Personal Power through Integration
Is power masculine? Is power feminine? Is a concept of personal power possible?
As my work with women (and the men who find me) continues, I’m amazed by the confusion surrounding the concept of personal power. I first explored this concept in 2007 when I wrote the first version of W.A.R. – Watch, Assess, React: The Ultimate Guide to Personal POWER and Safety. I coined a term POWERinity in the hopes that we start looking at power in unique ways, devoid of gender-specific nuances. I didn’t realize how necessary that concept was until recently.
Every single client I have struggles with the concept of personal power. Women, and men, feel shook-up and tossed-around in the arena of power. And this confusion runs deep. It impacts how we manifest in the world, how we interact with our loved ones and how we feel about ourselves. It is THE nucleus for how we show up in the world and what we create for ourselves.
To add to the mix, the solution appears differently to everyone. Some people carry historic patterns of responding to the world from a more masculine place and some from a more feminine. Regardless of their approach, everyone wants to have more of the opposite. This is a cry for integration assistance.
What happens is through parenting, modeling, socialization, etc. we develop ways we prefer to respond to fear or barriers. This becomes our default posture. Ultimately, on the journey of self-discovery, this default posture stops working as effectively as we’d like. That’s where I come in.
The process of integration is easy to discuss, but difficult to implement.
Integration is the tearing apart
melting down,
merging, rebuilding,
pursuit of wholeness.
Tonya Dawn Recla
Integration is not for the faint of heart. The process typically involves delving into the depths of programming and assumptions you created over time and weeding out that which no longer serves you. This is a continual process for those seeking the true existence. And it’s a completely necessary step for anyone who wants to stand securely in her/his own power.
About the Author: From the corporate world to the spy world and from rape victim to motherhood, Tonya Dawn Recla embodies the definition of personal power. She holds a B.A. in intercultural communication and M.A. in education/critical theory from Arizona State University. Her current projects include finishing her second book, The Dragon Queen, and providing intuitive consulting to her decision-making, change-agent clients (TonyaDawn.com). She and her husband currently travel the world with their 3 year-old daughter.
