Catharsis is the purging of emotions or the alleviation of emotional tensions. Metamorphosis is change of form or substance. Catharsis should lead to metamorphosis if the alleviation of emotions or the eradication of emotional tensions is followed up by action. That action should naturally lead to change within once your inner tension has been released. When you purge emotions, you are releasing hormones AND stuck energy. Catharsis begins a spiritual process that MOVES energy for your improvement. You can change your own substance by catharsis followed by metamorphosis. Until I relieve myself of emotional tension, I can't see the path ahead. That path needs actions to define where you're going to go, and how you're going to do things differently. Metamorphosis will eventually come if you remain open.

What is true happiness to you? Is it an excited feeling or the presence of calm? When you're happy does it mean things are going your way and life is good? Or is there more to it...such as the idea that brokenness can bring on ever greater happiness? Real happiness - in a power sense - is the presence &  awareness of peace of mind. For some, the belief that happiness should be ever-present is what brings more dark/lack thinking. When happiness eludes you, do you think there's something intrinsically wrong with you? Well, let me tell you, you're wrong about that, LOL. Happiness "feels" most embedded within not when I'm excited, but when I'm calm. On the one hand, too much happiness can create imbalance and leave you with an emotional hangover. On the other hand, when negative thoughts pervade peace of mind, most people experience unhappiness, but this is not the whole picture of reality outside your pleasure-seeking mind. Peace is a powerful connection of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Happiness can also be being broken over things that make you unhappy and tear apart your ego and intellectual headiness. We need more reliance from the sixth sense of our own fully integrated power. To conclude, power is also in the harsh realities that we've perpetrated on each other. Every time we break, we open up new evolutions of greater intrinsic power. New seeds are being planted for true dynamic power. I can't wait to see what will happen next for us. 

Are you a confused modern woman like me? What type of energy do you as a woman express in your life? Do you doubt your femininity because you don't fit a mold of the traditional woman - but you don't know how to define what feminine means to you? The ultimate goal of the feminine, in all of our lives and society, is to infuse its deeply intuitive resourcefulness into more places that are imbalanced - no matter who we are and how our feminine expresses itself. This does not mean to give more positions of leadership to women because leadership is about balancing energies. Without the equilibrium of true personal power, there will still be a lack of masculine/feminine ying/yang in too many aspects of our society. The society I've been a part of has missed out on using and creating more space for assertive and powerful feminine energy. What would feminine leadership or feminine partnership look like if my success depended on intuitively matching another's energy? The feminine is absolutely powerful enough to adapt itself without losing itself. Being successful means partnering with someone for that person's growth and peace of mind. Within each of us there ARE strong energies that match whatever role we're being asked to play for the benefit of ALL. The feminine is creation itself, we need to give it the power it deserves.

Manipulation takes many forms, but why would we be trying so hard to manipulate our reality to be mediocre or stuck? There is a great force moving through the world to be yourself...express yourself...live how you wish. Personal expression is fantastic. What is challenging, however, is that people can't be the fullest expression of themselves if they don't know who they are. If you're seeking a goal but you don't know where you're going, it's easy to settle into mediocrity. And, mediocrity isn't about not being OK where you are. I know it's true that you must accept being stuck before you can grow or move ahead. Yet, settling in when you won't try to change is accepting a powerlessness that will KEEP you stuck. When things are hard and you overcome them you become stronger, you're not mediocre nor as vulnerable. When you submit to the dark energy within you and stay in that mediocrity, you become ill. Don't get OK being mediocre when your spirit demands you grow to higher heights. You don't have to run marathons or become the next Einstein. You just want to keep doors open for your increased sense of being alive and to allow you to become more of the you you REALLY want to be. Mediocrity is another form of fear. 

We all know about "What You DON'T Know Won't Hurt You", which means don't ask or seek to find out what other people are saying about you that may not feel good, because the aggravation isn't necessary. Let people say what they want when you're not around; you don't want it to drain your power. Yet, there are little things that you believe and don't question (traditions, beliefs, conditioning) that are laying under the surface of your consciousness and driving your behavior and your life - and you don't know they're there. Not coming to consciousness and understanding how these things propel your beliefs, your opinions, your relationships and feelings is NOT knowing about what will hurt you. This is true because some of these limiting beliefs, biases and stereotypes are holding you back and putting you into resentment in ways that steal your power. It will prevent you from having success and healthy relationships. How do you change the vibe that is drawing these harmful subconscious/unknown ideas into your life? You seek consciousness and humility. You seek higher power and energy. You question your negative attitudes toward others. Power will bring you situations - sometimes painful ones - that create the opportunity to become conscious and free. Know your history and the ideas that have been passed onto you that will keep you stuck...even harm you and stall all spiritual growth. 

So many of us are looking more closely at our beliefs - especially around culture and race. While we're looking for "answers", personal experience is causing many to feel defensive in their lack of understanding of broader issues. Then there are those who are certain they know the answer - and that there is a larger problem that is "someone else's" (probably those people who don't get it, or are being defensive). This energy is particularly curious for me because I want to know the thoughts, opinions and predominant beliefs of all those around me. We ARE different. How much of us are creating the larger dialogue and present reality while claiming to want to dismantle it? The most outspoken can often be the most guilty. Predominant ideas circle and return again each time society has changed as people continue to hold to stereotypes because of fear fed by messaging that sets us apart. Yes, we're different, but we're also all human and we won't be able to see that unless we increase our power by seeing ourselves in our experiences and allowing ourselves to tell the truth in intimate conversations. We cannot continue to fear "the other"; self-honesty must deconstruct our limiting beliefs and cease the payment of buying into false walls. Take what you like in finding the value in those who are not like you. Learn about others, make friends, open up, seek to understand and identify from the inside out. 

The ISMs that I'm talking about here are those of sexism and racism. What I'd like to talk about here is how those structures in the world that create imbalance and powerlessness, but also how I am seeking balance and power as I show up as a woman and a white person and am trying to grow my own sense of personal power. As a caveat of explanation, I feel a strong sense of responsiblity in growing my power to understand what this dialogue looks like in the world and in systems and how that may be aligned or different from how those ISMs show up in my personal experience and the experience of people I want to connect with and help grow. In the work world, I will not explain myself as a woman and I don't subscribe to the belief that men in business lord over me in any way. In fact, tapping into my feminine energy makes business better overall. Historically speaking, it's just been hard for many women to do that in a domain which was dominated by men. Notice I say dominated, not controlled. I don't believe a man - or structures developed along masculine energy lines can control me. This is because feminine energy, by it's very nature, leads by moving, dancing, flowing and nurturing the masculine to procreate balance in energy that becomes whole. Everyone knows when this energy is present - it's called true leadership and it can come from a woman or man. And it can be destroyed by a woman or man who is misaligned and out of balance. Lastly, as pertains to racism (and sexism), it's about opportunity seen, not individual unhealthy and biased behavior that would work against you as an individual. Power is THERE...take it and own it. There's no need to give it away to anyone. The shame is that there never was

When you debate - especially the more contentious modern day subjects - it is hard for anyone, once emotional, to hold their own. Debate, if you can be met, can be exhilirating, informing and convincing if you are capable of feeling stupid. Are you strong enough to see the loopholes in your own position? Are you capable of allowing the petty nature of your emotional insecurities to make you feel small and stupid...and to let it go? Passion about what you feel or your point of view is great, but when your emotions rule the communication, you may more easily lose the interest and connection of the other person. When you need to WIN - you'll lose more of yourself than you'd like, most importantly, self-esteem. Yes, persuasion/debate/argument can be highly emotional and it can also be a strong educational tool when you stay in the game and your emotions become something useful instead of just something that drain you of energy and power. Emotions can become the foundation of impactful lessons. Stay in the communication, feel your ignorance and see how much more you can win by not needing to win at all. 

Your awakenings - when they first happen - are like new relationships. You're learning about yourself and expanding your capacity for gratitude and love. You're life feels exciting. Then things get routine, and maybe you get bored. THAT is when you should start serving others. When you serve others and share with them what happened to you and how, you RE-LIVE your awakenings while watching others wake up. You feel power as you see the light come on in people's eyes. You know the light burns strong, finding additional homes in more of your cells, which helps you heal and release additional stuck energies. The love you share flows like an infinity pool. Transitioning into the area of romantic relationships, a recent break up left me feeling like my love tank was empty and I did not have the capacity to re-fill it. In a new experience, I see today that I was the person I left and I am now watching this new person be who I was in my past relationship. It's quite the revelation, separating me from my grief and also allowing me to feel the loss of love other people don't have from within themselves. In order to fill the love tank - again and again - like an infinity pool - one must let go, surrender to the grief and allow life to provide new seeds of love for more growth. Love is an energy that cannot be stuck. Your ability to love again, depends on giving it away to keep it. It's about the infinity of forgiveness.

Normalcy, often correlated with tradition, can be an expectation. You go along, you fit in a box, you do what others did or are doing because...why wouldn't you? But if you wake up one day and discover that what's normal and helps you "belong" is now unattractive or scary, THEN what do you do? It's time to redefine normal by changing traditional expectations...of YOURSELF. However, when you break out, it's going to feel dark, lonely and even dangerous as your ego tells you to belong...to not stray too far. If you won't challenge yourself to think for yourself you settle into being normal - and often depressed from never finding your depth by walking through the challenges of life. Breaking away from normalcy can be painful and also enlightening. If you shy away from your true self, the fitting in you settle for is a half-life of half-happiness. AND you'll still have challenges, which your insides will be constantly afraid of. So YOU choose, safe but fearful or risky and free.