Your personal power, disconnected from the whole, is a finite resource. When we connect to the Universe, or even just the heart of the planet, we connect to an infinite source of energy that is our birthright by virtue of us being here, now. Sometimes that connection happens despite the best efforts of the negative ego. When it does, we wield great power, but we wield it unconsciously. This is like playing with the electrical wiring in your house without paying attention, and without turning off the main.
Our personal power creates our reality. What we focus on, we feed. Where we allow our thoughts to linger, we can bring things into being. Even if it doesn’t come into being for anyone else, those thought forms are going to color your experience of life as a whole. How often do you take conscious stock of your thought patterns? Do you ever try to change them, or even not participate in the thought patterns that do not serve you?
You are not your thoughts, unless you allow yourself to be.
You can shift your attention away from thoughts and redirect them to things that will serve you better, no matter how obsessive you might be. The trick is to replace the thought with another one. Some people use chanting and mantras or prayers. Some people turn their attention to the Divine. Some people write gratitude lists; not just 3 or 5 or 10 items – aim for 50! What you focus on, you feed. Focus on the blessings in your life and you create more blessings.
As an aside, when you do these sorts of prompts in writing (specifically handwriting), you start to create new pathways in the brain and can start to change your default way of thinking. It’s another way of taking your power back from the negative ego.
Meditation is another great way to exercise the muscle of focusing your mind on some things and not others. Observing your thoughts as if they were a radio in the other room, a radio that has nothing to do with you, can start to help you detach from those thoughts. You can stop taking them as Truth. You can stop taking them personally. You can stop thinking that you are your thoughts. You can start to stand in your own personal power.
This post is part of a series called Monday Message, based on that day’s reflection from 365 Days to Enlightenment (authorized versions are currently out of print, working on a new edition). Check back next Monday for another one! You can also sign up for the Daily Message on my mailing list if you’d like to receive a new reflection every day. I also often post them to Instagram, if that’s a medium you enjoy.