Dear You,
My meditation and embodiment teacher uses the word “power” as she guides me to connect with my Solar Plexus, Manipura chakra, the seat of power, just below my ribcage. I have a voice recording from her that I have listened to hundreds of times, and each time I listen, I allow myself to be guided by her words, but inevitably I reach the point in the recording where she dares to use the word power, and I cringe. I listen to her words, but I go into battle with myself about this word. Power? I can’t feel power. I’m not allowed to feel power. I refuse to feel power. How can I be a compassionate person and feel power? Power is bad. People take advantage of power. People abuse power. Empowering is okay, but Power? No, definitely not Power. Power is vile, wrong, scary. Empower is okay, I’ll just go with empower. I have literally had this debate hundreds of times with myself, and I really saw no way to reconcile it; in fact it never really occurred to me to even try to.
Then, one day, through a series of synchronicities, which involve a Bear, I began to feel Power. I reclaimed Power. I say “reclaimed” because now I know and feel from the deepest part of myself, that we are all born with the ability to feel power, but some of us, many of us, learn to reject Power. There are may ways we reject our power, and maybe one day I will write more about that. We reject power in ourselves, and we hate or fear power in others.
The Bear showed up during my meditation. Not an imagery of a Bear. No, she couldn’t be that subtle. She showed up in her full glory, fifteen feet in front of me, while I was outside meditating. I was scheduled to leave in a few hours, for a weekend retreat at Kripalu on Female Archetypes, presented by Anodea Judith and Melinda Matzell. I had some time to meditate and the weather was beautiful, so instead of sitting in my usual indoor meditation spot, I chose to sit outside. About halfway through, I heard a rustle in the grass, I opened my eyes and there she was, looking at me, we were face to face. Being very tuned in to synchronicities this past year, I knew she had a message for me.
So, what does the Bear teach us? According to Steven Farmer’s Power Animal Oracle Cards, in short, she teaches us to “Stand your ground,” and “BE STRONG!” To me, in that moment, she imbued Power and Grace. My dog was barking at her, but she did not bite, she did not aggress herself, she didn’t have to, she was pure Power, unaffected by my dog’s aggression and fear. She walked away, unaffected. I still feel the Power of her presence. It was scary and exhilarating, and that feeling of exhilaration has not left me since.
When I think of her, I can feel my own Power and grace, and this is what archetypes do for us. They help us to awaken and enliven that which already exists inside of us.
What exactly is the difference between empower and power? I had to look up the definitions. Empower means to “give (someone) the authority or power to do something.” Power means “the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.” To me, empower implies someone has to be granted, given, allowed power, whereas, Power is already there, no permission or bestowal is required. Power exists in each of us. If we are not experiencing Power, it is because we have rejected it, cut ourselves off from it. This is worth restating, if we are not experiencing Power, it is because somehow we are not allowing ourselves to experience Power; we have somehow, probably many years ago, cut ourselves off from our own Power.
The weekend workshop on Female Archetypes further ignited my attunement to my own personal Power. Discovering my primary archetype, getting to work with her all weekend, allowed me to become more of who I already am. It was easy to evoke her because she already existed inside of me, and communing with her allowed me to dive further into the truth of who I am. It was just she and I, and I let her show me more about who I am. I also got to work with my shadow self, the parts of me I have rejected. I found a different archetype to help me begin to reclaim those rejected parts of me. By communing with her, she showed me how to begin to awaken these dormant parts of me, as they continue to awaken, I become a fuller version of my Self.
For me, allowing the archetypes to speak is a beautiful journey to the depths of what we are all capable of, what already exists in each and every one of us, but just needs some coaxing, encouragement, a nudge, and some times frank candidness. These female archetypes gently take you by the hand and invite you to see possibilities within that have always been there, but we just haven’t been able to see. There is an incredible energy that is felt when you begin to evoke the qualities of the archetype(s) you select. Little by little, you get to know her, understand her, and eventually you become her. She is you, and you are her. Suddenly, there is no need for empowerment, because you have now claimed your pure Power by going within and finding Her. You are her. You are the Goddess.
Later this summer/early fall I will offer a workshop series “She Rises: Awakening Our Female Archetypes of Leadership,” based on the work of Anodea Judith and Melinda Matzell. All genders are welcome.
In this workshop we will:
Learn about 38 female archetypes of leadership
Identify your Home Base archetype, which is the archetype that you most naturally commune with.
Spend time communing with your archetype; as you learn more about her, you will learn more about yourself and naturally begin to evoke the qualities of your archetype
Get to meet your shadow self, which is the part(s) of you that you have rejected. Clue to your shadow self = what do you judge/dislike in others?
Discover archetypes that will work with you to help you reclaim the rejected parts of you. Reclaiming these rejected aspects will allow you to live more fully
Practice meditation, guided imagery and embodiment techniques to soothe your body, mind and soul
In the meantime, if you’d like to discover your archetype and begin to work with her, feel free to reach out. I’d love to introduce you to her.
Love and infinite blessings,
Randi
randicamirand@gmail.com
For me, allowing the archetypes to speak is a beautiful journey to the depths of what we are all capable of, what already exists in each and every one of us, but just needs some coaxing, encouragement, a nudge, and some times frank candidness. These female archetypes gently take you by the hand and invite you to see possibilities within that have always been there, but we just haven’t been able to see. There is an incredible energy that is felt when you begin to evoke the qualities of the archetype(s) you select. Little by little, you get to know her, understand her, and eventually you become her. She is you, and you are her. Suddenly, DRAFTJS_BLOCK_KEY:7smhrthere is no need for empowerment, because you have now claimed your pure Power by going within and finding Her. You are her. You are the Goddess.
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