West
The Western world tells us daily that the only way to achieve freedom is thru financial success. All that ‘American Dream’ package with the white fence, expensive car, nice clothes, and keeping up with the neighbors.
If you want to embark on this journey, you have to set clear goals, work your ass off, and fail until one beautiful day; you make it.
And I can promise you that you will make it. If you are disciplined and perseverent, you will get everything you want financially. If you can dream it, you will find a way and get it. Trust me!
I went on this route, and I woke up one day surrounded by people I did not know nor like, and with some ‘unhealthy’ habits I picked up along the way to keep myself motivated and focused. It was the most empty and disgusting feeling I have ever felt in my entire life. If you study Jim Carrey and Kanye West, you’ll learn more about what I am talking about.
East.
The Eastern way to achieve freedom is to build and maintain a relationship with the higher power that governs existence and train yourself not to need anything. This philosophy teaches that the less you need, the happier you are.
After the Western faze, I went thru a divorce (I only recommend the experience if you are 1000% sure it is necessary) and spent the next three years mostly alone reading, meditating, and praying. It is a fantastic experience. It all culminated with my visiting Mount Athos in Greece. Mount Athos is an orthodox holy place where women cannot go. So the only people living there are orthodox celibate monks highly disciplined with working, sleeping, eating, speaking, and paying. Most live in monasteries, but some live alone in the wilderness, isolated, in the mountain.
For me, this was the other extreme. I don’t know about you, but I love socializing with friendly people and sharing my life with my family and friends. I am also an ambitious person. I like achieving success in what I do, having nice things, and traveling the world.
Middle way.
The middle way to achieve freedom, the best way, is to combine the other two.
First, make your primary goal of building a relationship with God. Then, as I heard Denzel Washington say, put God first in everything you do.
If you adopt this philosophy, it will be easier for you to find your purpose in this world, and when you fail because you will fail, you won’t feel alone or isolated, and you will learn to see failure as a learning experience and part of the process. Also, winning will be so much more full of purpose because it won’t build up a nasty EGO.
So, to get you started on this fantastic new life journey, find a quiet place, face East (where the sun rises), and start talking to God simply and sincerely in your own words and not involving any religion or creed that you might have. Let me give you an example:’Hello God. I am sorry that I have not talked to You in a while, but I want to say thank You for the fact that I was born on this beautiful planet.’ Please keep it simple, don’t overcomplicate things, and build slowly.
I gave an example to get you going and start building up a daily routine where you tell Him how grateful you are for everything you have, ask for forgiveness for everything you do wrong because you are human and make mistakes daily and also ask for guidance and help with everything you want to achieve.
Take this on for 30 days and watch how your life changes. I dare you. Adopting this daily routine allows you to open yourself up to Grace and Favor.
You have nothing to lose but everything to gain!
Yours truly, Cristian.