Reclaiming Personal Power
In the rapid change of today's world, feeling solid within personal power can be elusive.
The concept of power is intertwined with numerous pressures challenging your ability to claim personal power.
These pressures, which I refer to as the twelve pressure points of modern living, are fundamental barriers you encounter in pursuit of self-empowerment.
This article delves into the foundational ideas of personal power, exploring its various forms and the intricate relationship between language and power dynamics.
The Essence of Power
At its core, power is the ability to influence and control one’s surroundings and life.
However, as humanity has evolved, the notion of power has become increasingly associated with fear and domination.
This has given rise to four distinct forms of power: power with, power within, power over, and power under.
Power With is the collaborative form of power, emphasizing mutual influence and control within a group. It is about how one’s words and actions resonate within a community, fostering a beneficial exchange for all involved. This form of power celebrates shared truth and collective benefit, steering away from dominance and instead promoting cooperative influence and connection.
Power Within focuses on an individual's relationship with self. Power Within is about self-expression, self-acceptance, and the courage to assert one's worth without the need for dominance. Power Within is the foundation of self-confidence and authenticity, allowing the individual to engage with the world from a place of inner strength, trust, and personal truth.
Power Over is characterized by dominance and control at the expense of others. It thrives on fear, using fear as a tool to maintain superiority and benefit one group over another. Power Over operates within the delusion that those who dominate are inherently better and use control, manipulation, and coercion to diminish and subjugate those who don’t embrace their power agenda.
Power Under is the relinquishment of personal power in response to fear and threat. It is a state of submission, where individuals concede their power to those exerting power over them.
The true essence of personal power lies in the balance between these forms.
Not understanding the dynamics of power, many are caught in the fear and control of these expressions of dominance and subversion.
Neither Power Over nor Power Under are authentic experiences of personal power.
Whereas, Power With and Power Within encourage a harmonious existence where fear does not dominate but rather informs and supports a deeper understanding of self and others.
The Language of Power
Language plays a critical role in how you perceive and exert power.
The words used can either diminish your sense of self or enhance your personal power.
In exploring the language of power, recognize that words are not just tools of communication but also vehicles of power dynamics.
Power With is linked to the Truthful Self, where language is used to express and reinforce communal truth and mutual respect.
Power Within connects with the Essential Self, reflecting a holistic and authentic self-expression.
Conversely, Power Under corresponds to the Dismissed Self, where language reinforces feelings of inferiority and submission.
Power Over is tied to the Deluded Self, where words are wielded to manipulate and dominate others.
Shifting the Narrative
The journey of personal empowerment involves recognizing and transforming the fear-laden language undermining your sense of power.
By identifying and redefining these words, you can shift from a state of fear to one of empowerment.
This transformation is not linear but a continuous process of aligning language with your true, authentic self.
Words of Personal Power
This is a workshop that I have been presenting over the last couple of months and concludes in August.
To read the articles in this series, go here: Words of Personal Power.
If you would like to join, please visit my website and use the contact form or reply to this email and let me know of your interest. It’s not too late to join and you’ll receive access to all prior class recordings and reading material!
In this exploration, we are looking at language from the perspective of each form of power:
Power Under and the language of the dismissed self, examining how it perpetuates a state of powerlessness.
Power Over and the language of the deluded self, understanding how it fosters domination.
Power With and the language of the truthful self which connects you with community empowered.
Power Within and the language of the essential self, discovering how this cultivates a genuine sense of personal power.
By the end of this journey, you will have a deeper understanding of how language shapes your experience of power and how to reclaim personal power through conscious and intentional use of words.
This understanding will empower you to navigate the twelve pressure points of modern living with resilience and confidence, fostering a more empowered and authentic self.