Power is...

Power is personal.  

Power is not dependent on other people.

Power is an act of intentionality and commitment.

Power is found in a profound relationship to reality.

Power is born in the realm of facts in a creative mind, not default and inherited stories in a fearful mind.

Power is accessed, in part, by distinguishing the limited and limiting perspectives inherited in our childhood and adolescence.

Power is constrained by the brands upon our minds and nervous systems of unintegrated past traumas - the big T and little T traumas.

Power is choice.

Power is stepping across the invisible lines that others and ourselves draw in the sand of infinite possibility.

Power is moving beyond the invisible constraints of our own thinking.

Power is a verb, it’s not a noun.

Power is a dynamic relationship, not a fixed entity.

Power is limited by fear and insecure thinking.

Power is inherent in life. 

Power is deliberate.

Power is focused.

Power is not mine and it’s not yours.

Power is the willingness to be honest and responsible about the limiting stories we use to placate our fears.

Power is not right, it’s not wrong, it’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s not good, it’s not evil.

Power is not force.

Power is a gift.

Power is a Grace.

Power is optional...

So is honesty. So is commitment. So is intentionality.

...Or not...

What do you say?

Much Love. ❤️

Petting My Dog, Healing Myself

Yesterday was an extraordinary Mind Mastery workshop at a school. The conversation was deep and powerful. Students grappling with stress over grades, overthinking and worry about friendships, regret and self-dislike, being authentic with parents and friends, setting boundaries without being mean, peace of mind, confidence, and enjoyment. 

It’s amazing to see how stress over a science test becomes the many faces of stress in adulthood, and it doesn't have to be that way - something else is possible. It’s an honor to engage with this age group and support their mental, emotional, and spiritual growth and fulfillment.

---

In my own inner work, I’ve learned to treat the uncomfortable, painful, and challenging parts of myself gently, like they're children that don't know better. 

I encourage clients to do the same. Yesterday at the teen Mind Mastery event, I suggested it to them too - consider that anxious, helpless, scared, hopeless part of you like it’s a little child that doesn’t know better. Would you shove that child away? Would you hate that child? 

For some people, imagining that inner uncomfortable or painful part as a pet is also very powerful. A couple that I coach realized that they would never treat their animals the way they treat each other sometimes - that’s a powerful insight!

So when my fear comes up or my mind kicks into overthinking or worry, I engage with it like it’s a child - with arms wide open, gentle words, and loving attention. 

The first time we do this, it’s like asking a child to trust us even though we’ve been mean to it for decades. So it’s reluctant. It’s looking for consistency. It wants to trust us, but it needs consistency to really see it. 

So we show up daily. We keep creating space for it. We keep speaking kindly to it. We keep relating lovingly towards it. 

And we can practice it elsewhere too…

My dog is super sweet and loves attention. This morning I got down at his level, pet him and hugged him. As I did so, I visualized him as my fears, my insecure thoughts, my sometimes-busy mind, my stresses. In this way, my dog gets my love, and so do those parts of me that I’d otherwise resist, shun, or hate.

Just as a my discomfort and pain can be experienced as a surrogate for a lovable inner child, my dog can be a surrogate for healing that same discomfort and pain.

Every moment of our lives is an opportunity for healing, integration, and wholeness. We are always training our subconscious, and it’s our subconscious that’s usually in control when our experience in life goes haywire or painful.

Treating my dog with kindness and love, thanking my blankets for their warmth, bringing kindness to people in my household even when I’m feeling stingy - doing these things intentionally and wholly, I’m taking care of my inner parts too. 

Much Love. ❤️

The Great Myth (Lie) We've Bought Into

One of my favorite quotes is this one by Rupert Spira: “The source of all human suffering is a single thought: ‘I don’t like this.’”

I find it to be very accurate for me! However, I think there’s an even more insidious version of it at play in our lives.

Nearly every single one of us was born into this myth. We believe it to be true on a personal level and a societal level.

When we’re born, we breathe in our first breath of air, and the indoctrination into this myth begins. 

We hear it from our parents. We hear it from our teachers. We hear it from our preachers, our tv shows, our music. 

We believe it about most aspects of our experience - things we see, hear, feel, and think. 

• When we beat ourselves up over something we said or did, or didn’t say or didn’t do - we're living in the myth.

• When we feel anxiety - we're living in the myth. 

• When we complain, gossip, or otherwise live from curmudgeon energy - we're living in the myth. 

• When our opinions lead us to frustration and self-righteousness - we're living in the myth.

The myth we’ve bought into and live from is this: The Great Myth of “Should.”

This shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t act this way. They shouldn’t act that way. They shouldn’t be that way. It shouldn’t be this way! Etc.

Or

That should be. I should feel that way. I should act that way. They should be that way. They shouldn’t be that way. It should be that way! Etc.

Look, don’t take my word for it. See for yourself!

Where are you living The Great Myth of Should about yourself, others, the world, life?

Should is an argument with reality. Should is an arrogant perspective. Should is a negation of what is and a belief that we know what's better.

"Should" doesn’t exist in nature. It ONLY exists in language. 

Where are you shoulding in your life? Where are you shoulding on yourself and others?

Every place we notice that we're operating under a should, we have an opportunity to get free. How to use it to get free is a topic for another post (or better yet, conversation). For right now, just notice:

Where are you spouting the myth of should, at yourself and others? In your mind and heart? In how you move and act?

There’s no freedom in should, because should is inherently inauthentic. Should is only a concept, and the spark of life within us isn’t a concept, it’s a divine force of the universe. 

Should is a myth, but since we don't see it as a myth, it's become something worse: it's a lie we tell ourselves and others, and we feel it in the depths of our being.

Much Love. ❤️