Man in the Mirror PROJECT - Taking Back Your Power

Abbott Khru

There are so many ways we can give our power away.  Our choices, our decisions, are most often based on what we think others will think of us, what we think those closest to us "want" us to do, or even what's expected of us because of our race, gender or nationality.  I say throw it all out the window and start with a fresh perspective of your life.  You have no color, no nationality and no gender to hold you back.  How does your life look now?

Sometimes it's only in the deciding to look at something differently that we can make the best changes in our lives.  Society has taught us mostly about how to be the victim.  Our news broadcasts stories of robbery, murder, crime, the list goes on and on.  Our response is "How awful!".  Then when faced with conversation with others we compare how "awful" our stories are compared to theirs.  "Oh yea well I had cancer and when I went through chemo . . ", or "I had to file for bankruptcy it was so bad".  Are we proud of how "bad" our lives can be?  Sometimes it sounds as though we are.  If you dare share something "good" in your life, do you notice the looks or the way people tend to hold back behind the "Oh that's great" statements?  Not everyone is this way, but some are and it's those people who are in that rut, that cycle of blame, hurt and disappointments that tend to hold us back from claiming our true power.  The beliefs of "that's not how life goes" or "you'll never get anywhere" come into play and are reinforced by friends, family and society.  Take those thoughts away, those feelings, and suddenly you are free to make your own choices and be your most authentic self.

Recently a friend sent me a link to a video about a monk in Thailand who cares for children who have been abandoned.  Some could barely speak, staring into space.  They had no one to care for them and the people that have stepped up to do so know that if our children are not nurtured and cared for, their spirits will become hard.  This cycle of impoverishing not only the stomachs of children, but their emotional and spiritual well being will raise yet another generation of people who don't care for one another.  If one person, however, like this monk reaches out to a child, that person can make a world of difference.

These children have no shoes, they wear a robe and shave their heads.  They travel by horse and learn all they can from their father, the monk.  At first glance you may feel sorry for them.  They "look" like they have so much less than we do.  No real home, or mother or father, no ipods, or computer, no toys or games.  Yet as I watched and read the commentary I noticed the things the monk was teaching these children.  It was not how they should expect from the world, it was how to live.  Looking at it this way gave me a new perspective.  These children are perhaps far better off in the world than the children in the US.  They have the support and the knowledge of how to think and take power over their lives.  Not many have been taught that here, not even us adults.

So I wrote a few things down that struck me that' I'd like to share.  All of these statements were made in the video by the monk (Abbott Khru) and hold much wisdom in helping us taking back power over our lives:

1. Don't depend on others; you're responsible for yourself
2. Do not be enslaved by drugs, alcohol, or desires.
3. Do good and happiness will follow
4. Don't get caught up in the good deeds you do
5. Forget your past and don't place any hope on the future
6. Don't regret the past; If you regret the past it will consume you and you will find no peace
7. How can you make a happy world if you are not happy yourself?
8. If you don't think good thoughts there will be chaos.
9. If you are good, good spirits will look after you.
10. If you are bad, the spirits will break your neck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAtrTJjPyCw

Have a good weekend! :)