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The more we try to get ‘free’ of someone or a situation the more we get trapped in it. Trying to get free from something is an outer action or a mental action that has nothing to do with the Soul.
The soul is always Free, does not need to free itself from anything. Perceptions of the mind as fears, impurities, and insecurities enslave the soul inside of the mind.
Recognize the game of mind at the moment when you feel trapped in a situation right there where your mind tries to free itself from it.
Knowing that the soul is Free, is the only idea that helps us to enjoy the inner as well as the outer freedom.
Perfect exmple of freedom is the story of the parrot inside of a golden cage who shouted continually, ‘Freedom! Freedom!’
In the middle of the night, when the owner was fast asleep, a man who was fighting for freedom opened the cage door, whispering to the parrot, "Get out."
Surprisingly the parrot starts clinging to the bars of the cage.
The man tried to encourage the bird saying, "Get out! The door is open and the owner is fast asleep." But the parrot kept clinging deeply to the cage bars.
"What is the matter with you?" The man insisted, taking the parrot into his own hands, but the bird started pecking at him shouting, "Freedom! Freedom!"
The stubborn man, as a freedom fighter, pulled the parrot out and happily threw him into the sky. Although his hand was hurt by the bird's attack, he felt immensely satisfied for having helped a soul to be free.
In the morning, the man woke up by the parrot shouting, "Freedom! Freedom!" He thought perhaps the parrot must have been sitting on a tree or on a rock. But no, the parrot was sitting inside of the cage and the door was still open.
Like that poor parrot, we all live a life trying to attain Freedom without recognizing that everything as just a Game of Mind. Whenever the mind tries to free the other or set the self-free from the other, remember the poor parrot and the man trying to set the bird free.
As we drop the mind's struggle to get free then we get free.
By Manita Bajaj (ShunyOm) the author of Life In Abundance
