The word independence has so many layers of meaning. Indeed, it has individual applications, and it has universal applications. Each of us must decide how it applies to us, then, how it will provide for us the greatest impact, the greatest improvement to our perception of life, and how we can therefore proceed in life in a more meaningful and productive way because of its very development. To me, independence implies the need to be independent of something, to be apart, or move away, from that which controls, imposes, or limits. Yes, to have a greater understanding of oneself, one must become independent of the outside, of others, to a great extent, in order to truly have a sense of individuality, to truly know the self, who that self is, and what that self has to offer. This is the ultimate goal of self-understanding, to bring forward the complete self, and provide this more complete self to the greater whole, of which, it has always been a part.
If this best individual self that is discovered becomes the only self, however, the center of everything, then a sense of personal power becomes the impetus to living. The individual will believe that this self, what it knows, what it understands to be true and correct, has the right to impose, control, and direct the outside world, and all the others who live there. The power to know oneself is therefore seen as an acquisition of some ultimate truth, a truth that must be the same truth in everyone and everything. My friends, this is the great illusion. You see, if our self-awareness, although a critical first step, becomes a way to impose or control, then no real truth has been found. What is implied here is that the illusion of the individual self as the real and only center is indeed temporary. What will follow this critical self-awareness is an awareness of the self as part of a greater whole. Group-awareness becomes the next phase of development. Sameness between the individual self and all other selves, all that exists on the outside, is now seen as the truer reality. The soul within all is now perceived.
A true independence is really an independence from the smaller, individual self, then, is it not? A rugged individualism, if pursued indefinitely, will only create a continued sense of separation from the greater whole. In a very definite way, individual freedom, although necessary initially, is only a temporary freedom, you see. What many of us experience today is a longing to be free of this isolated self, to be a part of something more. Ultimately, if we are to truly know ourselves, we must sense our innate need to belong, to know others as well. To create that sense of wholeness, which is essentially the peace each of us seeks, self-interest, and the selfishness it leads to, must be transcended. Dearest companions, a goal which is not impossible, but inevitable. The greatest independence we could possibly achieve, then, is an independence from perceived limitation, or a temporary awareness that the individual self is the only self that is. A higher, more inclusive awareness, that of the higher self or soul, becomes the new reality created in this most necessary realization. Remember, it is the soul which is the group, it is the soul which is everything.
The real goal of the development of the individual self, of the temporary removal of oneself from the outside, from the influence of the views of others, is the opportunity to create an ability to think for oneself. Let it be said, most human beings believe they have their own thoughts, but these thoughts are merely born of a mass thoughtform the majority of human beings have agreed upon, and therefore believe to be correct. The purpose of the individual self, and the independent thinking that must come from it, is a development of the discriminating part of mind, in which the self must discover and decide what is real and what is not. Indeed, what is true and what is not true. Then, higher truth, better ideas, a more inclusive reality, can begin to make its way. The independence we seek, is a freedom from mass beliefs that are always born of limitation, a limited perspective, and a temporary reality. Two of the most important mass thoughts each of us must become independent of, are the belief that money and things can make us happy, or provide a sense of ultimate fulfillment, and the belief that the physical life and world are all that is. Dearest friends, once we truly become an individual self, with that all important ability to think independently, then access to the higher reality, the level of the soul, becomes ours. It is a group effort, a group understanding, a greater whole that will be discovered. This is the new mass thought, the new belief, that we have the potential to express today. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes willingness. It takes humility. When we find the freedom to bring these things forward, true peace now becomes possible. Better ideas, appropriate and necessary solutions, begin to flow through us. Essentially, we will become independent of a perceived permanent limitation, which has been our reality for a very long time. That is, that the individual self must win at all cost at all times. It is our time today, it is our opportunity today, to change our minds, to become the greater self that includes all.
In the United States today, each of its citizens have been given a gift. A gift to realize what the Forefathers intended to create. A freedom of opportunity, yes. A freedom from tyranny and imposition, yes. A freedom from dominance and control, yes. A freedom to think for oneself, yes. A freedom to pursue equality, yes. My friends, many do not understand what freedom really is and means, where it comes from, nor its very necessity. Unfortunately, many do not have the capacity to truly appreciate what has already been given. Unfortunately, oftentimes, we do not know what we really have until it is taken away. What is happening in the United States is true for the rest of the world, it is a realization for all of humanity. I hope we are paying attention. What the Forefathers of America intended was not a pursuit of the individual self at the cost of everyone else. The only reason many decided to return to tyranny as the answer, is because they did not have what they needed. In reality, they did not choose tyranny, they chose change. When we’re desperate, my friends, we’ll do anything to be free. We’ll do whatever it takes to have what we need. The ones who do not understand, we will love them more. We will teach what needs to be taught, and we will give them the time they need to figure this out for themselves. The decisions made within our current government must be felt and experienced by every American. If change is chosen, then any positive change, and those who can truly provide it, must finally be recognized. What the Forefathers of the United States were really attempting centuries ago, was something that had never been attempted before, anywhere in the world. That is, the establishment of true equality. Indeed, an opportunity to bring a vast diversity together in one common purpose. Only within equality can each of us have what we need. In other words, what each of us needs is what each other also needs. What was provided for us, then, was an opportunity for loving cooperation. Again, we have a human need, based on a spiritual foundation that applies to all. The United States Supreme Court, the Republican Party, Donald Trump and all his associates and advisors, and the obscene greed of the Corporate World, will help all of us remember what it is we really want to create. What we intended centuries ago is what we still intend. It is a continued pursuit of real freedom, a freedom for all of humanity, a freedom that can only be found in our journey together. We will succeed by our own sacrifice. A sacrifice that will include every opportunity to help the ones who do not understand, to understand. Beyond any doubt, the soul of the United States will be born. In this greatest of happenings, the entire world will remember, all of humanity will know the better, the higher, the truer reality coming our way. Yes, there will be tears. Tears not of despair, but of rejoicing. Indeed, our entire potential will come alive in every way. An expression of our true nature. Not tomorrow, but today.
Independence Day. What does that mean? Well, it means everything. Fellow brothers and sisters, we cannot go back, simply because we do not remember where we used to be, and who we used to be. In other words, all we really have to do is see how far we have already come. This is our guarantee of a future full of promise. What must be realized by each of us is that the individual self cannot succeed unless every other individual self also succeeds. If any person, group, or nation is to find real freedom, then this freedom must be lived in every moment, and it must be offered to every other in every moment. The self that has retreated into a necessary development of self-awareness, self-knowledge, and self-love, can now return to the outer world in service, with a full awareness of the greater group, the greater whole. All will then be aware. All will then know. All will then be loved. Again, what a wonderful humanity, what a beautiful world! Share it. In this sharing, the small self is forgotten. True freedom has been found. Real independence has been achieved. A new life, the soul in each, is born. This is our path, and it is the same path for all. “Independence Day” is “Peace and Plenty Day”. Let each of us provide all effort.
Be well, friends. Have fun together. Love each other. Create a better world. Express life as it is. Life is a unified purpose. Life is a unified goal. Life is a promise to be all that is.