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A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. September's Theme: "Freedom"
Volume 7 Issue 6 ISSN# 1708-3265

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 		True Freedom
by Julie Hoyle

One Sunday morning in the early 1980's, I was running up a steep hill on the Bahamian island of New Providence, in an area downtown, near the elegant Governor General's house. It was a beautiful day in mid-January and cool enough to be able to run at 10 a.m. Along with forty or so members of a for-fun-running club, I was racing along, intent on finding a trail laid out using flour.

To my left, was an old, grey, stone church. On the outside of the structure, were white, slatted windows that swung out and were held in place by support rods. As I pounded up and over the arc of the hill, I suddenly heard the refrain of a hymn carried by the breeze. It was unexpected and sung with such force, it flooded my senses, instantly carrying me to a place I seemed to recognize but had not visited for a long, long time. In that moment, my legs wobbled beneath me, my heart opened and I began to cry, wondering why the hymn would move me so and what this could mean.

In the Sufi tradition, a moment like this is called, "Dhikr," the chanting or singing of Divine names in order to initiate remembrance of God. It is the practice of venturing away from worldly focus toward the inner call of the soul. Although I did not realize it at the time, the power of the congregants singing was a beautiful gift, which invited a 'turning of the heart' toward God. It was here, in this profound moment that my spiritual journey began.

Looking back, I came to understand that this moment marked the opening of an inner doorway that could never be closed again. After that, my life suddenly began to take odd twists and turns until I was brought into the company of an Enlightened Master who gave shaktipat initiation, the awakening of the spiritual energy.

Some years later, when I was on retreat with my Teacher, she suddenly asked the group a simple question: "What is it that everyone wants?" One by one, people responded with answers such as, "Peace, love, happiness, a sense of belonging and simplicity." For a long time, answers were offered and my Teacher listened, smiling and nodding quietly. Finally, she spoke, "The answers you have given are beautiful and are all true. However, the one thing everyone wants, the one thing everyone is looking for is spiritual awakening. People want, true freedom."

Over time, I have come to understand the power and wisdom of this teaching. I now realize that no matter what our profession, race, culture, belief or lack of it, there is an underlying 'knowing' in each one of us that there is more to life. And we hold an innate longing to be free from the limited identification with being separate from God. We come into the world with this awareness and we spend our lives trying to find someone or something that reflects this back to us. The longing to awaken to the truth of our being lies behind our attempts to 'become someone' in the world. It is behind our efforts to find success and love in relationships and it is the underlying desire running in and through all manner of addictive behaviours.

In the yogic texts there is a detailed description of our plight. We are told that before entering our Mother's womb, God gives us the mantra, "I Am (One)" and urges us to repeat it. However, as we are pushed out into the world, fear takes hold, and forgetting what we have been given, we move through life continually asking, "Who am I?"

When we are blessed with spiritual awakening, we are thrust beyond contracting identification with the small 'i' and into the awareness of Oneness. In an instant, we realize for the first time, that this is the freedom we have been seeking in all forms of worldly striving.

Once again, the yogic texts describe this alchemical process by stating that spiritual awakening begins a process, which is likened to, "Base metal transmuted into gold." This is why we long for awakening. Deep inside, we know that spiritual awakening is the most precious gift, and one which will herald a return to wholeness and true freedom.

In my own life, since the first moment of awakening, there have been continuous openings of the heart. These have served to initiate an awareness of unity consciousness, leading to a deepening desire to do the inner work and a willingness to support and encourage others on their own inner journey.

Thich Nhat Hahn expresses this beautifully when he writes:

"You are me and I am you.
It is obvious that we are inter-are.
You cultivate the flower in yourself so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in my-self so that you do not have to suffer.
I support you, you support me.
I am here to bring you peace.
You are here to bring me joy."

Knowing that we 'inter-are', simple Self Inquiry questions can serve to connect us back to the heart, and back to the Truth of Oneness. Here is a selection:

  1. Am I working with the energy of the heart or against it?
  2. Am I trusting the wisdom of the heart? If not, why not?
  3. What inspires me and opens my heart?
  4. In this moment, how can I encourage and uplift my-self and others?

As you contemplate these questions, my wish is for you to have the courage to do the inner work. This work is the doorway to moving completely into unity consciousness, which is the source of true freedom. Deeply transformational, self-inquiry always graces us with the gift of being able to express the beauty and light of our hearts. Then, we are naturally able to uplift, inspire and encourage everyone and everything in our world. In the end, we become a perfect mirror reflecting the very real possibility of freedom for those who are seeking.

Julie is offering a 50% off coupon for An Awakened Life- A Journey of Transformation for TSM readers. The coupon code is VT44Y and is good until October 31st, 2010.




Julie is a natural intuitive, writer, artist and transpersonal hypnotherapist who lives on Grand Bahama Island. Her profound spiritual awakening and the unfolding of unity consciousness is detailed in her book, 'An Awakened Life- A Journey of Transformation' at: www.anawakenedlife.org

For information about the work of 'True Alignment' and the 'Living in Alignment' online course go to: www.livinginalignment.org

Here are a few more sites you may want to visit: Twitter and her blogs: http://truealignment.blogspot.com and http://anawakenedlife.blogspot.com

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