“Power With” and A Partnership Model
Are you powerful; are you a powerful woman? I think all of you are.
Perhaps the better question is “how are you a powerful woman”?
Many women I talk with as a coach, have almost an aversion to saying “I am a powerful woman”. We, the collective we has been conditioned to equate power with “having power over”, with autocratic, unilateral decision making, with paternalism and a “dominator model”. We, the collective we, have been conditioned to “be nice” not powerful.
As I said last week, when I talk about you being a woman of power, the kind of power I am talking about is “power with”, “power and connection with your internal wisdom”, “personal power”, “your personal place of power”, you know the place where you feel strong and happy and together and in alignment and in balance. This is your personal center, your personal still point, the place where you feel your vital force, your chi. This is the place where you have dominion over yourself and your life. This is part of your “shakti-ness”.
In relationships, it is “power with” or a “partnership model”. It’s you and your women friends planning a surprise party for another friend, it is two women coming together to form a business partnership either formal or informal. It’s using a child-centered model in the family. In “power with” relationships, you are drawing on the “collective power” of more than one person. Other words for “power with” are collaboration, co-creation and “win-win”.
Many women struggle with describing themselves as powerful, yet I see examples of powerful women all over the world. There is the mom who calmly and gently advocates for her child within the school system, there is the female entrepreneur who is so passionate about her business that she patiently and persistently moves forward toward her dreams. There is the female artist who is amazing in her creative work. These are all examples of powerful women!
An additional “power” thread in the brightly tapestry of your life, is the “divine feminine creative power” quality of the “shakti”. Shakti power or “power with” is not ego-based power, it is “divine feminine” power with a deep spiritual grounding in gaia and in the “heavens”.
So this week, lovely shakti sages, the self-care enchantments build on the idea of you being a powerful woman.
Finish the following sentences:
1. A powerful woman is….
2. A powerful woman is not….
3. Think about, describe, and write down how it feels to “stand in your personal power center”. Ask and answer “how am I a powerful woman”.
Namaste,
Zoey
Zoey Ryan?
life & business coach for women
?inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment?www.zoeyryan.com?
604-323-3700
?”Coaching for your heart & soul & the heart and soul of your business”?