Power

by Gregory Allen Butler

To explore how we can increase power in our lives I want to revisit a quote from Rumi: "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." These few words hold one of the greatest keys to unlocking the power that is within all of us: "Find all the barriers within yourself."

Except for the barriers within, we are all the same. Each of us is part of an infinite shoreless ocean of consciousnenss. Each one of us is host to that same power that flows through the entire universe. It's our connection to the infinite. The only difference between the homeless derelict on skid row and the spiritual master of infinite consciousness is this: The master has no barriers erected within that block the power that radiates from him.

Look at it this way: The hose with a spray nozzle in the off position cannot water the garden until someone opens it. We are all like water hoses, and yet most of us have gardens withering from a lack of water. There is no end to the supply of water, but more cannot come until we let out what we have.

Consider what Charles F. Hannel wrote in his Master Key System:

We are each of us but the channel through which the Omnipotent power is being differentiated into form; unless we give, the channel is obstructed and we can receive no more. This is true on every plane of existence and in every field of endeavor and all walks of life. The more we give, the more we get. The athlete who wishes to get strong must make use of the strength he has, and the more he gives the more he will get. The financier who wishes to make money must make use of the money he has, for only by using it can he get more.

The merchant who does not keep his goods going out will soon have none coming in; the corporation which fails to give efficient service will soon lack customers; the attorney who fails to get results will soon lack clients, and so it goes everywhere; power is contingent upon a proper use of the power already in our possession; what is true in every field of endeavor, every experience in life, is true of the power from which every other power known among men is begotten -- spiritual power. Take away the spirit and what is left? Nothing. If then the spirit is all there is, upon the recognition of this fact must depend the ability to demonstrate all power, whether physical, mental or spiritual.

You will see this in every walk of life: The writer is given the material for one book at a time. Finish that and another one is given. The expression is a prerequisite for further expression. The same for love. The more one loves, the more love one has. The well never runs dry. It’s the cornucopia of existence. As consciousness is infinite, so is everything that manifests from it. How obvious that is.

Look at the ever-expanding universe. This expanding act of consciousness and its manifestations that go forth from it are nothing but reflections of our own infinite nature. In fact, we are so infinitely infinite that we can’t conceive it. It so baffles the mind that only a rare few can enter into its mystery. This baffling of the mind, this confusion, distorts our perception. It creates a veil. It alone is the source of separateness that leads to so many people feeling alienated

Behind the veil, however, is a beauty undreamed of, a wholeness that consumes all division, and every part contains the whole. As the physics theorist David Bohm expressed it, we are all part of a flowing holographic universe.

He who is given much has great responsibility. If you are on a work crew and given a shovel, you dig what you can with it. If you are given a bulldozer, you will have more digging apportioned to you. When you fail to meet your responsibility, you lose your power. The worker loses his bulldozer if he only keeps pace with the man with a shovel. The Infinite Intelligence that pervades the universe isn’t stupid. As Meher Baba once said, "He who knows everything displaces nothing."

The bottom line is this: To gain power, use the power you have. How do you love the whole world? You start by loving the person right next to you. There are an infinite number of doors to unlock along the spiritual path, but the key for each successive one is found in the opening of each prior one. The resources required to open each successive door become greater and greater, but we are given what is required at the proper time. The first grade student doesn’t worry about college entrance exams.

Do you have wealth? Then use it. Are you a great public speaker? Then speak. If you are a writer, then it is your responsibility to write. Otherwise you gift will dry up -- the power bestowed upon you will be taken away.

It is important to remember that all of these talents, these gifts, are the unfoldment of our infinite nature. They spring from that same power that created everything in existence. They spring from an infinite intelligence that pervades everything. Even evolution is an example of this ascension of power.

To stay connected to that source of all being is to acknowledge it, to understand that our expression of it is our solemn duty. Each of us are individual manifestations of the infinite. When we realize what power resides in us, it becomes our responsibility to use that power. When we use it in harmony with the unfoldment of life, intelligence, and consciousness that represent wholeness, it creates even greater power.

Nothing is expected of anyone except the capacity given. A 75 watt bulb is not expected to deliver 250 watts of light.

What does that mean for us as human beings? After all, that is a responsibility we all share. I think it means that we are expected to act like human beings. When we can acknowledge the people of the world, in all races, religions, and economic status, as our brothers and sisters, then we will be expressing and living up to our responsibility as human beings. The deeper our perception of humanity, the deeper our experience as human beings. And to be truly human is an exprerssion of power -- it allows for the transformation of the world.