Having experienced an awful day yesterday, one questions themselves and the universe while sitting still on a rainy afternoon.
Why? Why does one search for ways to earn money yet whenever they see job postings or YouTube guides about it, they can only give a reaction of disgust?
It's because what one really wants isn't money but freedom. To exchange one's freedom for money, completely defeats the point of earning money. One can't help but get a little annoyed at the social system and capitalistic culture that gave rise to ten thousand methods where some those with experience take advantage of those who are naive.
People think money is freedom, they think it's the only way for freedom because: (1) money is measurable, (2) money is tangible (3) money is pleasurable. Unlike knowledge, awareness, self-expression, enlightenment, and other pathways to freedom, money is the only that is completely tangible, measurable, and pleasurable. Others are simply too abstract that they often find it unrealistic.
Unfortunately, money is actually the worst path for freedom. It is so highly standardized, centralized, and regulated that those who try to take this path for their freedom only ends up getting enslaved in some repetitive work for their entire life and taken advantaged of by deceptive people who get rich by preying on the ignorant.
One of the only ways that people can enjoy earning money despite by being enslaved by a particular system, group, or individual is when they get acknowledged for their skill and ability or when they are creating something of meaning related to their values. In that case, although they may firmly believe that their income is the one driving them enjoy their work, what they're actually working for is social validation and application of their personal values.
A better path for freedom is to expand one's knowledge and awareness, where they can try to go past beyond their ignorance, and explore new things in life. Another great path is the path of self-expression, where one can feel alive and free by expressing themselves to the world, without holding back, without being concerned with how other people will react.
Personally, I think the best path for freedom, the kind of freedom that we truly want, is the Effortless Freedom — to be free simply because we are born, simply because we exist, without needing to meet any difficult conditions or follow some standard instructions.
Indeed, it's something we already have, something that has always been with us and can never be taken away by anyone. It only remains dormant and invisible because we tend to seek freedom from the outside, waiting for the ultimate miracle where the people around us, the world and universe, clearly tells us "You are now free."
However, the only one that can truly give us freedom, is ourselves. We are both the lock and the key. We can never find the key from the outside, from other people. Many of them will say "I have the key! I can make you free!" Yet their keys cannot fit with anyone's lock, they cannot fit our lock. They cannot make us free. They're no different than most magicians, who appear to do something cool but it's only full of tricks in the end.
Perhaps this Effortless Freedom is composed of multiple freedoms, though I have only observed three of them for now. The first one is the freedom to accept life and death for what they are, which is the freedom to accept everything that comes and let go of everything that goes. Those who realized this freedom shall be free from most afflictions that plagues their day to day life.
The second one is the freedom to see reality for what it is, without the false discriminations or over-interpretations that characterizes anyone's perception. What we believe to be our reality are simply an entangled bunch of stories we have about the world and ourselves. Thus, it's best to tell oneself not to see reality for more than it appears to be, that all stories we have must be seen as simply stories, and they must not go beyond the limitations of reality. Those who realized this freedom will be free from all deceptions and confusions of the world.
We make the common mistakes of Inference, Reference, and Preference. The mistake of Inference is to assume something just because of a particular event or characteristic. People tend to think "If this is it, then it must be like this, it should be like that." The mistake of Reference is to assume the truthfulness of something based from any external source, where people tend to think "it appeared on TikTok, it must be true!". The mistake of Preference is the denial of reality simply because we don't like it, and we prefer reality to be something what we like, even if it's not true, where people tend to think something like "omg that person must like me!".
The third one is the freedom from all attachments, where one finally stops seeing life from a single side, from ten sides, from hundred sides, but from untold infinite amount of sides without favoring a single one. This may seem similar to the freedom to accept everything that comes and goes but this freedom from attachment is way more active and comprehensive.
Imagine being a random pawn on a chessboard where we are simply following orders, moving according to external influences and habit energies. Maybe we got promoted to a higher piece. Maybe we become a bishop or a knight. Maybe we rose to become a rook or a queen. Or perhaps we even become the great king. Still, none of those chess pieces can compare to the Player, the one who makes all the moves, seeing everything from above.
To be free from all attachments, is to stop being a pawn or any other chess piece who cannot move beyond their own limited range, who does nothing but simply repeat their movement in every situation, but to become the Player itself, who can see everything from above and make countless number of variations.
Likewise, we must see life from a broad impartial perspective, without any attraction, repulsion, aversion, possession, or attachment to any single perspective.
While meditating in a relaxed manner, one can see the repetitive thought patterns, the different voices that constantly circulates within the mind. I think they are mini minds within my mind, thus I'll also call them that way. Being able to distinguish between these different minds, I shall enumerate them in an impartial manner, without treating any of them as bad or good.
The most active mind within my mind is the mind of progress who constantly finds opportunities for progress in my life and reminds me to make progress everytime I get distracted. Let's call him "Prog". Prog often cooperates with the mind of filling the gaps to remind me what I should do next. On his own, he tells me to do more and strive for more. Although he can be overwhelming at times, he simply wants to ensure that I'm making progress. Sometimes I tell him that progress doesn't have to be rushed, even a small step is enough.
Another prominent mind is the mind of filling the gaps, who is always trying to fill every empty gaps in my day and life with something, either a new activity or house chores. Let's call him Gap. Gap ensures that I do not have any idle time where I can fall in the abyss of indulgence. He ensures that there's always something for me to do, something to think about. He gets quite annoying at times, so I have to tell him that emptiness isn't necessarily bad, that it's okay to slow down.
The most poetic voice in my mind is the mind of narrative, who is often trying to make stories out of everything I see, think, or experience, making them more dramatic and interesting. Let's call him Tory. Tory believes that life is much better when told in the form of wonderful stories. Oftentimes, she writes all sorts of daydreams of future whenever I'm doing house chores, so I won't get bored all the time. When the story is about reality, she often distorts it and makes it more fictional, but I keep telling her that I can't afford to see reality in a fictional way, it must be completely plain. Interestingly, these character names and story about the mini voices in my head is also her work.
The most talkative mind of all is the mind of analysis, who is always trying to determine the causes, conditions, and consequences of everything I perceive and experience. Let's call him Anal. Anal is the one that reminds me of the consequences of everything I do or want to do. She tries to keep his analysis as realistic and scientific as possible, trying to question and explain everything that happens. She also works with Tory to create realistic stories about the future based on her analysis. Sometimes, she gets too arrogant that I have to tell her that no knowledge can ever be perfectly correct, that it's important not to be too quick in making judgements.
My favorite mind is the mind of Transcendence, who's constantly lecturing me with words of wisdom, giving spiritual advice for whatever I'm doing. Let's call him tRan. tRan is the one that allows me to magically conjure new and helpful spiritual concepts to write in my articles. He's also the one that gives ideas for posting quotes on Twitter. He's often translating mundane events that I experience into higher spiritual meanings that I can digest and apply to my daily life. He's also very good at translating difficult spiritual concepts I read into simple explanations I can understand.
Another interesting mind is the mind of Chaos, who's constantly giving me suggestions to make things more spicy, crazy, and unpredictable. Let's call him Chor. Chor is always on the lookout of finding opportunities and situations to express freedom through wild explorations without regard for any standards. He regularly works with Tory to daydream the craziest scenarios. He can also be found working with tRan, where they brainstorm the most controversial concepts and observations that are unexpectedly close to the truth. Oftentimes, his ideas are simply too much for me to handle, that I dismiss them as mere entertainment.
These are the most popular voices that often circulated within the mind. There may be other voices that I haven't noticed yet. One may ask, what about that voice, the mind that observes and disciplines all the other minds? Hm the main mental voice, it's probably the voice of the Ego, the center of identity and sense of self. He's the one who's tasked with building, growing, and maintaining a healthy sense of self. Sometimes, this mind places too much importance on itself that they see others as inferior. tRan keeps reminding him that such an attitude is an obstacle to spiritual growth and progress.
What's important is to know that all of our minds, the voices in our head have good intentions yet they have their own imperfections. Thus, one must also learn to discipline them from time to time in addition to monitoring them. Whatever they try to say, none of those are true or real, it's up to us to determine their truthfulness so we won't be deceived by our own mind.
"Being attached to freedom built from money is no different from living in a house made of paper."
"Freedom doesn't come to those who can't accept reality nor embrace uncertainty."
"The first step to knowing oneself is to know one's mind."