What Is Called Power?
Part 1
The power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment:
You create a good future by creating a good present.
Eckhart Tolle
You create a good future by creating a good present.
Eckhart Tolle
Dear Ones,
Many of us are feeling powerless in the face of the massive changes that are occurring in our world. This paralyzing feeling of helplessness has led to a massive increase in anxiety, depression, and suicide on a global scale. I would like to explore with you the question of what is power and how we can we reclaim our innate ability to be powerful in our lives and the world.
From a shamanic perspective we are experiencing a global crisis of collective soul loss (loss of our innate essence and inner power from both individual and collective traumas), also referred to as dissociation in psychology. How else can we comprehend the level of insanity in a world that would soil its own nest, rip children from the arms of their mothers, shoot defenseless protesters, and engage in activities like ethnic cleansing and genocide?
Many of us are feeling powerless in the face of the massive changes that are occurring in our world. This paralyzing feeling of helplessness has led to a massive increase in anxiety, depression, and suicide on a global scale. I would like to explore with you the question of what is power and how we can we reclaim our innate ability to be powerful in our lives and the world.
From a shamanic perspective we are experiencing a global crisis of collective soul loss (loss of our innate essence and inner power from both individual and collective traumas), also referred to as dissociation in psychology. How else can we comprehend the level of insanity in a world that would soil its own nest, rip children from the arms of their mothers, shoot defenseless protesters, and engage in activities like ethnic cleansing and genocide?
What is Power & Where does It Come From?
Most people think of power as having control over and believe that power comes from having wealth, guns, strength, status, or position. This obsolete view is grounded in the unexamined beliefs of separation and scarcity which lead us to dominate and control others and our circumstances. Money and greed have become our cultural imperative and meta narrative of our time. How can we break out of this money centric trance that is threatening to destroy our planet and end the future for many species, including our own? Not to say that something is wrong with money, the problem occurs when it becomes institutionalized in our political, educational, social and even scientific systems. It has become an invisible force that shapes how we view the world and deepens the myth of separation from all of life.
For the purpose of this paper, I will use the Oxford English Dictionary definition of power: The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. We contrast this with our Quantum definition of power: The internal and innate capacity to align with a deep inner stillness and interconnection with life, which takes into consideration our coherence with the larger human and nature systems of which we are a part.
For the purpose of this paper, I will use the Oxford English Dictionary definition of power: The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. We contrast this with our Quantum definition of power: The internal and innate capacity to align with a deep inner stillness and interconnection with life, which takes into consideration our coherence with the larger human and nature systems of which we are a part.
There is more power in unity than division.
Emanuel Cleaver
Emanuel Cleaver
Is there another way to influence or build capacity beyond control and domination? Yes! Quantum power is authentic and relational. It is birthed from a deep place of stillness, presence and interconnection with, not only other humans, but with all of life and the natural world. This is a reciprocal and balanced relationship based in sacred reciprocity. It comes from having a rich inner life that is not dictated by outer circumstances.
Quantum power moves with life, not against it. It has an integrity, as in wholeness, and is coherent, recognizing it’s alignment with larger systems. From this perspective we embrace the “isness” of life, and leave the fantasy of the “should be” world. That doesn’t mean we don’t act! It means that our actions come from a place of clarity, and are informed by a reality that originates from a still inner presence rather than a past based reaction to current circumstances and conditions. This kind of power is always moving towards unity, collaboration and connection.
Quantum power moves with life, not against it. It has an integrity, as in wholeness, and is coherent, recognizing it’s alignment with larger systems. From this perspective we embrace the “isness” of life, and leave the fantasy of the “should be” world. That doesn’t mean we don’t act! It means that our actions come from a place of clarity, and are informed by a reality that originates from a still inner presence rather than a past based reaction to current circumstances and conditions. This kind of power is always moving towards unity, collaboration and connection.
The Power of Perception
As soon as you start to tell yourself in your perception that you can't do something anymore, then your biological system will adjust to prove you right. You will not do what you think you can't do.
Bruce H. Lipton
Bruce H. Lipton
Our beliefs shape our perception and our perception becomes our reality. The way we see the world impacts our freedom to make choices. To change our worldview, we must first explore and question our most fundamental and cherished beliefs. Beliefs come from past experiences, stories and culture. Our past based primary reptilian brain, processes over a million times more nerve impulses per second than the conscious mind’s neocortex This means that if we are not vigilantly present, our actions will be dictated by our past. We think that what we see is what we believe, in actuality what we believe is what we see.
Our identity, who we consider ourselves to be, and our corresponding actions are based in the remembered past or imagined future. So how can we create a evolutionary upgrade to our belief system? One of the greatest assets for transforming and upgrading our personal narrative, the story by which we define ourselves, is our fear. With fear running rampant in our world today, we have great potential for a global awakening.
Our identity, who we consider ourselves to be, and our corresponding actions are based in the remembered past or imagined future. So how can we create a evolutionary upgrade to our belief system? One of the greatest assets for transforming and upgrading our personal narrative, the story by which we define ourselves, is our fear. With fear running rampant in our world today, we have great potential for a global awakening.
Entering the Rich Territory of Fear
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell
Fear is frozen power! It robs us of the opportunity to grow and evolve. It is a warning of danger, either real or imagined, and puts us into an adrenalized acute stress response spectrum of flight, freeze, fight, fright and faint. With deepening presence and a little courage we can learn valuable lessons about ourselves and the world. Fear reveals what wants to be healed or attended to in our lives. The feeling of danger and the vast majority of our fears are related to the death of our identity, our “I-hood”. What we fail to realize is that our fears are key to our evolutionary growth and transformation. They constitute a precious road map to our awakening.
The source of our fears is our past based identity. In order to address the pain of threatening situations and retrieve our essential essence, our unique genius, we must make friends with our fears and not let them shut down our ability to create and fully enjoy life. To upgrade into an evolutionary expansion we can go to the body to learn how to ground this fearful energy in presence.
The source of our fears is our past based identity. In order to address the pain of threatening situations and retrieve our essential essence, our unique genius, we must make friends with our fears and not let them shut down our ability to create and fully enjoy life. To upgrade into an evolutionary expansion we can go to the body to learn how to ground this fearful energy in presence.
When we practice staying present in the face of fear and track it to the frozen energy in our physical body we dissipate the energy from early traumas. This opens up new portals to access Quantum power. When we can be with the fear, and locate it in the body, we can relax the intensity of it and can actually enjoy the sensations. We become an observer of the corresponding thoughts and beliefs behind the fear. The body can ground the fear by just consciously breathing into it. Our awareness can unwire our story from the past and leave us with a choice to go beyond the limits of our own perception and closely guarded personal narrative.
For more on accessing Quantum Power go to Part Two.
For more on accessing Quantum Power go to Part Two.
Thank you for your partnership in creating a world that works for everyone with no one and nothing left out.
michael & meriel
michael & meriel