If freedom is always here, why does it seem elusive?
Freedom can feel elusive not because it’s absent, but because it’s often obscured by our mental and emotional habits. The openness of awareness—what we might call “freedom”—is like the sky: it’s always there, yet can be hidden by passing clouds (thoughts, beliefs, fears, and so on). Below are some core reasons why this innate freedom can seem out of reach, along with insights to help you notice it more consistently.
1. Identification with the Mind’s Activity
- Mental Chatter and Overthinking
- We typically become engrossed in the ongoing monologue inside our head, mistaking it for our true identity.
- This identification keeps our attention fixated on the content of thoughts—worries, daydreams, planning—rather than the space of awareness that notices these thoughts.
- Believing Thoughts Are “Me”
- When you believe every thought that arises is an accurate reflection of who you are, you lose sight of the deeper awareness watching the thoughts.
Key Insight: Each time you notice thinking happening, pause and ask, “What is aware of these thoughts?” That question alone can begin to shift identification from the mind’s noise to the silent presence in which thoughts appear.
2. Emotional Conditioning and Old Patterns
- Unprocessed Emotions
- Past traumas or intense emotional experiences can leave residual patterns (fear, shame, anger) that color the present moment.
- These patterns can feel suffocating and trick you into believing you’re not free.
- Habitual Reactivity
- Rather than experiencing emotions directly, we often contract around them or try to push them away.
- This resistance creates inner conflict, making the spacious ease of awareness harder to sense.
Key Insight: Allowing emotions to arise as they are, without trying to fix or judge them, can reveal the underlying freedom in which all emotions come and go.
3. Social and Cultural Conditioning
- External Pressures
- We learn from an early age to seek external approval, conform to certain standards, and chase images of success.
- This can lead to a feeling that you must “perform” or “prove yourself,” overshadowing the simple freedom of just being.
- Living Through Others’ Expectations
- Subtly, you might orient your life around what you think others want you to be.
- In doing so, you may lose touch with the inherent authenticity of your own direct experience.
Key Insight: Recognizing that these “shoulds” are learned—not essential to who you truly are—helps break their spell. Authenticity often blossoms when you see through social conditioning.
4. The Pursuit of “Special” States
- Looking for Peak Experiences
- If you believe freedom should feel like constant bliss or euphoria, you may overlook its quieter, more ordinary expressions.
- True freedom can be subtle—a gentle sense of spaciousness and openness right within your day-to-day routines.
- Mistaking Freedom for a Goal to Achieve
- The idea that freedom is a destination fosters continuous striving, which actually keeps it at arm’s length.
- We miss the possibility that freedom is the background of all experiences, not a finish line.
Key Insight: Freedom is often simpler and more unassuming than the mind’s idealized images. It’s an always-available recognition rather than a future attainment.
5. Habitual Attention to the Past or Future
- Living in Stories
- Much of our thinking revolves around past regrets or future anxieties, diverting our attention from the immediacy of here and now.
- Freedom is most easily seen in the present moment—which is obscured by excessive past-future fixation.
- Neglecting Present-Moment Awareness
- We overlook the breath, bodily sensations, or the immediate environment because the mind is elsewhere.
- When we come back to present-moment awareness, even briefly, we can sense the underlying field of freedom.
Key Insight: Pausing periodically to notice sensations in the body, or simply witnessing the breath, can anchor you to the present, where freedom naturally shines.
Table Summary: Why Freedom Seems Elusive
| Reason for Elusiveness | Description | How to Pierce Through |
|---|---|---|
| Identification with Mind | Lost in mental chatter, believing thoughts are “me” | Observe thoughts; shift focus to the aware presence behind them |
| Emotional Conditioning | Unprocessed feelings create tightness, reactivity | Allow emotions fully; sense the underlying space |
| Social/Cultural Conditioning | Seeking external validation, living by others’ expectations | Recognize conditioning; act from authentic impulses |
| Chasing Special States | Expecting dramatic bliss or euphoria; turning freedom into a goal | Notice subtle everyday openness; realize freedom is ever-present |
| Past-Future Orientation | Over-attention to memories or fantasies, ignoring the now | Return awareness to the present (breath, sensations, surroundings) |
Concluding Insight
Freedom seems elusive primarily because of deeply ingrained habits of mind, emotion, and cultural conditioning that distract from the simple truth: you are the aware presence in which all experiences arise. These layers of conditioning function like cloud cover, hiding the sky of freedom that is always available.
Recognizing this doesn’t necessarily mean the clouds vanish instantly, but seeing that you are not the clouds is a significant step. Each time you notice the open, spacious awareness—even for a fleeting second—you confirm that freedom is indeed not absent. Over time, that recognition becomes clearer and more natural, revealing that freedom truly is the always-here essence of your being.
