By Cathy Eck

Oprah and Taking Back Our Power

While recently watching a clip of the Oprah Show where Oprah won her lawsuit against the Texas beef companies, Dr. Phil shared his perspective.  Dr. Phil was her coach during the trial.  His comment went something like this.  He said that she was constantly questioning herself and wondering why the beef people thought what they did.  She was unable to be herself.

Oprah said this was a very confusing time for her.  She was used to saying whatever she thought, having the last word, and just being herself.  She was not used to shutting up and holding back.

Dr. Phil pointed out that everything changed when Oprah finally realized that she had done nothing wrong.  The win came when she knew, not believed, that she was not guilty.  In short, she remembered who she really was.  Oprah demonstrated the art of taking back our power.  Oprah said that she learned an important lesson from that trial, which she considered a metaphor for all of life’s trials.

Letting Go is Taking Back Our Power

I love that example of learning the art of taking back our power, because I have this conversation with people all the time.  Letting go is all about taking back our power.  Oprah returned to her real self because she realized that her false self was lying.  She didn’t affirm for days that she was her real self.  She didn’t visualize a win.  She got that the beliefs of the others were false; and she dropped them from her own mind.  That caused her to have all the power, and the trial came to an end.

This is exactly why we let go.  The false self either gives our power away or takes it from others because it has no power of its own.  Our True Self, on the other hand, is all powerful all of the time.  So when any one person returns to their True Self in a situation, the outcome is always win-win.  (Remember that it is a win for a false self to lose because now it has a chance to let go.  If the false self wins, it perpetuates the wrongful thinking.)

Over and over again, when people let go, they discover that all the crap that happened to them was only the result of their beliefs, their false self.  They had gotten caught in a false self give and take relationship or situation.  When they let go, they can see that they never did anything wrong, nor could they ever do anything wrong.  Their True Self is still in pristine condition.  And when the false self disappears, our True Self’s perfection fills the vacuum.

False Selves Love to Be Right

People, like the Texas beef companies, often try very hard to convince themselves and others that what they believe is true or right.  They will go to extreme lengths to be right because they see right as powerful.  Since we don’t agree with them, they figure that we must be wrong.

It is in those moments that we must discriminate.  They are teaching us how to stay true to our Self.  If we can see their beliefs as false, then we begin taking back our power.  If they convince us to believe them, they will win because their beliefs label us bad or wrong; and our power fades when we feel bad about ourselves.

So when we lose our knowing, our True Self, our power, how do we get it back?  We have to keep letting go of the beliefs or thoughts that are holding us hostage.  We have to stop believing the one who wants our power even if they are an authority figure in our life.  They can only trap us in their web if we have a belief that allows them to be right in our mind.  Even though the authority or perpetrator looks like they have the power, we are actually in control.  We just need to focus on our mind and keep it pure and clear.  Then we start the process of taking back our power.

Tricks to Discrimination

There are many tricks to regaining our discrimination and taking back our power. Often I think back to an earlier time when I didn’t have their belief in my mind.  The comparison helps me discriminate.

Other times, I notice that their belief is not win-win for everyone, so it is not true.  Sometimes, I look to see if their belief has a payoff.  This also indicates it is false (following the money often provides conclusive evidence of a belief).

Of course, the best evidence of a belief is how it feels. Beliefs normally feel bad, but some people feel good when they win because they have numbed themselves to the awful feeling of seeing another lose.

The moment we remember who we are, we begin taking back our power from any situation, person, or organization.  In fact, our True Self can’t have opposition so it can never lose.

Click here for another article that talks about discrimination and ethical manipulation, which is a ridiculous notion.  

photo credit: calvinfleming via photopin cc