The Art of Freedom

Posted on April 06, 2016 by Alessandro Carli, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

As far as the Western world is concerned, the concept of freedom is paramount, and the very essence of our civilization is based on it. Countless wars and revolutions were engaged throughout history in its name, and the entire structure of democracy is based on the freedom that the peoples of the world living by this concept are endowed with: No democracy would or could exist without freedom.

Yet, although we’ve grown accustomed to live in a context of freedom, to the point that we now take it for granted, we are starting to meet with a strange sensation of unfulfillment regarding freedom which is growing stronger and stronger inside of us. We are gradually getting to the understanding that “being” free and “feeling” are two very different things. And that’s good!

There are four levels of growth in an individual and in the collectivity as a whole: the material/physical level, the emotional level, the mental level, and the spiritual level. The vast majority (and I mean “vast”) of people is mostly operating in the material level, and for this reason we are enjoying the fact that we can make choices, that we can achieve what we want, that we can decide to focus on success or failure, that we can express our ideas and opinions, and so on.

This, however, is an illusion because we only see and live by a small portion of reality, but we miss the entire picture, that’s far more complex. Security and Freedom are two of the most important human values, however they are opposite and outright incompatible: You just can’t have both. As you approach one, you move away from the other, and vice versa; and if you try to have both, because our reality is dynamic, not static, you end up jumping from one state to another, ending up anxious and stressed out.

We must choose what we want, yet although we have this prerogative, most people will opt out on freedom and stick to security, and that’s because we are making this choice from the lowest level, the material one. From an evolutionary perspective, we’ve gone through that, now. We have experienced all the freedom that was possible at that level, to the point that we’ve classified ourselves as free individuals, but then why are we no longer satisfied and fulfilled by it? We are called to make our next move, which is moving up the growth ladder to the emotional level: that’s why we don’t “feel” free, although we “are”, and that’s also why this feeling is good for us.

This is a natural process we can’t avoid, as we are pushed from behind and up these levels.

The first, as we’ve seen, is the level where we are free in the physical/material/external world we actually operate in;

The second level is where we feel free within, regardless of our external condition. This is a situation where we are no longer affected and afflicted by “negative” feelings that cause us to get stuck and unable to move forward, making our life static. This emotional freedom is also what enables us to engage wholeheartedly in fruitful relationships;

The third level is related to our true freedom of thought, which is not about being able to formulate our own opinions and ideas (which belongs to the first level anyway), but about being able to question our paradigms and to break free of our pre-established thought patterns, enabling us to literally unveil a totally new reality. This is referred to as mental freedom;

The fourth, ultimate, and by far, toughest level is getting to a point where we operate in total alienation from our personal needs, and are launched towards benefitting others, the quintessence of service. This is spiritual freedom.

I know this sounds absolutely utopian, but that’s because we’re operating from the first, material level, which is that of pseudo-freedom. As we start moving up, however, we’ll gradually get to realize that authentic, deep freedom consists in getting rid of our need for self-indulgence, and in contributing for a collective well-being which, by the way, is our ultimate destiny. That’s where we’re heading, and we have no other option (talking about free will: ha!).

I know most people consider freedom as a state, but by becoming aware of the dynamics that unfold as explained above, we can learn to manage the process and speed it up. And that makes it a skill we can all develop.

This is not just a personal endeavor. As a matter of fact, this is a skill businesses will not be able to do without as we progress. The world is becoming more systemic every day that goes by, and the market must follow. Mastering this skill is what’s going to make the difference between an emerging business and a mediocre one in the very near future market. And that’s going to happen faster than you think.