Freedom is one of Sozieterna’s social principles and it is constitutional. It means however more than the French connotation of Liberty, which was a political cry for freedom from an oppressive and overindulgent regime of the French monarchy.

For Sozieternas freedom is a force and a state, meaning it has dual propensities. It also means one has a purpose, the other one is. Sozieternas utilize the force, as well as they access the state. That is expressed in the way their society functions and how the individual operates.  

Freedom as a force, or vector, has action and re-action. It is manipulated by other elements of matter, all of it ruled by the law of physics. But it is essentially a “rule breaker” that will always seek to break out of the status quo. If the status quo is chaos it will strive to achieve harmony, if it is harmony it will escape thereby creating chaos. It is experienced differently from the point of an observer or the point of the participant and it will have a different quality if it occurs in a system of inertia or a closed rotational field system ( eg.: the planet earth, the solar system would fulfill such role on a bigger scale ),  where it may be named the centrifugal force. It is held in check by the centripetal force, or the gravitational force. The point is, one force “wants to flee”, while the other does not want to “let go”. If you watch it as an observer from the outside, you can see the struggle, if you are the participant, you can feel the struggle.

Freedom as a state has none of this, it is free, it just is. 

The mental and emotional world of ours is a sublimation of nature’s forces, any force to be correct. The ones who theorize about it are us humans, but all living organisms are ruled by them; the higher developed ones can experience them at varying levels of cognition and feelings or emotions.  

 Animals, not only Homo sapiens, strive for freedom as well, instinctively may be, but particularly and very obviously when they suffer in captivity. 

Considering that we are made of matter and are bound to the laws of physics the conclusion is that we have no freedom at all. As soon as we talk matter, there are rules to follow. As soon as we have a body we are incarcerated.

So maybe we have mental freedom? Sadly no, our whole mental functioning depends on the brain’s wiring, circuitry, hardware, software, you name it. Some people have more brain function than others; some have “no brain at all”. We depend on our neurons, neuro-hormons, neuro-chemicals to be able to think, to be able to feel.  However, the notion of freedom is there, but now it is conceptualized rather than recognized as a force that is inherent to all matter, bound to all matter and absolutely obeying its law. So, there is freedom? Of course there is, it is after all a force, but its implication is relative.

Freedom as a force in motion follows a direction. It constantly tries to break free and always will struggle with re-action, and attachment, or if you like with its centripetal or gravitational opposition.

Can freedom be eliminated? No, not as long as the universe is in motion. Can it be halted? Yes. But as with any frustration, it just will seek another course. 

Now, is there something like absolute freedom? Yes, but it is something very different indeed, a paradox ‘par excellance’. It appears after liberating the force from its motion that is the paradox of freedom absolute. When freedom’s motion ceases to exist it is no longer recognizable as freedom, it is not associated with freedom though of course it is still there, but it just does not resemble freedom. It is qualitatively absolute, meaning freedom is absolute when there is nothing to strive for. As the Buddhist would say, it is desirable to get rid of all desires! Buddha would say all desire has to go. Or, the absence of freedom as the force we know is the state of absolute freedom. This is the state when freedom is.

All humans can in fact experience absolute freedom. It is an incredible feeling of deliberation, but it only lasts briefly indeed. This brief period lies between the end of having exhaled fully and the natural urge to take the next breath. Breathing exercises as taught to people suffering anxiety or panic attacks, if taught correctly, guide the person to let go of everything, hence breathing out and not rushing into the next breath, which inevitably comes by itself. During that gap of “neither- nor”, the body and all its functions has the ultimate rest and piece. It is freedom at its best. It allows the living body, the mind and the soul a glimpse into motionless existence without being in fact dead. It does not imply that not breathing is the ultimate freedom, nor that death is absolute freedom. We all have heard the statement, in death lies our freedom. That only means we are free of our body, which is a kind of freedom, relative freedom that is.

Absolute freedom may however not be that state of bliss that is suggested by the above mentioned example. Or at least it is not the only one that may emotionally be experienced. Chaos may invoke the notion of fear. Both are possible, both can co-exist.  

Having established that there are two sides to freedom it is necessary to point out that most time when we talk about freedom we find that our views are not shared by others. Naturally, that is due to what we find desirable and what not.

It is fair to say that most people desire freedom as a means to have a better life. It sure is true to a point: To live in a society free of oppression, torture, persecution ensures there is quality to life and value. To have freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom to come and go as you please truly empowers us as an individual in an otherwise anonymous crowd. But the struggle for freedom has no end by its nature; in fact, it is terrifying in a way as wars are fought over what is one’s freedom or the shackle for another. It is however not intended to take away the honors of any freedom fighter, but it sure needs to be looked at critically what freedom they are fighting for.

Even within a democratic society freedom is limited. There are laws, there is social etiquette, there is economic restraint and the threat to the way we are accustomed to live, because others don’t like it for whatever reason.

On the personal level the battles are fought inside. We suffer the emotional and physical pain of having to deal with all this limitations that are environmentally forced on us. Worse is what confronts us from within, our inner demons so to speak. They are the reasons why societies need laws, because without them, hell on earth would be even worse than it already is.  

Freedom? What freedom? Oh Mr. President give us bread, give us play, take care of us, protect us, but remember, if you don’t, we get another president who promises he can. Oh Lord, give us love, give us peace, give us happiness, though the prayer should be, please forgive us we have forgotten that you gave us freedom to make our own choices.

Should we abandon our zest for freedom? No, not at all! As long as there are people and animals out there who suffer we should never tire to implement the principles of freedom, as relative as they may be. But the overall goal really is to achieve a balance within ourselves, foster our responsibilities, our self-control and integrity that allows us to deal with the shortcomings of relative freedom and enables us to face the consequences of absolute freedom and after all, enjoy both of them.