According to one author, Power, personally speaking anyway, takes three forms; 'power over', 'power with' & 'power from within'. She refers to these three forms in this way, '“power-over,” referring to domination and control; “power-from-within,” meaning personal ability and spiritual integrity; and “power-with,” pertaining to social power or influence among equals'. 'As above, so below'; personally ( individually ) speaking, one may exercise their own power over others, whether it be person, animal, or even plant, but, in the case of another person, only if the other, for whatever reason, allows them to. In the case of most animals, mankind has, for the past many hundreds of thousands of years ( ? ) been able to hold power over them, thanks mostly to their own ingenuity. Nature, though, has a way of evening the odds! One might well note that 'Karma' plays a big role here, as well!
Not knowing any more about the recent news out of Minnesota concerning George Floyd than what the MSM wants us to know; I will give this bit of commentary. No matter what the truth may be about this situation, George Floyd didn't deserve to die! The cop, or cops, that caused his death are guilty of murder ( call it 'manslaughter' if you want )! You may have heard that there was history surrounding the incident & maybe there was, but so what?! one can almost understand the one cop kneeling on his neck ( if THAT'S even totally accurate ), given this 'history', for, like as not, Mr. Floyd, if given an inch, would've taken a mile. I guess we'll never know! Whatever the case may be, George Floyd, by ceding his personal Power to someone else, whether through coercion, deceit or ignorance, lost his life that fateful day.
'The Power is YOURS', to quote an old cartoon! Personally speaking, we are creatures of Power. No, I'm not necessarily talking of physical strength, though that is surely a force to be reckoned with; I'm not even speaking of endurance, mental or physical. The Power that I'm referring to is the Power Within, the Power that we innately hold, as spirit-beings. One might even note that we are Power Itself, being One with the Source of Power, Divine Energy. This Power, of course, is not physical or mental strength, although it often manifests in those ways. Beyond the physical attributes or even the mind itself is our spirit/soul, where our personal Journey begins. It is here that Power resides. The Power to Choose is in our mind, but it really goes back, or up/in, even further than that, though we may or may not be aware of it. Our choices, when we are truly Aware, reflect that awareness. However, when we are driven by the Ego/Mind, our choices are most often reflective of our egocentric mindset.Though this is not always the case, this is how we end up with cases like that of George Floyd in Minnesota!
The Ego, as we've discussed in previous posts, is neither good nor bad; 'it just IS'! An integral & necessary part of our humanity, the Ego is that which allows us to function in this Life. With the personal Ego, we would not be able to choose for ourselves. This personal ability to choose, though, is where the problem manifests! We can choose to exercise our Power over other people, animals or plants, or we can choose to exercise that Power alongside of those others. We can live symbiotically with all life, or we can 'die by the sword'! When we decide to use our Power carelessly, or even evilly, that Power inevitably turns back on us & 'bites us in the ass', in a manner of speaking. However, when we live as Nature intended, in harmony with ALL Creation, Life not only flows much better, but we might even enjoy a longer Time in this physical realm!
Inevitably, this biology will, at some point, go the way of all things in the Great Circle of Life! Certain people would probably tell you differently, but 'this old body wasn't made to last forever'! Through our choices, though, or at least as far as it is up to us, we can either shorten or lengthen our Time in this Iteration. It is not totally up to us of course, but we can influence others in their personal choices, either negatively by exercising Power over them, or in a positive way, by allowing them to exercise their personal power with, or alongside us. One cannot exercise Power over other unless one first takes their Power!
This is not to say, of course, that such a person no longer has any Power; they just don't realize, most of them, that their Power is innate, it goes Beyond the Person! The simple realization of this Power is, well, powerful. Understanding that we are More than the Person & so not allowing ourselves to be controlled by the Person; we can better enjoy Life with our Ego not driving, or pushing us to use our Power over others. Rather, we will be free to use our Power to complement the personal Power of others. Better still; Life flows better when we live it symbiotically, instead of trying to control what is beyond our control!
Namaste' & Blessed Be,
Charles Haddon Shank
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