Now is the moment of power.
Before I explain why I think this is true, let us first touch on the nature of power.
The most commonly understood meaning of power is simply this: the ability to compel obedience. We see this ability manifest in a play of energy between aggression and submission.
But the meaning of power that I’m interested in exploring here and now is this: capability to produce a desired effect, result, or outcome. This meaning implies both capacity and ability.
Wherein lies the capacity to bring about a desired effect, result, or outcome?
Wherein lies the ability to do so?
Let us keep these questions in mind as we delve more deeply into the nature of power.
A Literary Context
In Ursula K. Le Guin’s first novel of her Earthsea Trilogy, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), she introduces the character of Duny, a goatherd who discovers his gift for performing extraordinary magic.
One day, the boy casts a spell to gather fog to protect his island from a band of raiders. The tale of his feat spreads far and wide, reaching the ear of a wise mage, Ogion the Silent.
Ogion recognizes that the boy is so powerful that he must be trained so as not to be a danger to himself or to others. In a rite of passage into adulthood, Ogion speaks Duny’s true name – Ged – and takes him on as his apprentice. But Ged grows restless under the patient tutelage of Ogion.
Ogion then offers Ged a choice: stay with him in Re Albi or go to the renowned school for wizards on the isle of Roke. Ged chooses to attend the school, where he comes to be known as Sparrowhawk.
Sparrowhawk masters his craft with ease, but his arrogance outstrips his mastery, and in his hubris, summons a deceased spirit – a perilous spell that goes awry. A black mass emerges, attacking him and scarring his face. The head of the school, an Archmage, drives away the creature, expending all of his energy in the process and dying shortly after. Disfigured and wracked with guilt by the old man’s death, Sparrowhawk makes a slow and painful recovery, but manages to graduate from the school.
Upon graduation, the new Archmage offers Sparrowhawk an assignment to protect a group of islands populated by inhabitants of modest means from a dragon and its brood. He willingly accepts.
Sparrowhawk, however, soon comes to realize that he cannot defend against both the dragon and the nameless entity he unleashed into the world. He takes a gamble and succeeds, guessing the true name of the dragon, with which he can compel obedience, getting the dragon to vow that neither the dragon nor its brood will ever bring harm or trouble to the islanders.
With no idea of how to deal with his dark, nameless foe, and after a failed attempt to return to the safe confines of the school of wizards on the isle of Roke, Sparrowhawk instinctively seeks the wise council of Ogion, who advises him to seek his shadow, to become the hunter rather than the hunted.
Sparrowhawk’s path takes a turn for the better when he realizes it is he who must be the pursuer, but along the way, endures many trials before bringing his plight to a satisfying conclusion.
The archetype of the wizard is an appropriate model for anyone who follows The Huna Path, which in reality is also The Way of the Wizard. Let us now explore why this is the case.
The Laws of Creation
In Peter Russell’s intriguing take on How to be a Wizard, he makes it clear from the outset what it takes to be a wizard with two guidelines: (1) the wizard knows the laws of creation and how to work with them, and (2) the wizard follows three basic principles to manifest desired effects, results, and outcomes.
Russell doesn’t say much about (1), but he does have some interesting things to say about (2).
Bashar, on the other hand, is quite definite about the nature of (1).
According to Bashar, there are four laws of creation:
- I exist (and in some form, I always will)
- The One is the All and the All are the One
- What you put out is what you get back
- Change is the only constant (except for the first three laws)
Update (07.06.2020): Bashar has since updated his laws of creation to include everything is here and now; for myself, I construe this statement as a fact.
As Bashar himself eloquently puts it: every reality, every experience, in every dimension, everywhere and everywhen, is some configuration of these four laws.
In light of this statement, let us now entertain, as an imaginative exercise, an identity as a wizard:
As a wizard, you know that the world is what you think it is (Ike). At the core of your worldview lies a kernel of expectation, which guides and governs your perceptions and interpretations of your world.
As a wizard, you understand that there are no limits (Kala) when you realize how to bring about your desired effects, results, and outcomes; everyone and everything is connected, directly or indirectly.
As a wizard, you know that energy flows where attention goes (Makia). A calm awareness of your surroundings and a clear, relaxed focus on what matters to you allows synchronicity to manifest.
As a wizard, you also understand that ‘now is the moment of power’ (Manawa). Now would be an opportune time to bring forth Russell’s three principles to shed light on Manawa.
The Three Principles
Bashar maintains the following: your life is an adventure – an adventure that you can allow, to enhance every aspect of your being when used in this light.
At the moment when Sparrowhawk felt most down on his luck, when his path seemed darkest and heaviest, he nevertheless persevered and realized a moment of strength in a flicker of light.
- He found his center – the eye of the storm where he felt whole (first principle).
- He followed his intuitive guidance from his center to endure (second principle).
- He allowed synchronicity to manifest in his encounters to come (third principle).
His adventure, and his progress through the adventure, accelerated toward a victory with his shadow by following these three principles consistently and relentlessly, to the best of his ability.
The Meaning of Power
Let us now revisit the questions posed above: Wherein lies the capacity to bring about a desired effect, result, or outcome? Wherein lies the ability to do so?
To paraphrase the powerful words of Bashar:
The more you can be yourself, the more you can help others choose to be themselves, because they will see, by your example, what they can also be (not that they must choose it).
(Herein lies your capacity to manifest).
At the very least, you give others a choice – by choosing to stay true to your essence, by choosing to follow your intuitive guidance, and by choosing to remain inspired. For yourself.
(Herein lies your ability to manifest).
There is nothing in creation that contradicts the choices you make, that you believe most strongly.
In light of this, there can be no interruptions in your life; everything that happens will be there for your own reasons to use as you wish. You can use them in the way that you prefer to use them, so that you can experience them in a way that enriches your journey, your world, your life.
Everything that you experience will take its cue from your state of being (capacity).
Be this state of being because you can (ability). You need no other reason.
Be who you are because that is who you are.
This is reason enough in the eyes of creation.
Practical Implications
The Path of the Wizard is the path of finding yourself at the center of your experience, of following your intuitive guidance, of allowing synchronicity to manifest in your encounters.
Therein lies the practical magic of being a wizard.
The wizard is awake to being awake – and aware of being aware. The wizard doesn’t allow the mind to bully the body into believing it must bear the burden of its worries or regrets.
The wizard makes a distinction between having a comfort zone and stepping outside of this comfort zone with conscious intention. This distinction helps to maintain a sense of balance.
The wizard is ever aware of the constant shifts in consciousness with respect to duality and its dual opposites: negation and affirmation, reception and assertion, submission and aggression.
To name a few.
The wizard favors whatever suits the purpose in the moment. There is a time to negate and a time to affirm, a time to receive and a time to assert, a time to submit and a time to aggress.
All in the service of a purpose that remains true to the wizard from the center of a clear, calm state of being that can channel the wisdom of an intuitive guidance that transcends yet informs the center.
The wizard remains fluid and flexible, not unlike flowing water dancing around obstacles.
A Practical Application
But what if a wave comes crashing down on you and you no longer feel you have the wherewithal to cope? What if you reach a point on your path where you have no idea what to do?
Take a close look at these two questions: the second question implies a state of profound uncertainty, but the first question implies something more: a crisis. A crisis of faith. A crisis of confidence.
How might a wizard handle such a crisis?
The wizard begins with a review of the four laws of creation:
I exist (and in some form, I always will). My form can be dissolved, but my essence cannot (it can, however, be corrupted unless I remain true to my essence and wise with my choices).
The One is the All and the All are the One. What I do to others, I ultimately do to myself, and what I do to myself, I ultimately do to others, especially those who are close to me.
What I put out is what I get back. If I put out negative energy, I risk having negative energy come back to me, but if I keep putting out positive energy, I can only attract more positive energy.
Change is the only constant (except for the first three laws). I recognize that change is a constant of the universe in which I presently reside, and a crisis is an opportunity to make a positive change.
A wizard stops, and then sits or stands with a crisis until it passes into mere uncertainty, however profound it might feel. The wizard meets uncertainty with the application of these three principles:
- I find my clear, calm center within; I am still and I listen
- I follow my intuitive guidance from the center of my being
- I allow synchronicity to manifest through my encounters
I find, I follow, I allow.
This bears repeating: I find, I follow, I allow.
As a whole, the remaining principles on The Huna Path (Aloha, Mana, and Pono) provide a harmonious and complementary match for this mantra: I find, I follow, I allow.
Next up: the principle of Aloha.
{ 4 comments }
I don’t think this statement is altogether complete: “… but if I keep putting out positive energy, I can only attract more positive energy.” Certainly, like attracts like, but it’s also true that opposites attract. If you keep putting out positive energy, sooner or later you’re going to attract negative energy.
Could it be that someone putting out negative vibes is attracted to someone putting out positive vibes for no other reason than the one putting out negative energy feels opposed, challenged, or threatened in some way by the positive energy? The one who feels wholly, naturally, and spontaneously positive would have no darkness within with which to relate to those putting out the negative vibes. The negative vibes would merely be a source of amusement or be treated with friendly curiosity.
Having said this, I realize that “putting out” might be a source of ambiguity in a discussion about the relationship between negative and positive vibes. On the one hand, we might have someone with a positive state of being who emanates positive vibes, as in “the serenity she emanated touched him deeply”. On the other hand, we might have someone who feels empty within and yet can still “put out” positive vibes as an actor who might pretend to be positive. Perhaps it is the emptiness within (the darkness) that attracts negative energy, despite positive appearances to the contrary.
So when you say, “There is a time to negate and a time to affirm, a time to receive and a time to assert, a time to submit and a time to aggress”, do you mean to imply that you can be positively negative in some way?
“Positively negative” sounds like an oxymoron, but yes, I do mean to imply that I can be positively negative in some way. If I question something someone says or does as a legitimate defense of what I view as positive, and do so only as long as it takes to get my message across, then I am, as you put it, positively negative in this instance. I am risking negative blowback, but I also know that I can withdraw my negative energy, however slight, at any time.
For example, if a doctor tells me something that doesn’t feel right to me, I will question it. No one in a position of authority likes to be questioned, especially by someone who is perceived to be low in status. Even so, if the doctor feels opposed, challenged, or threatened by a question, I can kindly ask: are you telling me, by the tone of your voice, that I cannot question anything you say? If the doctor cannot answer this question to my satisfaction, I will find a new doctor.
Substitute “professional” or “expert” for any “doctor” who doesn’t feel secure enough to answer questions.
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