Positive Health Online

Authority, control, domination, management… these are all synonyms for the word 'power', but what does it really mean and why is it so important?

Having power means being in control, right? Well, not exactly. Power is the essence of energy; it is a driving force that makes our wheels turn. Without power there is no movement, only a steady rhythm that doesn't create any change. So one would argue that power is necessary to create any sort of improvement in our lives; the answer to this lies within our ability to realize where power comes from.

Power is a state of need or desire. When the ego is in control, there is a constant hunger that is never satisfied. The ego craves power regularly; when it receives the power it requires, it is only pleased for a short period of time. Thus the continuous cycle repeats itself because the ego is never really satisfied. It is the ego that is never grateful since it is run by greed. Ah yes, greed! Greed's hunger is so voracious that nothing can satiate its deepest yearning.

However, when power is controlled by the aspiration to grow, its hunger is one of substance. This substance is required to nourish the inner workings of the body, such as the Mind, Body and Spirit. Imagine not having eaten for several hours. Your stomach gurgles with eagerness, reminding you of its large deficit of food. Your patience becomes short as your energy runs low. At this point, the mind and body communicate a need for sustenance which eventually ends up getting you to the closest eatery. This communication, when listened to, allows the body the nourishment that is needed to maintain health and vitality.

The Ego's Hunger

On the other hand, what happens when the ego drives hunger? Well, the ego's motivation is greed, and greed's hunger is insatiable. It only thinks of getting more and more. The ego does not allow for the Mind, Body or Spirit to get in its way, because the ego believes that it doesn't need food to manage. The result is that it dips into the body's reservoir for energy. Letting the ego's greed have its way only depletes the body of its nourishment; therefore, diminishing the Mind, Body and Spirit of its Essence or Vitality. Instead it creates a ravenous 'power' that entrances the Mind to continue to seek what it cannot attain.

Money is a great example of the ego's constant need to be fed. For most people, having a successful career while earning an income that provides the means necessary to survive a substantial life is just not enough. We constantly strive to earn more and more money while sacrificing our health, relationships, and much more. At first, we stay a bit longer at work, or make a few more calls, or write a few more emails, and then we're late getting home, not spending as much time with our families or missing important events. So why is there an empty void that never seems to get filled? An inexhaustible longing for more constantly haunts us indefinitely, until we can consciously step back and stop for just a moment to visualize what is happening.

Another example of the ego's drive to divert us from being in touch with the power within us is to use distraction as its means to an end. Have you ever noticed that when you are upset or just not feeling yourself, eating, shopping, or other possibly addictive behaviours help to take your mind off the real issue? For a short period of time, our mind has some time to stop thinking and rejoice in our new found purchase or the food that we just ate. At times this can be good. If, for instance, a thought becomes obsessive and starts consuming various parts of your life, having a distraction of some kind can be healthy temporarily. However, using any behaviour to constantly avoid dealing with a matter is the ego's way of taking over. This manner of escape is performed by many people nowadays. Many people use money or their careers as their method of getting away. By using the excuse of, "when I have___dollars then I can start to focus on___," or, "I have to make this deadline," or even, "there's too much to do right now for me to worry about this", and lastly, "that is not as important as ___ right now". These thoughts are nothing more than excuses to prevent us from moving forward and being in touch with the strength of the power within us all. What perplexes me often is when people believe that such an important incident that keeps popping up repeatedly in their lives is not as imperative as or even more so than the other things in their lives. It is the small little messages that ever so subtly become the most significant in the long run. The best example I can think of is not taking care of your health. Many times people ignore the little symptoms that often end up leading to more serious medical conditions. The body is a very intelligent and integrated system that uses at first, delicate hints to inform the mind of an imbalance. If for some reason this message is ignored, symptoms gradually but definitely get worse until sadly, it may be too late. The Spirit within us works very similarly. If the subtle messages are ignored, then we quickly grow further and further away from the Power within.

Mind, Body, Spirit Connection

Being in constant connection with the Trio of the Mind, Body and Spirit is imperative to maintain a harmonious flow that helps to maintain the valuable life-force of control. A disconnect with this Trio awakens the hunger that lies within to take-over. The communication of the Mind, Body and Spirit is quite clear. However, it is our detachment from the Trio that allows for messages from our bodies such as aches, pains, headaches, etc., to go unnoticed. This is due to the ego's drive of wanting more. Again, as the symptoms from our bodies slowly get ignored more so, the ever so little signs turn into bigger ones requiring much more attention. Soon enough a vicious cycle ensues; worse symptoms require more time, which require more money, which require more work, which produce more symptoms, and so forth. But this cycle cannot be ignored for long. No matter how strong our bodies are, if they are not taken care of and listened to via Mind and Spirit as well, the body will eventually stop. For some, this stop may be minor while for others this stop may be more serious. The decision is left solely up to the individual. It can decide to be more conscious and aware, by taking some time to listen and nourish the Trio, or it can simply choose to overlook its simple needs and feed a boundless ego that will only deliver more discontinuity and angst into our lives.

Being aware of the Ego's appetite and knowing the difference between the power to grow is one of life's little lessons that tests our strength and wisdom frequently. Taking the initiative to be aware, and practising the recognition of where the power from within is coming from, becomes the engine for the growth and change that we so desire. As a result of this then, knowledge is power.

The bountiful knowledge that exists within us is constantly transmitting messages, but if we become detached from primarily the Spirit of the Trio, these communications become less and less noticeable. The more contact we maintain with our Inner Self or Spirit, the better the messages are received. It is not the job of our 'Higher Forces' or the Universe to interfere with the decisions that we make in our lives. However, it is our responsibility to ourselves to make the best possible choices for our highest good.

I would like to ask of you, what is it that keeps you from living the life of optimal satisfaction? In the end it is this maximum satisfaction that feeds the Power of Nourishment to create the life for the optimum existence. For most, it is a disbelief in all the abilities that has been gifted to them from the moment they were born, as well as a disbelief in the power of what they cannot yet see or feel. These powers exist within us as well as around us. It simply requires some attention, for the more attention you give to anything, the more it will grow. So I encourage people to pay much more attention to those things that they wish to create, instead of those things that deplete their Trio of Mind, Body and Spirit. Then sit back and consciously observe the subtle actions that take place at first, by simply allowing yourself to take moments of time to breathe deeply. In these moments you will find that the connection to the Trio is being maintained, so that the ego can no longer feed its hungry appetite, but that the Trio is well-nourished by the breath to attract the knowledge it needs to feed it wisdom, clarity and indefinitely the power it so desires to be the most vital being it can possibly be.