You 'give up your power' by blaming fate.

You 'give up your power' by not taking responsibility for the events that you have manifested.

You 'give up your power' by believing there is nothing you can do to change anything and that you are just a victim or a spectator.

You 'give up your power' by not making your own decisions.

Even if you can't control what is happening around you or the people and events going on, you can control how you think about them and how you respond or react to them.

The first step is to accept what is.

If you do not take this first step, you lose your power to deal with it.

Accept WHAT IS.

Then, you can deal with it.

By saying, "NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!" You are not accepting what is.

ACCEPT WHAT IS NOW, --FIRST.

Just because it bears repeating.

Hi Ruth!!

good to see ya!

Using logic is what you described here. A logical thought is a thought that is based on sound information. An illogical thought is based on unsound information.

So we are both correct here.

People do not hand their power over to something they feel is illogical unless coerced to do so. How many are coerced into believing the religion of their family? How many have been coerced into it by the majority in the area where they live. In the bible belt if you admit to not being Christian you may not get a job or get promoted on your job, my step dad is going through it right now. Coercion.

Choice is part of ones personal power. And choosing to do nothing is still a choice made by the person.

Definitely. I believe teaching children at a young age that a particular religion is the "absolute truth" is coercion. I remember distinctly the first time I had the thought of "what if its not true?" about Christianity. I was horrified by the thought. I actually felt fear when I thought it.

I am still terrified to this day that my father will find out about my true beliefs and religious practices.

How about looking outside of ourselves for the correct answer? That is giving up our personal power because it opens us up to be lead astray of our true selves, right?

I know already what someone is going to say here. We cannot learn if we do not seek outside of ourselves, true, but we are opening ourselves up to be lead down the yellow brick road too.

Damn Yankees! Handin' over power . . . dONKEY dOOKIE! Who thinks that way?

Been there and have had to lay it on the family members gently. I usually tell them "I don't have the faith they have or my relationship with god is not good" but I don't fight with them about it. I tell them I have the right to my beliefs and they need to accept it as I accept theirs.

Yes it does. However I think it is good to hear from others what their thoughts and beliefs are regarding different things as long as you're just using the information to make up your mind.

I extended my post after you quoted...lol sorry.

When we are reaching for information from other sources we are at our most vulnerable. It is the time when we can be taken for a ride. We have to question everything no matter how much we believe in the source of the information. Otherwise we lose ourselves and become what they make us???

Good advice. Now I just have to find the courage.

In the last thread I was in I was the brainless scarecrow and here I appear to be the cowardly lion. A lot of "Wizard of Oz" references floating around tonight.

VERY true. I know its too easy for me to take on another's beliefs especially if I view them in a position or authority or as being intellectually superior to me.

Hopefully, at 42, I'm growing out of that.

LOL, you will, if its needed. I am a pretty bold person so others cannot always do things the way I do...lol

Often after making some outlandish untraditional statement that is according to my belief system, and not the traditional establishment, or traditional beliefs of God, I hear the remark,

"WHO ARE YOU TO SAY ..SUCH AND SUCH...BLAH BLAH..."

(As if I am stepping all over their authority figure.) I tell them that I am my own authority.

Of course they think I worship Satan.

I think a person is only as vulnerable as they allow themselves to be.

A lot of people believe that science and academia are nothing more than brainwashing. They teach what they believe to be true from a position of authority. In fact, they even give exams and flunk out people who "disagree" with their answers.

I disagree with this view however. I've studied and taught the sciences. As a student I questioned everything. As a teacher I encouraged my students to question everything (but still flunked them if they couldn't learn the standard answers).

In spirituality it shouldn't be all that much different. I personally feel that the bulk of that mentality comes from the Mediterranean mythologies. Christianity is the most popular western version of this and the organized churches and clergy demand that Jesus was the Son of Yahweh and that the Bible is the word of Yahweh. Although they don't always use that name. But it's still the basic fundamental demand. They also push specific interpretations onto people from their doctrine. And the various sects and denominations of that religion don't even agree with each other in the details.

I'm currently studying spiritual traditions from India (A Buddhis/Yoga) view that is presented by a Medical Doctor and Spiritual leader by the name of Deepak Chopra. I don't worship him or take everything he says as the "word of God". Just the same the man makes a lot of sense.

I'm also studying spiritual traditions that have arisen from the Celtic folklore of witchcraft and shamanism. The main author I enjoy reading in this area is Christopher Penczak, who also make perfect sense. In fact, as far as I can see he's basically teaching the same things as Deepak Chopra only from the point of view of a different culture.

I'm also studying spiritual tradition called the "Faery Teachings". I'm reading from various authors on this folklore, yet they are also all saying basically the same things as Penczak and Chopra. They're just coming at it from yet another perspective.

The bottom line in all of these teachings (the core teaching when all the folklore facade has been stripped away), is the basic idea that humans do indeed have psychic power to orchestrate synchronicity within this universe on scales far larger than 'classical physics' would allow.

I might at that with the advent of modern physics and the observation of the quantum world those 'classical restrictions' no longer apply. So all of these traditions of 'magick' (where magick is nothing more than the psychic orchestration of synchronicity on scales larger than 'classical physics' would allow) appear to have much validity.

I so no more 'brainwashing' going on here than could be said of science being taught in academia.

It's just information being passed on. None of these authors are attemting to force anyone to believe what they say. They are just sharing their understanding and insights on these matters.

So why not take advantage of their studies and experiences?

I personally find it it all quite enlightening. No brainwashing necessary. Just take what makes sense to you and chuck out the rest.