It might sound shocking, but it’s quite possible that you do. Anyone exposed as a young child to Judeo-Christian religious concepts has internalized to one degree or another the idea of a big daddy God somewhere in the sky who keeps track of all our mistakes and misdeeds so that he can punish us when we die. This idea has given birth to a terrorized slave race that throughout all recorded history has happily taken orders from whichever clergy person or secular leader happened to be impersonating God at the time. While many religious scriptures extol the virtues of love and peace, our deeply ingrained master/slave relationship with our Creator does not promote oneness or harmony. It breeds hate, fear and pain and turns even the most promising among us into warriors for Yahweh, bombers for Christ, and suicide machines for Allah.

You may think that you have escaped this conditioning. But have you really? Even those of us not heavily indoctrinated into the idea of an external, judgmental God are experts in conforming our lives to accepted standards and pleasing outside authority figures as a result of the training we’ve received from our parents and schools. We may be unafraid of God, but petrified of a bad economy; unconcerned about the afterlife but scared to death to change careers; nonchalant about not going to church, but unable to leave an abusive spouse. Except for the very few who have achieved true spiritual enlightenment, we’re all in the same boat, secular slaves and religious slaves alike.

Luckily, if you’re truly dedicated to becoming free, the way out of the master/slave game takes time but isn’t too difficult. It’s an on-going process that leads to deeper and deeper insights about the nature of reality and is well worth the effort if you desire happiness, peace and abundance. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

1. Surrender the idea that God or Life is something external, something that you must sacrifice your freedom to or suffer the deadly consequences. Take God out of its religious packaging and give yourself permission to create your own relationship with divinity.

2. Give up fear once and for all. If there is an afterlife, yippee (as long as it resembles your favorite vacation spot), if not, all the fear and the world won’t save you.

3. Begin to contemplate the idea that God is impersonal, a power without likes and dislikes that makes up and is available to everyone equally. Notice how this shift in thinking affects your world. Can you begin to feel that we are really all one? Do you feel lighter, happier, more at peace? Keep at it until you do.

4. Act like a kid and question everything and everyone (especially yourself) all the time in an inquisitive, non-judgmental way. Seek to understand and you’ll be understood.

5. Whenever possible, try to identify the true motives for your actions before you act. Are you trying to impress or please someone? Are you doing things out of guilt, obligation or because of tradition? Does your decision feel right to you or are you simply furthering the status quo for no good reason?

6. Accept your right to think differently and to be unique. Our world could use a few more freethinkers at the moment.

7. Call your own shots and let others do the same. It’s a lot more fun to be in charge of your own life and there are many more rewards waiting for those who are, physically/materially, emotionally and spiritually.