Inner Vision: The Power Trip, Part I

Power hair, power suits, power couples, power lunches. Power crunches.

Power dating, power napping. Powering through, powering up and powering down.

Flower power, people power and, one of my favorites, Tower of Power.

In a world obsessed with power, it’s amazing how few people recognize their own.

We tend to think of power in terms of politicians and Donald Trump-like tycoons who build and own cities and people; or the cruel dictators who plague history books and newscasts. We think of power as something outside of ourselves to be acquired and used; or misused and abused, as the case may be. We buy into the notion that some have it, others don’t, and those that don’t have it want it.

Well, listen up, ladies and gents, Lisa V. is here to remind you that we are all mega-moguls in our own right because true power comes from within, not from without.

Personal power is not some kind of clever catch-phrase dreamed up by Tony Robbins or anyone else. It is an inherent energy source within the soul that holds more wealth than Warren Buffett will ever have. Its nature is love, not war, and it doesn’t require the false validation of status or title or symbols to flourish. All you need is awareness and understanding.

So, let’s illuminate, shall we?

If The Matrix taught us anything, it is that we are all made up of energy. While the Wachowski Brothers brilliantly expanded on this theme (at least in the first film), the premise is based on scientific fact. Go ahead, look it up. Every person, object, thought and emotion is composed of energy -- and at the same time, is subject to energy. Stay with me here, okay, this is the only part of physics I understand myself...

Imagine it like the throwing a stone into a lake. The lake is there, made of energy; you, also made of energy, throw the stone. The stone is not only made of energy, too, but it carries the power of your energy as you try to make it skip on the water. When the stone hits the water, you can clearly see the effects of your energy action and interaction. With me so far?

You can’t really see the energy of your motion as you intend the throw and wind up your pitch. But you feel it and you know, instinctively, that the force with which the stone hits the water is directly tied to the intensity (power) of your throw. Got it?

Our spiritual energy is very much like this. You can’t always see it with the naked eye, but you can see its impact all around you.

Now let’s take that one step further (‘cuz you know I like to dance). If everything in the Universe is made up of energy, there are no real barriers between you and me, or you and the screen from which you're reading this. Okay, you might think that’s a leap. That’s only because on this plane, we live in seemingly individual body forms amidst an endless sea of natural and man-made “materials.” But no matter how things appear, we’re all part of a Universal energy source.

And as part of that source, we have all the power of the Universe at our command. It moves through us, to us, for us and by us: Through our thoughts, beliefs and actions we choose how we use it and thereby dictate the course of our lives.

That’s a mouthful, huh? That’s why this column is in multiple parts. Just grasping the idea that we have unlimited power within us is a meal unto itself. So, we’re going to start with small bites.

The first leg of our power trip is understanding the fundamentals. If you can’t accept the energy principle from a spiritual perspective (yet), try breaking it down in what we like to call logic. Use a light bulb as your example. Whether or not you know how electricity works, you know you need it to make that bulb work, yes? And what about your blow dryer, your coffee grinder, your TV? They, too, are powered by a central source of electricity that runs through your house. That central source goes beyond the outlet, beyond the fuse box and even beyond the bandits we call the electric company -- and their towers. Its power flows from something we can’t readily see, but we (and science) accept it. We choose how to direct that energy when we decide which toys we want to turn on and turn off. Right? Right.

So it is the same with spiritual energy. Who can say where it begins or ends; we still use it, we still feel it and sometimes we can see it. Haven’t you ever said, or heard someone else say, “I got a bad vibe?” Yes, that’s your instinct at work, but it’s coming from a vibration- which is what? Energy. And what is it that makes your skirt cling to your thighs besides that carton of Ben & Jerry’s you spent the night with? Energy.

Positive or negative, we are conduits, receivers and sources of energy. Spiritual energy. That energy is irrevocable, immeasurable personal power; and we choose how to use it every day in every way.

Next time, we’ll talk about those choices and their effects. Until then, you can also choose to disbelieve everything you’ve read - but I’m sure your energy could be better well-spent.

Looking forward,

Lisa V.

Miss the last "Inner Vision"? Read it here.