I've always been seeking freedom and yet I haven't defined what freedom for me is and how to reach that state of mind and way of living.

So I was wondering what freedom for you is?

Will be waiting for your thoughts, I'll put some of mine as well.

Maybe when talking about Freedom we need to consider that each person has his/her own ways of defining the state of being free meaning it's rather individual and subjective, and still there are some universal markers.

Let's take kids for example - when are they most free (and happy) - when there is a free day from School or playing a game that allow them to act their natural way - maybe football or tag. Well, maybe that's the best part being a kid - you can find many simple (or even pointless, according to grown-ups) activities interesting and amusing, spending hours doing them. And this gives you the sense of freedom, pleasure and joy.

With age things start changing quickly and make people different. That's very simple and it's because naturally every single person strives towards his/her own understanding of freedom. One can find being a policeman/life-guard to be his/her way of having (and defending) freedom (and law), while other may find freedom in the intellectual or spiritual sphere - being a sci-fi author, web-designer or yoga master would give them maybe equal and sufficient degree of freedom, fulfillment and joy.

Because basically that's what is freedom according to me - someones way of finding a way to feel free, fulfilled and happy.

Well, here though comes the controversial part. Being too involved in being free, you become a slave of your own freedom fixations. This can be easily explained with examples: For instance if a painter likes very much his art work and feels free only when he is painting, he would become so obsessed subsequently with his own art that he turn into a slave of freedom fixation. And this is a kind of paradox - he is both simultaneously in his state of freedom, and limited by being so obsessed by this. He has become a Freedom Addict

And as you can see this phenomenon is behind most manias and addictions - physical and psychological. I think their is quite a link between mind & body - that's why most addictions line smoking for example are that hard quitting.

Well, this is really one good example - smoking. Since this activity involves both physical addiction and psychological dependence. And the paradox is that for a smoker the cigarette smoking is a way of getting his dose of freedom (or actually nicotine, to be correct). But this kind of freedom is actually one great limitation - especially from a non-smokers point of view. Well, smoking is really a great paradox. The good news is that really free people have the strength to look from above and decide whether the type of freedom they are fixated at is not more limiting than freeing

Finally, I'd say:

1. Freedom is a rather subjective state and also there are different types of freedom - sometimes also physical;

2. Life in general is one great searching for freedom and movement from one to another freedom, from one freedom fixation to another..

Dostoevski said that to be free is to have a free choice. I do agree with that as having the chance to control your destiny and future, makes one free. Going from that we can derive that the measurement of freedom is the opportunity of having your own decisions uninfluenced by inner or outer factors.

The thing is that you are being confined by society's rules, on on hand, and your own patterns of living or understanding of good and wrong, on the other. Life is kind of a crazy balance between the society and the self. One, before making a decision, measures it through their own point of view, then tries to look at it through society's point of view and after that makes the decision. My idea of freedom is to manage to abstract from those inner and outer limitations and have the chance to do whatever you want to with the following condition - your actions should not negatively affect or harm other members of society, yourself, nature and surrounding.

I see your point (and maybe Dostoevski's one too). Let me draw some conclusions from your statement.

First of all it seems that humans are not free at all since there are limitations both from outer factors (social rules, physical limits – money, body, etc…) and inner (personal understanding and patterns of behavior, moral codex, etc…).

BUT, is this true, is it really necessary to “abstract from those inner and outer limitations and have the chance to do whatever you want” in order to be free. You see… my understanding of performing free will is very similar to how you describe it:

A “crazy balance between the society and the self”, or said in other words:

Freedom is acting according to your true will (your inner factors) in the environment you are in (society’s outer factors) and being free is the “Art of balancing between these opportunities and rules”.

So to be free a person needs to be also kind of responsible and harmonized with both of those factors.

well one's definition of freedom is probably influenced by his/her non-freedomness

IMHO just need to seek it. Don't try to define it ones and for all. Just like God.

freedom is to choose your own way in the life...

I think, I'd agree with the last to posts - the freedom's rather intuitive and there's no need to define it, a subject of personal choice.