How to be crucified
We are more than what other people think.
Each day, I check a list of notable birthdays. It's both fun and educational; I learn things like which composer wrote which famous classical piece. Today I saw that the late Harry Browne was born June 17, 1933. He was the Libertarian Presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, and a bestselling author before that.
Among his books is 1973's How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World. I haven't read it, but it recommends a self-directed life:
"An individual doesn't need to live in a free society in order to be free himself — and when he tries to change the world, he's in for a lot more trouble than he may have bargained for."
"You are the sovereign authority for your life. You are the ruler who makes the decisions regarding how you will act, what information you will accept. You do it anyway — but if you recognize that you do it, you can gain much greater control over your future."
Also today, I was listening to Rev. Gaylon McDowell's June 16, 2021 Truth Transforms podcast episode. He mentioned the appalling news item he saw a couple of years ago about Asian women getting surgeries to make their eyes look more "American." It's an extreme example of how society teaches that there are many things wrong with us that we must pay money to "fix."
That's the paradox of society. We're getting it from both ends. We're taught that society is evil, and are obligated to help change it. At the same time, we're pressured to look and act "normal," to conform to the expectations of the very same society we're told is evil!
Whatever we're taught, the problem is that we are taught. "To save America, you must give $50 (or more) to this political candidate!" Whose idea was that? Not yours. You read it or heard it. The message came to you through your senses.
And whose idea was it that you should lose weight? In some cases, your own body might be telling you, but often it comes from pressure to look "sexier" according to norms set by models in ads. Again, it's your eyes and ears - your senses - creating that thought.
I call this horizontal living. We see, hear, touch, smell, and taste whatever is in front, beside, or behind us, not so much what is above or below us. The experiences we often find most meaningful are created by other people.
Many of us derive our self-esteem from this outside stimulation, especially by what our eyes see and ears hear. The human, however, is a vertical being. The spine or the seven chakras can be used as a symbol, but our internal energy flows primarily in an up-and-down direction during our waking hours. And it is within the vertical human that we find intuition and imagination, that is, spirit.
This is what it means to be crucified: it is to remember our vertical or spiritual selves, and to allow spirit to "cross" through our horizontal lives. We can live lives of conscious action instead of merely reacting to what others are doing and saying.
Being crucified frees us from the standards of the world. Remembering that our strength comes from within our spiritual selves, we no longer have to live our lives to either please others with our sacrifices, or impress them with our looks or accomplishments.
I don't know if Harry Browne viewed himself as a spiritual person, but he was aware that power comes from within, not by the standards of the world. And as Gaylon McDowell says, "Success means accomplishing what you set out to do." It doesn't mean doing what others want or expect from you.
When we get mired in stress, confusion, and painful memories, we can remember that spirit transcends this life experience. We can "crucify" our worries and regrets and move forward consciously and confidently.
James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy his articles, subscribe and exchange value for value. You may contact James for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.
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