Are you chasing freedom — or running from fear?

In this episode, Pam and Erin are joined by returning guest Brian Thiessen 🤠 for a raw and real conversation about one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal growth: freedom.

Most of us treat freedom like a destination with a locked gate — something we'll finally reach when the debt is gone, the relationship changes, the kids grow up, or the job improves. But what if that relentless pursuit of freedom is itself the trap?

Drawing on Brian's years on the rodeo circuit — the ultimate symbol of the "freedom lifestyle" — the three of them unpack what it actually feels like to chase freedom on the road and discover loneliness waiting at the finish line. It turns out the cowboy riding off into the sunset is just as imprisoned as everyone else, just by different chains.

In this episode, you'll explore:

• Why the people most obsessed with being free are often the least free — and how the fear of losing freedom becomes its own prison

• The crucial difference between freedom and relief — and why confusing the two keeps us running in circles

• How shame, "shoulds," and acquired values become invisible shackles — and what it looks like to start loosening them

• Why discipline equals freedom — and how running away from responsibility is actually the opposite of what we're seeking

• The somatic experience of feeling "not free" — and why the cage is in the nervous system, not the circumstances

• The God Space — that gap between stimulus and meaning where real freedom lives

• A simplified version of Mooji's Invitation to Freedom meditation you can do in 60 seconds

• Why commitment, connection, and responsibility are not the opposite of freedom — and what actually is
• How to tell the difference between your walls going up for protection versus genuinely needing to walk away

The snake and the rope shows up here too. Most of what we're trying to escape isn't a real threat — it's old data, pattern-matched in the dark. The belief that "I'm not free" is often itself a rope seen in the dusk.

The closing invitation from Pam: What if you're already free — and the only thing standing between you and that experience is the story you're believing about why you're not?

Practical tools from this episode:

• The Freedom Audit — three questions to find out if you're actually constrained or just in a story
• The 60-Second Mooji Practice — set down every label and notice what's underneath
• The Present Moment Check-In — right now, what do you actually have control over?
• Movement as medicine — how getting in your body is one of the fastest routes to presence and freedom
• Gratitude for the present moment (not the past) as a daily freedom practice

Connect with us: Pam: https://pamrader.com/ | IG: @pamrader Erin: https://erinpayne.ca | IG: @erin_payne YouTube: @coachpamrader

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