The Dark Side of Empowerment
A dear friend of mine asked me to write a blog about the ethically incorrect use of creation and coaching tools.
It’s been three decades now that I’m empowering people to create the lives of their dreams; I’m teaching creation tools, coaching and communication, meditation and connection to life force. These tools are very powerful: when used for the right purposes, they offer magical empowerment and help people get what they desire.
But there is – as always – the option of using these tools to manipulate others or to create separation (“mine” vs “good for all of us”). I’m reminded of a phrase in the movie Spiderman: “with great power comes great responsibility”.
Coaching – when soundly learned and internalized – allows one to indeed manipulate another in a very disguised way. If you are really good at coaching and mentoring, you can get things to go your way and more likely than not have people do what you want them to do. The temptation is high to make use of this power in a selfish way.
In “Star Wars” Yoda teaches Luke that when you give in to the “dark side” just once, you get lost. At first it may sound a bit exaggerated, but it is a relevant warning. I was told that when one joins the army and one sees a corpse for the first time, one easily feels sick, even vomits. But after 5 corpses this uneasiness goes away and then it is “normal”. Our sensitivity numbs when things become familiar. When manipulation becomes familiar, one doesn’t feel any longer that it is not right.
But there is something in us that knows when we are committing actions that are causing separation for us and for others, suffering or manipulating others.
It is conscience, it is the voice of the heart, it is the whisper of our higher self.
The loud ego, the smart justification our mind is capable of, the life style that numbs our connection to these higher parts of ourselves make it almost impossible to hear their guidance.
One day however, ONE DAY the noise that kept us unconscious will lessen and the heart will be heard.
The challenge on that ONE DAY (ref.: in Christian theology known as “judgment day”) is that one has committed so many non-compliant-with-the-heart actions that one very likely faces a mountain of consequences that cannot easily be undone.
That’s when atonement and forgiveness become instruments of greatest value. When the stories we told ourselves to justify our actions don’t work any longer, our heart, our soul demands purification.
I do not believe that God, universe, love can be an energy that can condemn. In our humanness we are fallible. Love – I mean unconditional love – embraces everything and everyone without exception. The regret, the remorse is a purifying energy that wants us to become better versions of ourselves on a higher level.
As we understand and develop compassion (not justification!) for our own mistakes and shortcomings we inevitably bestow this compassion unto others as well.
If we want to help ourselves pro-actively, we can re-establish a greater connection to our heart and our soul and start adjusting and aligning our actions with the wisdom and benediction that our hearts and souls in essence are.
May our light shine a little brighter day by day.
With love, ❤ Marc Steinberg