http://www.empowermentillustrated.com/
The website listed begins with a "redifining" in modern words and thoughts, what Empowerment and Self-Empowerment actually mean to us. The most poignant part of this definition for me is inside the meaning of self-empowerment:
"Empowerment seems to come in 2 flavours:
- one with benefits to both an empowerer and those empowered. I propose to call this type simply 'empowerment'.
- another where power is created out of nothing by somebody who previously perceived themselves to be powerless and then woke up to their own power.
This could be called 'self-empowerment'."
Let's start by talking about debt. This is something I am very familiar with. Money has plagued me most of my life. I was raised in a poor family. We struggled for everything. My Dad and Mom frequently made it known to us kids that there wasn't money for things. They taught us to believe that we were the wrong type of people...not the kind who acquire wealth but the kind who struggle. This is a self-fullfilling prophecy and propaganda that was fed to our parents who fed it to us. The longer we continue thinking this is true, the longer it will be true. I became a broke young adult...struggled although I worked several jobs at a time my entire life and still do. I went to college and wracked up student loans; Bought a car that was reposessed; filed for bancruptcy; wracked up credit card debt. This is my profile. I look like a loser on paper, don't I? I did exactly what my parents believed of me and taught me to believe of myself. Until last August when I read The Secret and decided it was all a lie. I decided that I could be a person who loves money...not a person who fears a lack of money. I decided that part of my daily meditation would be on abundance. I have many techniques that I now use to visualize money in abundance and a full bank account and all the bills being covered. I took the necessary steps when signs were shown to me and I took back the power from my Creditors who were trying to take advantage of me. I signed up for a Non-Formal Debt Resolution and it has made all the difference in how I feel about myself. I recognize that my spending habits were frivolous and irresponsible and that is how I allowed myself to become victimized by my Credit Card Companies. These days, I think long and hard before making purchases that are not for cash. Even cash purchases...I think long and hard before I open my wallet.
Does any of that sound familiar to you? Perhaps you have some similar problems? Maybe like me, you have allowed people to tread on your generous nature. I was once told that I was a "bleeding heart". It really bothered me that anyone would call me that. Inside I did not feel empathy towards people when I was allowing them to treat me like a doormat. No way! I felt ANGER. I just didn't know how to stick up for myself and so I hid my anger behind a pleasant smile...a soothing veneer. So I heard the words and then I decided to pay close attention to what was going on around me. How do people speak to me? Why? What do their remarks, questions, answers and conversations really mean? What are they saying with their body language? What are they NOT saying? When I changed my approach to the people around me, I learned everything I needed to know about them and about me and about my relationships with each one individually. I have no problem now when I need to address questions, concerns and problems. I feel a confidence I never had and I see solutions that were previously beyond my understanding. In some cases, I have become wiser than the ones who taught me. I find myself much in need of a spiritual guide these days...a wise and learned teacher.
It is much harder to find enlightenement in relationships. For this, I have a younger but wiser teacher. She is a strong woman. Adversity and hardships...some of which I may have inflicted upon her at some point, have made her the amazing woman she is today. It goes to show you...never ever burn a bridge. Never, ever. Anyway, her wisdom is far beyond her age and I appreciate that I am blessed to learn from her and what I have learned that has been most valuable to me is to let problems simmer a bit. Don't jump. Be patient...with the person and also be patient when deciding the right course of action to resolve the problems that arise. I tend to jump in and be a woman of action- a true fireball. Sometimes action is not the right course. I have found in my personal relationships that overlooking an insult...letting a problem simmer a few days before addressing it and in some cases, just taking information and storing it away for later use, are all better techniques than a fight. Sometimes there is just no way to talk something out. Some things need to just be felt. When it comes to LOVE relationships...Love must be felt. If you are wondering, "does he love me"? ...just allow yourself to feel his energy for a while. Does it feel loving? What does it feel like to you? Don't ask yourself what he is thinking or what he is doing. Focus instead on what motivates him. That is the root of who he is after all. Is he motivated by money? Sex? A good business deal? Travelling? Food? Ego??? The deeper motivations will guide the actions, thoughts, behavior and feelings. If you are tuned into that, then you can answer all the questions you have about the other person.
Then comes the time for action right? Just like with my debt, there was a time for action. A woman I know was recently complaining that her Father failed to complete a job on her car that he started. As she went on complaining about her Father and her car, I realized that what she needed to do was Empower herself and free herself of expectations that would never be met by the Father. I knew she would not be happy when I suggested the problem was hers rather than his. She wasn't happy. But...I think she listened. You see, I asked her how she felt when she first got the car on the road. She said she was happy. Her happiness was motivated by having a car of her own. So now that there were mechanical problems, she was mad and hated her car. And then she projected the anger onto the person who's own personal life problems were affecting her ability to get her problem resolved by him. I suggested she bite the bullet and pay more to have another mechanic fix the car issues and then her car would be back to running well and she would be happy again. I suggested she EMPOWER herself to solve the problem rather than allow this other person to control the situation and let her down.
Are you starting to see how empowerment works? It's very exciting when you really grasp it! I have been watching for signs of synchronicity and seeing things come together in the most unexpected ways. The idea of Empowering yourself to take action or inaction or just to bring about the necessary changes to improve your life or cope with difficult situations is the greatest FREE gift you can ever get. It is free to those who ask and it is rooted in LOVE, the greatest power and the only power and THE power of life. Everything comes from Love and this includes Power. Power is a dirivitive of the great force of Love. What you Love, you will have and you will draw to you and you will have the Power to keep.
~namaste
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