We are not Free! by Art Mason

Whenever we think of freedom the status of our countries come to mind. Living in Canada and and the United States the freedom of the nations is well known. But this is not this freedom I am referring to.

External freedom is one thing, and it is an important thing, but far more important is internal freedom, a freedom that can only come when the mind is the slave and not the master. For most people on this earth the mind is the master and it is running wild.

You find yourself awakened in the middle of the night with the mind running wild. Sometimes it is going over the events of the previous day, other times it is thinking about an event coming in the future, worse yet it is worrying about this, that or the other thing. Totally undisciplined and out of control. Yet we allow this to continue, either because we believe it cannot be changed, or we are just too lazy to do it.

Imagine being in a very hot room. The temperature is unbearable. You go over to the thermostat and turn on the air conditioning. You wait and wait but it just does not seem to be working. It seems to be getting hotter so you remove some article of clothing and compensate for the temperature increase, you learn to tolerate the conditions. The real solution is to leave the room, and you can always leave the room!

This is just like the way we are with our minds. We learn to tolerate the way things are, then the mind will naturally accelerate it’s behavior and things will be worse again. The only solution is to quiet the mind and silently take control. Note I am saying silently. You cannot beat the mind into submission, you must dominate it will deliberate thoughts, and not acknowledging the trash thoughts that come into existence.

The mind loves to play VICTIM. Victim almost seems to be it’s natural state. It will reflect on the past to give you a 1000 reasons why the future will be do different. You create a desire in your mind and something inside says “don’t be stupid, you can’t do that. ” The problem is you listen to this mind and not your heart.

There have been many Buddha’s in our world since the time of the historical Buddha Gautama. Many enlightened men and women have lived and do live on our planet. A Buddha is not born they are self created by disciplining the mind, thus finding peace and understanding within themselves. This is within reach of every person, if they will take the time and effort to start the journey.

So many people make other peoples lives their mission and ignore there own life. We are famous in the west for interfering with other countries who are happy within themselves and don’t want our help. We look at their ways of life and decide we need to fix them. Yet we ignore ourselves, thinking we can change the world without changing US first. You cannot give something you do not have. We love to make judgment about others happiness, never reflecting on our own lives. This is not being selfless it is being egotistical.

Like all people on this Earth you create your reality. If you are tense, stress, overwhelmed and unhappy it is of your doing and no one else’s. You create your world and your reality with your dominate thoughts, and you do it every moment of every day.

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.”

Are you happy with your reality?

For more information, please visit http://my-buddha-nature.info/

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by Art Mason
Art Mason is a full time martial arts teacher having founded "Art Mason's Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute" in 2000. Being concerned with the direction of martial arts in Canada he and his son's Curtis and Scott founded the eclectic martial art they teach call "Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido". He has been very fortunate to have studied with some of the best martial artists in the world. These include men such as Dr. Steve Stewart.Modern Martial Arts.Master Mason's martial art school, The Peaceful Warriors' specialized in teaching both children and adults this very effective system. They have been very successful in working with children with ADHD and autism. Their prime focus is on self improvement and self defense.