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Reclaiming Empowerment, by Bente Hansen

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Recently I spoke with someone whose son has been diagnosed with ADHD. This young boy was prescribed medication, which he took regularly. One day he shared, with his father, his dark feelings about many things. The medication had helped calm his hyperactivity, yet the boy was experiencing extreme thoughts and emotions with which he was uncomfortable. When his parents took him back to the doctor, requesting that he be taken off his medication, the doctor referred the boy to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist spent some time assessing the young boy and then told his parents that he was concerned for the boy's mental and emotional welfare and recommended an additional medication. At this stage both parents reclaimed their empowerment and said, "No."

Reclaiming empowerment is not always easy, especially when confronted by authoritative figures. Yet now, more than ever, is the time when it is most appropriate and necessary for us to do so.

What exactly does reclaiming empowerment mean? According to the Oxford Dictionary, "empower" means "give power to." Given our hectic lifestyles and preference for using thinking to resolve life issues we, as a society, have lost touch with our inner knowing. When reclaiming empowerment we are merely tapping into an amazing powerhouse of inner knowledge and guidance. We have always been powerful—we have merely forgotten just how powerful we are. When listening to the wisdom of the inner knowing we step aside from the mental gymnastics of the mind and reconnect with our inner guidance system!

Our society is organized and structured in such a way that we continually give our power to people who are specialists in their particular field. We trust and accept the diagnoses of medical experts, the technical advice of computer technicians, the legal advice of attorneys and so on. While it is perfectly acceptable to trust the expert knowledge of those who have trained in their respective fields it has often resulted in an inability to access our inherent innermost knowing. This is especially true when this inner knowing, or intuition, relates to matters of individual choice and freedom. All too often when confronted by the voice of perceived authority it is easier to comply than to question.

Why is now the time to reclaim empowerment? We are living in a time of constant change. Many formerly accepted "truths" have been found to be untrue. For example, for years we were told that it was perfectly safe for menopausal women to take Hormone Replacement Therapy. We now know better! Given the constant change and uncertainty in our world ultimately we have no option but to be responsible for our own wellness and wellbeing. This reclaiming is definitely a process; it involves becoming aware of, listening to and responding to the inner knowing, or voice of wisdom.

Ghandi stated, "The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at a given moment. And if this is a correct view of freedom, our chief energy must be concentrated on achieving reform from within".

It is possible in every day situations to become more mindful of the intuitive inner voice. It means stepping out of the mind (or ego) and following our "gut instinct" or intuitive hunch. In most people something either feels right or not right for them. This feeling is often found within the body, especially in the solar plexus, heart or stomach area. The more we listen to this inner voice and follow its guidance the easier life becomes! When doing this we are in a process of reclaiming empowerment.

Indications of disempowerment are evident when an individual has mainly feelings of futility, frustration, anger, resentment, judgment, irritation, depression, guilt, etc. Life feels tough, it's a battlefield out there!

Symptoms of empowerment include feeling calm, peaceful, having acceptance, being joyful, compassionate, being in the flow, etc. Basically there is a feeling of being balanced, or centered.

In reality, it's normal to experience a mix of emotions on a daily basis. Where there is a predominance of the emotions associated with disempowerment (as above) then it would be beneficial to explore possibilities and strategies for reclaiming empowerment.

Basically, our emotions are an indication of where we stand in terms of empowerment. It is not our thinking that holds the key to this awareness, it is our emotions!

In my book, The New World of Self Healing (Llewellyn, 2006), I describe many processes and strategies that will facilitate the process of reclaiming empowerment. Understanding energy is the underlying theme of this book. When we have understanding and acceptance that energy is the basis of life, that it is a powerfully creative force, which we utilize to create our reality, we are then able to manage and work with energy in ways never before imagined. Reclaiming empowerment occurs when we learn to consciously work with the subtle energies.

The benefits of reclaiming empowerment are obvious:

• We eventually become responsible for all choices and decisions we make.
• We become empowered to choose wellness over ill health. This does not mean we no longer listen to the advice given by people with specific skills. Reclaiming empowerment means we have the freedom to choose whether or not to accept that advice.
• We become empowered to choose abundance over scarcity, happiness instead of misery, etc
• We learn to honor the inner knowing, the intuitive wisdom and voice we can all access. This inner knowing is available to us at all times. Once accessed, understood and applied empowerment results in all areas of life!

The parents of the young boy I mentioned earlier are now in the process of exploring options for their son's wellbeing they would never have considered previously. They feel challenged and inspired to make decisions that are in alignment with not only their inner knowing, but are also consciously working for their son's highest good. Their actions clearly demonstrate the magic of reclaiming empowerment!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2006. All rights reserved.

A relative told me that when she was a young woman, she saw a very old woman who was hunched over, carrying groceries. The woman asked her for help carrying the bags up to her apartment, which was on the third floor of a nearby home. She wasn't afraid to help because the home belonged to her uncle, who lived on the first floor. Feeling sorry for the woman, she brought up the bags and noted that the ceiling was slanted as if this were an attic. She placed the bags down and left. She later told the story to her uncle, who replied that there was no one living on the third floor. She insisted so much that he had to take her up there to show her that there was a solid wall where the old woman's apartment had been. She never saw the old woman again. Similarly, my acupuncture instructor shared a story about an unusual old woman who had shown up as a patient in his office. He began to treat her for a sciatic condition and she did not respond. She said to him, Water would put out the fire, which made him think to take a different approach, and she began to heal. One day when she didn't show up for her appointment, everyone was concerned. They called her phone number - no answer. They then drove by her address, but it was an empty lot. She was never seen again. I would very much appreciate your opinion on this sort of phenomenon.

Catherine

Dreamchaser:

I love your story - it's just fabulous! I absolutely believe that spiritual beings can manifest in human form. I have heard stories like these over and over again throughout my lifetime. I have also experienced something like this myself.

I know some of you will remember this tale. When my daughter was a newborn, I was taking her to my father's house for a visit. I had to drive about five hours to get there, and I was obviously very tired, since I had a brand new baby and no one to help me. As a result, I fell asleep at the wheel.

I then heard a horn honking loud and steady, and I snapped awake just as I was running off the road, where there was a guardrail and a cliff. Had I not awakened when I did, we would have died.

I looked over to my left for the car that had beeped, and all I saw were big brown eyes staring at me. I know there was a male face there with dark hair, but all I could see were those incredible eyes.

I looked over at my daughter to make sure she was okay, and when I looked back to wave and thank him, there was no car there. I looked in my side view and rear view mirrors, and looked ALL around, and there wasn't a single other car on the road. There were only a few seconds between the first look when he woke me up and the second look to say thanks.

I know this driver was sent as a guardian. He was not human, but he appeared in human form.

Sometimes we have guardians show up to help us in times of danger like this. Sometimes we encounter people who are stuck in the past, like the woman with the groceries that your relative met. Sometimes spiritual beings come to deliver messages to us - there are all sorts of reasons they take human form.

In the case of the acupuncturist, the old woman came as a teacher for your instructor. He learned something important from her, something that he will be able to use to help others many times in the future.

The Christian bible even describes how angels will come to us in human form, so we never know if a bum on the street begging for food or money could really be an angel or some other spiritual being. We should all bear this in mind before we judge someone based on how they look.

After the angel saved my life that day, I have always wondered if the people I see are ordinary humans, or if they are from another place. I also know that in many cases, beings will come to us for help of some kind when they're really there to teach us some kind of lesson. For example, I bet your relative was awakened to all sorts of new possibilities when she helped that old lady carry her groceries that day.

I wish everyone the eyes to see more!

*****

Astrea:

All of the world's religions have stories about angels and spirits who visit the Earth. In the Jewish faith, there are many tales about this in the Old Testament. The one that always sticks out to me is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which Lot is warned by angelic visitors to leave and never look back.

Abraham is often visited by angels who appear in the guise of men too. An angel comes to Sara to tell her she is with child despite her old age, and in the New Testament, the Archangel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she's pregnant with Jesus.

In the Bible, angels are everywhere personified in human form. Part of the intrigue of those stories is how these angels appear to be so real as to be indistinguishable from ordinary humans.

In ancient Greece, gods and goddesses appeared not only as men and women, but as swans, bulls and other animals. Heck, Zeus fathered heaven only knows how many kids disguised as other creatures! Sometimes the humans in these stories have some idea that their visitor is divine in nature, but most of the time, they are portrayed as clueless when it comes to recognizing angels.

Angelic spirits often take on human form when they visit this dimension. They come to check us out, bring us messages, or take care of us in some way. The old woman in your story about acupuncture is definitely an angel who came to teach that healer an important lesson about his work.

Perhaps there were other people around her during her sojourn here who also benefited from contact with her. Maybe the people around her were supposed to look for her and try to find her when she disappeared, so they would pay special attention to her message. Either way, the kindness and concern those people showed that woman while she was here will garner great rewards for them.

There is a reason we don't recognize angels at first. If angels revealed their true identifies to us up front, we would be so in awe, it would be impossible to learn all they've come to teach us. We're not supposed to recognize them for who they are, at least not at first.

Christians are supposed to greet every person as Jesus Christ and treat that person accordingly. Many of my Southern Baptist friends keep little notes on their refrigerators saying, A stranger may be the only Jesus you see today, or You may be the only Jesus someone sees today.

I think it's a fine plan to treat everyone as if they were the Christ. It's a great way to put that whole love one another notion into action. If we all did that, the angels could stay in heaven, singing and dancing and not being so troubled with us here on Earth.

Your question is MY Jesus for the day. Thanks for asking it!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.