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Welcome back, dear hivers, for another edition of the Mindful Life column. This format of editorial + curation is flows really nicely, so I guess it sticks. With the Full Moon in Aquarius approaching at the end of this week, today I wanted to talk about Freedom and Purpose, topics that I've discussed before but which are never actually exhausted. A couple of years ago I attended a ceremony with an sacred plant called Yopo (Anadenanthera peregrina), which is a very strict medicine that requires participants to remain seated and mostly without moving for about 40 minutes that may feel a lot longer depending on the individual's issues. When you attend these ceremonies, you're usually asked to think of a goal, a question, something that you want to focus on and ask the spiritual guides about during the process. In that particular ceremony, I'd chosen to explore Freedom, so I had to face deep fears and struggle with restricting self-perceptions. I took the medicine twice and in the second time, right after the hardest part of the process had ebbed, I started feeling the most glorious level of liberty that I've ever experienced before or since.

I understood two things then: 1) Freedom = Pleasure. An entity that's truly free sees everything as pleasurable, even the ugly things in life. 2) We require the Tribe in order to be free. When we're gathered around the Fire, we're freer together than alone because then, each one gets to focus exclusively on the task we came to fulfill while others do their thing without concerning themselves with ours. This is true whether you're actually in a close-knit family or alone, because we're all still a part of the human race, inhabitants of this planet and aspects of nature in our right. This beautiful post by my dear @trucklife-family shows a clear example of this. She joined a group of people in the forest to trade home-baked cakes, enjoy the peaceful company of likeminded individuals and just feel the bliss of nature all around her. This time of joy comes after a long and grueling process of transformation in her life, and she sees it as a reward for her efforts. A well-deserved reward, I might add. That picture below is utterly magical to me.

I can only identify that bliss because I've experienced it, and in that ceremony, I reached such levels of it that everything, from the murmur of another participant to the wind entering the space, from the cracking of the fire to the sounds of birds in the trees, provided me with indescribable elation. I felt it on my skin, in my innards, in my mind. It was all-encompassing but the opposite of overwhelming. I just couldn't stop smiling.

Since then, I learned something else about Freedom, namely that it's impossible to be free without taking full responsibility for our every choice. Discipline and accountability are essential for fulfilling our purpose and only where we're doing what we're meant to do, are we truly able to live freely. In Yopo ceremonies, this concept is expressed with the phrase Kuami Kiachi, which means Strength of the Heart, Acceptance, Gratitude and, of course, Being in the Now. In this wonderfully written, powerful piece, @galenkp tells us something about that, using as a reference the story of a childhood accident while climbing a tree, which could've been fatal but instead just affected his appearance, which he's accepted and transformed into a strength. This contribution is an excellent reflection on what choice means and the power of perspectives.

Perspective. That's what Free Will is all about. We can't control how the world flows, we can't change the ebb and flow of waves, or the waxing and waning of the Moon. We can't even control if our browser just crashes on us (like mine did a moment ago, which upset me a bit,) but we can always control how we take all of that, how we see it. Do I allow menial inconveniences like the noise of a lawn mower in the building's backyard disturb me or do I instead focus on the beautiful sunlight streaming through my window?

What is it that you choose to do every day with the talents you have and the challenges that you're presented with? Do you trash about, lamenting your fate, blaming others for your troubles? Or do you instead seek things that empower you and give you hope? @josediccus plainly chooses the latter, as shown in yet another of his lovely reflections about life. He's shared a lot about how difficult life can be in his homeland, but he's also shared the attitudes that have pulled him through the thickest of it, and which increase his enjoyment now. I feel kinship with him because we're both in nations leveled by corruption and crime, yet we've found ways to feel free in such restricted contexts.

It's true that sometimes circumstances are harder, that the context itself is a challenge that we have to deal with on top of anything else we go through personally. But there's an even greater truth beneath that surface: the Universe isn't designed for us to suffer. We choose to do so, whether we're aware of the choice or not. We're the ones who complicate our own existence. Take this story for the Laughter Challenge by @miriannalis, for instance. There was a time in her life when she lived on a constant rush and had to learn to groom herself while driving, which of course is pretty dangerous, especially in countries where traffic laws aren't particularly well-enforced. Due to her condition, a potentially unpleasant situation melted away in laughter and she learned not to continue doing what she'd been doing. She's effectively made her life easier since then, that was a wake-up call and, ironically given the context of the article, she took it seriously.

We can always do things in one of two ways, simple or difficult. For the most part, we're raised with the idea that we have to work hard for what we want, but I've learned that's not true. If we have to work hard, we're either doing things wrong or doing the wrong thing. Even in the best of situations, life is never without its challenges, but if a challenge doesn't subside or if it actually gets stronger with our effort, that means we're materializing complications and restrictions, not freedom, and we need to wonder why. There's really no need for us to struggle. In that Yopo ceremony, I could've chosen Fear and not take the second dose but I chose to let go and so, I was able to bring these words to you today.

I chose @senorcoconut as a 5% beneficiary for this post for his wonderful piece about the lifting of mask mandates, which was already past its payout and couldn't be curated here.

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