Power & Purpose
Photo : Sonya Rothwell
pow·er | \ ˈpau̇(-ə)r
from the Latin word potere, which means 'to be able.'
This June, I wanted to bring my focus to the process of cultivating my inner power, in order to share it with my Community, as this process can be so impactful on how we experience life. So…throughout the month, we explored how to create and access our reserves of power through presence so that we can live into our purpose.
Cultivating power is important to every spiritual journey.
WHY?
Power is where things happen, where possibility graduates to become creation and transformation. It is the place where our “will”, our “willpower” burns with enough heat to create movement in our lives. Where our inner world becomes expressed in our outer world.
PRESENCE = CHOICE = POWER
Power is something we cultivate, consciously or unconsciously, by connecting energy to purpose, and becoming focused on the present moment : the only place where we have full freedom of choice, and power.
Power as focused energy
From a mechanical or physical perspective, power relates to the amount of energy transferred, or the rate of work done. From the perspective of someone constantly working with human energy, it’s actually not too different. I understand power as energy that is harnessed. Power is not dormant, unfocused energy. It is active, and directed (both outwards and inwards) with purpose. This is why having a purpose becomes so integral to cultivating power. Power is energy animated with purpose.
WHAT IS YOUR ‘WHY’?
Power with purpose
If you feel a little overwhelmed by the idea of ‘purpose’, don’t be. Yes, purpose is often this lofty ideal that we all struggle with, especially when asking ourselves a question as vast and as changeable as ‘what is my life purpose’. But, purpose is also in the everyday moments, in the little decisions that are made consciously. Questions you can ask can simply be, what is my purpose in this moment? In this minute…this very second…? What matters right now?
Life only happens in the present moment. If you are in the past or the future, you are not actually living your purpose, so it is making meaningful moments in the present that add up to a life of purpose.
When going through these reflections on how I view power and purpose, I focussed my classes on practicing how energy, or prāna, is gathered and directed for a particular purpose, in both body and mind, in order to bring us more and more into the present. I really believe that these practices are so important in grasping the act of generating power with purpose at a cellular level, in our bodies, and at a conceptual level in our minds; They connect all the dots.
Power in the moment
So we again come back to this notion that it’s all about presence…
Cultivating present moment awareness is an essential aspect to cultivating power. Right here, right now is where power operates. When you focus on the present, choosing how you respond to each moment, you act from a place of power. This means that instead of dismissing your state of being as ‘just the way I am’, or ‘how so-and-so made me feel’, you recognise your freedom to choose what you become in each moment. This leads to real empowerment.
WHAT IS THE WAY OF BEING THAT YOU CHOOSE?
WHO DO YOU CHOOSE TO BE IN EACH MOMENT?
