the eight powers of kindness

7/30/2019 The Eight Powers of Kindness

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The 8 Powers of Leadership

To live effectively in the world today means something entirely different from what it used to mean even ten years ago.Leadership can, and does, happen at any level of an organization. Anyone who can see clearly what needs to bedone, has the stamina to keep going, can muster resources, think innovatively, and perhaps most importantly, inspireand engage others to accompany them, will be considered a leader. The old ways are breaking down and morecooperative solutions are revealing themselves.

The best solutions over history have been those who have forged a new way that has been sustainable and strong.Primarily these solution givers have appealed to people through their character - integrity and other values - that

ensure people trust each other enough to leave the comfort of the known and head into uncharted territory.

To stand by ones beliefs, to commit to integrity and values in times of shifting sands, takes great courage and innerstrength. The following Powers are drawn from the body of work that is known as Ancient Raja Yoga as taught throughthe Brahma Kumaris. www.bkwsu.org. Raja meaning king or sovereign, Yoga meaning connection. These powersconnect us to our own capacity for mastery over limited past patterns and the circumstances we face in theseinteresting times.

1. Power to Introspect /DetachThis power is about perspective. It gives clarity and coolness. To withdraw is to detach or step back, with love andawareness, from whatever the current situation is. No matter how insistent the outward situations may be, no matterwho tries to draw you into their webs: through feelings, emotions, confusion, interaction - whatever your potentialreactions might be! Instead of lashing out in resistance or reaction stop and go within like a turtle in a shell. Learn whoyou really are.

Pretend you are in front of cameras and lights in any situation. Here, by learning this power you learn that you are anactor playing a role, a player in the game. Begin to see the other person in this way too. If you begin to believe thegame, to become caught in the identity of the role, you lose any power to create, to contribute, to be free to shapenew paths. As soon as you merge into the role, you become am lost. You are much more than your role! More thentheir perseptions of you, for sure.

Awareness of being the actor will keep you free from the persistence of tradition and conservatism. When there is nomap for the future, when you are truly rewriting the fundamentals of the way you live and work, you must be entirelycreative purely creative quantum leaps are required. Quantum leaps in creative thinking and manifestation areborn from a free mind, a still and silent inner world that becomes the receptacle for genius in tiny ordinary moments.

The way to build this instrumental power is taking time out for you and God. Simply learning to be more quiet.Speaking less, thinking less. Growing a discipline within the self to constantly stay peaceful.

2. Power to LET GO

If someone does something unkind to you, you naturally want to hurt them back. It is the power to let go of all, andhold nothing of the past in your heart; nor anything pointless of the future in your mind. It is the strength to say no tonegativity. Letting go requires courage, forgiveness, trust and purity. It means your life starts anew from this pointonwards. Refreshing, but not so easy.

This power connects deeply with the previous power. It requires you to LET GO of all limitations of identity. It meansending what others expect of you and what you expect of others; letting go of all limited thinking and beliefs and

identity. When you do LET GO of the expectations you have of yourself based on what other people expect of you,you can have greater understanding and compassion for yourself and for others. These are qualities crucial to the roleof the leader. In letting go of expectations, you become free to make decisions that are embedded with the power ofwisdom rather than the force of tradition or habit.

You also must LET GO of what you think you know and who you think you are. This is tricky, for much of your life youhave been labeled and told who you are. What if you were simple a Living Being? This power accompanies the abilityto choose a new path, a better way. Know your own truth and never let it go. Let go of out moded ways of doingthings that simple do not work in the present situation. Take with you only that which really is useful at the presentmoment.


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3. Power to Tolerate

Once you know how to clear the past hurts and lack of self respect in the first two powers, this power starts to take hold.The Power to Tolerate is sometimes called the Power to Love. Effort and determination are required to begin to seethings in a different way. You can visualize this power by the image of a boy throwing stones at the apple tree. All theapple tree does is drop down apples for the boy. The boy only receives sweetness no matter how much he rants andraves at the tree. You too can fill yourself up and ripen the fruits of the Spirit so that no matter what anyone says to you,you simply give blessings and sweetness. This Power is not to be confused with being a doormat! Doormats take in allthe dirt. You know your self worth and nothing anyone says can change your opinion of yourself. You know you are

beloved by God and that helps you to be kind to your enemies. The Power to TOLERATE is the power to handlewhatever anyone dishes out. It is the power to see beyond the behaviour, recognising and then dealing with themotivation which drives the behaviour. Be aware. Sometimes it is a test. If you pass the test by not reacting but ratheranswering their deeper need, you will win their trust. The Power to TOLERATE provides insight and maturity to aperson's character. It works with the Power to Face. ( Across the Wheel )

4. Power to Accommodate/Merge

This is the power to accept what is rather than to sing the song of disappointment.It is the power to know that the future is in many ways already written towards a happy ending and that it is up to youto have the courage to stay awake in order to see the unfolding. This power entails an ability to be at peace with thestate of things, to sense that there is a wonderful Plan and that you are a humble instrument privileged enough to playa part in this unfolding. It is the understanding that whats in the way, is the way or seeing the "message in the mess".

This is more than turning the other cheek, like in the previous power. This now, with an inner wisdom begins to seehow diverse ideas, beliefs and ways of being can merge into common ground. You go from trying to please everyone,to seeing how everyone can be pleased. This can only happen if you ask God to help you. These powers only comefrom God, you are learning to use them by mobilizing your inner Kindness/Leadership Army. Again stepping out of theway, seeing your role, and listening to what needs to be accomodated and merged.

You become calm in this fourth step. You become like the ocean, receiving all the rivers without resistance and learn tomeet the needs of others as you take care of yourself, knowing there is a time and place for everything. When peoplereceive from you and you find a place for them, serving them, they begin to see not you in particular but more of arecognition of similarities. A deep contentment comes into the atmosphere around you and you no longer have to bossothers, fight for recognition, manipulate them or react to them in any way. You no longer take, you become a giver.Community wisdom begins to arise seeing how all the rivers meet the Ocean. You can see how the differences arepart of the whole picture, and where it all belongs.

5. Power to Discern/Discriminate

Discrimination is the art of seeing. Not seeing with the physical eyes, but seeing with the inner eye. It is the power tolisten to what is known deep within and steadily trust and rely on this reality. This power delivers a capacity to seethree aspects of time: to look at the past, present and future implications of different options and possibilities in orderto assess accurately the best avenue of action. Remembering that sometimes the best route is to take no action at all,this power also supports you in simply not reacting. Reaction means being controlled by external stimuli and is adisempowering state to adopt.

This power teaches you to discern truth from lies, real freinds from false, and when to act and when to not act. Like a

finely tuned diamond merchant you can quickly see the flaws and can discern real gold from fake. This power helps torecognize traps of illusion, however sweetly decorated and enticing. Through this power, we see through disguises andacts confidently and wisely. Through meditation, develop the clarity of mind to discern right from wrong, true from falsewithin a second.

When you have an on-going positive inner dialogue, you can be clear. That is a spiritual gift, the power of clarity,seeing with different eyes, hearing with different ears. It is about trusting God, yourself and the unfoldment of thescenes in front of you, to only bring your highest good... even in the face of opposing opinions and situations.


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6. Power to DecideLeaders are good decision makers. You can choose to be kind and powerful. Now that you can discern truth from lies,real friends from fake, you can learn the power to decide. This is the power of truth, the power to choose truth, to standalone in that truth no matter what. It is intrinsically connected to the Power to DISCRIMINATE, and takes much of itsstrength from that power. If the Power to DISCRIMINATE has been exercised well, then the Power to DECIDE flowsmore easily. Even if a person knows the best course of action, if they dont have the power to follow that knowing, theyare weak in the Power to DECIDE. Going back into the previous steps here will help you make decisions.

This Power is also associated with the intellect, but unlike the power to DISCRIMINATE, an introverted process, thePower to DECIDE manifests outwardly. A knowing acted upon has impact in the world. When you use this power you

make a statement that you trust yourself and are clear that your actions are right and will bring success. You areprepared to stand by your choices and to allow and be accountable for the consequences. You will stand alone ifnecessary. You believe you are acting correctly. Sometimes kindness is a revolutionary act. We live in a world that isincreasingly unkind. Greed, attachment, lust, ego and anger all are alive and well in our homes, schools andcommunities. How can we begin to bring back Kindness and it's strengths?

This power is essential for leaders today, when most of the world can only see what has already been, or derivationsthere of. It requires extraordinary inner power to make a stand, act decisively and move forward when sometimes youare the only one who can see.There will be times when it is necessary to become introspective again ( across the compass) and access the power toDISCRIMINATE to ensure that the chosen course is still the right one. To remain fixed in a chosen way forward mightsimply be replicating the process of the old. Even if actions seem different, tradition and conformity can threaten to takehold again. It is then the listening to the whole, the pulse of the situation must be addressed.

7. Power to FaceIt is a scary world. You are up against so much and so much depends on you. This power is the ability to confront andresolve external and internal obstacles. The main attributes of this power are courage and honesty. For the leader, thePower to FACE means nothing is too fearsome to handle. With an attitude of Kindness we are equipped with all thepowers needed to face whatever comes fears, or other overwhelming emotions; lack of self worth; attacks ordenigration by others; or situations that seem impossible, insurmountable. Love your enemies is not so hard in this casewhen you have the love of God beaming from within.

This power is Strength. Power to FACE is ruthless and does not in any way accommodate untruth or corruption, whethewithin our own character or in external situations. Because this power sits opposite the Power to TOLERATE on thewheel the underlying drive is love, the power to tolerate. Life is not always comfortable. Pure, holy, unconditional lovethat has no ulterior motive or ownership over another. This brings a balanced approach to dealing with demons.Sometimes you need to draw the line, and sometimes that line is Kind. This power is not to be cajoled or negotiatedwith. The person who wields this weapon deals with all that seems to be blocking the way forward, no matter what thelevel of fear involved. Most of all this is facing ones own strangths and weaknesses.

Nothing is allowed to hide, nothing dark or unsaid is enabled. This is the power to bring into the light of day the invisiblestuff that threatens the new way. It is not aggressive, but it is assertive and powerful, and ultimately allows Love andkindness to surface. Facing your own light is sometimes scarier than anything.

8. Power to Cooperate.The image for this power is a mountain raised with many hands pointed skyward lifting it up.The Power to COOPERATis the culmination of all powers. It is the servant leader as Jesus demonstrated. It requires us to work at being free fromvice - ego, jealousy/envy, attachment, lust, anger, greed. Everyone becomes an Instrument in a very large orchestra, an

instrument for a task. Kindness connects and everyone begins to see how they too have belonging. That they too arevaluable. It is not about how much money you have or what gizmos you have. Your worthiness is based on the RealYou. The You that is Kknd. The you that loves and is loved. The you that has a perfect place in the world story.

This creates a healthy Detachment, a sense of knowing what is needed, the ability to be flexible and able to adjust to asituations and types of people: these qualities enable the us to be benevolent and to provide the extra hand that isneeded. Like the song says, "Try a little Kindness". A community with this power intact sees beyond position and title,working at the level of the right person at the right time for the right job. It is the power to contribute without the need tobe praised or acknowledged.

When your self-worth is not based on position, status or externals of any kind, you happily let go of a role whensomeone else emerges to take it over. You do not need a demonstration of adulation or gratitude from anyone. You seehow you are an intricate, beloved part of one whole. When everyone is powerful, the group is powerful.


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Starting July, Try out a month focusing on each power. See if you feel more connected and if youwould like, apply the Powers to a Goal that you feel is your purpose, or maybe God is leading you tobelonging. Remember, no one is more deserving of your Kindness than YOURSELF!!!!!

You are invited to Join into a personal/community mastermind into exploring thepowers. If you are on facebook join into THE MEDICINE DREAMER where you cancomment on your experience as you take each month to explore that cetain poweras you work through to an eight month goal that you want to attain. If not you canemail [email protected] to subscribe. She can post your comments if youwant. Possible in person circles may be scheduled depending on interest.


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Carolyn Dawn Good is an Eco/Community Artist and has been using theeight powers as a basis for her self development and lens to view theworld for over 10 years. She consults with individuals and groups andleads workshops and sessions from this lens of the eight powers.Recently they have become related to the 8 Arts Principles and she isexcited to teach others how to reach wellness and health thru the Arts.

She is currently illustrating a book for childen and the child within, that

explains the journey form isolation to inclusion. She is intertested inworld religions and aboriginal thought systems andcombines the eight powers with other wheels of life like medicine wheel,feng sui grid and I Ching.

She is a member of the Hillcrest Mennonite Church, in New Hamburg.She grew up in Floradale and spent most of her adult life in the pacificnorthwest after graduating from the University of the Arts in 1988.

www.about.me/cd_good

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