Freedom

Back when I was sailing  full time, I felt an enormous amount of freedom.  Back then before 9-11, there was no check in with customs in Florida and in the Bahamas and in most of Caribbean. However, some of the time, I was enslaved by my mind dwelling on the past - my abusive childhood, my brother's death in Viet Nam (although I felt his Spirit with me then). my sexual drive, my need to impress those around me. So here, the best definition of freedom is by Krishnamurti. I got strong hints of freedom, when I tried psycolcybin mushroom, I picked out of a pasture in S. Florida. However a few strong trips I started having painful headaches and flashbacks. I knew that I would have to find a natural way to freedom - an inner journey. I read Krishnamurti, Kahlil Gibran,  and went to Sat Sangs with people like Ram Dass, Swami Vishnu  Devananda, Amrit Desai, Amma Bhagavan, et. al.  I studied and went to lectures and workshops at Ashrams, monastaries, Yoga Schools,
Zen Centers and Vipasanna Silent Meditation Retreats. I meditated  with Jack Kornfield.  I worked  with Dr. Jerry Jampolsky and A Course in Miracles with the scribe Dr. Bill  Thetford,  The latter may have modeled freedom better than anyone I have been with. He was quiet, giggled alot, told us, as students, if we didn't like what we were studying to "tear out the pages." Dr. Thetford seemed to be  full of joy, peace & love. On July 4th, 1986, he told a friend he had never felt so  free, the next day he dropped his body on a street in Tiburon, Ca.

free·dom/ˈfrēdəm/

Noun:

The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.    Absence of subjection to foreign domination or           despotic government.

And thanks to Bobby Hinkle & Krishna for my fav. definition
"Freedom of mind comes into being when there is no fear, when the mind has no desire to show off and is not intriguing for position or prestige. Then it has no sense of imitation. And it is important to have such a mind - a mind really free of tradition, which is the habit-forming mechanism of the mind." - J Krishnamurti