The Use Of Power

Magic is very concerned with the use of power. Magicians are taught to guard their wands carefully so someone else can not steal it and use the power of it against them. In that context the wise magicians know not to give their power away. Yet in everyday life it is all too easy to give our power away without realizing it. We give up our ability to decide for ourselves in food, fashion, fads, and politics more often than we will admit. We can regain that with a little thought however. But the power we give away that I caution against is the power of self-esteem or image. We can get our feelings hurt, our souls wounded, by valuing what another person says to or about us if we have given them power over us. This is natural in a way. A child learns his self image from his care givers. But we must develop our own image of ourselves and accept ourselves. If you feel pulled down by judgments from others or by yourself notice that. Being pulled down is the operative idea here. I have actions I am trying to eradicate from my bundle of habits. But that is my choice and I don't need the extra burden of being pulled down as I notice them and work to change. If you have phrases in your vocabulary like: "She made me so angry." or "He hurt me so much." instead of "I became angry at what she said" or "I felt hurt at what he did." you are in danger of giving others power over you. Your feelings are your own, as well as your reactions, and you do choose them. Many people don't believe this but I might suggest an experiment to try. Find someone who speaks a language you do not. Ask them to say a loving thing and an insulting thing to you without any facial expression and without telling you which is which. Because you perceive the words as only sounds you will not react to them with joy or hurt. When someone is lashing out at you it is possible to tell yourself they are simply making sounds. We all have much more power than we realize. Not only should we not give it away, we should also look to use it wisely. We have the power to influence, to encourage, to educate, to persuade, and to witness. Those are powers that can change the world. Guard your power and use it wisely. It is magical. May the spark be with you.