Cultivating Inner Freedom

In August’s “We Conspire” series, Rev. SeiFu Anil Singh-Molares invites us to consider how true freedom grows from within. Rev. Singh-Morales of Spiritual Directors International offers a deep look at the intersection of philosophy and the liberating practices of contemplation and spiritual direction. 

“Know thyself,” said the ancient Greek poet Pindar, more famously repeated by Socrates. Suggesting that you can’t really know anything outside of yourself, without knowing what’s inside first.   

Wouldn’t the same be true of freedom? That we have to experience it within, before we can manifest it out in the open? 

A response might begin by identifying the traps in our logic and discourse, shaped as they often are by false dichotomies, and either-or thinking. We might say that these are the limitations of much of Western thought—especially after the false Cartesian split of mind and body. But we can also just as easily flip this around to note that it is all a matter of perspective. The supposed limits of our language can reveal the way forward. Nowhere more so than in poetic discourse, and the language of the mystics, always pointing to an experience beyond itself. 

In short, while freedom has no distinctions, whether inner or outer, it is also true that the deeper inside we go, the further out we extend. 

In terms of our spiritual lives, two of the main keys are contemplation (in all of its forms, including prayer, walking, sitting and working meditation, among others), and spiritual direction. With contemplation, we cultivate our ability to go deeper step by step, layer by layer. We work on our spiritual maturity, facilitating the evolution of freedom in action. Like a seedling growing into a sprout, then a young tree with tender and flexible branches, to a stout one able to withstand the strongest of winds because of the deep inner roots that anchor it. From the inside out, first and always.   

Spiritual direction is a process through which we become able to filter, discern and process our spiritual longing, giving ourselves the necessary context to more effectively facilitate and absorb direct experiences of God and the Universe. In time, we become able to share those experiences with others. 

This is an inner process and a march to spiritual freedom. It creates a symbiotic, and mutually reenforcing rhythm with our contemplative practices. Contemplation and spiritual direction walk side by side, and depend on one another always, regardless of whatever phase of our lives we find ourselves in.  Neither loses relevance, and both are grounded in authentic practice, which can be recognizable for both directors and directees alike.     

Which brings us back to one of the ultimate manifestations of our spiritual lives: to walk and operate in growing freedom.   

Freedom from fear, of so-called “birth” and so called “death,” knowing that we arise, reside, and extend far beyond both. Freedom, also, from the often trivial pursuits of this world, to which we attach so much undue importance.   

Freedom that continuously reminds us of the boundless expanse of God and the Universe.  Freedom to live our lives in full accord with our higher principles. Free from unnecessary stress and anxiety. Free to become seamless and flowing in our actions.   

It all begins and ends with the inner, and eventually outer, freedom that contemplation and spiritual direction facilitate working hand in hand. Contemplation is the water and sustenance for our spiritual evolution, and spiritual direction is the growing architecture by which we can process and discern. Both allow us to disentangle what’s truly important from what’s not, and what’s ultimately meaningful from what’s not. Both practices support us in prioritizing our spiritual lives and fill them with a dedication to kindness towards others, and a good and growing understanding of our place in this endless expanse we call God and the Universe.   

Rev. Seifu Anil Singh-Molares, Osho (MTS) is the Executive Director of Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a motivational speaker, a Zen priest, and a practicing spiritual director and companion. After nine years at SDI, his relish and enthusiasm for the SDI community continues to grow. He has dedicated his life to promoting the virtues of spiritual direction and companionship as healing modalities, through various incarnations including his current ones, as well as a scholar of comparative religions. He has a graduate degree from Harvard University in that field. 

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“We Conspire” is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom and stories from the growing Christian contemplative movement. Sign up for the monthly email series and receive a free invitation to practice each month.