People talk a lot about the power of authenticity, but in the end, it’s a “dancing about architecture” thing. You either are it, or you’re not. (Notice we didn’t say have it, we said ARE it). Sound complicated? It’s not.
In this Speakeasy Lecture from Wanderlust Squaw Valley 2014, Anand Mehrotra makes plain the concept of authentic power — how it’s already in you, and what you need to remove in order to reveal and embody it. “Through history, we have looked for power from external sources, which is driven by fear. When we are dealing with power in the ego, its always power over something or someone.”
Anand suggests that the only power we need is that which is within ourselves, and that what keeps us from our own authentic power is ego. He enlightens us concerning:
- the 4 characteristics of ego, and how it prevents you from discovering what is already available to you,
- that there’s no separation from the “real world” and the world in which you practice your spirituality,
- how you don’t need to practice compassion because you ARE compassion,
- why ego is incapable of love.
“You cannot find love – you can only experience love, you can only be love. You cannot find God, you cannot find samadhi – they are only superstitions unless they are in your experience. And if power is not is your experience, it, too, is superstition. When you’re a warrior of wisdom, you’re not talking about compassion or love or power, you’re experiencing it. ”
If you’re ready to plunge deep into Anand’s heady waters, grab a pencil and a mat and an open mind and give this one a listen. Your inner, wise warrior is waiting.