How We Can Begin to Free Ourselves from Certain Self-Imposed Burdens

“I have a dream…,” and so goes the noted speech filled with words spoken from and with higher thought, heart, courage, and Care. But there’s a phrase included that is key to shedding certain self-imposed individual and collective burdens we share.

The third Monday in January in the United States is a date Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is honored. Yes, the man and what he sacrificed and gained for many is remembered, but what is also supposed to be remembered and honored as well is our choice—and our responsibility—to act with and from higher thought, emotion, word, action, and Care for ourselves and for all who share our human experience.

This is what, from the speech, got my attention in a particular way: “I have a dream that one day… the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…. and all of God’s children…. will sing…. ‘Free at last! Free at last!’” We often miss the fact that it isn’t only those who are caused to be in or are coerced into any form of oppression who are oppressed or enslaved, but also those who actively engage in this practice or who condone or perpetuate, through their ambivalence or ignore-ance, any form of oppression, be that in our personal lives or on a larger canvas. Whether at the individual or collective level, no one who controls or manipulates or oppresses, or seeks to (or allows it), is free, nor can they be, until they cease such practices.

When anyone seeks to control, manipulate, coerce, or unfairly treat another in any way, he or she is no freer than those who receive such treatment: the finer qualities of their true spiritual natures and of their humanity are blocked; practiced long enough, these qualities wither. The individuals are or become slaves themselves, oppressed by their own fears, insecurities, and immoral behaviors, recognized as such or not—locked into a mental-emotional cage of their own making or choice. Deep down they know this imbalance exists, though their affected or afflicted ego aspects or psyches may attempt to dress this in different garments. As a result, they believe the only thing that will ease this unease or dis-ease is to do more of the same in order to attain their goal: to feel powerful enough to feel secure, whatever the cost, whatever the means.

Any individual, group, or institution burdens and oppresses themselves when they practice taking anything from others, whether it be something tangible or dignity or basic Rights, in order to enhance or empower themselves; or withholds what would benefit or uplift others; practices hate or ambivalence rather than Love, or oppression rather than honor the Right of Free Will for all, that is, Free Will based on acting in accordance with the Natural Laws and their Unifying Principle.

The premise of the Natural Laws and the Unifying Principle is that there are standards about right and wrong which do not rely on anyone deciding or decreeing what they are, that humans have an inherent understanding of these and the ability to recognize one from the other, e.g., theft (of life, property, security) is wrong. The Universe is a spiritual construct designed by the Creator for us to have experiences and learn and grow in Higher Consciousness. The more we all practice this the more we all benefit. The less we all practice this the less we all benefit.

The 7 Natural Laws, and their Unifying Principle, which are universal so do not recognize as exempt such things as boundary lines, race, religion, social position, or income brackets, are these:

The Law of Mentalism: Thoughts are formed before any manifestation; therefore, thoughts create things and conditions. We are to be responsible for our own thoughts rather than think, speak, and act from programming, especially flawed mental-emotional programming. We are to recognize pathological thinking and behavior, which includes oppression of any kind, when we see it, so that we may address it and cease passing it down (teaching it) to generations that follow.

The Law of Correspondence: The above is like or similar to the below. The macro- and microcosms mirror each other. As individuals are or behave, so will the collective be or behave. As the collective is or behaves, so will be the individuals be or behave. This is when the Law of Mentalism can assist us: we have personal responsibility when it comes to our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions.

The Law of Vibration: There is no non-motion or complete rest; everything moves. Everything vibrates. The Universe is pure vibratory energy manifesting itself in different ways. All matter is energy in a state of vibration; nothing is truly solid. This means that everything changes, that everything is in a constant state of change. Our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions are ultimately vibrations that create manifested experiences. We are meant to be responsible co-creators, about what we create or don’t create, change or don’t change.

The Law of Polarity: Everything has a dual nature, that is, has its pair of opposites. However, the opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree, just as hot and cold are both measures of temperature, but different in degree. Skin color is a matter of degree in pigmentation; nothing more, nothing less: we are human beings. Any other (perceived) difference, including culture, is imposed by man, not by the Creator.

The Law of Rhythm: Everything has its tides, its ascents and descents. Rhythm compensates: the measure of the pendulum swing to the right is the same measure of the swing to the left. Rhythm is real, but not set in stone. Rhythm reveals tendencies; therefore, Consciousness can override a tendency.

The Law of Cause and Effect: Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause. Chance is what we call a Law not recognized. No matter the cause, nothing escapes this Law. We have the Right of Free Will, but not to ignore the Natural Laws and the Unifying Principle without consequences. There is a time lag for what is often called Karma (you reap what you sow; what goes around comes around). And the effect is not always delivered to us on a one-to-one basis, alone. The effect is also experienced by the collective humanity, whether that’s a result of action or inaction, whether positive or negative.

The Law of Gender: Gender is in everything. Everything and everyone has its masculine and feminine principles. The highest form of this is in exercising the Sacred Masculine AND the Sacred Feminine together. The Sacred Masculine embodies the use of intellect, reason, and the self-defense principle to protect ourselves and others when our or their Creator-Given Rights are infringed upon. The Sacred Feminine embodies creativity, intuition, and the non-aggression principle: to not steal life, property, or the Rights of another; to not initiate violence or violation in any form upon another.

The Unifying Principle that binds or encompasses the 7 Natural Laws: CARE. Care is the causal factor that generates creation. Care is that which you give your attention to and nurture. How you focus your attention and what you feed into that attention generates experiences and results. Feed ignorance, apathy, or oppression and you fuel more of each and ensure they grow. Feed true Consciousness, common sense, and Care and you fuel more of each and ensure they grow. What we care about on a daily basis acts as the driving force of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Care is the ultimate generator of the quality of our individual and collective experiences.

Our lives and the world are what they are because of how and how much we Care or don’t care to do what’s required to effect change and improvement, including raising our Higher Consciousness, when and where needed. We can improve the quality of our attention by putting it on information that can improve both our and the collective human condition. We should ask ourselves what we spend our time on, what we pay attention to, and what kind of quality, as opposed to just quantity, do we get in return. It is up to us to help ourselves and others by raising our Consciousness and assisting others in any non-infringing way that can be done.

Larken Rose wrote: When everyone has the same misperception of reality—when everyone believes something untrue, even something patently absurd—it doesn’t feel untrue or absurd to them. When a false or illogical idea is constantly repeated and reinforced by nearly everyone, it rarely occurs to anyone to even begin to question it. In fact, most people become literally incapable of questioning it, because over time it becomes solidified in their minds as a given—an assumption that doesn’t need a rational basis and doesn’t need to be analyzed or reconsidered, because everyone knows it to be true…. Such a deeply entrenched belief is invisible to those who believe it. When a mind has always thought of something in one way, that mind will imagine evidence…. It is exceedingly uncomfortable and disturbing, even existentially terrifying, for someone to call into question one of the bedrock assumptions upon which his entire view of reality, and his entire moral code, has been based for all of his life.... will not find it easy or pleasant to contemplate the possibility that his entire belief system is based upon a lie, and that much of what he has done throughout his life, as a result of believing that lie, has been harmful to himself, his friends and family, and humanity in general.

It is a burden to carry on with flawed mental and emotional programs running us, as individuals and as a collective, as though it’s the only way we and life can be. It is a burden to try to figure out how to stay ahead or even just survive, when we know life could and should be better and more equitable than it is. It is a burden to dull our thinking, feeling, intuition, and caring rather than enhance them. It is a burden to have oppression of any kind (or slavery to any thing or idea, especially a false one) and oppressors. Dr. King had a dream of the day when both oppressed and oppressors would say, “Free at last!”

We can begin to free ourselves by becoming aware of what we’re doing and what’s going on around us that we, as a collective, have self-imposed through allowing or ignoring, and what we could be doing instead to make life a better experience. Edmund Burke said “…all that’s necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” George Bernard Shaw said "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." This takes something Dr. King demonstrated: conscience, vision, and courage.

I, too, have a dream—of a world where we allow ourselves, and take on, the personal responsibility to be strong mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; a world where we look out for and are supportive of one another; a world where no person goes hungry, and has access to not just healthy foods but healthier foods; a world where no person goes without proper shelter and clean water; a world where we strive for and attain excellence in all we think, feel, say, and create, freed from the worry of how to make enough or just enough to live on—but done so in a way where the Free Will Rights of all are exercised and enjoyed, based on Natural Laws being understood and practiced by all, from true Wisdom and Higher Consciousness; a world where we practice Care. What we could create and experience with that! It’s a good practice, one you’ll appreciate.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer

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