Self Empowerment

(This paper is a summary and update of a talk I gave at a conference on Self Empowerment in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 15th 2011.)

Today we are going to talk about awakening the power within. But this isn't going to be the standard fare: you know, appreciate what you have, love yourself and others, find your passion and do it. All of this is great advice, but frankly, I have never been able to make things like this work for me on a long-term basis. For me personally, an understanding of spirituality, and the spirit-mind-body framework, has been very, very helpful in orienting me in the right direction for self-empowerment. And so that is going to be the thrust of my talk today.

Spirit-Mind-Body is just what the words say: A spirit (soul; non-physical conscious personality) incarnates into a human body, and perceives through the very limited sensory apparatus of the human body. The mind is the soul/spirit’s record of its experiences in the physical universe. Human consciousness is the soul’s awareness that it is living through the body’s perceptions and feelings.

Those of us on the spiritual path understand that we are not these fleshy bodies, and that we live on after the body dies. And we are pretty sure that we are not the mental images and the thoughts that appear in our minds, for we can observe these things and separate ourselves from them, and change them. Therefore we cannot BE them.

Self-empowerment begins with understanding that every person on earth is an immortal spirit having a temporary physical experience. I'm not talking about just an intellectual understanding, but something you KNOW. When it gets really bad – I had to call the suicide hotline during neurological problems I experienced 25 years ago from mercury poisoning – the knowledge that you will continue after the body dies, in perfect love and without misery or pain, gives a sense of well-being that is indescribable.

Some believe that consciousness comes from neurons firing in the brain, and that “you only live once.” But if that is true – it isn’t – then when your body dies your entire existence and awareness is snuffed out. That is a terrifying thought, and generates fear and worry when life goes bad. What will happen to me? I must keep going as long as possible before I disappear into the black void of nothingness! With that kind of worldview is it any wonder our species is so neurotic and self-destructive? Greed, based on fear of death and the desire to make life as good as possible while still alive, is a natural outcome of such a belief. As are the conflicts and war that is a natural result of this superstition. Fortunately, it’s wrong!

All endings are happy endings.

All souls, without exception, return to the Creative Source after the body dies. Movies like M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” are fascinating stories, and they are valuable because they show that there is life after death. Consider the idea that trapped souls hanging around in some kind of purgatory, desperately chasing people around and looking for resolution, is a distortion of a beautiful truth. What if every soul returned Home, every time, without exception, no matter how horrible the physical life? What if you knew this to be an undeniable truth? When I was in my personal dark night of the soul (and body) this knowledge kept me from going crazy. Literally. And I came out the other end just fine.

Ultimately, self empowerment comes from understanding that you are much more than just a physical body and that, no matter what happens in your life, the ending is always beautiful. My saying for this is, “What happens on earth stays on earth.” You come in pure, and you leave pure. Even if you don’t believe this, or know it, it’s a nice concept is it not? What if it were true?

Unfortunately, degraded philosophies like materialism, transhumanism, and transgenderism lead ultimately to depression, psychological problems, and mental illness. Sadly, these philosophies only acknowledge the body reality, and disconnect human beings from their divine origin. If humanity embraces these philosophies, our species will not survive. Fortunately, despite mass media promotion of these crazy ideas, the number of people who follow them are a small minority.

 

The energy of the Creative Source (Home for every soul on the planet) is a hundred trillion ways to feel wonderful, each one of them unique. And a feeling is a connection to the energy that fills the universe and is a part of everything in the world. Ultimately, you, as a pure creative potential, are divine, you are immortal, and you are the creator of this wonderful energy. That's the way Spirit designed Life, and the All-That-Is. And even life on earth! (although we have pretty much messed that up). There is death of the body, but not the essence of you. As Sean Connery says in the Highlander movie, “I am immortal.” He meant his body was immortal (except if you cut off his head) but the soul has true immortality as it incarnates into the physical lifetime after lifetime.

 

Self-empowerment is an uncomplicated and powerful understanding that is native to all human beings. It’s built in. It leads to a deep sense of internal power that will carry you through even the toughest of life's challenges.

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