Matthias A. Exl: "My daily task is to live life in the here and now"

"People like to postpone happiness into the future. This happens through "if/then" connections. But what happens when all the goals I have set that I have linked to apparent happiness are achieved? Am I then really free? Am I then really happy? Do I then really have time? Everyone ages, but most become old people full of regrets." Matthias A. Exl , author of the book "Free yourself!" , talks about (apparent) happiness, constraints, self-reflection and the art of leading a fulfilled life.

The spiritual guide "Free Yourself!" was published almost ten years ago and is now being published as an updated paperback edition. What has happened since the first edition?

Exl: The first question is: What has happened in the world? The last ten years have been marked by growing international political uncertainty, unjustified wars of greed, rampant economic liberalism and a decline in ethical values ​​within society. At the same time, the marketing of esoteric literature and seminars on the subject of transformation and the turning point came to an end in 2012. The second question is: How much have people actually developed further? How much have they devoted themselves to honest self-reflection? So the answer in relation to the book is: I believe that it is precisely these circumstances that make the book more relevant than ever!

The book is based on your own experiences in life and documents your liberation from the constraints of a false world. When did you realise that your professional advancement was accompanied by a personal decline?

Exl: People like to postpone happiness until the future. This happens through "if/then" connections. But what happens when all the goals I have set myself that I have associated with apparent happiness have been achieved? Am I then really free? Am I then really happy? Do I then really have time? Everyone ages, but most become old people full of regrets. Because when life is running out, it becomes clear how many things have been postponed, it becomes clear how many opportunities have been missed. In my case, I was very lucky that I had achieved all of my questionable goals very early on and was able to see my pointless priorities in all their harshness and with no embellishment.

"Free yourself!" is intended to help you find a very individual way of communicating with your higher self and offers help with change and personal transformation. What constraints do you specifically need to free yourself from and what can you achieve by doing so?

Exl: Compulsions are always something very individual, and in order to be able to recognize them, a form of honest self-reflection is needed. Of course, there are also collective forms of compulsion that people feed in all their senselessness. Appearances are valued more highly than true being. It is more important to maintain and present a beautified facade of one's own life at any cost than to give priority to honest joy in life without compromise. But why do we make this absurd choice? Because the fear of the consequences of change tells us that it costs far too much. What will the neighbors say? What will happen to my credit? What will I live on? It is much easier to do yoga once a week and talk to like-minded people about the energy of angels than to deal with one's own desolate relationship, for example. But what happens when I take an honest look at my life and say "yes" to change? Freedom and happiness burst the self-created golden cage. Of course, the bars can sometimes fly around your ears, but at some point that too is over and the view is completely clear.

Many people see their lives as a kind of prison camp in which they have to work and function in order to be successful. Is this image accurate or does life actually have completely different challenges in store?

Exl: I think everyone has the hope that there is more to life than the eternally turning hamster wheel in a golden cage at best. Unfortunately, most people lack the courage to think about life outside the cage. They lack the confidence that there is breathable air behind the bars. The fear of the unknown outweighs the paralyzing comfort of the familiar, even if the familiar often seems colorless, monotonous and meaningless.

Anyone who follows the path of liberation can become an active collaborator in the healing of their family, their company, their country, and indeed the entire world. How can this be achieved and what obstacles do they encounter along the way?

Exl: I used to think that it was about saving the herd from the slaughterhouse. I have now realised that anyone is free to leave the herd at any time. But most people don't want to do that because the feeding is right and the vet is always on hand. At the same time, people have the attitude that their future self should take care of issues relating to the slaughterhouse. So how can you motivate someone who doesn't really want to move? Even as a spiritual teacher, you are often abused as a shepherd who is supposed to do the independent thinking. But in reality, living spirituality is about honest introspection and working on those issues that can fill an entire life: these are not global problems, not things that happen on some astral level, but those that happen within your own four walls.

One of the most important laws accompanying the path to liberation is the law of mirrors. It states that everything that happens on the outside is a reflection of the inner state of being. What does this mean for the relationship of the individual to his fellow human beings and his environment?

Exl: Because one's own reality is determined by one's own emotions and one's own emotions are based on one's own experiences, it should be clear that the reality experienced can never be a universally valid truth. If I recognize the subjective nature of my perception and release the underlying emotions, my view of the world changes in a lasting way. How? Tolerance, humility and understanding take hold where previously know-it-all attitudes, stubbornness and exclusion reigned. From the gain in knowledge arises greater trust in life, gratitude for existence and true happiness and joy in life.

What do you see as your most important task today as an author and entrepreneur, and what does success mean to you?

My daily task is to live life in the here and now, accepting it mindfully and gratefully and acting to the best of my knowledge and belief. For me, success is when I have laughed a lot, felt true joy in life and can celebrate the miracle of life with gratitude.

Book tip:
Matthias A. Exl: Free yourself! On the art of a fulfilled life. Mankau Verlag 2018, 9.95 euros (D) / 10.30 euros (A), paperback, 12 x 19 cm, 203 pages, ISBN 978-3-86374-439-7.

Link recommendations:
More information about the guide "Free yourself!"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More about the author Matthias A. Exl
To the Internet forum with Matthias A. Exl
To the book page "Free yourself!" by Matthias A. Exl