Power

(c) 2009 Joan M. Newcomb

I'm in the midst of a tremendous shift of awareness. Which reminds me of a joke - what's the difference between a pun and a fart? A pun is a shift of wit...

What it feels like is a graceful transition into an expanded awareness. Unlike previous shifts which have been painful and dramatic bottoming out before becoming enveloped in Love.

Not that there hasn't been some dramas along the way... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Everything nowadays is the opposite of whatever it's been. Some of which we already know and understand. We no longer have to work 8-6, fifty weeks of the year, remain loyal to one company for a lifetime, stay married to our first husband for the sake of the kids and the mortgage on the house, continue going to Church because what would the neighbors (or our parents) think?

It's an energetic dance. People who've seemed powerful in the past, because they were so rich, so dominant and controlling, are revealed to be the least powerful of all. They've operated from the Power outside belief. The Truth is power's inside. Standing in your own power doesn't feel very powerful (in the old way of experiencing it). Empowerment often feels normal, relaxed, unhurried, centered.

I recently witnessed someone who feels very powerless in their own life manipulating an entire group to their personal will. Yet another interesting illusion of power. More on that later. Maybe.

In relaxing into my internal sense of power, I've received some fun "cookies" from the Universe (reassurance that my Expanded Self is truly driving the bus). Sunday I saw a Safeway advertising gas at $2.23 a gallon. I stopped by there yesterday to fill up, and the price was $2.37. Had I misread it? Did the price go up? I got $10 worth of gas, then did so much driving I was at empty when I returned home. This morning I went to another gas station and the sign said "$2.23" per gallon. I drove up to the pump, looked over and saw the gas station owner changing the sign to $2.37. I looked at the pump and the price still read $2.23. I looked at the owner and he said, 'Lucky for you I haven't changed the other side of the sign'.

Yesterday I had a nail in my tire, which kept me from attending the meeting where the group was manipulated. It was a gift from my Expanded Self to not engage with drama. More on that later. Maybe.

Today I went to Discount Tire and asked them how much to patch my tire? How much to put it back on my car? It was all free.

Okay, maybe these things don't seem all that miraculous to you. But I'm enjoying my cookies, anyway.

I've noticed it doesn't feel like power when it's genuine power (doesn't feel powerless either).

Crazy people/irritating situations are just indicators where you have given up power, or have power stored in this illusion we call Life. When you dance this particular energetic dance, it's all about reclaiming power. Taking your power back from these situations actually means withdrawing your energy from the illusion. When you do, everything falls apart at first (sometimes) and then everything falls into place (like I'm experiencing now).

When I was a kid, my mom read me stories about Brer Rabbit, who was always escaping Brer Fox and Brer Bear's tricks. One day Brer Fox and Brer Bear made a Tar Baby sitting on a bench. Brer Rabbit came along and said Howdy, then got offended when the Tar Baby said nothing back. He started to sock the Tar Baby and got stuck.

You can, if you like, react to crazy people, irritating situations. However, to me it's kind of like the Tar Baby, just gets you wrestling with them and giving them more power.

Brer Rabbit got free when he convinced Brer Bear and Brer Fox to throw him in the briar patch, by pleading with them *not* to. It turned out to be where he grew up, so he got away free.

I mean, if you want to wrestle with the Tar Baby and get thrown in a briar patch, that's one way to do it. I'm just saying, why wrestle at all?

Sometimes we can't help it. The Expanded part of you knows not to wrestle, but you're covered with tar anyway. You can be amused AND irritated - it shows you're regaining seniority.

Seniority is a tricky concept. It comes from the idea that You are senior in your own space, your own creation. You ARE your expanded Self. There is NO power outside of you, not in anyone or anything. You're the main character in your hologram. Seniority isn't authority (which implies power over others). Seniority is... resting within your own energy. With the knowledge that it's all your own space, everything is your own creation. But you don't have to get caught up in the drama of it. You can channel surf and decide where to put your attention.

What can I suggest for you to do this week? Keep reclaiming power. Keep breathing. Inhale a lot. Exhale some. Step back from the drama. See what happens when you stop trying. Do something different. Do the opposite of what you've always done. And watch what unfolds.

Email me and let me know what happens when you do!