A practical advice you can use to do the trick .
See that beautiful bird inside a cage. The cage is open. The bird can fly any time. Will the bird fly?
I don't think so.
The bird represents our mind which is lovely. When we come to this world this mind is free.
Free of any perceptions.
Free of any habits.
When we grow we develop perceptions. Lot of them.
Our experience and knowledge shape our character. These perceptions are represented by the cage in the above picture.
At any given time the cage is always open. We know it. But just like that bird we are vulnerable.
We are afraid.
As we grow old the bars in the cage grow stronger.
Once we start to pursue the path to know who we are, maybe we can understand our cage better.
Maybe one day we can break free.
Worth a try.
image credit - jeffzelaya.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Bird-Escaping-From-Cage.jpg
Ah, I enjoy reading posts like this. You can see also that some birds tried to escape their cage, just to come back hurt and disappointed. So even if you fly out of the cage, it is never a promise that you achieved a true freedom till the end.
@estrofiore Great point. In the bird's case the chances are high that they have forgotten their survival instincts. In case of humans we have instinct plus a beautiful mind.
Maybe I did not present it well. But, the idea was not to escape the prison of negative mindset people have. The trick is to understand oneself. It is not hard to mind one's mind if they give it a try.
The last part of setting it free is actually spiritual pursuit. I don't know about other religions so well. I know (a bit) about Hinduism. The ultimate goal if one practices spirituality the Indian way is to escape Maya. Rising above happiness and sorrow and achieving true freedom. I can easily write about it, but to achieve it, is a very difficult task.
But, it all starts with knowing about your cage, I mean knowing about oneself. I am not sure whether I was able to give a reasonable argument to your comment. Thanks for this interaction.
My pleasure! I like discussing such kind of things and yes, I understood your point. Although, I consider myself agnostic, and I also read just a little about different religions, hinduism as well.
You mentioned spiritual pursuit, and as for me, I never connected it with any religion. It is fine, that other people found a solution in whatever religion they believe in. But as for me, I never received satisfactory answers from any of them. I guess, I still have a long journey to go :)
Sure. I liked the interaction we had. The answer chases curious minds. You are good if you are curious. and in search of knowledge. I am myself a materialistic soul. Just living in the moment. I like discussing philosophy with whatever limited understanding I have. See you around.