My son lives in the north part of the city. But he likes the downtown. He just doesn’t like to pay the new, increased fare to get there. I suggest to him the he not begrudge spending money on a transit ticket.  It’s literally and figuratively his “ticket to ride,” as the Beatles’ song put it.

It’s his ticket to having multiple choices of where he wants to go and what he wants to do. In other words, it’s his ticket to relative (conventional) freedom.

How about the ticket that takes us beyond the myth of  freedom? For me, real freedom is to go beyond the karma we have created and constantly and unwittingly maintain by our actions.

How do we go beyond? Cut through? Change?

In short, we need to change our attitude, our perspective.

How?

Two main ways:

1. study; and
2. practice

Study what? How our ignorance of the real nature of reality creates karma and traps us in that karma.

Practice what? The  practices I do seem to be two-fold, but not mutually exclusive by any means. One type creates the environment where I can start to understand the real nature of reality in a direct way. The second type helps me to change my attitude.

This then takes us into the land of multiple choices, as it were. Again, in terms of our two main categories of study and practice:

1. There are many genuine teachings to study to bring about a change in perspective, to change our confusion into wisdom. Only you can know what teaching is for you.
2. There are many practices to bring about a change in attitude.

In terms of number 2, as I wrote above, the basic practices I do seem to be two-fold, but not mutually exclusive.

2 a) One type creates the environment where I can start to understand the real nature of reality in a direct way: basic meditation.

2b) The second type helps me to change my attitude: practices of loving-kindness, compassion, moving beyond self-absorption. Some simple ones can be found here.

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