Choosing to be Powerful
No one in this world can take your power from you. Your ability to choose your direction is yours alone. Finding the balance between the inner and outer world is key. We sit as the witness and observe both, without giving primacy to either..
The outer world is not more important than the inner. The world feels like it holds the power to transfix us, keeping us up at night because we can't stop thinking about what we fear or hate. Both of these emotional states are related. What we fear we hate, and what we hate we fear. The intensity of these emotions keeps us fixed on the objects that appear to be causing the inflammation.
Even though they seem one and the same, our emotions and the events we connect them to are not the same thing. There is the dilemma we face, such as the bills or the state of the world. The challenge may appear completely out of our depth. However we can realize our emotions are within our power. It is all about making the challenge as simple as possible. If you have a turkey for dinner to celebrate the holidays, you do not attempt to swallow it all at once. You break it down piece by piece.
The path of the spiritual warrior is no joke, but it is funny. It is funny because the exact right challenge comes to test our resolve. It takes courage to do practice when you do not feel like it, to listen to what we say, and to shift our speech to frame things differently and give ourselves credit for the work we have done. We can make use of micro practices, and intend inspiration each and every day.
Most of all we can remember the effect we have on the world, simply by realizing that our true state is calm and joyous. As we work to balance our relationship with our emotions the entire world changes around us.
It is said in Tibetan text, The Seven Point Mind Training “When all the world is filled with evils, place all setbacks on the path of liberation.” Liberation from what? The tyranny of our own most intense emotions. In choosing to train our mind, we find that our emotions exist for us, not us for them. There is no person in this world more important than you in managing your own emotions. Choosing to do so is choosing your own power.