Once we lose power, we disconnect from a part of Self. But we can also disconnect by putting so much time and energy out in the world that we never come home to ourselves. When we don’t take time to know Self, to connect to our essence, then it is easy to lose power. We move through life on autopilot with so many things calling our attention. We forget about our purpose and no longer feel our place in the universe.

The path to my big Yes wasn’t a straight one. I felt pulled in too many directions (read: I chose to give my energy to too many things), with little left to grow what meant so much to me. So I began saying no to everything. This did not necessarily serve me either, but was my path to finding my big, powerful yeses.

When we experience repetitive negative self-talk, or when we are in environments where there is an abundance of psychic litter (other people’s negative thought patterns), we can lose power. Negative thoughts create their own energy and affect us, others and the environment, depending on where we send the energy. When we target ourselves with that energy, or absorb others’ thoughtforms, the misplaced energy leads to a leaking of our life force. Instant power drain!

Pic Cc-by-2.0|José Manuel Suárez

The first way of losing our power we explore is:

We give it away

Giving away our power is common. We give it away by:

• Looking outside of ourselves for answers.

• Pouring ourselves (read: our power) into our work, especially people in the helping professions.

• Leaving a part of our heart behind when leaving a relationship or when a loved one passes.

In shamanism, we talk about being in 'right relationship' and for me, this starts with being in right relationship with self. It's a process of knowing, loving and trusting our essence (or true self), and seeking balance and harmony with how we live our life.