Power is such a tricky concept. The word connotes visions of Hitler destroying millions of lives

or Gandhi bringing the British Empire to its knees – just by sitting.

Either way, the typical understanding of power involves controlling/influencing others to achieve a goal. While everyone needs the capacity to influence, most are not in a position to affect millions of lives, nor do they desire to do so. Simply put, most would like the capacity to influence themselves and work in concert with those in their daily lives.

But often, daily life includes relentless duties and expectations. Some are inspiring and contribute to an overall sense of well-being while others chip and drain away passion, laughter, fun and joy. When this well-being is siphoned, drained and exhausted we lose our capacity to live the life we desire. There is simply nothing left. We become shadows of ourselves, burnt out and disconnected. Our minds take over, driving us to find solutions. Life becomes an endless experience of sifting through right and wrong, duties and obligations with the attendant pressure to find a solution, any solution.

It’s important to note, that even though we are expending an almost metric ton of time and energy sifting through these details, the actual experience – or reward if you will– for all this effort is to be burnt out and disconnected. Which then gives rise to the question “disconnected from what, precisely?” Many would answer from Spirit or God or the Universe. But there is no way to be disconnected from Spirit or God or the Universe. We live in a sea of Spirit/God/Universe and we are the manifestation of Spirit/God/Universe.  Instead, what we perceive as a disconnect from the divine is actually a disconnect from our bodies. When we live a completely mental life, in a perpetual state of evaluation of the merits, sufficiency and value of ourselves and our actions, we lose access to our greatest source of power: embodiment.

It’s not possible to affect change in a real and substantial way without the embodiment of that change. Embodiment, necessarily implies being in your body, not in your mind. Therefore, approaching life from a purely mental perspective is one of the most disempowering methods available –yet this what we are taught. It makes us impotent and we feel it keenly. We especially feel it when we hit that midlife crises point.

Impotence is the abrogation of our divine mandate on earth. Our mandate is to incarnate the divine. Incarnate is just another word for embody. Real power is the capacity to respond in real time to events and situations in a manner that increases or sustains one’s own sense of embodiment. What is terrific about this, is that no one has ever had a feeling -good or bad- outside of the body. Ask yourself, have you ever felt a feeling outside of your body? The answer is no because it is impossible to feel anything outside of your body.

And realistically, what we really want to feel is good. And we know, the divine is good, so when we feel good we are embodying the divine. When we feel bad, burnt out and strained we are not embodying the divine. Instead, we are trapped in our minds in a perpetual cycle of evaluation and assessment. In that state, we become little Hitler’s destroying what we have identified as the problem, be it ourselves or another.  So, if you would like to feel powerful, to feel good, to feel joy then it is necessary to get out of the closed loop of the mental process and get into the body.

Does this mean that there is no place for evaluation or assessment? Absolutely not. Gandhi needed to be able to assess and evaluate the British Empire’s exploitation of India. But his power was the result of his capacity to embody the change he sought. He taught a nation to sit and embody the concept of freedom and self-determination without reference to the status quo. It was not necessary to go to war. And just as it was not necessary to go to war Britain, it’s not necessary to go to war with yourself, your life or your past. All that is necessary is to identify and embody the change you seek. That is Real Power. Right Now.