The only way to powerfully affect the world around you, to shape it according to your desire and will is to Access Your Power. To develop your power and your individual relationship with it. Why? Because Personal Power is a determining factor in all our lives, very much defining our level of fulfillment and our dominant state of being.

Personal Empowerment

At a fundamental level we all have a desire for Personal Power, in order to have control over our lives and the freedom to enjoy our lives as we see fit. This is typically termed empowerment and is related to the 7 central areas of life. Although there is an underlying tendency built into the body/mind (the main survival function of the ego) to seek pleasure and avoid pain, our life’s journey is really one of constant striving for empowerment in the various areas of our lives, which of course involves challenges. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, we cannot begin to actualize ourselves until our basic needs are met. More updated theories acknowledge these basic needs, but take into account that our needs are more complex than previously imagined. Beyond the obvious basic survival needs, each human being is unique in terms of their needs.

There are seven core areas in our lives, and according to our perception of lack or fulfillment in these areas, we assume a hierarchy of motivational values. This hierarchy is dynamic, and as we empower the areas of highest importance to us, the arrangement of our hierarchy of motivational values shifts and we may assume a new highest value. This mechanism is behind what is termed “mid life crisis”, as we unexpectedly find ourselves unfulfilled by the very things that drove us for much of our lives, simply because once we have them we unconsciously assign less value to them.

So what are the seven basic arenas of life you may ask? Here they are, listed in no particular order of importance: Spirituality & Evolution, Knowledge & Wisdom, Health & Wellbeing, Family & Relationships, Connection & Influence, Vocation & Business, and Wealth & Finances. Each of these areas of life constitutes a power we can develop, each offering us more freedom and control over our own lives. Each of us will pursue empowerment of differing levels in the various areas at different times in our lives, but we are always involved in this continuous process of expanding our empowerment. You can learn a lot more about the dynamics and mechanics of Motivational Values at our workshops (Mastering the Art of Relationships Workshop & Living Inside-Out Workshop), where you will discover advanced tools to explore your hierarchy of values and develop the various arenas of your life. In our more advanced Access Your Power workshop we go much deeper, exploring the development of Authentic Power, derived from our connection to our inner Self as an expression of the Divine Source.

Being dis-empowered in one or more of these life areas creates challenge in our lives, the effects of which may overflow into areas in which we are more empowered, depending on the extremity of the dis-empowerment. An example would be financial dis-empowerment affecting our relationships, our vocational opportunities, our social influence, our freedom to pursue spiritual activities, and perhaps even our health. It is important we recognize this challenge as bringing our dis-empowerment to our awareness, and impelling us to empower ourselves in these dis-empowered areas. So many people fail to see the value of this mechanism and assume the world is an unfair and dangerous place. This view is dis-empowering in the extreme, as it encourages us to externalize the source of Power and deny that we have the basic ability to shape our own lives.

Authentic Power
Authentic Power derives from our inner Self, and is the power through which we shape reality and therefore our lives. We all have access to Power, as we are all manifesting our reality all the time, but often we are doing it by default and without conscious awareness of the process. When we are aligned with our inner Self we have clarity and certainty of purpose and we are said to have Authentic Power, we shape our reality in a coherent way. The truth is we are just in an elevated state of consciousness, allowing a more concentrated flow of power rather than obstructing or misdirecting it. Each of us is a unique expression of Divine Source, and as such each of us has a unique set of ideas, perceptions, vision and purpose in life. When we tap in to and live by our own internally inspired direction we are aligned with this source so that we are more open to our supply instead of obstructing it with incoherent thoughts. The subconscious mind automatically deletes incongruous ideas, so if you spend half an hour each day focusing on what you want in life, and the rest of the day doubting your ability to achieve it or having thoughts like “I don’t deserve it”, the subconscious will delete whatever you spent the half hour thinking about as incoherent. Our dominant thoughts are the ones that shape our reality most profoundly. The trick to mastering power is to be consistent and coherent, as well as authentic.

Ok, so how do we connect with our inner Self, and tap into our inspiration? The simple answer is to develop our awareness. Becoming aware of our thought patterns allows us to begin to manage them to be more coherent. Understanding the mechanics of perception, emotion and our state of consciousness gives us the ability to control our state of consciousness. Yes, I just said control our state of consciousness! You can learn much more on this subject at our Access Your Power workshop.

Another requirement to developing Authentic Power is that we dump our baggage. Let go of our emotional attachments to people, things, ideas, etc. Life is a process of growth and expansion, so if we are attached to anything too securely we become inflexible and begin to experience the growth process as suffering. We end up dis-empowering ourselves and obstructing our Personal Power.

Here is a short list of points to follow to expand your Personal Power :

• Know yourself – your inner drives and desires, dominant thought processes etc.
• Develop your awareness.
• Be as authentic as you can.
• Manage your thinking, coherence and consistency are key.
• Be flexible in your beliefs.
• Let go of attachment and accept of people and circumstances as they are