A while back, I asked on Twitter and Facebook, 'What is personal freedom?' Here are some of the answers I received:

• Uninhibited opportunity to procure health, meaningful relationships, political voice, recreation & modest property.
   
• Not seeing stress as a barrier.
   
• Without limitations on my physical, emotional or spiritual abilities or expressions.
   
• Freedom is autonomy, loving what I do everyday and having enough resources to do the things I truly desire.
   
• Freedom, to me, is an ability to express myself without fear of punishment or retaliation from government entities.
   
• The freedom to express what I think and feel.
   
• Listening to the birds, smelling the rain on the warm ground, looking at the blue sky, the white clouds, the taste of a fresh strawberry, thinking about the people I love. Being able to see my wounded self. Giving her my hand. Thank you for this question, freedom can be so easy...!
   
• When it no longer matters to me what other people do/ say/ think and I live true to my highest self.
   
• Realizing a healthy body, healthy relationships, healthy environment through spirituality, and seeing it true for all.

I also asked, 'What is relationship freedom?'

• I can express my love without fear of rejection. My partner doesn’t take advantage of my love.
   
• I can be honest without fear of punishment. We can talk about everything.
   
• Not being blamed for the other person's feelings. Not being made to feel that everything is my fault.
   
• Knowing the other person wants what is best for me. I get to be myself and the other person gets to be themselves without trying to control each other.
   
• Feeling supported in what I want to do and in how I feel. Feeling appreciated for who I am.
   
• Knowing I can be completely myself and be fully accepted, even when I'm not being my best.
   
• Trusting the love and kindness of the other person.

It is my experience that the more I embrace and accept my wounded self and see and value my core self – my inner child - the freer I feel.

It's always great when I receive this valuing and acceptance from others, but my inner sense of freedom starts with claiming my right to define my own worth and establish my own values. While I don't have the freedom to determine others' choices, I always have the freedom to choose my own thoughts, values, attitudes, beliefs, and intention.

This choice is powerfully brought home in the classic book, "Man's Search for Meaning," by Viktor Frankel. This incredibly courageous man managed to claim his freedom of thought and some freedom of action while in a concentration camp. He is such an inspiration to me, as I often think, "If he could feel an inner sense of freedom in the midst of imprisonment and torture, knowing that he would likely never see his wife and family again, then I can certainly find this within myself."

Many of my clients come to me having been afraid to claim their freedom to be all they came to the planet to be - afraid of how others will react.

They are limiting their own freedom, believing that it is others who are limiting them.

They are terrified of being all they can be for fear of making mistakes and failing. For me, part of freedom is having given myself permission to try, to make mistakes and to fail. Without giving ourselves this freedom, we can get stuck in fear, limiting ourselves without realizing that it is our own wounded self that is limiting us.

All over the world, people are realizing that, even though their government might be limiting aspects of their freedom, no one can limit their freedom of thought. When they claim that, they are often able to begin to manifest freedom of action.

Join Dr. Margaret Paul for her 30-Day at-home Course: "Love Yourself: An Inner Bonding Experience to Heal Anxiety, Depression, Shame, Addictions and Relationships."