"A person cannot be free who submits themself
to the shackles of others."
- Joseph Panek
Here are two questions which deserve our deepest and most
sincere consideration
First Question: How many things have we done in our lives, and
are possibly still doing, that we really do not want to do?
Second Question: How many things have we NOT done, and have
not experienced, in our lives that we deeply regret not having done
and experienced?
For many of us the list of answers to these two questions is
probably very painful and quite long.
Whenever we do something that we do not want to do, or not do
something that we desire to do, we are behaving in a way that is
not in Harmony with our Divine Nature.
When we behave in any way that is not in Harmony with our Divine
Nature we automatically bring people, places, things, moods, and
energies into our lives that weigh heavily upon our peace-of-mind,
drag us from our personal Path, prevent us from experiencing our
personal Destiny, and cause us to relinquish our individual
Sovereignty and Free Will.
In short, whenever we do things we do not want to do, or do not
do the things we truly want to do, we are bringing negative energy
into our lives.
At first, these Actions simply subdue us. However, over the long
term, these behaviors become our entrapments. And these
entrapments eventually end up destroying the Divine Gifts we
were bestowed with when we entered our Current Incarnation:
individual Sovereignty, childlike curiosity, intoxicating enthusiasm,
wondrous enchantment, and limitless imagination.
When we consider all of these things, we are naturally drawn to
a Third Question:
Why is it that we tend to blindly do the things we do not want to
do, yet at the same time staunchly avoid doing those things we
deeply and truly desire to do?
To answer this question we need to evaluate the following three
culprits: Guilt, Threats, and Obligations.
Guilt, Threats, and Obligations are the three poison pills that society
feeds to the Conformist, the Ignorant, and the unsuspecting. These
mind-altering poison pills change us from actually being happy to
simply acting happy. They alter our minds to cheerfully embrace
the many insurmountable responsibilities, and externally-imposed
expectations, that choke off our spontaneity, enthusiasm, dreams,
imagination, and joy for life.
And although the natures of Guilt, Threats, and Obligations can
overlap and become indistinguishable from each other in many
instances, and even lead to the same Consequences, let us try
to examine each one of these powerful tricksters separately.
Guilt: The use of Guilt can be subtle, deceptive, and deadly. It is
the eternally favorite poison pill of all self-serving persons, factions,
and organizations whose sole purpose is to impose themselves
upon, and thereby dominate, others.
Through the wielding of Guilt we are bludgeoned into actually
Believing that everyone else but us deserves, needs, and requires
something; that it is our "personal responsibility" to simply give, or
Sacrifice, for the sake of some "poor and unfortunate" other.
We see Guilt imposed upon us daily by political factions, religious
groups, and the uncountable number of self-interested "charitable"
organizations who unrelentingly feed us large morsels of Guilt in
order to sustain, finance, and promote their self-serving interests.
In addition, Guilt is also imposed upon us by self-serving persons
who continually attempt to intimidate us with comments such as:
"You only think of yourself."
"You're just selfish. Why do you refuse to share your (fill in the
blanks) with others?"
"I promised everyone you would be there." (Really! who are you to
speak for me?)
"If you move away from home, you will be stabbing me in the heart
with a dagger." (How many of us have squandered years of our
lives because of this Guilt-trip?)
Threats: We may think of Threats as only being physical and
violent in nature. However the most subtle and powerful Threats are
the ones we succumb to under the guise of jealousy, envy, and
ultimatums. Some examples are:
"If you won't do this for me, I'll find someone else who will."
"You must act immediately. Otherwise someone else will snatch
this opportunity."
And, perhaps the most famous: "Limited time offer."
Obligations: Obligations, impositions, and the expectations of
others all fall into this one category. These are the Paths we allow
ourselves to be coerced into following which are not in Harmony
with our True Self (our Divine Nature). Again, some examples:
"You come from a family of lawyers. You owe it to your family to
go to law school." (But I want to be an artist!)
"Its time for you to grow up; get married, have a family, buy a house
(go into debt), and give me grandchildren."
And the ever-eternal: "Everybody else is doing it."
Sovereign, Free, and Expansive minds do not allow Guilt, Threats,
or externally-imposed Obligations violate their Incarnations.
These Lone Wolfs and Non-Conformists understand that Guilt,
Threats, and Obligations are Self-Limiting and make people very
old at a very young age.They also realize that by bringing these
foreign, negative, and dis-Harmonious energies into our lives we
Become saturated with mountains of responsibilities, expectations,
and impositions which society is all-too-happy to heap upon the
unwary and unsuspecting. Mountains which must be either slowly
chiseled away or submitted to with a broken spirit.
Whenever a person or faction assaults us with Guilt or Threats,
or when they attempt to force upon us their Deceptive and self-
serving demand that it is "our personal obligation" to do what
they insist of us, let us be quick to recognize these poison pills
for that they truly are: externally-imposed entrapments designed
to strip us of our individual Sovereignty and enslave us to the
self-serving and fickle whims of those whose sole intention is to
dominate us.
Once we realize that Guilt, Threats, and Obligations are simply the
ogres, trolls, Demons, and dark forces which occasionally disturb
our Journey, we can then either bypass them or slay them and
continue our Sovereign trek down that unique Path which leads us
to our Personal Destiny.
So the next time someone attempts to hand us the poison pills of
either Guilt, Threats, or externally-imposed Obligations let us keep
one fact in mind. In the long "waiting line" of humanity there is
always someone willing to relinquish their Sovereignty,and
embrace Self-Imposed Limitations for the "privilege" of allowing
Guilt, Threats, and Obligations to become a part of their life.
There is no reason why that someone should be us.
Peace, Contentment, and Freedom are achieved by us when we
are in Harmony with our Divine Nature. And one of the simplest
ways we can accomplish this is by doing only those things we
truly want to do and by avoiding doing all those things we really
do not want to do.
Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.
Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.
© copyright Joseph Panek 2011
