Giving Your Power Away

Good Morning Goddesses,

I’ve often thought that often as women, we “give our power away” but I don’t think that’s really the case anymore. I think instead that we simply are not connected to our inner power source and that when you are connected to your power source – “giving your power away” is another aspect of power that can transform the world.

It is when we share ourselves with the people in our lives – and with the world that we truly access our power – because it becomes contagious – like the giggles. Just like love, we shouldn’t keep it just for ourselves. I’ve included an article below which proves that giving makes you rich:

http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/2007/10/15/Charity-Makes-Wealth

I watched a video on YouTube where Napoleón Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich was describing what he learned from Andrew Carnegie and essentially the belief that “whatever the mind can conceive, you can achieve”. He gives a lesson (I encourage you to listen to it in full detail as I will just give an overview) in which you write down what it is that you want to achieve – be as detailed as possible. And then on another page write what you are willing to give in order to have what you want to achieve and then start giving immediately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GCaEZscfvA

When I’m acting pitiful, John likes to remind me of AIDS Ride Patty. Years ago, John did the Boston to NY AIDS Ride and I volunteered the last day of the race in New York and my job was to collect the bikes from the riders and lead them to a recovery area. I was in a zone – I took the bikes – I congratulated the riders, I told them where their bikes were and told them where they could relax and get snacks while also looking out for John when he came in. I remember the feeling in my body of being connected, having a purpose, helping these riders out – it really was powerful and it had very little to do with me – but I was giving.

Now, if you’re like me, you don’t always know the definition giving from a place of power – which does not mean giving until you are completely depleted and have nothing left. Giving from a place of power means you are connected to your source. Giving from a place of power means that you have and maintain personal boundaries – you’re not just allowing yourself to be a battery that other people feed off of, you know when to say no and you’re not worried about disappointing others. I’ve attached a meditation courtesy of Witch School* on psychic shielding and releasing. It’s important, if you are an energy sponge like me, that you are able to protect yourself.

* I highly recommend www.witchschool.com – for something like $50 you become a lifetime member and are able to take unlimited courses online. You don’t need to be a lifetime member to take courses there either – just sign up and you have access to a level.

Now, on to the creative project…Again, I’ve included a few choices…

A good warm up activity for any of the projects is to listen to or make some music…I always find listening to tribal drumbeats gets me into a powerful zone – it’s hard not to feel that drum in your whole body. (I just put native American pow wow into youtube.com and a bunch of stuff came up.) And if you don’t have anything to listen to – get a pot and a spoon and make your own drum beats! Move your body to the beat of the drum.

If you want the experience of power in your body I recommend the following activity:

In front of a mirror (or if you have a video or digital camera, even better) and as if you were a piece of stone carving away a powerful stance, move your body into that stance (I would suggest doing this with your eyes closed) and then opening your eyes to look at the image in the mirror. This is a great exercise to do if you have someone else to work with – one person acts as the sculptor and one acts as the sculpture – and then take a digital picture of your poses.

For a visual representation of power, I recommend the following activities:

1. With sculpy or modeling clay, make a charm or amulet that represents power that is small enough to fit into your pocket – so you can carry it around to remind you to connect to your inner power. (you can also find a natural object – a rock or a shell that could fit in your pocket)
2. Create a mandala (or color in an existing one – I’ve included a website) that represents power and put this in a prominent place in your home or office to remind you to connect to your power.

http://www.coloringcastle.com/mandala_coloring_pages.html

Enjoy!

Love to you,

Patty