The Steps of Self-Empowerment
When life is going smoothly, it is simple to go into automatic pilot. You are fully and gainfully employed, all your bills are paid on time, you can even take vacations, all your primary relationships are pleased and you are otherwise enjoying life.
What happens when there is an unexpected loss or inevitable setback? What do you rely on as a source of your strength to sustain you?
We are constantly fed messages that we need something outside of us in these challenging situations. We become accustomed to hearing that we are lacking something and whatever “it” is can be bought or sourced externally.
It is during these times of transition that there could be an opportunity for growth and insight into the source of what empowers you. The invitation is to change your vantage point and see that all the resources for you to navigate your challenges are sourced by plugging into a Universal presence inside of you.
Here are the steps of self-empowerment:
When faced with a challenge, start by honoring yourself. Take the time to pause and just breathe. There is no need to do any deep breathing. Instead, take a comfortable seat or even lay down with one hand on your belly and another on your heart and simply delight in your breath. Let yourself feel anchored into the chair or into the earth if laying down. By merely bringing consciousness to your breath, you initiate a process of awareness to the presence that supports you. You can enhance this process by gradually softening the layers of resistance, stress, tightness and hardness manifested in your face, jaw, throat, chest, stomach and other areas of your body. By beginning to let go of physical clinging, you further the process of yielding to an inner support. Breath by breath you drop deeper into your every expanding source of that which sustains you.
You reinforce a process of reclaiming the source of your power by reflecting and determining one quality of heart or mind that could enable you to effectively handle the situation you are facing. Take the time as you continue to breathe to reflect on what quality of heart or mind would make a meaningful difference in your life. Perhaps you could cultivate more courage, sensitivity, clarity, more patience or whatever you deem to be appropriate. You then set this seed of intention in your heart and mind and then infuse it with your breath so that there is a unity in your body, mind and heart. You literally call all aspects of yourself into attention as you tap into this wellspring of energy inside of you in service of your intention.
Fascinatingly, in this process of reflection and then engagement, you will experience inevitable internal shifts. As you draw closer to your heart and what is meaningful, then what you say and do will be aligned with your own wellspring of energy and resources.
If you start to feel like you are forcing yourself in this process, check to see if are holding your breath or you have been breathing in a shallow way. There are patterns that are both conscious and unconscious that we follow that resist this process. Such patterns may not always be life affirming and may appear as chronic tension in our body and tightness even in our minds. All of this manifests in the breath and blocks us from accessing our source of sustenance.
You may need the help of a wise guide to facilitate in accessing your inner resources and optimizing the way you use them. But, ultimately, what enables you to effectively deal with what you are facing is inside of you.
You are completely free to either reinforce ancient patterns of thought and action or choose to awaken to the realization that the ultimate source of your fulfillment is as close to you as your breath. It is a process of remembering the source of that which sustains you and then taking action to align with it so that you can continue to shift and grow in ways that bring more beauty and like to our shared planet.
Pamela Wells authored and illustrated a Collectors Edition guidebook and card set for women called Affirmations for the Everyday Goddess – Spiritual Guidebook & 22 Wisdom Cards for Contemplation and Prayer. This boxed set is available now at http://www.ArtmagicPublishing.com. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/the-steps-of-selfempowerment-1494700.html
