We often forget we can choose how we feel regardless of the circumstances. When things happen, we can often understand why someone acts or reacts a certain way. Many have devoted thousands of hours researching why people do what they do when things occur. Studying behavior benefits them as they are not directly involved in it. There is no emotional investment when studying something. However, it’s completely different when you’re the one experiencing it.

The importance of taking a breath.

I recently watched something online that reminded me that taking a moment to breathe can give me the space I need to mentally step back from something and become the observer for a short time. It allows me the time to mentally process what has happened and to make a conscious decision about what I’m going to do about it or what’s possible to do in that situation.

Don’t panic.

The worst thing we can do in any urgent situation is panic. Panic puts our body at the mercy of adrenaline, which we can’t do without for the sake of survival, but it also shuts off our higher brain functions. It puts us in a position where we might not be able to see the options available to us.

When things happen, we often feel powerless to stop, change, or mitigate it. While there are things we can’t change, how we feel about them is our choice. As complex humans, we can be powerful and powerless at the same time. An example would be a CEO of a multimillion-dollar corporation. They are influential socially and maybe even politically, but they are also powerless as their partner leaves them because they chose to never put their family first. Another would be someone who takes care of others but never finds the time to care for themselves and often gets sick or injured due to lack of self-care. We either know people or are successful in one area of our lives and dismal in others, such as being successful at our jobs but terrible with relationships.

What does all this have to do with metaphysics?

Situations occur where all we can do is deal with them the best we can. However, we have a choice as to what beliefs drive our thoughts, feelings, and actions about that situation. The stance we choose to take is based on our beliefs, and we can have the beliefs that we are powerful and powerless at the same time. The beliefs counteract one another but don’t cancel one another out because they are active at different times. Again, think of that CEO who has walked off stage after delivering a rousing speech to a standing ovation. He or she feels powerful and full of life, then goes home to an empty house, the stark reminder of their choices and the powerlessness of changing what has occurred. They feel powerful in one sense and powerless in another.

Then, some firmly believe in their power and stand in it most of the time and accomplish things others dream about. Then there are those who so firmly believe in their powerlessness that they walk through life as constant victims of circumstance.

What you believe matters.

Use your pendulum or muscle test and ask yourself some of these questions or a few of your own to figure out what you believe about where you stand regarding your personal power.

I am powerful most of the time.

I am comfortable standing in my power

I can comfortably access and exert my power

I am in control of my circumstances ( most of the time, all of the time, none of the time)

You get the idea. You can even drill down further and distinguish where you feel powerful and powerless. Once you have this measurement of your beliefs on power, you can then decide if you want to change it and what steps you’re going to take.

Why determining your power status is important.

This can be directly tied to our self-esteem, confidence, and level of deserving. If we believe that we are, for the most part, powerless, that can dictate what we feel we deserve in life, how we feel about ourselves, and how we think others perceive us. It can also influence how we allow others to treat us.

If you don’t have a pendulum or don’t know how to muscle test, think back to situations where you felt powerful or powerless. Do you tend to experience one more than the other? Look for patterns. Is it only in certain circumstances or with certain people, locations, or groups?

We all have moments of being powerful and powerless. The objective is to be in our powerful state more often than powerless. This is not to be confused with a state of having power over another individual. This is about mastery over ourselves in our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Those who work to control others are not powerful. They are overcompensating for their own powerlessness. Attempting to control others makes them feel less powerless when it is only displaying that weakness further with that bullying and controlling behavior. Standing in your power means that you gain control over yourself and your circumstances as much as possible. A person standing in their power has no need to control or manipulate others. Do be that person. 

Powerful or powerless, which will it be?