Rise & Shine - Empowerment & Control


I’m into self empowerment, are you?

What choice do we have? Victimhood? Languishing in fear waiting for some saviour to come and pull us out of the shit? I got news for you babes, no one’s coming.
But guess what, you got you. You are responsible for you. For the food you eat, for the thoughts you think, for the choices you make.

I grew up seeing dis-empowerment everywhere. Thoroughly working class, I was born into Thatcher’s government at a time when a man could still legally rape his wife; oppression was woven into my childhood. The disdain our current prime minister has openly displayed towards people like myself and family of origin was real – I felt it. The absence of self worth and self esteem, the disbelief that we deserved more from Life and  could be more in Life hung around, blanketing my childhood like a stinking smog. After all, aren’t we but the sons and daughters of men ‘likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless?’ (Boris Johnson, 1995).

Your dis-empowerment is conducive to the system. And with the advent of social media and it’s ability to spread fake news and target you individually with it’s pernicious views, it's never been easier to get into our minds and manipulate us. There are people whose actual job it is to design ways to make you addicted to social media and ‘The News,’ to keep you plugged into a system which stimulates your extreme emotions and fuels your fear. If we are in fear we are easier to manipulate and control. Lately I’ve found myself reaching for my phone when I’m feeling bored, scared, anxious or in need of reassurance and, with an amusing irony, what I see when scrolling through endless tit bits about the outside world creates more fear, anxiety and (recently) mild panic. It becomes an absurd vicious cycle, like being trapped in a washing machine with a dog that, in it's terror, can’t help but snap and snarl at you.

We must protect our energy with our Life, because it is our Life. Our energy is our power - so what are you feeding yours to? Decide to take control of your mind, weed out any insidious roots of manipulation that might have gotten hold of your mind, because programming begins early on and continues throughout our life until we decide to take back control. That’s the only control we ever had, control of ourselves and our minds, not over some imaginary border line between the land mass we call ‘England’ and the landmass we call ‘Europe.’

I am the thinker of my thoughts. I am the master of my mind. Stepping away from anything that isn’t in alignment with my truth, compassion and love is Power. It’s arguably the only Power I have. My energy is mine, it belongs to me and me alone. Yes it’s important to be aware of what’s happening in the world, but never to the detriment of your mental and emotional health. Without your strength, how will you stand for those without a voice?

Stay aware and continue to rise. I’m not going to use the language ‘keep on fighting’ because that’s the language of violence and I want to contribute to the removal of that in our world. It’s time to begin shining our Light and the tools of Yoga and Meditation take us there by bringing us into awareness. Awareness of ourselves and what we are, the brilliance and the strength. We are Human Beings, Life itself. It takes something mad like $50 billion dollars to create anything even remotely close to the human eye. You are invaluable. You cannot be bought or sold. You are Consciousness – which is a miracle; just as worthy, just as important and just as capable as anyone else, no matter your circumstances. Your lack of cash could never have any bearing on your inherent worth, money isn’t real, it’s a construct. You are real, Humanity is real.

Stay present, stay aware. In presence is choice, if I am aware I can choose how I react to what Life brings my way, and in my choice is Power.

Let us rise now, in gentleness and in strength, solidarity and hope. Once and for all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keep Calm and...Be Still

Hi friend, how you feelin? Did you dress yet? Have a glass of wine before midday? How dirty is your hair? Wherever this finds you, you’re doing great. Trust me. I will never lie - this week hit me like a ton of bricks on top of a steam train on top of a sperm whale. Dramatic? Not really. I hadn’t understood the process of settling into something like this, does anyone? Where’s the guide book for it…? Oh we’ve got to write it…hmmm. There was much talk ‘in the beginning’ of business as usual, we cracked open our laptops on the kitchen table and fired off emails, became a flurry of creative activity which exploded on to all of our newsfeeds, driving even more creativity and productivity, a collective sense of ‘keeping calm and keeping up.' Me too, I flew around with the crazed energy of one about to be locked away thinking I shall use this time to sharpen my skills, get myself out there (virtually of course…), read, write, sing, dance, learn to cook, play the uke, speak Fr...
Read more

The Miracle of Self Care - Three Practices

Image
Where I grew up there wasn’t a language for self care and definitely not for self-love. In fact, it was really important you didn’t love yourself, if you did you better not show it or someone’d push you over in those ridiculous boots you’d gotten too big for. Being accused of loving yourself was a legitimate insult, it was hurled anytime you showed too much confidence, were too happy or too free in your self expression. The threat of being tarnished as a self lover loomed like an aggressive dinner lady, ever ready to catch you doing something you shouldn’t be and hauling you off never to be seen again. It meant many of us grew into young adults who didn't know what it meant to even like ourselves, let alone love ourselves – the concept was as foreign as moon rock. It created generations of us with low self worth, low self esteem, and no idea what it is to honour ourselves. But things are changing, as Ru Paul so honestly asks – ‘ “ honey,  if you don't  love yours...
Read more

Yoga is You

Yoga is empowerment; self healing, the art of self love and self-soothing. It is deep diving into your rich inner stillness and getting masterfully curious about your mind, body, heart and soul. Yoga shows you all the ways you run from, belittle, beat and berate yourself into silence, pain and smallness. It is becoming the Author and Artist of You.  Of coming to re-know yourself, travelling back to a time before they pronounced who it is that you are and reclaiming yourself as Yours. It is wiping away the grime. Yoga is re-wilding, into the savage beauty of your body and soul. It is re-alignment, of the bones and heart.  Yoga is cultivation; of kindness, of compassion, of patience, of strength, of peace and of hope. Of Hope, the realisation that you always have a choice, multiple choices, and it is developing the strength and will to make them.  It is building a bridge between the Body-Mind. It is coming to know the Mind as brilliant servant, not as tyrannic...
Read more