How To Break Out Of Prison

How To Break Out Of Prison
In Three Easy Steps
"Lester's Secret To Freedom"
by Peter Michel

All of us have our comfort zone. This is the prison set for us by our ego. In fact, one way to describe the ego is the "prison guard" who keeps us confined to our comfort zone.

Your comfort zone is where you feel most comfortable and where there's little resistance. Some have a larger comfort zone than others. The larger your comfort zone, the greater your freedom and latitude, and the greater your success and happiness in life.

Many of us are actually more comfortable in lack than in abundance; more comfortable in turmoil than in peace; more comfortable in unhappiness than in joy. Where have you set your comfort zone?

The moment you try to push past your comfort zone, you experience resistance. That's the ego-mind and its programs (feelings) keeping you imprisoned.

Most of us are unaware of the bars of our self-imposed prison, which are invisible and impenetrable, except by those with extraordinary will, and then often only for a very short while before willpower collapses under the weight of ego resistance.

In order to escape from this prison, you first have to recognize that you're in a prison. If you don't know you're in one, then you'll remain ever bound and unaware of the true freedom that lies outside the prison walls.

How to escape from prison

A daily exercise that will help us escape from our mental prison is "stretching." As often as possible, we should give ourselves a mental stretch past our comfort zone. And, a stretch is just that, a stretch. It should not break us.

You will know you are properly stretching yourself when it feels like you are trying to drive with the brakes on. The moment you take your foot off the gas and stop exerting willpower, the car will come to a grinding halt. It might also feel like you are pushing up against a wall or a clutch shows up in your stomach or chest.

If you are not actively stretching yourself and feeling resistance, then you are stuck in ego. You won't usually experience resistance when watching TV shows or partaking in other distractions, because you aren't challening the limits of your ego's prison bars.

The moment you stretch yourself, you should fully expect the resistance to come up so you are prepared for it. This way it is easier to welcome it fully.

Once you welcome it, simply allow it to release either directly or through the three "wants." Each time you do this, you will be actively dismantling your ego programs that form the bars of your invisible prison.

Where have you set your comfort zone?

• In your relationships?
  Are they emotionally distant or loving?
  
• In your finances?
  Are you thriving or barely surviving?
  
• In your overall level of happiness?
  Are you happy or relatively unhappy?
  
• In your health?
  Are you healthy or sick?
  
• In your degree of inner peace?
  Are you peaceful or disturbed?
  
• In the overall balance in your life?
  Are you balanced or out of control?
  
• In your living situation?
  Is it ideal or merely tolerable?
  
• In your exercise program?
  Do you exercise or are you a couch potato?

Rarely do we deliberately stretch ourselves past our comfortable mental climate to see if we can make ourselves comfortable in other climates. In other words---we like our lives to be lukewarm and are stuck living a "room temperature" existence.

A tropical life

Perhaps this is why many of us envision the idyllic life in a tropical environment with a warm sun and cool breeze swinging on a hammock under a palm tree and blue skies. Step outside of that comfort zone and we go, "Brrrrr, it's cold!" or "Wow! It sure is hot!" and then quickly return to the comfort of what is most familiar to us. This would explain the popularity of tropical cruises. But, you can't escape from your prison this way. It just reinforces it. Many of us have become quite adept at attempting to escape our mental prisons by taking vacations. I guess that's why we often call a vacation "an escape" but it really isn't. It's just a distraction.

What if, instead of mindlessly remaining in your preset comfort zone, you actively sought out a little bit of discomfort in order to expand your freedom? What if you actively stretched yourself to spend some time in the hot or cold areas of your life where your resistance is the greatest, and allow yourself to become comfortable there, too, by releasing your resistance to it?

When you do this, you are increasing your freedom. You are, in essence, saying "NO!" to your prison bars and "YES!" to a greater freedom of expression as you begin to reclaim your Infinite nature.

The prison bars will remain until you face them and dissolve them through releasing. Until then, you take those prison bars with you everywhere you go---even on vacation, to the mall, to the movies, food shopping, watching TV, reading a book, while having sex, while eating, while working, while sleeping, etc.

You can't escape the prison you cannot see. Avoiding it and pretending it isn't there is like having a virus in your computer and moving it from room to room thinking that will get rid of it. But, this does nothing to delete the virus, and the virus certainly won't delete itself.

To fully experience the freedom and happiness that Lester knew, you need to be willing to ACTIVELY stretch yourself---to look for where you are comfortable and then consciously stretch out past that comfort zone until you feel some resistance. And then, welcome the resistance fully, let go of wanting to change or control it, and then let it go. Each time you do this, you knock out one of your prison bars. Eventually, there are none left and you are completely free to roam in any direction you choose without resistance or fear of being beaten by the prison guard (your ego).

What are some ways you can stretch yourself?

1. Set goals and achieve them by releasing only.

2. Notice situations or people that make you feel uncomfortable and release your resistance and discomfort until the situation or person no longer bothers
you.

3. Set the temperature of your bath or shower a little hotter or colder than you're used to and let go of any resistance this stirs up.

4. Exercise. If you're not currently exercising, start with at least 15 min/day and use it as an opportunity to release your resistance.

5. Feel more love and happiness. Notice how much you can handle before it becomes uncomfortable.

Let us expand on these a little:

To expand on the first method, goals were the primary method Lester suggested we use to overcome our resistance. The Goals & Resistance Course explores this method in depth. The Goals & Resistance Course is a 6-week intensive course done with the support of a releasing partner assigned by Larry Crane. Lester recognized that we all have resistance and so he prescribed releasing on goals as the best way to corner our resistance so we can move beyond it.

The second method can be used throughout your day. As you go through your day, look for situations or people that make you feel uncomfortable. And then, instead of shying back into your comfort zone, dare to reach beyond it. If you feel scared or shy or anxious, decide to be courageous and release your resistance until the situation no longer bothers you. If someone is annoying or upsetting you, see them as doing you a huge favor. Use the opportunity to become imperturbable with them instead of blaming them for your negative feelings. A great way to dissolve our resistance to others is to simply say to them silently, "I love you, I love you," no matter what the other one says or does. This love will bring them your way and melt your prison bars. No need to resist anyone, even ourself, just love. It's the ultimate resistance dissolver.

The third method is a simple way of overcoming resistance by putting our physical body in a little bit of temporary mild discomfort. No need to go to extremes with this. Just stretch yourself a little bit outside your comfort zone. If you normally like your bath water warm, try it a little cooler. If you like it cool, then try it a little warmer. Don't scorch or freeze yourself. Just stretch yourself a little. Notice the resistance this stirs up and let it go. Feel the clutch in your stomach or chest and let it go until it becomes just as comfortable to be in the new temperature as it was at your usual "comfort zone" temperature. No need to use extremes in any of these exercises. That will only tend to increase our resistance to a point where we find it difficult to release. Just take small steps outside your comfort zone and let go of the resistance bit by bit.

The fourth method, exercise, is another way to use our relative level of body comfort to overcome resistance. Are you clutching as you read this and consider the possibility of getting some exercise? Good. That's a prison bar you are ready to break through. You don't need to stretch yourself too far with this either. Just some walking is fine if you spend your day behind a desk. Or, if you are already exercising, perhaps increase your intensity or duration a bit. Notice the resistance and release it. This isn't advice, just an example. Check with your doctor first to make sure it won't strain your body too much and use your common sense. For example, don't run a marathon if you have a heart condition until you first heal the heart condition and get your doctor's okay.

The fifth method is wonderful for increasing our overall happiness and freedom. Most of us have a preset level of happiness and love, just as we have a preset level for everything else. The only way to increase our level of happiness is to push beyond these limits by stretching ourselves. Notice your interactions with people. How loving are you? Could you increase this feeling of love? Notice any resistance that arises and allow it to come up to release. Could you love even more? Could you allow yourself to be even happier? How much happiness and love can you stand? Keep releasing your resistance to find out. Stop settling for mediocre levels of love and happiness. Go for extremes here, stretching yourself to love more and more. Find out how unlimited your happiness and love are. As you do this, your whole life will improve in every way.

Bars that can be seen or felt… are bars that can be broken.

By now, some of your prison bars should be quite obvious, as is the method of escape from them.

To recap, the 3 easy steps to break out of prison are:

1. Recognize that you are in a prison of your own making called your "comfort zone"

2. Gently stretch yourself past your comfort zone daily and welcome the resistance instead of fighting with it.

3. Release the feelings of resistance using the Release Technique.

If you get stuck, just let go of wanting to change or control the stuck feeling. That will get you moving again.

Enjoy your freedom!