Free your Spirit

Can you think of people you know that you feel that their Spirit is free? They are open, they exude warmth and vitality, and they generally are laughing or smiling and are very relaxed, peaceful. Generally these people are memorable because, unfortunately in our culture today, there are few people who are experiencing this kind of freedom of the Spirit. So many people are locked in fear and attempts to control themselves, others and the outcome of events. One cannot feel this freedom of Spirit and be in a state of trying to control something at the same time. So the first guideline in Freeing Your Spirit is:

1. Let Go of Control
In this moment, are you attempting to control something - check in and see. If your body is feeling tense and your breathing is shallow you are probably trying to control something - you may not even be conscious of what you are trying to control but your body is giving you feedback that you indeed are trying to control. When we are in a state of Freedom of the Spirit our bodies feel light and relaxed. If you worrying, then you are attempting to control by the worry. The belief is “If I worry enough about something I will be able to figure out a way to prevent something bad from happening.”

2. Move from thoughts of Fear to thoughts of Faith
Thoughts of faith and trust are true thoughts connected to your true nature - which is Spirit. You are a Spirit living in an earthly body. Fear thoughts are generated by the ego/false self and have no basis in reality. They are generally thoughts of projected fears of the future or fears from false/limiting beliefs handed down from the family system. People often buy into these thoughts - begin to react to them and then think they are true. So often we can terrify ourselves with these kinds of thoughts. Choosing to be in faith and trust is a choice - it does not happen automatically. Moment by moment ask yourself, is this thought one of faith or one of fear? An example of a fear thought vs. a thought of faith - “I can’t achieve my dream, I don’t have what it takes” (fear thought) vs. “I can do anything I can dream of - the world is full of infinite possibilities.” (faith thought).
Faith thoughts are light and expansive - and have that same effect on the body. Fear thoughts are heavy and constrictive - creating tension in the body. So you can observe which kind of thoughts you are entertaining throughout the day - ones of fear or faith. If you identify a fear thought just say to yourself “This is not true” and switch to a faith thought - like switching a channel. The good thing about practicing this thought switching is that each time you switch from fear to faith, you are actually building neuropathways that support these positive thoughts, which make it easier to shift into these thoughts in the future. The more you are able to NOT go into the fears and negative thoughts, the more you help to extinguish the neuropathways that reinforce these thought patterns.
3. Move your Body, Free Your Spirit
Fear thoughts can be so entrenched, especially if those neuropathways are well established, that initially attempting to shift the thoughts to faith can be challenging. So then it’s time to move your body. Walk, or one of my favorites is dancing. Anything to move the stuck energy through your body. You see the negative thought patterns actually energetically clog your energy system and it is difficult to shift to the lighter, higher frequency thoughts with the lower, dense energy of the fear pulling your energy down. When you feel “stuck” it is literally because your energy is stuck, clogged in your body from your negative thought patterns. What can be helpful is to move this energy through so you can open up to the lighter, positive thoughts of faith. Any kind of movement - walking, running, dancing and other forms of exercise will help this congested energy release. Breathwork(deep diaphragmatic breathing), singing, chanting and laughing are also ways to move this energy through. Your Spirit is housed in your body and it is important to feel all of the sensations of your body. This allows you a deeper experience of your Spirit.
4. Practice being in a “Free Spirit” state
We all have had experiences of feeling our true self, our Spirit fully expressing itself in the world, not holding anything back - the love in our hearts flowing out. This sense of freedom, joy, lightness, and openness is our natural state of being, so if you are not feeling this very often then it is safe to say that you had a lid on your true self, your Spirit. It is being confined and held back. It takes a lot of energy to suppress the enormous energy and vitality that is in your Spirit. Often people put the lid on so long ago they forgot what it feels like to have the lid off - to be in full connection with their Spirit. What can be helpful is to begin to practice being in this state again. It may feel foreign or uncomfortable but it will be the most important journey you will take - the journey back to your Spirit. Spending time with people who have a Free Spirit can be contagious and supportive of you becoming more free.