Is Awareness the Same as Freedom?
Becoming aware isn’t the same as becoming free.
After years of reflecting on mindfulness, I have come to question something we may easily assume: that awareness automatically leads to freedom.
My answer is no.
Awareness can reveal a pattern, but seeing it does not automatically change how we respond. Freedom may begin when awareness gives us enough space to meet what we see differently.
But what exactly are we becoming aware of?
And if freedom is the outcome, what are we hoping to become free from?
These are not merely abstract questions for me. They have emerged through my own experiences and more than a decade of Buddhist practice.
Through the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village tradition, I learned that mindfulness always has an object. We are mindful of our breathing, our body, a feeling, a thought, or something happening around us.
This is how I have come to understand the relationship between awareness and freedom:
Awareness is always awareness of something.
Freedom is always freedom from something.
What I Wanted to Become Aware of and Free From
For me, one answer was the lasting effect of being bullied.
If you have read my About Me page, you may know that this experience shaped much of my early self-image. Over time, I developed ways of protecting myself. They may once have helped me cope, but some remained long after my circumstances had changed.
As I began looking more closely, I noticed how that past was still present in my thoughts, my relationships, my expectations, and my repeating patterns.
Awareness did not instantly free me from them. But it helped me recognize what was happening, meet it with more compassion, and create room for a different response.
That is where awareness became more than observation. It became a doorway.
A doorway to understanding.
To healing.
And, gradually, to greater freedom.
Freedom Does Not Mean Erasing the Past
I do not want to erase what happened to me. I want to become freer from the protective responses I developed but did not always recognize.
I want to live a lighter life.
One not defined by the past, but informed by it.
A life that does not project old wounds onto the people I love.
Freedom, for me, does not mean never being affected by what happened. It means having more choice in how I meet the present.
As I change my relationship with the past, the people around me are no longer asked to carry as much of it.
Because by freeing myself…
I free others too.
A Question for Reflection
From a coaching perspective, I would not assume that I know what freedom should look like for you. The question and the answer remain yours.
What is it that you want to become more aware of?
What might you want to become freer from?
Not necessarily in a grand, life-changing way. Perhaps it begins with one pattern you recognize, one reaction you understand differently, or one choice that now becomes visible.
Bring a little compassion to what you discover.
You do not need to force an answer.
Let it come when it is ready.
Related Reading
- What Is Mindfulness—and Why Does It Matter for Your Wellbeing?
- Healing Starts by Taking Responsibility for Our Inner World
- What Do You Do With All That Freedom?
Source and Further Reading
About the Author
Ashraf Monzer is a coach, mindfulness practitioner, and the founder of A Mindful Spot. He is trained in Co-Active Coaching and draws on years of mindfulness practice, lived experience, and more than 13 years working in international business environments. He writes about relationships, work, repeating patterns, difficult decisions, and personal change.
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Coaching offers a structured space for reflection, personal development, and exploring choices or patterns. It is not psychotherapy or medical care and does not diagnose or treat mental health conditions.