Radical Relationships
Emanuel H. Brown
Day 1 of 5: The Road to Freedom
“I was free. But there was no one to welcome me to the land of Freedom.”
–Harriet Tubmam
FREEDOM — say it out loud. See how the sound of it resonates in your spirit. Feel it as it rests on your own skin.
What would it be like to feel more free? To have more freedom in your relationships? To be able to navigate the world with the joy, pleasure, and ease that comes with Freedom?
In this world of chaos, the vibration of freedom is more difficult than ever to catch. We are bombarded with distractions and have little space to imagine a world where we are FREE. Our relationships, bodies, and creativity suffer when unable to be bathed in the light that freedom provides.
Many of us get lost in the social media-generated storm of comparison—relinquishing voice, vision, and identities for likes. Our creativity is co-opted by the algorithm telling us what to believe and buy. We reinforce individualism by keeping our healing in the shadows and our altars to ourselves, presenting only the most polished versions of our lives. We compete with each other to become the “wokest,” believe our relationships must suffer for “holiness,” and make silent agreements with loneliness. Shame for our actions, experiences, and circumstances keep us bound and isolated.
Yet, we all can find our way back to freedom.
Whatever our version of freedom looks like, as Harriet Tubman reminds us: there is no point in getting to freedom land alone. As conductors on this road to freedom, it is our responsibility to share our journey with those around us. By inviting others into our transformation, we invite in inspiration, encouragement, and hope. We invite vulnerability, intimacy, and the opportunity to be deeply known. Different than our traditional notions of proselytizing, the invitation to Freedom Practice is one that creates more possibilities, is anchored in consent, and requires that we embrace transformation in the pursuit of collective freedom.
My intention is to engage you in practices to help you anchor in relationships as we face uncertain times. In this journey together we will have the opportunity to explore freedom as an embodied reality and be challenged to take our practices beyond our private experiences. You will be asked to take risks for the sake of greater intimacy, deeper connections and collective liberation.
To prepare for this journey I invite you to take a moment with your own breath. Breathe in and out five times. Say the word, “freedom.” Repeating it as many times as needed. Notice where you feel it in your body. Notice if there are images, colors or sounds. Describe your experience to a beloved in your life.
Emanuel H. Brown (he/him)