TIES THAT BIND
You will want to click on the image to read, "Ties That Bind".
TIES THAT BIND
Originally written by me on, 19 Sept 2015
Edited with images on, 09 Nov 2015
As there are several pictures to help convey this message, you will need to scroll down the page, past each photo to read this enlightening message.
The ties that bind us to this physical world are all around us and are built into us. (more below)
For a moment we may think this is a good thing, but it is not. This writing will challenge the way we think and believe. Many may agree that anger, hate, greed, envy, gluttony, and other apparently negative behaviors affect us negatively. Further, though, other behaviors that we consider good can also affect us in negative ways. At first glance, some of these different emotions or behaviors appear only as "good" in their qualities, but when one looks further, even these sought-after attributes can and do bind us to the physical.
These apparently "good” attributes can be boiled down to pleasure. Not all things that we find comfort in are negative, but many are.
Not all things we consider as good behaviors are good, nor must they be wrong. Good and evil can indicate what we as a society have been taught is "morally" good or bad. One or many may consider something good, but in many instances, that is just what we perceive upon our initial glance or what we have been taught. Some will argue that certain behaviors such as love are a good thing, period. On the surface this would appear to be correct, but, even love can bind us to the physical and keep us from the spiritual. Some will have an initial desire to argue this point, which is understandable as we learned that love among other behaviors is a good thing. They can be in a physical realm and even in the spiritual dimension. However, they can and do also act as negatives.
When we feel anger, lust, envy, hatred, among other emotions, our actions usually have negative consequences. Even if we don't act upon those feelings, they can still have adverse effects on our bodies and also to us as spirits. Most will agree that these along with other emotions lead to negative actions, but that is where we stop. These feelings, I mentioned affect us not because morally they are wrong, but because they hold us to physical reactions, which in turn bind us to this physical realm. When one is envious, it is usually about something tangible that another has or has accomplished. When lust is present, it too is towards something physical as are other emotions and behaviors. One may argue that anger can be directed at a spiritual being such as God, but even then, it is physically addressed towards a material projection of the spiritual realm. If we desire money, we are bound to the physical. If we want things such as cars, clothes, houses, or any other objects, we are tied to the material. When we lust after another or others, we strengthen our bindings to this physical realm. These are not imaginative moral issues, but physical matters that further imprisons us. The more we want, or feel in this physical realm, the more we are tied to this realm. These ties, complications, require more and more of our attention, which in turn hold us where we are and disallow us from letting go of the physical. Even emotions thought of as positive can tie us to the physical and prevent us from growing. These lures are some of the strongest as we believe they are beneficial. These "positive" feelings and behaviors make us feel better about ourselves, which we perceive as human beings. If we were truly corporeal, then these traits may benefit us to some degree, but as we are spiritual, they only prevent us from realizing what we are and capable of being. When we feel "love," we feel bound to express and experience it. It brings us great pleasure. Our body's heart beats faster, we feel excited, our palms sweat, and we can hardly contain ourselves. Even though we feel amazing, these moments solidify that we are physical. There is no moral issue, but a fact of the physical life in which we exist and believe is us.
The more we live within the physical realm, the more we credit its illusions, feel its pain, its joys, and the more we are bound to live within its confines. For many, attending church once a week is considered their spiritual effort to become better people and connect to God. This one day a week effort has not and is not working. If it were, we would be further along than hating others for their beliefs, their skin color, or envying them for the things they have, looking down upon those who have less, or warring for decade upon decade.
We spend more time solidifying our material ties than we do setting ourselves free; hence we live within a world of pain and suffering. Yes, we find moments of joy, a marriage, a birth, accomplishments, but then we are reminded in no uncertain terms that these can and will be taken away. We justify these moments by saying, “that is life”, or we must cherish the good moments or a myriad of other platitudes. In the end, however, we lose all that we have, and we suffer, and those around and near us suffer. We suffer because we spent our time spinning a web that captures and holds us to our physical reality. Instead of spending so much time earning a living, buying another vehicle, a larger television, mortgaging ourselves to a larger home, or any of the other physical ties we hold on to, we should work towards understanding all that is physical is nothing more than lures attracting us to a realm filled with cyclic pleasure and pain.
Upon looking, we will come to see and understand. Upon our understanding, we will know of our spiritual beingness, and know the direction we must travel if we are to ever free ourselves from this illusion we call life. Life is so much more than what we believe we are, but until we look, we will not see. All that we need to do is challenge what we now think. We must at least challenge our beliefs, which will allow ourselves the chance to be what we really are. Should we decide, we prefer this physical realm, we as spiritual beings may choose to stay in this form. However, if we know of the freedoms of non-linear life, we have a choice, which is our inherent freedom. For those who chose not to look past your current understandings, you have solidified your futures. The pain, pleasure, and suffering will be your eternity. By your choice, you can open your world or remain closed to any further possibilities.
If we are ever to know what freedom is, we must allow ourselves to explore past what we believe is life. If we don't, we will never know of the choices we have, nor what is possible. This journey is not easy for those who believe life is just what we feel, see, hear, or smell, and is difficult because these senses tell us that we are physical. The difficulty is exacerbated by our not experiencing more than we do with our physical perceptions. Even though we may have spiritual experiences, we rarely explore them past that moment, which limits us to a belief and not the reality. Allowing ourselves to investigate beyond the physical is like hanging off a cliff by a rope. Many of us hold on to that rope and don't move, which solidifies our situation. If however, we decide to reach for another line or something that can allow us to move from that position, then and only then will we ever move from that point on the cliff to a better location. Yes, there may be some appearance of danger, but most of that is within our minds. We all must move, willingly or otherwise. It is wiser for us to choose to move in the direction we want, than it is for life to force us to move. Life, like rungs on a ladder, afford us differing experiences and points of view. If we never step up to the next level, we will never see what can be seen, nor experience the opportunities that we as spiritual beings are able to embrace. This physical life in which we exist can become comfortable, even when we experience pain and suffering. The unknown can be more frightful to us than the pain we feel. We can become dependent and comfortable with the pain and suffering because we know what it is, compared to something we have yet to experience. So, our lives are lived out in a cyclic repetition of pleasure and pain, and we become comfortable in its familiarity.
These ties that bind us, are bound by us. We choose to stay on rung seven on the ladder or feel safe clinging to our familiar ropes, and we remain static in our illusions. We come to see no further than the love we seek, the cars we drive, the sports team we support, the awesomeness of the things we collect, or the righteousness in our beliefs. We live lives bound by what we have tied. When we say we reap what we sow, we should look beyond the limits we apply to that saying. We sow many things, and in turn, we reap many things. If we plant only seeds of comfort, false beliefs, and familiarity, we will never harvest anything more. We must untie the ties that bind us if we are ever to be unbound and free ~ I Am - Wisdom
For more, click the link below to, “Freedom Does Not Behave”.
