Fundamentally, at least if one is honest, spiritual slavery is always an illusion, albeit a partly self-fulfilling illusion.
An imaginary roadblock is just as effective as a real one.
Whether you like it or not, in true fundamental reality, you are actually a free spirit. However, nonetheless, the miserable self-chosen self-deceiving illusion of spiritual slavery is partly self-fulfilling in that it causes you very real misery. Imaginary nightmares, imaginary hellish demons, and imagined hellishness all really torture you just the same.
In other words, in most ways, the illusion of slavery is as miserable and hellish as real slavery. The illusion of spiritual imprisonment (i.e. feeling like a prisoner in your own body or like a prisoner of addiction and the comfort zone) is as miserable and hellish as a real spiritual prison or hell would be. The hallucination of a nightmarish hell is as miserable and torturous as a real hell would be. Thus, the fictional is effectively and functionally real, at least insofar as you falsely believe it to be real.
You are never really a slave to temptation or addiction. You are never really a prisoner of the comfort zone or of your addiction to comfort. However, believing you can be and are a spiritual slave or prisoner or otherwise non-free spirit is in almost all ways functionally equivalent to actually being a spiritual slave and prisoner. Believing you don't have self-control and self-ownership is in almost all ways functionally equivalent to not having self-control and self-ownership, even though it is physically and logically impossible.
It's analogous to buying a used product online that is listed as "good as new". The impossible and inherently fictional becomes "good as real". You suffer from the misery of slavery and imprisonment just the same, even though the chains and cell walls and tormenting demons are all fictional nightmares that you made-up and secretly control.
To be in a fictional hell of your own creation is, still, to be in a hell. The torture and suffering you experience from your tormenting illusions is still itself real. The symptoms and effects of fiction and lies can be real even though the fiction itself is technically not real.
When my book and I talk about and teach about achieving full-fledged spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) and inner peace (a.k.a. true happiness and unwavering spiritual fulfillment) what we really talking about is letting go of the "good as real" illusions and miserable lies that would have you believe you are not free, not self-disciplined, not self-controlled, and/or not unconditionally loving and/or not at spiritual peace and not in already in a heavenly place of unwavering spiritual fulfillment and all-accepting all-appreciating peace.
To achieve true happiness (a.k.a. invincible free-spirited inner peace and unwavering spiritual fulfillment) is not actually about obtaining or achieving anything. It's simply the infinitely easy act of letting go of the illusion of unhappiness, meaning the illusion of spiritual unfulfillment or spiritual slavery.
In practice, this entails countless things such as but not limited to letting go of the illusion that there is anything you "must" do or "should" do, as if there was some magical judgemental tyrant ruling the universe making magical universal laws that you are a risk of breaking.
The truth is so much simpler and peaceful and invincible: Real universal laws cannot be broken. Reality is right, always. The universe doesn't miscalculate. There is nothing you must do. Nothing should be different than it is at the time it is that way. No aspect of eternal reality as an unchanging whole should be or needs to be different than it unchangeable is.
All the miserable horrors contrary always were, always are, and always will be illusions.
They may be "good as real" illusions and lies in that they really will torture you if you choose to believe in them, but they will still always be illusions of your own creation that you can give up anytime you truly want.
They are fictional nightmares from which you can awaken as soon as you want.
That is what it means to "spiritually awaken". That is what spiritual awakening is: To let go of the belief in the absurd impossible magic, and accept simple logical reality as it actually is.
The wrongness and hellishness was always unreal. Reality is right, always.
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In addition to having authored his book, In It Together, Eckhart Aurelius Hughes (a.k.a. Scott) runs a mentoring program, with a free option, that guarantees success. Success is 100% guaranteed for anyone who follows the program.
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."
I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.