The Good Road: Liberation and Change<\/span> \u201cWe just need to be what we are: human beings with an infinite number of possibilities. To know this and to behave accordingly is true liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nMay we take our responsibility to heart and walk the road toward freedom together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Shedrick’s own words – thoughts on inner freedom.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n As part of my writing this, I’ve asked Shedrick to share some of his thoughts on freedom. They are inciteful and inspiring:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shedrick’s own words:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n “For nearly twenty years of incarceration, there is no questioning whether or not I have thought about freedom and what it would feel like or what it would actually mean to be \u201cfree\u201d in one way or another. I\u2019ve examined the question \u201cwould life beyond the confines of barbed wire fences and concrete walls necessarily equate to freedom?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, I have dreamt of freedom, but I find that because I suffer from deprivation (the list is too long to detail), most, if not all of my freedom dreams<\/em> consist of carnal caricatures of simply being out of prison, which only causes me stress because waking up can be painful.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor the record, over the course of nearly two decades my relationship to freedom or my definition of it has been nothing short of complex and oftentimes terribly skewed; almost customarily due to my understanding of freedom failing to stretch beyond the concept of merely being on the other side of incarceration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However over time, I have learned to think more deeply about the concept of freedom and how my former visions and versions of it were considerably unstable and completely unreliable. As I mentioned earlier, any thoughts of freedom I had were primarily content-less;<\/em> all fluff and no stuff. Nonetheless, as my thoughts of freedom deepened, via the practice of rigorous self-analysis, extensive meditation and a healthy dose of courage, I began to see, to understand freedom as something much more than just an external state; more than just being unrestrained. I began to realize that the essence of freedom was abundantly more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMy Search for Freedom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/noscript>What is my true freedom?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIn my search for freedom, I found that simply being without coercion, compulsion, constraint or restraint, although somewhat satisfying, was also immensely transitory. Freedom from captivity, from my perspective, or better still, the perspective of someone who is incarcerated, only makes room to merely go about the business of satisfying fleshly desires\u2026 but then what? Freedom is copiously more than a physical, celebratory moment in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My arduous self and spiritual exploration has brought me to the understanding that the true essence of freedom, of being free has absolutely nothing to do with transient physical gratification but everything to do with finding, embracing and enhancing tranquility\u2013the state of being free from agitation of mind or spirit\u2013steady, stable and calm. The pursuit of freedom and eventual discovery of it should be a transcendental experience. But let me pause here, because I have spent an almost unreasonable amount of time talking about what I<\/em> believe freedom is, and absolutely no time on how to achieve the freedom I am referring to.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are many routes and vehicles that lead to the type of freedom I am speaking about. It would be terribly negligent if I did not state that I cannot say which, if any, route or vehicle guarantees arrival. However, what I can say with paramount certainty is when you do find your mode of transportation, getting to the destination is assured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freedom through Music<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/noscript>Sound of Freedom<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMusic, the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity is my chosen mode of travel. When I want to be free\u2013free of prison, of pain, of confusion and sadness, I lean on music. Who needs H.G. Wells when you have Martha Wells? Because my tastes in music are extraordinarily eclectic, I have the great fortune of having more than a few vehicles from which to select when I am ready to travel. Adding to this is the fact that I am also a musician which affords me a profound connection to music which in turn provides me a portal to freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some, in fact I know a person, who relies on silence to free himself. For others, exercise is the mode of travel. Not to be mistaken, I am not talking about the practice of escapism. To be clear, I am not propagating the avoidance of reality but rather something tactile and tangible, something that removes one from a corrupted space and places you in an improved reality. When I listen to, or compose a piece, I am moving out of a place of restraint, physically, mentally, spiritually and into a realm of calm, peace and tranquility. I am free\u2026 indeed.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is real freedom? How can I be free? Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":10261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[192,195,272,193,273,194,274],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom - A Journey | Cafh Global | Global Spiritual Community<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n