Wednesday, October 6, 2021

The Long Road to Freedom

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Not all of us require organized religion and orthodox religious ideologies to be initiated on a spiritual quest. While the various religions are often helpful pointers, one is to discover the Christ or Buddha only within no matter what road one chooses to travel. As Hindus emphatically say “while the paths up a given mountain are many, there is but one mountaintop”, loosely quoted. All the same, to each their own. 


I’ve been part of the Catholic Church   and lived at an Ashram, studied Hindu and Buddhist texts. The Essence of all these, as the practice and philosophies of Yoga, Zen, etc.is all that is relevant now, having many teachers to learn from and especially daily life experiences within this Earth School.


This spiritual quest begins with the clear recognition that I am not totally free, but daily struggling with a bondage and confinement that is collectively and individually self-imposed. Knowing this I remain earnest and steady on the high road to freedom, while inwardly dedicating the fruits of my inner and outer labors to the liberation of all beings, beginning with those whom I intimately relate and connect with daily. 


JDZ