Unexpected Freedom

Unexpected Freedomego. You could decide for example that once a week or oncea month you’re going to exercise saying ‘no’ to something.You might say ‘no’ to your wish to watch a particularprogram on television – not for any moral reason but simplyfor the cultivation of the ability to renounce without fallinginto inner argument or blind repression. As a result of yourexperiment in renunciation you will discover somethinginteresting – you will get your energy back. You will, guaranteed.If it doesn’t come the first time, say ‘no’ a few more times.Initially this energy may manifest as anger or restlessness.When you experience this agitation, you may decide thatsuch practice is not suitable for you. Or you may feel that youare beyond it, in which case you won’t have any doubtswhatsoever around energy and equanimity – you willalready be perfectly balanced. But if you are not quite thereyet, I would recommend persisting with it, sensitively andconsistently, learning from these initial reactions.Sometimes this practice can lead us to discoverresources we didn’t think we had. We might be surprised tofind that we are able to hold true to something, when in thepast we might have caved in under pressure. To take anexample: I have a general mistrust of the mass media andyet at the same time I can find their journalists andprogramme producers extremely persuasive. The editorsfor television and newspapers clearly send out their mostcharming interviewers in order to secure the material, butwhat they eventually broadcast can be somethingcompletely different to what was anticipated at the time thematerial was gathered.Some years ago when I had been left in charge of themonastery at Chithurst, some television people fromBrighton were pressing for permission to film a group ofschool children who were coming on a Religious Education124