What does it mean to empower? What kind of power is being discussed?
In this article, we will examine the spiritual concept of empowerment. It has nothing to do with physical strength, an air of arrogance, pressure, or aggression.
You will learn how to empower others and how this will help you become stronger yourself.
What is empowerment
This spiritual concept was introduced by Steve Rother, an author, speaker, and channel for the Group.
Empowering people does not mean placing yourself above others, thinking you have some power or ability that is unavailable to everyone else.
Empowerment is service, it is an energy that allows people to carry more of their own Spirit. You gain strength when you empower others, provided there is full acceptance and complete trust in their decisions and path.
In other words, it is support, the ability to see something greater in a person than their personality and actions, the ability to see the connection that unites you with that person.
See also the Meditation “Unveiling Your Power”
The goal of the meditation is to acknowledge, accept, and unveil your power.
Criticism or empowerment
You always have a choice to criticize a person’s action or to empower them.
Unconsciously, people often choose the former. It happens out of habit. When a child tries something new: drawing, sculpting, dancing, parents and teachers more often point out shortcomings: “could be better,” “try harder.”
Trying to teach in this way.
Perhaps you yourself raise your children this way. But such upbringing leads to the development of complexes, procrastination, and perfectionism, and for some, it completely kills the desire to do anything.
When a person is praised for simply daring to take a new action, they become inspired and want to improve, to do it again and again.
But when they are criticized, even with the best intentions, their spirits drop, and the bar seems insurmountable. No matter what they do, it never feels like enough to them.
As a result, the activity ceases to be engaging, and interest in it is lost.
See also: The Inner Critic: Enemy or Friend
How to befriend your inner critic.
If you are not only a parent but also a manager, do not rush to criticize your subordinates or scold them for mistakes. Take a closer look at the personal qualities of the people you work with, find their strengths and focus on them.
When you criticize, you take away strength from a person; they become energetically depleted.
If it is important for you to maintain your authority, replace control with empowerment, find something to praise the person for, learn to notice their progress and draw their attention to it.
When you choose criticism, you yourself fall out of balance and lose your own strength.
If you start a conversation by empowering another, you preserve yourself, lift the person up, and later you can ecologically move on to issues where you have found inaccuracies.
Also read about the 5 factors that block your strength.
What is the benefit of empowering other people
The main advantage of empowering others is gaining power yourself. According to the law of the universe, like attracts like; what you give out, you receive.
It would be ideal if you start constantly broadcasting this energy, but there are also more specific situations where you can use this technique:
- If you feel inner powerlessness, empowering others will help you climb out of an emotional slump.
- If you need external support, empower others. Find someone who needs support and encourage them. This will increase your own level of strength.
You can empower in different ways:
- praising someone for what they have done,
- highlighting a strong quality or advantage of a person and telling them about it,
- noting that a person did NOT act as they used to, but made a more conscious choice in how to behave.
These are all behavioral methods. But the process itself flows from within, from heart to heart.
Externally, this may not be expressed at all, but internally you feel an impulse to empower, support, send a ray of love and support, and the person feels it.
«You determine how to empower each person on your path. And when someone empowers you, you accept that energy, step into it, and use it.
You have an ego, and you will deal with it for the rest of your life. It is about balance and understanding that the more you realize who you truly are, the more everyone will be able to see your true light.
This is not about you being better than them, or you being good enough, or any other comparisons. It is about you, those who seek their light.»
— Steve Rother
A Separate Recommendation for “Rescuers”
People who are used to rushing to help, even when not asked, believe they know better what a person should do.
Yes, it is often clearer from the outside that a person is going the wrong way. And it is painful to watch them step on the same rake again.
But everyone has their own path and their own pace of “learning.” And if a person is not ready for decisive action right now, your advice will not help them.
Instead, empower them, send them the energy of strength from your heart, sincerely trusting their path and decisions. Your support on a soul level will do much more than attempts to interfere in their life.
When you interfere with advice, you separate yourself from the person, and they feel it. It is already hard for them, and you highlight their inadequacy.
All they need in a difficult situation is not advice, but support, the understanding that you are there no matter what. This does not necessarily require words. It is an open heart radiating love and trust in any choice the person makes.
Read: The Danger of the Rescuer Role
Imposing your beliefs on others about how to live better is an insidious quality that leads to problems in life – emotional breakdowns, loss of health, and deterioration of relationships with people.
Empowerment is not about getting something. It is a way of serving humanity that has become available to us not so long ago.
If you have chosen the path of service, the path of spiritual growth, use empowerment in any situation, at every opportunity, and soon you will begin to feel a connection with other people.
You yourself will become stronger, and your relationships with people will reach a new level.
See also Transition from suffering to a mission of service