Listen To What You Say

Often times we speak without listening to what we are saying. I was in a conversation with several women the other day and found that there were several times that one or another of us said something negative about someone else or about ourselves. It is easier to do and harder to stop. If we listen to the words that we speak, in a conscious awareness we can start to hear the negative talk and change it. Listen!

Don't Believe Everything You Think

I had always thought of the Ego as being prideful, arrogant, boastful, you can add more of your own adjectives to it that apply. One of the things that I have discovered is that Ego is also those times when you are feeling lesser than. These are those times when you think that the conversation that someone is having is all about you, and not in a good way. I was talking to someone the other day, who told me that when she was in a restaurant she over heard two women talking about her. I asked her if she knew these women and she said “No, she had never seen them before”. I asked her why she thought they were talking about her and she said because one of them looked up at her as she was walking by. It is interesting how our Ego can get in the way. If we take the opportunity to recognize the times that it is our Ego talking than we can start to work on the things that are motivating what we are thinking. Be careful, Don’t Believe Everything You Think!

Conquering the Core

What are our Core Beliefs? These are the beliefs that are deep inside of us and most of the time we do not even recognize that these limiting beliefs are there. It is only when something happens in our life that triggers a reaction producing judgment that we know our beliefs are at work. My biggest core belief is that I am stupid, I know on the surface that I am not stupid, but deep down in the core of my being, it is there. When ever someone questions a judgment or decision that I have made, the stupid belief creeps its ugly head out of the deep recesses of my core. Only when I am in awareness and can recognize that this is false, can I move forward in my life. It can be a constant battle, but one that you can overcome.

You Were Born Perfect

Our personal power comes from unconditional love. This is love for our self, as well as love for all others. Self love is one of the most important parts of personal power. Through self love we can see the beauty, grace and exceptional person that we truly are. We were born perfect, but over time we stopped believing it because of beliefs that were given to us. Those beliefs came from our parents, siblings, schools, religion, and community. We have fostered these beliefs and have created limits in our lives because of them. Only when we can acknowledge their existence and change the power they have in our lives can we fully embrace our personal power.

Get Connected

Meditation is another way to get connected to your higher power. It can be done in as little as five minutes. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Get in a comfortable position, it can be sitting in a chair, on the floor or reclining. Now close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you take each breath, try to hold it for as long as you can before exhaling. As you exhale, feel your body start to relax from your head down to your feet. You can repeat "Breathe In, Breathe Out" as you breathe. This will help you remain focused on your meditation. At this point concentrate on your body becoming more and more relaxed. Center all your attention on feeling the heaviness of your body. The more you relax the deeper the meditation. Your mind might want to wander to a chore or task that needs your attention. That’s ok, acknowledge it and let it go. Continue to focus on your breaths and how your body is feeling. When you are ready let yourself come back to awareness and open your eyes. As you continue the art of meditation you will see that your ability to stay in a relaxed place will grow longer and longer. Do not get discouraged if your thinking takes over, just try to quiet those thoughts as much as you can.

What Are You Waiting For

In Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love we find out about gratitude through the art of prayer. Elizabeth talks about the japa malas beads from India and how there are 108 prayers said for the 108 beads, in Catholicism there is the rosary with its 59 beads for prayer. I have a friend who designs and sells Gratitude Beads with its 101 beads. These are a way for one to pray or give thanks for the abundance in their lives bead by bead. What ever we do whether it is through giving thanks out loud, writing in a journal or using beads to remind us of our gratefulness, it is in the practice that will keep us centered in joy.

Practicing the art of gratefulness is in our day to day routine. Get up in the morning, pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit with a journal at the kitchen table or get in front of your computer screen. Then start your list, what am I grateful for? It can be as little as that warm cup of coffee and as big as the most awesome relationship with the man of your dreams. Just start….Do it Now.

Attitude Of Gratitude

So now that we have reclaimed our power, what’s next? Finding an attitude of gratitude is a first step. The more we are empowered the more we appreciate all that we have in our lives. The best way to develop an attitude of gratitude is by a ritual of either stating out loud what you are grateful for or writing it down. This can be done anytime in your day. I prefer in the morning when I first wake up. By doing it when I awake, I am able to put myself in a joyous state that helps to create the day I have. Go with the flow and see what happens.

If It Doesn't Feel Right, It's Probably Not!

The second part of reclaiming your personal power comes from ownership and honesty. By being completely honest with ourselves we can see our responsibility in giving away of power to others. Take for example the power vampire, I have had so many times were I have feed into the drama of someone else. The more that they say poor me, the more I respond how can I fix it. This is a game of depleting your personal power. Once you recognize it then you can stop. How we stop can be by sitting back and being consciously aware of how we are feeling and how we are acting in that moment. If it doesn’t feel right then it surely isn’t.

Reclaiming your Personal Power

So here we are. We have given away all our Personal Power and now what? Well, let’s talk about how we can reclaim our power. There are two ways to regain your personal power. The first is through forgiveness. You need to forgive the person whom you are jealous of or angry with. Maybe, the person you feel is better than you or someone who has hurt you in some way. Also, forgive yourself for those feelings of anger, jealousy and coveting. Even wishing someone ill over what they have, because of pain you have suffered from them in relationships, and/or business. When we can forgive ourselves for our part in the relationship and its demise then we can truly reclaim our personal power.

Personal Power Vampire

The third step in loss of your personal power is the Power Vampires. These are those people who the glass is always half empty. You know the ones, you say “How are you?” and that becomes an opening for them to tell you the long list of ailments and personal struggles that they have going on in their lives. The more you are around them the worse you feel. Next time you have that tingle on the back of you neck, when you feel one is close by…. Run.

Idolizing Is For Whimps

The second part of loss of personal power comes from idolizing someone. Whether it is a movie star, a president, administrator, or a friend, you are giving your power away when you put them up on a pedestal. It is important to see that the more you give your personal power away the more unworthy you feel. I spent a lot of time giving away my power to those that I felt were smarter than I am. At the time feeling that I was unworthy to be in their presence. When I would be in a meeting or social gathering with these people I would either not have anything to say because I felt what I had to say was stupid or when I did say something I felt very uncomfortable and that my words were not heard

Personal Power

I recently read a book written by David Essel called Slow Down. I discovered, not only what personal power is, but also how one gives it away. According to the book, personal power is creating a life of joy and abundance everyday by living a life filled with honesty and integrity. For example, when you feel jealousy towards another person, you are giving over your personal power to the person that you are jealous of. I have found that true in my own life experience. Last year I wanted a promotion so badly I could taste it. During my interview process, I had a feeling that I was not going to get the promotion. When I found out who they gave the position to, I was very angry. They gave the Director’s position to someone who had no experience in this field. Whenever I was upset about not having the position or made a remark about the Director’s inexperience I was giving away my personal power. The Director was still in the position I wanted and nothing was going to change that fact. I was not handling it with joy, integrity, honesty or abundance all I was creating more negative energy in my life. I left my position before I was able to altar my thoughts and regain my personal power.