While in Post WALKING AND FREEDOM we talked about that path where we feel free to develop any activity or action, that is, the freedom of oneself, personal freedom, now we must analyze that other path where the other essential part of freedom of the human being is found, that other one where we must walk to reach it as an existential longing or as a metaphysical reality, that freedom that we know exists, but perhaps we do not understand it. And here will be the first step we take, answering the following question: Should we look for it and lead our steps to reach it, to be accompanied by it, or should we only try to feel free?
The concept of freedom has been described and registered as “one of the highest human feelings”, but is freedom just a romantic feeling, or is it an instinctive need? Is it an unconsummated longing a failed and inaccessible hope? An emotional mirage, fickle in its versatility and fickle in its fragility or capriciousness, a sentimental obsession, a subjective daydream or an unobjectable reality? Is freedom an unattainable ideal, a chimera, a metaphysical reality? We know that it is a cause of life, that it gives meaning to our life; but that it is also a cause of division, discord and competition.
In general, we can speak of two SUMMITS, which, without being the only ones, could encompass most of the different types and qualities of freedom, and therefore our need for freedom: psychological freedom: of the spiritual, soul, mental and metaphysical type (inner freedom); and physical, civil, political, economic freedom, with all its rights, of worship, of association, of expression and others (outer freedom).
Depending on the field of action or thought or ideology of the human being, we can speak of different paths that lead us to freedom, although all of them, in essence, mean practically the same thing: to lead us to civil freedom or inalienable rights regarding the life of the individual, which implies political, religious, ideological, educational freedom; which in turn include a wide range of specific freedoms according to the fields of action or conceptual to which they refer; and also to lead us to the other freedom, the psychological, mental, spiritual.
In itself, we can imagine that we must climb two types of frank SUMMIT (frank paths), which can lead us, each with its essential characteristics, one physical and the other psychological, to reach freedom.
Before analyzing these two conceptual paths, let’s talk a little about what freedom itself is.
Understanding what the concept of freedom is, it is quite complex; knowing the different approaches that have been formulated over time to explain how we should discover, achieve, feel and exercise it is an arduous task. As a sample of these complexities (crossroads, difficulties), the 103 opinions and points of view that I collected and are shown in my book Freedom 103 (*), issued by an equal number of men and women who studied and wrote about this subject, are enough. For this reason, I have presented in this Post a path that can bring us closer to its understanding, bifurcating it into 2 broad functional branches (of action): the physical and the psychological.
Although these names allow us to distinguish them in two clear and constructive categories, they could be modified, depending on the intellectualized perspective used. That is to say, one could schematize less by increasing the number of paths that lead us to its conception, but truly, I could not assure that it would help us better in that path. It is a representation that has been formulated in my mind after many years of “ruminating” around this concept and consulting about 400 books (physical and digital) that I have in my library that talk about this difficult subject of freedom.
In each of these viable and perspicuous and intelligible categories l have to respond to the following aspects:
Simple or complex?
Plain or rugged?
Natural or artificial?
Broad or limited?
Extensive or diffuse?
Liberal or totalitarian?
Tolerant or intolerant?
Reactionary or anarchic?
Prodigal or insufficient?
True or fictitious?
Certain or uncertain?
Conditional or unconditional?
Fair or unfair?
Clear or twisted?
Open or closed?
Positive or negative?
Restrictive or …?
As can be seen, giving a precise answer to each of these questions is not an easy task either.
Let’s move forward and start our analysis.
It is one thing to approach the concept of freedom through certain complicated paths, and another to approach freedom itself, to discover it, to feel it and to exercise it. Perhaps this is more difficult.
The first scenario I have decided to carry out in the future Post THE WALK OF 20 THINKERS ON THE CONCEPT OF FREEDOM, which I have divided into 3 Parts, which I will present in due time.
The second scenario of How to approach freedom itself! Will be dealt with in this Post.
Anyone would say that first we should focus on analyzing the 1st scenario. Logically so: first understand the “thing” and then get to it.
The reason is very simple as to why I reverse the process of forging a personal and special inherence of freedom. The practice of walking is the ideal means to orient us towards it, and in this case our summons (instigation, induction) is not metaphorical. The walk is an analogical preamble to enter its threshold and this will facilitate us to go deeper into its conceptualization, which in turn, will guide us to choose which of its paths and bifurcations we are inclined to, according to our personalities and attitudes, and of course to our own social, economic and cultural positions.
PHYSICAL STAGE TOWARDS FREEDOM.
What are the aspects that give this scenario, the physical? It is fundamentally conditioned by social, civilizational, political, economic and commercial dispositions.
It is not possible to hierarchize the different environments and conditioning factors that make up this stage, so our task is to analyze them in an order that I consider convenient, but does not mean hierarchy, importance or subordination.
I consider in the conformation of this physical scenario 8 functional paths that lead us to freedom:
1. Civil path.
Belonging to society. Being a citizen.
Citizen rights and obligations.
Every person, as a member of society, is entitled to social security.
2. Social path.
Relationships that people acquire by belonging to a society.
Social contract. To have the social circumstances to develop the conditions of all kinds of a social group, guaranteeing the human being the natural development of all his physical and mental faculties.
To achieve social welfare.
All human beings have the right to social and economic security and education.
All individuals, men and women, have the right to have a job, as well as the guarantee to rest.
For all individuals there must be legal equality, political equality, freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to universal suffrage.
3. Political path
Rights that individuals have or acquire to administer public affairs or participate in the government of a state and country.
The political path leads to the observance of the natural and imprescriptible rights of the human being. To achieve democracy in all countries of the world. To seek the application of democratic freedoms.
All individuals have political rights.
All people, men and women, have the right to participate in the government of their country.
For all individuals there is political equality and the right of universal suffrage.
4. Human Rights Path
Human Rights are those from which emanate the guiding principles that guarantee the freedom of the human being. Rights over life, existence and freedom itself.
Avoid injustice and discrimination.
Every individual is obliged to respect the human rights of others and fundamentally the right to live and freedom, as well as the legal precepts from which emanate the guiding principles that guarantee those human rights and individual guarantees, precepts on which are based the rest of the legal and administrative figures emptied in the various governing bodies of citizenship and other economic, political and social activities of the citizens of any country, as well as the rest of the laws and legal regulations that exist in the society of each nation.
Slavery is prohibited. The slave trade is prohibited in all its forms.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
5. Individual Guarantees Path
They are the legal precepts on which the governing bodies of citizenship, both social economic and political, are based for the provision of legal and administrative figures that are used in citizen regulation.
Guarantee of respect for human rights.
All human beings are born free.
All individuals have the right to move freely and to choose their residence. They also have the right to leave their country and to return to their country. They also have the right to a nationality, to private, individual and collective property, and no one may be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
6. Partnership Path
Seek a balance between duties and rights. It seeks respect and protection of human rights in general. Seek equality, right to life and avoid discrimination.
For all individuals there is freedom of association.
7. Religious Path
All human beings have the right to their freedom of belief.
All individuals have the right to religion.
Everyone has the right to freedom of religion, the freedom to change his religion or belief, as well as the freedom to manifest his religion or belief, individually and collectively, both in public and in private, by teaching, practice, worship and observance.
8. Path of Expression
For all individuals there exists the freedom and the right of expression and thought.
All persons, men and women, have the right to freedom of opinion and expression and also to disseminate them, regardless of frontiers, by any means of expression.
To assist in the full exercise of human rights, guaranteeing the development of human beings and their individual freedoms. To prevent the violation of human rights worldwide.
All individuals have the right to freedom of thought and conscience.
All individuals have the right to information.
All of these paths refer to an external freedom and all of them are interrelated, juxtaposed and contain a very important link when they are unveiled before the concept of freedom.
CULTURAL STAGE TOWARDS FREEDOM
On this scenario we can walk taking into account the cultural aspects (**), that is to say, with respect to taking into account, on the one hand, the cultural factors that intervene in this stage, we can point out that 1) culture is a formation of the spirit; 2) culture is the organization of the inner world (personal life) and 3) culture tends to satisfy the essential desire of the human being; a bifurcation that is intertwined with the unconscious, subconscious, psychic, emotional aspects.
I consider in the conformation of this cultural scenario 6 functional paths that lead us to freedom:
1. Psychological path
The psychic causes that explain human behavior, in search of individual freedom, both in a conscious and unconscious state.
2. Spiritual path
Study of the causes that guide the knowledge of people’s spiritual behavior, searching for freedom of the spiritual type (art and religion).
3. Soul path
The soul behavior of individuals, in relation to their position with respect to inner freedom.
4. Emotional path
Study of the emotional states of the being in an analysis of both external and internal freedom.
5. Mental path
State of mind and knowledge of the individual in relation to his social environment, in search of freedom.
6. Metaphysical path
This path is defined by the search for freedom without taking into account the causes that obstruct it. That is to say, it is sought within the natural aspects – not supernatural – but beyond ordinary analysis and transcending known and habitual thoughts.
As in the physical scenario, all of these paths are interrelated, juxtaposed and contain a very important linkage when they are unveiled before the concept of freedom, but they are referred to inner freedom.
The complexity of achieving freedom can be seen by the mere fact that it is necessary to consider the paths of both scenarios in order to reach it. That is to say, it implies the sum of these efforts and not the choice of one or the other. This is what objectively represents to feel it and its achievement: the complementarity of several efforts (work, struggles, battles), since it is indispensable to travel through all these paths for its unveiling and exercise.
Now, I am going to transmute the word “freedom” for that “liberation”, with the precise objective of evaluating how much -and how- the WALK-RWD System and walking can help us to reach it.
For it, simply on the one hand, I will summarize what I have tried to transmit -in the hundred posts that I have published in the Blog- about the multiple aspects that the WALK-RWD System helps us to free ourselves considerably:
– Fatigue
– Boredom
– Negative emotions
– Blockage in artistic creation
– Harmful habits
– Aches and pains
– Discouragement
– Monotony
– Discouragement
– Obesity
– Procrastination
– Sedentariness
– Bad mood
– Illnesses
– Physical dysfunctions
– Irregularity at work
– Negative performance at work
– Indifference and disinterest
– Pessimism
– Pain
– Inner restlessness
– Abnormal loneliness (psychic)
This series allows us to know in how many ways we could free ourselves from all these aspects that restrict and condition us in our daily behavior.
There is also, on the other hand, a similar number of physical, mental, cultural, artistic, etc., aspects that provide us, directly and efficiently, the knowledge of how to achieve personal freedom, which of course are behavioral guidelines:
– Better govern Abstraction
– Improved concentration
– Propitiate Contemplation
– Improve Creativity
– Increase Efficiency and Productivity
– Performing Physical Exercises
– Promoting Positive Emotions
– Substantial Improvement in Enthusiasm
– Writing
– Encouragement of Positive Habits
– Playing
– Reading
– Facilitating and encouraging Meditation
– Increasing Motivation
– Use of free time
– Availability and use of leisure time
– Increased passion in accomplishing things
– Expansion of creative thinking
– Facilitating and improving personal fulfillment
– Encouraging physical, mental, emotional and sentimental Relaxation
– Increased resilience
– Improved sexuality
– Increased production of organic substances
– Improved availability of time
– Positive and beneficial solitude
In these two meanings of the concept of liberation, we observe that one of them means the elimination of “behaviors and afflictions” that trap (reach, apprehend, imprison) the human being, independently of his social or economic position, which could well lead us to think of a negative freedom, under the concepts of liberation from negative aspects, of freeing ourselves from something; the other meaning means the improvement -in quantity and quality- of his diverse actions in his daily proceeding (acting, production), which could well guide us to think of positive freedom since it places us in freedom to perform positive actions.
Let us walk these 2 routes that are impregnable summits with the objective of glimpsing in some way to feel free, the recommendation is to start climbing them and the best way is to experience Freedom by walking, applying the WALK-RWD System in an integral way. I have no doubt that when I start walking I begin -immediately- to feel parts of that” lady Freedom” that begins to touch me with its miraculous influences.
Walking means that we can express ourselves by ourselves, seeking liberation from negativities and pursuing the freedom to satisfy our needs.
I invite you to give it a try. Let’s reverse the process of forging an inherent freedom of our own; let’s go meet that lady, feel her, and then inquire into her conceptualization. Let us first feel its content and leave for later the knowledge of what is said about it. Let us perceive her first and perhaps then we will understand her better. All that is needed is a small personal effort -walking is free and liberating- and to place ourselves on the path; a situation that we can affirm will be magical. Let us walk and seek to hold on to his hand.
Let us pursue and reach for freedom as we walk. Let us seek to walk in order to be free.
In “walking” we generate an essentially human freedom.
Who perseveres in walking becomes free.
(*) Loya Lopategui, Carlos, Libertad 103, EMULISA, Mexico, 2009.
(**)DEFINITION OF CULTURE: In order to clarify the concept of culture, we will resort to what Paul Diel expresses: “Civilization is an intellectual formation; culture is a formation of the spirit. Civilization is the organization of the external world (social life); culture is the organization of the internal world (personal life). Civilization tends to satisfy multiple desires; culture tends to satisfy the essential desire, in Diel, Paul, Psychoanalysis of divinity, F.C.E., Mexico, 1974, pp. 71-72.