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MasterGallad -> The Craft of Power (1/26/2008 12:07:10 PM)
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The Craft of Power
Musings of a Fellow Traveler
In the world at large there are many definitions for the word Power. However in BDSM, power can be defined as Personal Power, power that is maintains influence over the behavior, attitudes, and feelings of others. Power can be demonstrated through expression of commands, demands, directives, orders, and requests as to how others are to act, think, behave, feel, and believe.
Power is the attitude of strength, strength which is projected to others in order to direct how they react to the wielder of power and affect how some live their lives. Power is often wielded by people who desire to make their beliefs reality. They take charge in order to reorganize their existence to become the expression of what they believe life should be. They take over to ensure that their ``reality'' becomes the ``reality'' of people around them.
In order to understand Power and it’s crafting. We must understand the foundations of where power comes from; for Power is an expression of several things.
Self Confidence:
Establishing a sense of confidence in your ability to overcome and deal with the objects, persons or events in your life.
· “Practice, Practice, Practice” By practicing we become more confident in our actions, this is because as we are able to execute an aspect if Power repeatedly, and obtain the same results over and over again. Once our actions become second nature, we become confident in what we do.
· “Don’t compare” Learn your own strengths, weaknesses, and values; each individual is unique and you are too.
· “Look to Self” When making internal adjustments, know when to look to yourself and have the wisdom to accept assistance from others for making self improvements. Know that you are the only person you truly control 100%, this will give you a strong sense of self.
Self Control:
Learning to exert your will to control yourself is critical before you can influence anything around you. This is the main difference between a dictator and a true leader; balance is key to help you maintain a solid footing in the real world.
· Control Your Emotions – learn to temper your emotions positively. Don’t lose your temper when you run out of options, make an effort not to get depressed when things go wrong that you have absolutely no control over. Do not get overly excited about things that do not have a solid foundation to build from. The bottom line is to maintain a good overall temperament.
· Reduce Impulse Behavior – Temper your desires to things that are going to contribute positively to your life and your future. Now, this may seem over simplified but ask yourself two things about anything you are going to look at as a topic. Will this “xxx” positively impact my life? Will this “xxx” positively impact my future? The goal is to look both at current and future context so that you can determine if your impulses are getting the best of you. We have all heard the story about men’s little head doing all the thinking.
· Listen, Listen, Listen – Too often we have a great deal to say about a great many things and are so busy talking that we forget to listen to people and the world around us. It’s important to learn to listen, since this is the most critical skill in your power arsenal since it will improve your ability to make decisions and to respond properly to the world around you. The more informed you are, the more effective you’re interactions with the world and the people around you will be.
· Right Speech – Take a moment before speaking to others to think about what you are going to say. What is the purpose of what is being said, is it to share, to encourage, to guide, to assist to teach, or is it to boost your ego, to get attention, or just to hear yourself speak.
Focus:
Learn to control your ability to channel your energy and structure in your day-to-day life to ensure continuous forward momentum.
· Persistence – Be steadfast in your efforts and convictions, realize that anything that detracts from your objective will only lengthen the effort required to regain momentum (or traction) and may actually become a setback. Realize that some efforts may take a lifetime to come to fruition.
· Attention – When working on a project or talking to a person, ensure that your attention is directed to the subject matter at hand. Don’t let your mind wonder or daydream or become easily swayed to other items of interest.
· Stamina – Maintain the motivation to change and grow, develop a realistic perspective, so that things are not seen as the major focal point of your energy, efforts, and attention. In other words, don’t obsess; maintain a healthy balance of focus with other areas of your life.
Fearlessness:
Facing that which scares us and causes foreboding. That which does not kill us makes us stronger and we soon learn the limitlessness of our selves.
· Risk – Take risks and become vulnerable to change and growth in your life, realize that nothing in your life will ever remain the same, the sooner we understand and accept change the easier life will become.
· Be Free – Refute irrational beliefs. "Let go'' of fear.
· Tag It – Identify the fear, label it, visualize it, and deal with it as if it were an object or thing to be remolded, changed, or altered.
· Plan – Make an honest assessment of your fears, and create a consistent plan of action. Take steps to overcome your obstacles.
· Relax – Both physically and mentally, reduce the amount of anxiety and tension around you. Exercise and meditation help a great deal to create a sense of calm.
· Trust – Let go of insecurity, develop trust in yourself and others, and permit yourself to be vulnerable to change and growth.
· Address – Accept that it’s ok to feel discomfort, pain, hurt, and the disquieting emotions of the fears recurring in greater intensity as you initially address them.
· Slip – Everyone relapses at some point or another and setbacks will happen. Learn to accept your setbacks, without undue discouragement.
Acceptance:
Understanding the human condition and all to the prejudices we have regarding ideas, people, and things.
· Acceptance of self – Realize your human qualities and lack of omnipotence. It is OK to not be and know everything this is part of the human condition.
· Be a Student – Seek out and to accept help for yourself; help that leads to growth.
· Don’t be One Sided – Be open to new ideas or concepts about life and the human condition.
· Accept Responsibility – Recognize that you are the sole determinant of the choices you make. Recognize that you choose your responses to the people, actions, and events in your life. You are the party in charge of the direction your life has taken and will take.
· Free Yourself – Let go of anger, fear, blame, mistrust, and insecurity it’s your responsibility and no one else’s.
By no means is this meant to be a comprehensive guide on the crafting of power. It is the way that I began to shape myself to be who I am today, which may or may not work for you. The most interesting part of my journey is finding new things that make me a better person, leader, student, and participant in this thing we call life. I encourage everyone to take the next step and began to look for things that will improve your life and happiness.
Master Gallad
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