| You wouldn't believe how many folk I've met running around in spiritual circles looking for more "power": their personal "power", how to be a more powerful person�etc. The personal truth that seems relevant to me on the topic of "power" is: the only power one has is the power to choose. That's it, period. One always has this power; it can never be lost or removed, although I've known folk who have rejected its presence for long periods of time. It is still always there, waiting to be utilized, whether one wants it to be true or not. No one has the power to change another, only to choose what energy they will allow to be present in one's own personal energetic watershed or not. Inherent in the "power" of personal boundaries is the "choice" to have them or not. People use this power all the time without realizing it or acknowledging that a choice to not-choose is still a choice, nonetheless. What folk really seem to be looking for is not their own power, but ways in which to harness their power more effectively and bring about "results". If one wishes to do this, they may be well advised to look into how they are making their choices. Choices are often not one-time events, but decisions that are faced over and over again as time passes. Possible options need to be thoroughly explored and often expanded before a choice is made. Choices that are not up for reexamination need to be adhered to. Choices that do not fit ones evolving over-all focus need to be reexamined. Often folk weaken their own power by not bothering to answer some vital questions: Who am I? What do I want to do/be? These questions can seem overwhelmingly broad and generalized until one focuses them with data one does know: I am a father�what kind of a father do I want to be? What does this look like in practical terms? What would I, as a successful "father" look like? What does it look like as a failure? Can I fail? Who defines my concept of failure? A lot of folk are running around not happy with the person they are currently. From what I have seen, the most major improvements can be made by becoming more focused on what and who one is in order to weed out choices that are "not you" from choices that are more in tune with one's personal focus. Perhaps this is why one of the most ancient spiritual edicts is to "Know Thyself". How can one go about efficiently creating one's own reality unless one knows the reality that one wants to create? In magickal circles (no pun intended, honest!) we often talk about a magickal persona, commonly even taking a name to go with it. The secret is, this "magickal persona" is YOU, just probably more truly YOU than the you you consciously allow yourself to be now, encumbered by all the fear and spastic energy that goes along with this existence. So just for a momentary recap - If you are a miserable, grumpy bastard, it is probably because, somewhere along the line, you chose to be one. The same holds true if you are happy and optimistic. Now, if you're still willing to continue, try this. Read that last paragraph again and instead of experiencing an emotional response, try to watch it happen instead. How are you feeling? Is this the only possible feeling you could have in response? When did the choice to feel this way happen? Use a feelings chart if need be. Interesting bits, no? You are not your emotion. The All-that-is-you is made up of much more than just emotion, yet strong emotions (fear/love) seem to obliterate everything else from our vision if we let them. Sometimes the emotions we feel are many-layered and complex, often seeming to create paradox in what we perceive as "self". For example, a person who finds themselves in an abusive relationship may experience intense feelings of love and fear in regards to their abuser. This person may say things like: "but I LOVE him/her", "I just can't take it anymore", "it was an accident, he/she wouldn't really mean to do this" etc and be feeling love, terror, alarm, and denial. All of those emotions may be experienced at once and feel overwhelming and confusing. (Confusion is good, stay in confusion. It means that one acknowledges that one doesn't really know what is going on, which is true.) It is hard to reconcile within oneself intense fear attached to someone where there is also intense love. It can be hard to believe (not feel, mind you) that one has a reason to be fearful and easy to deny those feelings even when they are intense and immediate. The result of not being mindfull (not accepting the internal paradox) is often what I like to call "spastic energy". Spastic energy arises from unreconciled internal dichotomies (the aforementioned emotional paradox being one) and is often expressed by hasty choices. In the throes of spastic energy, I've seen people generally "just make a choice" or "choose not to choose" and become paralyzed. Often the choice is hastily considered at best with other options never being explored. When I have asked various folk about what motivated these kinds of decisions at a later time, the response I am most often given is "I don't know". And it is true - they don't know because they never really went through the process of consciously choosing the action, often they just tumbled through the big "Plinko" board of life and "fell" into their decision. We all do this to some extent in our lives and relationships. As a mother, I know that when my daughter asks me if she can juggle knives I don't generally make a conscious choice - I let the autopilot handle it under the "No, I'm not gonna give her permission to do stupid and dangerous things on a lark" category. When she asked if she could spin fire last summer, that was a conscious choice. I knew that she had been practicing with tennis balls all summer long and was really quite good at it. So I let her spin the flaming poi. Was I experiencing fear and love? Yes. But part of the choices I've made in my role as mother is to strive to not let my unreasoning fear limit her. So I sat there and counted my breath as she spun the flames around her body and cackled in delight at my discomfort - evil git. I also understand that part of my internal programming that says that it would be a bad thing to let her explore does not originate from me, but from the influences of society (specifically my momma's voice) that speak in my head. We all have those little voices and they are really easy to recognize. They are often the ones that say stuff like "bad", "good", "should", "fault", "blame", "guilt", "always", and "never". The concepts of judgment, blame and guilt can be insidiously persistent in thought process. They can generally be found at the root of many unreconciled internal dichotomies. It is important to know what things you value and want to achieve in life in order to put these voices into perspective at the moment of choice. I often muse that this is a very important aspect of coming-of-age ceremonies, this separation from doing the will of the parent and the assumption of responsibility for one's own choices. But that is another rant. Don't get me wrong; I am not saying that society's viewpoint is always wrong. I am saying that choices need to be made consciously -- in a manner that represents YOU as a person, because YOU have made them - not taken whole cloth from the edicts of society just 'cause society says so. If your conscious choice happens to coincide with the view of society in general, <shrug> so be it. One of the first steps in my own process was to make a list of observations and "rules" about my interaction with the universe. It was tremendously difficult for me to move beyond the concept of "I don't really know anything at all, and I never would know for sure if I did know anything anyway. The most I can do is to observe, make my best guesses, and strive to live in right relation". To set down anything beyond that felt phony and unrooted. So I resisted defining these things for myself as best as I could until the Universe was pounding me senseless. This is a euphemistic way of saying that I had ,chosen not to choose often enough that I had gotten myself deeply tangled in my own internal dichotomies and was paralyzed with fear and anxiety on a regular basis. So finally, I caved in and sat down at the computer to write down my "Rules". Most of these items come from observation and a conscious choice to believe, to have faith in the universe. To believe that the universe, and all it's myriad parts, is as it should be and that I need to remain open to it in order to experience the realization of my union with it. To accept that all of it's parts have a valid, healthy place in the All that is, including myself. These are things that are real to me. Some are things I just know, some are lessons I have learned. I use them to remind myself of Who I Am when my spastic energy is high and my old programming tapes are playing in my head. This is how I think about grounding and centering. The first point of connection in that energetic pathway is me, and I must be centered in that point to achieve a firm, connected flow with anything else I want to interface with in a powerful way. To make conscious choices, I must first know Who I Am and how I want to surf the wave of manifestation, how I want to dance on the cosmic winds. I need the filter of Me to be what colors my perceptions and guides my progress. When I ground and center into self, I expand my awareness to the Universe, to the All (see rule #1 above ;0}). And so, I become more than myself, yet, in a sense, just all of myself. I use my rules all the time. I read them before meetings and events that I know will be stressful and sometimes just to feel more grounded and centered. These are my rules and represent me writing to myself, so don't take all those "you"s to personally. Some of my rules may resonate with you, some may not and neither of those things is really important anyway. I present my rules here as an example of what can take form in this process. So here they are: Da Rules; Orienting Yourself in Reality -- by Cybele WindDancer Rule #1 We are one, all separation is illusion. Even though illusion is seductive, it is best to live in reality. Rule #2 Never assume that your reality resembles anyone else's, so be polite. A. Never assume that anyone else realizes it, so be patient. 1. Most folk are actually trying to do the best that they can - give them the benefit of the doubt. B. Never assume that the reality you are experiencing is your own. C. Everyone's reality is valid, accept the paradox. 1. You are both infinite and finite. Find out where this is applicable for you and honor it. 2. Once you find out what your boundaries and limitations are, push them. Momma says: "Push against the pain". D. The mere act of communication is miraculous. Be intentional about your interface. 1. Some folk don't respond well to honesty, politeness or patience. Often one needs to decide if the effort is really worth it. E. Everyone is an individual, with his or her own, unique motivations. 1. Don't fall in love with illusion. If it isn't manifest it is illusion. F. You will not 'click' with everyone, and everyone will not 'click' with you. Likewise, there will be some folk that you definitely 'click' with. Rule #3 Just because it is not in your reality, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. A. Everyone is allowed to be different, in fact you should expect it. B. Most of the time, it doesn't even matter if it doesn't exist - you still have to deal with it like it is real anyway. C. It is most unlikely that anyone can forcefully effect long term change in anyone else without his or her consent and co-operation. D. Never confuse humility with invalidating your own needs and wants. Bad, bad, bad. Rule #4 Capture all the data. A. Never assume you know what reality is, the only constant is change. B. Stagnation in all its forms is not healthy. Gypsies bathe in running water. 1. Never settle. You get what you settle for. 2. Sometimes, things are allowed to be just 'good enough'. C. You are only as limited as you choose to be. D. Always consider the source. Rule #5 Never hurry. (OK, so this is really one of Heinlein's) A. Remove unrealistic language from your speech and thought like: always, forever, never, have to and can't, unless you use them with qualifiers. B. There will always be more work to do. C. When the time is right, the energy will shift - and not before. It is difficult to be successful trying to 'force' things, most often you just muddle up the dynamic tension. D. No one can make you choose before you are ready to. E. Don't make any major life changing decisions while experiencing major energetic trauma of any sort, if it can be avoided. Bad, bad, bad. Create distance, ground, center and reorient to reality first. Choose healthy paths to run in, when there is no other option than to run. Rule #6 Choose. Live in right relation - it can be very painful otherwise. A. Be responsible for yourself. The only real 'power' that exists is the power to choose your course of action (or lack of one). 1. You are expected to and responsible for developing and having a life of your own. If you fail to do so, it limits your options for healthy interfacing with others. Yes, not only can you do this, but also you are supposed to, and really need to, in order to be healthy. B. Do not shirk your own personal growth. Often the quickest way out of something is to go through it. Avoidance only draws out the pain. See Rule #2, c-2. C. When you infantilise people, you only get infants. It is not your job to 'fix' or 'save' anyone and you can cheat folk right out of their own growth process that way. D. Decide how much baggage you can really handle half or quarter that amount to arrive at a healthy amount of dynamic tension. Release, release, release! E. If you truly want something, in order to get it you've got to go out, hunt it down, drag it back to your cave and consume it. But first you need to think; find out where it lives, how to hunt it, and if you really want to consume it. F. Don't dibble, give things time and a real chance to manifest. 1. If your form is not true to your essence, you are dibbling. G. Your mind hears and believes everything that your mouth says, so watch your mouth. 1. Your word is your wand, this is a consensual reality. H. If you feed it, it will grow, so be careful what you feed. I. When your choice is between the lesser of two evils, opt for something else. Potential is limitless. J. Expect to fuck up (a lot, actually), and forgive yourself when you do. The best one can do is to strive. K. Do not dwell on the wrongness in the world, there is too much of it and it can overwhelm you. Instead focus on manifesting more rightness in your own life. Rightness starts with the individual and spreads from there - - just like wrongness. Fortunately, rightness does spread just about as well as wrongness. L. Play your own game. You can only be who you are, not what anyone else thinks that you are. M. Sensei says, "Bring excess to insufficiency to bring balance". 1. Most empaths aren't in their bodies enough. Find ways of being there more and not only will you stay more centered, it actually increases and supports other ways of knowing. N. Buddha says, "The root of all suffering is unmet expectation". 1. You can only trust people to be themselves. The state to strive for is being in dynamic harmony with those you work and interact with. Knowing the answers to "Who am I?" and "What do I want?" seems to be the first steps to making conscious choices for individuals or groups. Assuming that one does know these answers, the next challenge is to take the essence of them and turn it into form. Planning to allow time for certain activities in ones life, to set specific dates to accomplish your goals or to begin or end other activities can be a very valuable tool in focusing your wave of manifestation. It is also useful to be flexible in ones choice of forms as consciousness expands. Ritual empowerment or blessing of choices can be particularly potent when used in combination with mundane organizational and communication processes, art, and even conflict resolution skills. There are so many tools available; materials, props, toys, concepts and approaches to information with which to enrich and thereby empower your path and your work. One of the many meanings attributed to the word wicce is to bend or to change. It feels very natural to me to see this knowledge of self (including Rule #1) as potentially the very essence from which one would spin the threads used to weave the cloth of change. A lot of magical tables of correspondence were written by folk viewing the universe through their own eyes, their own filters. A lot of modern authors acknowledge that choices of color and other symbology need to be personally relevant. Magical traditions are formed when a number of people unite and create a group mind with its own relevant symbology and ritual forms. Most of this movement seems to be centered in consciousness. Individuals and groups have an evolving consciousness. The greater the number of entities (or energetic "points"), the more complex and dynamic the interconnected web of energetic pathways and the organic path of manifestation of that web of consciousness. So the more one familiarizes oneself with the smaller patterns, the more one understands of how the greater patterns have come to be and what and why they are. Personal power comes from the point of self and the consciously choosing of personal path. If one truly wants to be empowered, then all other internal relationship paths must flow from personal path as well. The paths of partnership, family, community and universal relations must be anchored in the path of the self with the expansion of self to include the Universe, the All that is, and thus the partnership, family and community. Choosing one's path is a powerful and sacred act. No wonder they burned us! |
| Phenomenal Cosmic POWER! |
| - by Cybele WindDancer |
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