Human beings are a unique creation in the cosmic scheme of things. Unlike the untold billions of other life forms teaming on the Earth — whose nature is an open and shut case — human nature is not fixed. What does this mean to you? Only everything!

The tiger, the horse, and the bird must express their nature. They have no real choice. And even though they may be free to choose which part of the jungle, or open range, in which they want to feed and roam, these animals have no choice as to the kind of world in which they must dwell.

The tiger can’t choose to live above the jungle floor any more than a shark can decide to soar through blue skies. The tiger, horse, bird, and shark must live where they do because of what they are. Try to see this deeply.

The tiger’s nature determines its life. And that life is a part of the jungle floor. They are inseparable. The tiger’s nature and its life level are one thing. The tiger’s life level determines the world it must inhabit. Its nature and life level are as fixed as a leopards spots.

But your nature is not fixed. This is spiritual fact. And now you must turn this powerful fact into your discovery and personal experience.

You do have the freedom to choose the kind of world you call your own. @guy_finley (Click to Tweet!)

Why spend your life in a steamy jungle of roaring thoughts, or in a dark valley filled with sad and worried emotions when, by choosing higher, you can live happier? Your days can be as cool and relaxed as a clear mountain stream, if you decide that’s the life you want.

But, decide you must. What very few men and women ever come to realize, spiritually speaking, is that life is a ceaseless series of inner choices about where they want to live. And even though we may not fully understand the nature of these choices, or why they must be made, to not choose is to lose. Here’s why.

The complete range of life-level possibilities, from the conflict-filled jungle floor to the serene mountaintop, all exist right within your own uninvestigated nature. And to not choose the upward path through this life is to resign yourself to the laws of gravity — which always choose in favor of their own nature: down.

A mental picture will help bring some of these important invisible concepts into clearer view.

Imagine a huge mansion with unlimited floors. Now further envision that each floor in this mansion represents one life level out of all of the countless possibilities. If it’s helpful, think of this mansion as representing your True Nature.

But, to bring our illustration down to earth, think of the largest department store you’ve ever shopped. Like the mansion in our mental picture, each floor of the department store displays and offers items peculiar only to it. You won’t find guns and ammo sold on the same floor as books of learning; nor do you find automotive supplies where delicate lace is displayed. And so, in much the same way, the level of each of the floors in our inner mansion determine the life choices available on it.

For instance, as long as you live in the basement of this mansion, you can’t choose to enjoy the unrestricted cool air and natural sunlight of the first floor resting just above it. Similarly, on the second floor you can’t choose to see the beauty and panorama of the view that only the fifth floor and higher can offer. And so on it goes, all the way to higher and higher floors.

Your life experiences are determined by which of these “floors” you dwell upon. This means that each floor represents a possible life level. But, while each of these inner levels and the natural events attracted to them may be fixed, you are not. Unlike the tiger that can’t leave the land of the tiger, you can leave any troubling part of your own present nature far behind you. Read on to discover one more amazing feature of your True Nature.

Picture a set of stairs that winds its way up and through this immense inner mansion. These steps start in the darkened basement and lead up until they go out of sight. Each step of the staircase is also a part of your True Nature, but none of them belongs to any one floor-level through which they pass.

This means you don’t have to remain on any level not of your choosing. You have the power to climb.

You can change your life experiences by walking away from any of those unwanted worlds within you that create your unpleasant days. In this way, self-departure is the same as self-elevation. Your life is meant to be an upward journey.

Excerpted from Freedom From the Ties that Bind by Guy Finley, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.

Guy Finley is the acclaimed author of more than 35 books and audio programs on the subject of self-realization, several of which have become international best sellers. His popular works, published in 17 languages, are widely endorsed by doctors, professionals, and religious leaders of all denominations. Among many others, his popular titles include: The Secret of Letting Go, Design Your Destiny, The Lost Secrets of Prayer, Apprentice of the Heart, and Let Go and Live in the Now. Finley is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for self-study located in Southern Oregon where he gives talks four times each week. Visit www.guyfinley.org for a wealth of free helpful information, free audio and video downloads, and to request your free Self-Improvement Starter Kit.