Consciousness has a tendency towards constricting, so that if
you do not openly push boundaries and question assumptions, it will gradually
lead you into a smaller and smaller world. It will shrink around you, limit
your circle of friends, limit the light that enters into your world from a vast
universe of mystery where joy can be found in infinite varieties. With the
constriction of your consciousness will come a feeling of helplessness and
persecution. You will feel the world is a hostile place and that you need a
place to hide. You will stop exploring and turn even further inward, rejecting
new ways of seeing things and clinging tightly to what is comfortable, even if
it is an addiction or an unhealthy relationship.
There are those who are willing to prey on this human
propensity. Closed off from the universe themselves through fear, they seek a
false sense of strength through controlling others. They will seek to shape the
way you see the world, will erect barriers of fear within you mind, and their ultimate
achievement will be when you begin to do the work of censoring yourself for
them. Within you own mind will be their voice, telling you to fear, telling you
to run away and hide.
You will know you are in the grip of such thoughts when you
are angry and fearful and feel helpless. You will know those who seek to
manipulate you because they will always try to steer you back into you cage through
fear and hatred of those who they do not approve. They will never allow you your
own thoughts, never permit your mind to wander or for you to express curiosity.
You can never be free without being open, can never be truly
free without trusting in a universe that holds more hope than fear. Your
greatest act of self-liberation will be to dare to look outwards, dare to feel
a positive connection to the world so that you feel a power to shape the world
around you and a willingness to have it shape you in return. In short, you will
never feel free until you are capable of experiencing joyfulness.
It is time we stepped out of our bunkers.
