Empowerment 
Empowered people are self-reliant, responsible, accountable beings capable of realizing themselves and their dreams, experiencing their full potential at all levels of their being (spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically) as an integral part of the whole (Great Spirit). Empowerment also means having choices, for without choices, we have cannot be empowered.
We create our reality with our thoughts. Core beliefs are ideas we hold about ourselves, others, and the world around us which impacts the way we perceive and react to ourselves, others, and the diverse situations we find ourselves in while here in earth school. Core beliefs reside in our subconscious mind. They may have developed early in our childhood, during our developing years. We are actually programmed into certain ways of seeing the external world, thinking, and acting. Some of these programs may be positive while others negative. By negative, I mean that they limit our choice or hurt, harm or injury us or others or take power away from others (i.e. child or wife abusers, poor self-esteem). We are not even aware of them, but they can limit our thinking and actions. They may particularly limit our power by limiting our choices towards positive action. This condition is termed "locked in a paradigm". We need to break these paradigms and take our power back.
Negative, limiting core beliefs or paradigms are changeable if we can become aware of them. Our early programming (ages 1-5) have the greatest influence on us and are the most challenging beliefs to change. Most of these early, negative belief systems relate to two basic beliefs:
- Something is wrong with me.
- I'm not good enough.
These false, limiting beliefs effect our self-esteem, our general attitude, our sense of responsibility for our lives, our flexibility towards change, and our general trust in the Great Spirit. They often lead to fear syndromes, chronic depression, or control issues. What are your core beliefs?
There are a lot of techniques available to help us root out our negative core beliefs. We can use hypnotherapy, dream analysis, or just generally becoming a witness to our behaviors and thought processes. Meditation is a great help. Become aware of the situations and thoughts that give you a sense of fear or challenge your self-worth or produce unwarranted resistance in you. Do you need to try to control people or situations all the time? How do you respond to failure? Is it the end of the world? How do you respond to rejection? Do you personalize and internalize everything? When you get out of bed in the morning, is it with exuberance or dread?
Just as there are techniques for uncovering our core beliefs, so too are there techniques for changing them - for reprogramming ourselves. We can change these negative, limiting beliefs through:
- Affirmations
- Visualizations
- Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)
- Hypnosis
- Role Playing
- Desensitization Techniques (confidence building through slow, controlled exposure over time to objectives or situations we fear
To support us in changing these beliefs using the above techniques, we need to also remember to eat right, sleep well, meditate, exercise, do yoga positions, breathing exercises, and say a prayer now and then. Also, don't hesitate to seek professional help.
"Go forth in perfect faith in the power of goodness and perfection that is the Great Spirit. Let Spirit bring to you what you need at the time you need it. Set your ego aside. Have faith, trust! Know you are already a perfect Child of Spirit.
We simply need to remove the sheaths of negativity and limitations (garbage we have picked-up in life) to come to this ultimate realization. Spirit is in you, you are a droplet of spirit. How can spirit be less that perfect. Below are a few affirmations to assist you in your reprogramming efforts. Say each one, over and over, until there is absolutely no mental resistance to the affirmation. Some affirmations that we frequently us in our groups follow:
- I like myself and others; others like me. I deserve love.
- I am highly pleasing to others and others are highly pleasing to me.
- I am enlightened.
- I create my reality with my thoughts.
- I am attractive and loveable.
- The more I acknowledge the goodness and perfection in me, the truer it becomes.
- The more I like myself, the more others life me.
- The more I enjoy being alone, the more I enjoy being with others.
- I have a right to say "no" to people without losing their love.
- I am a self-determined person.
- I love myself unconditionally.
- I love others unconditionally.
- I can get all the love I deserve from the Spirit within.
- I am glad I was born.
- I have a right to be here.
- I can now breath fully and freely.
- I now have enough time, energy, wisdom, and money to accomplish all that the Great Spirits wills me to accomplish.
- Every cell in my body is purified with healing white light.
- I am now and forever absolutely and totally healthy.
- I can satisfy myself in the presence of others.
