Becoming a Person of Power - Tools and Technologies of the Soul

In my own search for becoming powerful I discovered a few things -- mainly through my own experience and by being companioned and helped by some "safe people" along the way, people who helped me to make sense of my experience.  My own stories are not important to share here as I discuss first principles, but the feelings associated with them may be, as well as the process that these feelings catalyzed.

Several life experiences provoked two very uncomfortable feelings for me -- powerlessness and the feeling that I was at someone else's mercy.

These feelings caused a shift in me that I would express as, "Then, I hit my line."

This shift led to what I would describe as a cascade.  Something welled up in me and I knew, at the very core of my being, that I had to be in control of myself (self-mastery), even if I had no control over anything else. 

This epiphany is the beginning of power.

So, the process that led me to my own personal power can be described this way --

provocation, shift, cascade, epiphany, consciousness, and, finally, self-mastery.

The first four elements of the process were internal responses that led to self-awareness.  The final two required work on my part, both internal and external work.  Self-awareness is the tipping point in the process.  It is also the place of choice.  Do I stay where I am, even with new awareness?  Or do I move forward, go deeper, do the work that will bring me beyond self-awareness and into consciousness?  And, then, do I embark on the journey and do the work required for self-mastery? 

So, let's talk about power. What is power? 

Power is force that enables movement. 
Power is force that drives movement. 
Power creates possibility. 

Force is what happens on the inside. 
It is the catalyst.

Movement is what happens on the outside. 
It is the consequence. 

For the most part, force -- the provocation, shift, cascade, and epiphany elements in the process of personal empowerment are internal processes.  Consciousness and self-mastery, while requiring internal work, manifest on the outside and create movement in your life -- they are the consequences of force.

It's important to understand the relationship between force and movement...between the catalyst and the consequence.

You can have all the skills, talents, tools, and technology in the world, and there are more tools and technologies now than ever before at our disposal.  But if you don't cultivate the inner tools and technologies, the tools and technologies of the Soul -- everything else is meaningless.  You can put the tools and technologies of the Soul into service to empower your life so that you can use the more mundane, practical tools and technology to attain the outcomes you want and reach your goals.  These tools and technologies of the Soul enable us to stand in our power through profound self-awareness and consciousness.

With self-awareness and consciousness come choice and with choice comes power -- force that enables movement and creates possibility. 

In the next pieces of the discussion I will share what I have come to discover are the Principles of Personal Power.  I'm going to give them to you one at a time so you can ponder, reflect, journal, and create enough space within to really take them in and work with them.  Think of it as space for cultivation of what might be the most important work of your life and, if you feel resonant and inspired around this work, give yourself the gift of time to manifest a deeper level of personal empowerment.

I offer more tools and inspiration on my poetry and education page - Awakened Spirit - on Facebook, to assist you in your journey.  I invite you to visit the page and explore images, poetry, and teachings that can help catalyze your own journey as you awaken to the magnificence of your Soul and empower your journey through the landscape of your fractured-expanding-healing Self.