All over the world, many are prevented, for one reason or another, from reaching their full potential and realising their own inner power. They may not have financial power or political power, or their gender may be an obstacle to living their life to the full. All of this kind of power, we can term as ‘hard’ power – that which is visible. Spiritually speaking, it is ‘soft’ power that is the most powerful, but over the long term. Hard power sees temporary success which is unsustainable because there comes a point when one has to fight again for success. Soft power cultivates a constant fruitful relationship. Soft power is about the internal qualities and virtues we all have within, of love and compassion, and when these are brought to any situation, I am using the energy of my being in a positive and productive way that gives happiness.
Freedom is regarded as the ability to go where I want to, say what I want to, all well and good, but when we see what has been unleashed on social media, we cannot say that just saying what I want to say, in any way I want to say it, has brought happiness. Real freedom is about being true to yourself. To be able to follow your conscience, do what is right and bring goodness to the world. To move through life giving, rather than taking.
We value that ability, because we know deep inside that it is the finest way to live. So, how can we regain real power and real freedom? We have to return to the awareness of who we really are. We play many roles, but the identity of the one playing the roles is our eternal and true self that is always with us. We have many external labels that others put on us and we put on ourselves, but it is not possible to label the soul. When I remember who I really am, the soul, the spiritual being, playing out the various roles – then I can be truly free; know the self and be free.
The intrinsic qualities of the soul are love, peace and joy, and we have suppressed them in the face of prevailing forces in the world. There are many, both negative and positive. The negative ones include the huge amount of fear everywhere. Fear of violence, war, loss of resources – but practising the consciousness of the soul, experiencing the inner qualities, I know that no one can take that away from me. Greed is a prevailing force. The reason why rich countries are rich and poor countries are poor is because of greed. Arrogance is driving the lives of millions, all because we have lost sight of who we really are.
However, there are positive forces at play too. There are some expressing, sometimes with great risk to their lives, positive qualities in helping and supporting others. Love and compassion are great forces in the world. They are helping to reinstate love, trust, and compassion – which is what will transform our world in the long term. However, it takes a lot of courage to go this route and the results are not as easy to see as the route of force, but just to know it is happening, gives hope and courage to others.
Some, in the face of all the negativity, blame God for it all. My experience of God is that the Divine is a totally loving, compassionate being of truth. It is we who have cut ourselves off from the power and love that this Supreme Being is constantly transmitting. We can no longer take what is being constantly given, because we are not on the right frequency. The good news is that we can learn how to reconnect with this divine energy and bring that higher power into our being.
We can learn, but we must practise making this connection because there are internal barriers that have been erected because of our behaviour that we feel uncomfortable about. Traits that we have adopted that we need to remove so that the way is clear to a powerful connection with the Divine. So, there is much we can do to regain our true power and freedom – understand who I am, experience my true intrinsic inner qualities, recognise the forces at work and spiritual laws, and practise connecting with the Divine. Through understanding the practice of goodness, we can, and will, regain our true power and freedom.
Maureen Goodman is the Programme Director for the Brahma Kumaris UK, and BK NGO representative to the United Nations in Vienna.