The word self-empowerment (whether spelt with or without a hyphen) does not appear in my laptop’s SA, US or UK English thesauruses, nor in my own Essential English- or Oxford dictionaries at home. There are all kinds of other self-‘whatevers’, but not self- empowerment. So, I am left to my own devices in explaining what self-empowerment means to me.
A self-empowered person, to me, is somebody who has found, within himself or herself, the stability of mind in the knowing that each person has their own truth within themselves. Realising that there are many truths, and not just one, will result in the knowing of the right of each individual to follow their own truth. The question then arises if this knowing will result in chaos – if everybody just does what he or she wants? The answer is NO – not when people have an inner knowing of self-empowerment.
Abuse of thought and taking advantage for monetary gain will be part and parcel of ANY modality that no truly self-empowered person will or is morally able to make cheap reward of. In this light, self-empowerment is something that comes from within a person’s psyche. It does not refer to riches, social standing or how much one can show it off. Self-empowerment cannot be seen, it cannot be bought, and it is not on sale at the nearest retail outlet.
I mean, could you imagine? – it would become a bling item for a few weeks or months, purposefully marketed as a “have-tohave” by Hollywood’s finest sales reps and then be discarded for the next best thing – completely hollow and without meaning. Self-empowerment is also not in-born self-assurance, although a vital ingredient in selfesteem, self-assurance is not self-empowerment. Self-empowerment is that which one acquires through wisdom gained through life experience. Self-empowerment is a personal knowing that you are your own highest authority. It has to do with who and what you are. It is about you as a human being and not about any body else.
Selfempowerment is not something you can touch, but you can feel it. Other people can also feel your self-empowered state, but they cannot physically touch it. They may be able to verbally affect it, but that will depend on the strength and conviction of your own state of mind. Others will “see” a strength in you – a silent strength that needs no exterior support – and they may become fearful of you and resort to blackmailing tactics in an effort to diminish your value in your self; especially if they are seen as “superior” to you in some way in your social- or work life.
Spiritual Masters know that they are only masters of themselves… A spiritual master’s life purpose is to guide evolution through outstanding leadership qualities as human life continues to evolve through the progressive stages of enlightenment. This is to liken it to the leadership of a director of a movie, to guide from behind the scenes where the decisions leading to the overall design are made.
Spiritual masters do not function well under dominant direction for long and also realise that to achieve their potential, they will need a firstrate education; continuously seeking to better themselves and to quench their immense thirst for knowledge. Their fast rate of learning is little short of amazing and they are regularly called upon for advice and/or guidance.
A prominent trait of a spiritual master is their apparent lack of emotion as they regard emotional control as fundamental to their purpose. In truth they are highly sensitive and intuitive people in combination with a powerful spiritual awareness. They are concerned with human welfare and have a huge capacity for responsibility. Those who do not recognise their own strengths are drawn to a singularly materialistic environment in an obsessive way, thus becoming unhappy, lonely and aloof. When negative, incredible depression is the result.
It is highly recommended that a spiritual master ensure a life of balance between work and pleasure as their considerable aptitude for work can lead to becoming an overachiever. Artistic hobbies in modules such as singing, dancing, writing, painting, and the like will enhance expression and lead to emotional relaxation. To a spiritual master, learning is a life-long pursuit.
Someone who has truly achieved spiritual mastery will, generally, excel at whatever they attempt, be it in any business or cultural organisation. They also have the most responsibility to humanity. To me, spirituality is something that has to be lived from the soul’s perspective. To truthfully live in harmony with the rest of the world and everything in it, one has to be in harmony with oneself. To achieve this, I believe that one studies and implements a procedure that will lead to right living. There are innumerable ways to do this and there is no one-way.
Bearing in mind that whatever connection happens on the inside of you will manifest on the outside. Ways that I have found beneficial are the following: These days as soon as a thing is introduced into the market with an opening sale, within a few days it will be on the closing sale. Our modern lives are, for the most part, quite rushed. Before you know it, your face will be out of fashion and the shoes you bought last week – will really be… so last week.
A colleague of mine once asked my advice on how to spend less money in a month – as soon as I dared tell her that she should stop buying all those superfluous magazines, she baulked. Aaaah, there is so much to keep us in-the-know; in our social settings and in business.
Even in spirituality there is an astronomical amount of paraphernalia that would qualify one as a seasoned stuffologist. By the time you have finished with all the breathing exercises and mantras and journal writing and meditations and readings and, and, and; oh my, it’s already tomorrow afternoon – and you have not even gone to work yet.
This kind of I know nothing and believe everything attitude will land you up in a mental institution of your own making. In our modern day, it is imperative that we lessen the impact of modern stuffology. Our mental applications are now being over taxed – more or less like an old steam train trying to get up a steep hill; by now so overloaded with coal that it just might not make the top. The only solution to this hiccup is a concrete attempt at throwing out. Not even filing away or, God forbid, putting it somewhere else for supposed later filing or never-to-happen getting rid of.