Chapter 15: Power

“There is no power in fear, or in any of the activities that are generated by fear.”

GARY ZUKAV

Brandon:

This POWER chapter was truly a weighty chapter, particularly in the realm of being aware and firm in aligning with your soul. On p. 210 Gary talks about how we are only as powerful as for which we stand. Think about that, we are only as powerful as what we stand for. To the average mind, we stand for our family, race, convictions, community, nation, religion, etc. You know what? There is nothing wrong with “standing” with and in these entities, but unfortunately these things often reflect an external existence, even religion. How about if we were to stand for our souls and the God within us and in others? What if we “stood” for not only the humanity in others, but “stood” for the divinity in others? The power exerted in acknowledging the divinity of others rest in the fact you acknowledge yours at the same time. This is the essence of “standing” for things beyond this physical world, and honestly speaking, there is only one thing beyond the physical, and that is Universal Truth. Universal Truth is where our true power resides.

“When energy leaves you in any way except in strength and trust, it cannot bring back to you anything but pain and discomfort. An authentically empowered human being, therefore, is a human being that does not release its energy except in love and trust.”

GARY ZUKAV

Alexandra:

I like where Gary starts when he asks “what does it mean to be a truly powerful human being?” Power is something that I have constantly struggled to understand, especially in our society. When I look out and see the individuals that people claim to be powerful, it tends to always include political figures, those in government positions, etc. but whenever I listen to many of them speak, especially during the last 4 years of our nation’s leadership, I kept seeing fear being masqueraded as power. When I would bring this point of view to the folks, I would get responses telling me why that person was powerful but I just kept seeing fear underneath it all but I also understood that the ways in which we are programmed to understand power from a very young age can oftentimes cloud our perspective on what is true power and what is just a costume of power. Now can these folks make decisions that affect others in positive and negative ways? Yes, but I also consider the fact that there are those in our society who are agreeing with the choices and vibrations of others that allow these decisions to affect other parts of society. We are all playing our role on this board game of life. I wonder what it would look like if we decided to stop playing within this illusion of power the way that it’s currently set up? How many of us would get a front row seat to our splintered personalities and egos?!

“Clarity is the ability to see the soul in action in the physical world. It results from choosing to learn through wisdom instead of through fear and doubt. Clarity allows you to experience your fellow humans with compassion instead of with judgement.”

GARY ZUKAV

Brandon:

Another vital point made in this chapter is on page 213, where G. Zukav says that we must not suppress our emotions or disregard our feelings, as when we do we cannot know the extent of our splintered personality. This is so key to us maintaining power, as whenever you run or avoid a specific outcome, you certainly lose power. To intentionally understand that no matter how uncomfortable a feeling is, you should stand in there and absorb the residue of these feelings, and come out of it with a renewed sense of control, and at least a familiarity with your reoccurring emotions. There is no running when we are trying to gain control of ourselves and allowing our soul to guide us. This cannot be overstated, as we have to be willing to endure inconvenience and instability, at least in the short time, to be in complete mastery of self. Later on this page, Gary further says that only in love and trust can we release energy in an authentic empowered way. This is how we gain certainty that we are increasing in our power output. We don’t know if we are moving in love and supreme trust, until we struggle with the diametric opposites of these beautiful expressions. Or if I can phrase it differently, we cannot run away from the ugly and grotesque in order to get to the beautiful. We cannot get away from our weaknesses to get to our most powerful selves.

Alexandra:

What Gary says about the splintered personality on p.213 is so on point and falls in line with some points he’s made before. I am a firm believer that you cannot fix anything that you refuse to acknowledge or take ownership of! But feeling those emotions that aren’t pleasant and recognizing our role in the experiences we’ve had in our lives is also not fun and exciting but it’s so necessary on our journey of wholeness. Our internal reflection is so vital to how we interact with others and what we chose to create within our society while we are here. And this connects so well with what’s said about ‘being harmless’ on p. 214. When Gary says “being so strong and empowered that the idea of showing power through harm is not even a part of your consciousness,” made me look at the harm we as a society are causing each other and the harm we are causing ourselves everyday. Think about it, what does it feel like to be so empowered and so fulfilled that the slightest thought of harm never even enters your mind?! My mind goes to the monks and peaceful leaders I read about but I believe that we can all feel like that in our daily lives, like we don’t have to go deep into the mountains to experience that, we can feel it right where we are, in our urban cities and suburban towns. But it requires conscious clarity in the way we see and interact with ourselves and others around us!

“Clarity allows you to see the world of physical matter for what it is, a learning environment that is created jointly by the intentions of the souls that share it.”

GARY ZUKAV

Brandon:

Lastly, we encounter Gary Z. say that love and life is not to be controlled or dominated, but used to empowered. I found that to be so needed, as I reflect on how in this society we are taught to compete and outdo our classmates, coworkers, and neighbors. Imagine if children were taught to not only be empowered, but to empower others early on? Where would we be as a society? True power is measured not in who you control and advance beyond, but rather who and how many you empower. This should be the standard. Gary subtly asks us to be empowerers, and I for one will be just that.

“The less empowered you feel, the more you feel a need to control that which is external.”

GARY ZUKAV