Existential Freedom is the best possibility for human life.
We would all like to be liberated from our anxiety, depression, & despair.
But there are several obstacles that may prevent us
from establishing the posture-of-being that permits Existential Freedom.

     I. Sometimes we actually reject Existential Freedom
because we either think it is impossible for us
or because we associate it with philosophies of life
we have already rejected for scientific or other intellectual reasons.

     II. Or we may be so busy with other concerns (work, family, possessions)
that we can never create the wholeness
of committing ourselves entirely in one direction.
Our prior commitments keep claiming first place in our attention.

     III. Perhaps we remain oblivious to our Existential Malaise
—and also cut off from Existential Freedom—
because we have never developed our spirits.
But careful and disciplined attention can help us to become deeper persons
and learn to tune-in to our inner dynamics.

     IV. Possibly what prevents us from finding Existential Freedom
is our inability to give up our old life-meanings and -purposes.
Our personal pride and self-reliance inhibit complete surrender.
But perhaps someday we will come to the end of our rope
and finally be able to release our grip and render-over control of our lives.

     V. Lack of clarity concerning the condition of Existential Freedom
may cause us to confuse it with a number of psychological phenomena:
happiness, commitment to human betterment,
'responding' to Existential Freedom before we have it,
accommodating our Existential Malaise,
Authentic Existence, religious feelings, & mind control.
While we continue to seek fulfillment in any of these ways,
we never come to the point of making the complete existential surrender.

     VI. And if we are entangled in difficult psychological problems,
these internal knots and the resulting postures-of-being
may prevent us from making the sensitive inward movements,
which alone will allow us to become Existentially Free.

     There is no magic formula, no one best way for everyone.
But thru years of honest and enlightened searching,
we may come to deeper and deeper understanding
of these barriers and blocks that prevent us
from becoming open, receptive, & responsive
in order to enter joy, peace, fulfillment, & wholeness
—finally being released from our Existential Predicament.

308      OUR EXISTENTIAL PREDICAMENT: LONELINESS, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, & DEATH