Happy Independence Day, folks! Since the internet knows no borders, let me back up in case someone is reading this and has no idea what that means. You see, it’s July 4, 2017 as this is being written. And here in the United States, the Fourth of July is known as Independence Day. On this day each year, we celebrate our independence from England. I kind of wish that hadn’t happened, because I love British accents. But hey, life ain’t fair… So all across the good ole’ US of A, people are grilling, drinking, and watching the fireworks that their city or town puts on. Many are setting off their own fireworks as well. And unfortunately, people blow off various body parts, like fingers, on this day. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen this year…
Here at A Clean Mind, we celebrate Independence Day differently. We celebrate our growing independence from our bullsh*t, our conditioning, our old ways of thinking, our co-dependence, our traumas, our stories, our wounds, our fears, our insecurities, our habits, our addictions, our attachments, our small identities, our fears, our resentments, our hatreds, our self-hatreds, and the like. All I can say is that it’s a process, and for most of us it takes some time. It sure does for me. And apparently there’s no end, as we continue to deepen into the infinite depth of what we truly are. Wow.
Enough of that lofty talk, though. How do we do it? The best I can say now is by loving ourselves as much as possible and by breathing as deeply as possible. I’m not kidding! This is becoming more and more clear to me, and as I often say here when talking about my own path, I feel like my understanding is only just beginning. But loving yourself and breathing deeply – that’s the fastest way I know of now to melt our old limitations and gain the independence and freedom that we truly, deeply want.
First of all, note that these are both 24-7 practices. They can be done anywhere and anytime. And they are not complex. In fact, that’s what can make them so hard to do! Because the mind loves complexity, and now it doesn’t have very much to do. Also note that there’s no wrong way to do them. None! You just keep deepening, deepening, deepening. Just keep practicing. That’s huge – these are both things that take some time. It takes time for layers of self-judgment to melt away, for instance. And when you notice it, don’t try to think your way out of it. Just breathe. And ys, your ego mind will freak out. Because it doesn’t have anything to do. Let it freak out, and just breathe. When you do this, the body will naturally relax, so you’ll feel better. And your natural wisdom will be able to arise, which is not judgmental. It is loving. And again, it just takes a while for most of us. Definitely for me!
And that’s where the practice – practice – of not judging yourself so much comes in. Because when you notice that you’re “not doing it right,” you’ll practice not coming in with a massive dose of being mad at yourself. Instead, you will breathe. Deeply. And it’ll melt that old BS more and more. It’ll melt that small character that you thought was you more and more. So cool. And so damn simple. So there we go, folks, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!! I send you love and peace and healing and all that is good. And have a great day. And try not to blow any body parts off, too. Unless that’s what you truly want. Peace out 🙂