Cultural influence
The imagery of one's cultural environment shapes a person's experience of reality to such a degree, says Ruiz, that to conceive properly of freedom must include a dissociation from that cultural narrative to such a degree that one can properly conceive of their potential. Freedom is independence from that cultural narrative, although Ruiz argues that there are kinds of freedom that are available on in theory, like the freedom to live in nature. It's possible in theory, but it's rather difficult to attain in practice.
Emotional independence
More importantly, Ruiz says that humans can deal with the negative emotions that drive them to desire freedom. For instance, realizing one's independence from others opinions can lead to freedom in this way: Ruiz says that others' opinions of our self influences our own experience of self. If a person says we are ugly and stupid, then the feelings associated with ugliness or stupidity are obstacles that we can become free from, he says.
Time and spiritual freedom
Another way that a person can attain freedom is by adjusting their perceptions about time, says Ruiz. By forgiveness, a person can become free from the past, and by self-forgiveness, they can begin the journey out of anxiety for the future. The quest to peace is a type of forgiveness, and one that is shaped by the issue of time. Time is the mystic enslavement no person is free from. By requesting time, one underlines the essential bondage of time, because no one is free to escape time and death, but by adjusting one's perception, one can become healthy, which Ruiz describes as a type of freedom.
Power and freedom
Ruiz's arguments converge on this imagery. What is freedom? It is the power to fulfill one's desires. This point of view as freedom as a kind of power helps clarify the issue and its solution. The problem of enslavement is powerlessness over one's fate, just as an example. The issue of freedom must then be a question of maximizing one's potential, so that freedom isn't just "Doing whatever one wants," but instead becomes an ethical pursuit of one's own authority in life.
