Jean-Jacques Savin spent 127 days alone at sea in a large capsule: He Crossed the Atlantic in a Barrel. We Asked Him About Dodging…

After his 3125-nautical-miles trip, Savin was asked, “Why did you do it?” “Absolute freedom,” he replied.

When all was going well, Savin said, he felt “absolutely free.” He could work on his book. No one told him what to do. He loved it.

But why go out to sea to find absolute freedom, when we can find it by diving into the wellsprings of our own soul?

I experience absolute freedom every time I pause between thoughts, or abide between the emotional ups and downs of my life, or rest between the rude and unpleasant surprises that show up in my daily life.

Each stillpoint between my inhalation and exhalation of breath becomes the portal to infinite, unending life.

Each stillpoint between my inhalation and exhalation of breath becomes the portal to infinite, unending life. This open, eternal timeless place of infinite life embraces me and I feel held, loved, cherished by life itself. My soul resonates with resounding, unending life.

Some persons call this experience an encounter with God. I  call the feeling a hallowed encounter with the All of life.

Each morning, I have to stop, to pause, to abide in this place of absolute freedom after I read The New York Times. So many of the stories are horrific in such large and small, gigantic and trivial ways.  So, too, at night when I watch an evening news broadcast. I have to stop, to pause, to find the portal to my soul and dive deep.

We do not have to barrel our way through a sea to sail into the heart of our freedom. We simply have to pause long enough to find the place between things, where everything stops and everything begins. That inbetween place is our soul.

Here’s one way to find this place right now.

Just for a moment let your mind follow your breath to the place where the inhalation ends and the exhalation begins. Pause in this inbetween space and know absolute freedom.