of becoming. If political liberty clears the space around us, inner freedom illumines the landscape of the heart. And without this inner clarity, even the freest society can feel like a cage.

~ Rupert Spira

What is it that we, this group of spiritual seekers, wish to be free of?

In the Buddhist tradition, we are seeking freedom from suffering, freedom from clinging to habitual patterns of mind. Rupert calls this clinging “the endless project of becoming.” Becoming what? Becoming something different or other than what we already are? This ‘becoming’ is something we have to keep ‘doing’ to escape the suffering that always seems so nearby, like a looming shadow. This constant striving to do or be something different, or better, is the cage that keeps us from accessing our true nature.

As soon as we let go of ‘becoming’, we come into the space of just ‘being’; Relaxing our grip on all the projects we need to do or to the self we want/need to be. We are able to rest in and as our true nature of spacious, aware, and compassionate presence. We recognize, in many short moments of awakening like this, that we have access to a peaceful joy that is, and always has been, present within us. Repeated recognition of this open awareness is the answer to the deeper calling for freedom that all spiritual seekers feel within.

Our mission on the spiritual path is to be aware of, and continually present to, this greater awareness whenever we can. We are called to nurture the thoughts, words, and actions that will enable deeper connection with our true nature. There is no deeper calling and there is no deeper freedom than recognizing our aware being and seeing that reflected back to us by the natural world and all those beings we contact in our daily life.

So, during this time of celebration, be grateful for this deeper calling, grateful for teachers who have helped us respond to the call, and all those on the path that support us in this “journey towards freedom within.”

May you be well and happy. May you be thankful for the natural world, present to you in this moment. May you feel gratitude for those you love, and for those that challenge you. May you often rest in deep peace, free of regret, guilt, resentment, fear, prejudice, and longing for a different experience. May you celebrate every moment of joy, and the blessings all around.