(Recover Your Sovereignty post is inspired by a phrase in Buddha Mind, Buddha Body book by the beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh—highly recommended.)
As you read, keep an open mind; may you reclaim your sovereignty in this lifetime.

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As I navigate our human nature, I face multiple obstacles that can hinder me from tapping into my authentic self—the self that, in essence, is very similar to yours. How do I recover my sovereignty from these mental and emotional obstacles?

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Recover Your Sovereignty

The first obstacle is recovering from our life experiences. For me, it’s essential to peel away the layers that life—in all its beauty and suffering—has wrapped around me.
Think of the defense mechanisms I developed as a child to survive—mechanisms that no longer serve me today—or the way my relationships with parents and teachers shape how I view authority now. To live a happy life from my essence, I must explore how to bring peace to these experiences, recover from them, and remain on the path of healing.

Without recovery, I remain enslaved to patterns, thoughts, emotions, and choices dictated by my past—my history. To unchain myself from that history is not to ignore or reject it, but to make peace with it. Recovery is personal; it is not linear, nor can it be compared across individuals.

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Post-Recovery

Post-recovery is a lifelong process. Whenever I make a choice or face a life-changing decision, I pause and assess:

• What is my intention?

• Is my behavior dictated by past experience? If so, how would it look if I tapped into my freer self?

• Is this coming from a place of love toward myself and the other?

Recovering from history requires diligence, honesty, and patience:

Diligence – Work hard and remain determined not to slip back into old patterns simply because they feel safe and familiar. Deepen your understanding of the experiences that created those patterns, and choose—each time—to move beyond them.

Honesty – Be honest with yourself. Don’t rely on “I’ve always done it this way” or “I’m like this because of that.” Look closely at where your true happiness lies.

Patience – The most important pillar. This isn’t linear; setbacks happen. When they do, apply diligence and honesty, then recommit to yourself.

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Recover Your Sovereignty

After many years of mindfulness practice, co-active coaching, and life in the corporate world, I realized how tightly we humans cling to historical experience. In a workplace, for example, I might label someone as rude or uncooperative—and that judgment could influence a 360 review and their career—simply because my own unresolved past colored my perception.

I use the word enslaved deliberately. Our traumas and defense mechanisms trap us in patterns and behaviors that project suffering onto ourselves and others.

Recovering from this means finding freedom. It means tapping into the self that governs your own thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors. When you do, you liberate yourself from the chains of history—and you break patterns that stretch back through generations.

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Enjoy my other posts

Stop Blaming Your Parents: Turning Mindfulness into Self‑Responsibility. On this link.

Living in Peace: How to Find Inner Peace in this World? On this link.

How to Transform Self-Sabotage with Mindfulness and Love? On this link.

Emotional Identity and Pain: Who Are You Without the Struggle? On this link.

External Resources:

Zen & Engaged Buddhism:

Plum Village 

EIAB