In the process of creating my own personal mission statement (and by extension, that of this site) I realized that there are three prime forces that operate at the foundation of our very reality. Aligning one’s living strategy and approach with the foundation of reality does wonders for its effectiveness I figure, so today I’ll tell you what those are and what I know about how they work.

My thoughts on this are greatly influenced by Gnostic tradition. Gnostics had various cosmologies which were misinterpreted as literal creation stories, though the cosmologies were meant to say more about the people who designed them, their understanding of reality and their relation to it. That said, I suspect they all had at least a piece of the puzzle that is objective reality itself. All of these cosmologies started with a single Source, from which emanated original primal forces, known as Aeons. The interaction of these forces were thought to make up the very fabric of existence, and give rise to everything else.

My own cosmology is much more complex than I’ll be going into here, but for the purpose of my Mission Statement, the primal forces I recognized at the foundation of all things are Power, Wisdom, Love and Mind. (What I’ve written on Mind is not as relevant for this article I’ve decided, so it will be expanded on and moved to a future post.) These four Prime Movers, as I understand them, are not dualistic; they have no opposites. They are fields of energy that permeate all things, and while we can be more or less attuned and aligned with their influence, even plug into them directly; all things exist in relation to them, and all virtues are various combinations and quantities of these. Recognizing and aligning with them gave me an extremely solid baseline by which to measure all other energies, entities, information, people, situations, desires and all other influences that make up my experience. So without further ado: here’s my statement of purpose, which I’ll then break down into its parts.

I intend and choose to keep growing, learning, experiencing and expanding in power, wisdom, love and service in the way that is most fun and enjoyable for myself.

Power: All Things in Motion

“Power” is a bad word for many people, especially spiritual people. We’re told not to seek power, because, as the saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I’m also reminded of the opening monologue in one of the Lord of the Rings movies, where the voiceover is talking about how Sauron’s rings were given to Elves, Dwarves and “Men… who above all things (music gets ominous; voice drops to a tone of obvious disapproval) desire power.” Strictly speaking, Galadriel’s got a point there – desiring to accumulate power above all things leads us into problems, and the only place it can take us is to a rocky end. The reason for this is not that the use of power is, in itself, bad – but rather, seeing it as something to accumulate and hold over others is a misuse of the way that the very laws of the universe operate. If “might makes right” is your game, then you’ll eventually have to come to terms with the fact that you’re up against an entire universe which is, in fact, a lot bigger than you. The transformation of both Bilbo and Frodo into almost possessed, demonic versions of their former good-natured selves, is a pretty good picture of what Power can do without the balancing effect of the other two virtues. The condition of Gollum; obsessed, addicted, and completely divided against himself, possibly the most disempowered character in the storyline who ultimately chased power to his own death, shows what can happen when we desire power “above all things.”

Power, as a virtue, is not something to accumulate or hoard; in purest form it is a force that we exist in relation to. Everything in the universe is constantly moving, flowing and changing; forces are always acting on other forces. When we learn how to harness some of those forces and flow with the changes, starting with the forces operating from within ourselves, we have power. When we resist the natural flow (and likely get pretty bruised and battered in the process), when forces outside ourselves take control of our internal forces, we are disempowered. As a Spirit having a human experience, you are, by definition, a tremendous natural source of power and energy. In most cases though, our power is scattered in all directions, and being dumped into black holes that don’t serve us, rather than being put to its best use. It is also worth noting that most of what we think of as “power” is actually status – or the illusion of such – based on success within “The System” as it stands. This condition is, however, dependent on the system remaining as it is – which no system ever does — and as such is fleeting. True power, or rather, plugging into and harnessing the universal source of Power, is adaptable and not dependent on external conditions. For the truly powerful, the appearance of status and the ability to influence are not something to be sought for their own sake. Status is simply a useful tool for gaining greater visibility, and thus being able to speak your truth to a wider audience. Influence is one of the tools useful for navigating your own ship within the context of all the other forces it is subject to. Universal Power doesn’t make anybody inherently “special” because we’re all harnessing the same source, and are part of that source. Although harnessing it in your own unique, creative way, and getting more proficient at doing so, can have a way of putting you in awe of your own special place and purpose within All That Is.

Wisdom: All Is Information

Information is everywhere; much like the other two virtues, we’re swimming in a field of the stuff. I would define the virtue of Wisdom as an ability to tap into this information, process it into something you understand, putting it to use, and continually improving on your ability to do all three. For those who have seen the Matrix trilogy, it may help to think of Neo suddenly gaining the ability to view the code behind the Matrix itself in raw form. Everything in our reality is made up of information; Wisdom comes with being able to not only process information, but put it to creative use as well.

Most people are not efficient processers and users of information. This is not usually something inherent in the person, but rather, because they’re misusing their tools: namely, the conscious and subconscious minds. Expanding on this theme will be the subject of future articles. Suffice to say that most people use their conscious mind to do all the gathering, processing, analyzing and application… while the subconscious mind, a living creator with the abilities of a supercomputer that never sleeps, and is intricately networked with All That Is, goes mostly unused and unnoticed.

Wisdom Relates to Power in that along with tapping into the force of motion, tapping into the flow of information is also a source of Power; or as the saying goes “knowledge is power.” Those who are able to advance in the fields of business and politics are adept at combining wisdom with power; information with influence. The problem is that in many cases, they leave it at that – and as a result, it’s framed as “every man for himself”; every man an island, in a fierce, cutthroat competition with everyone else to hoard information and resources for the greatest personal gain, typically in terms of money and influence over others. What they leave out of the equation is the third virtue, which has a balancing and uplifting effect on the others.

Love: All Things Are Relational

I covered the subject of Love in depth in a previous article, so I’ll keep this part short and mostly leave it at “go read that one.” In the interest of covering ground that I haven’t already, I’ll say that as a virtue, Love keeps us ever-conscious of the fact that everything in the universe exists, moves, operates and maintains its being in relation to everything else. At a certain quantum level it has been said that “there are no objects, only relationships” – every Thing that exists, is defined in relation to Other Things.

When the self begins to realize the interconnected and interdependent nature of all things, it brings us to the awareness that the way to gain is not by taking away from other selves, but through cooperation within the forces in which we all exist, and with other selves who support our ambitions. Two selves in conflict will never accomplish as much as two selves sharing resources and pushing each other to ever greater heights of individual and collective achievement (which even leaves a place for friendly competition!). On a broader scale, when humanity learns how to share and pool resources and innovation rather than warring over them and restricting their use with legal code like dogs fighting over scraps, we will transcend the limit of our self-imposed doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, and enter into a paradigm of Mutually Assured Creation without limits. This is not some fluffy, hippie-dippy New Age sentiment, but rather a practical and objective observation of the very nature of the reality in which we find ourselves. By plugging in and orienting yourself toward the universal source of Love, especially with the forward-moving and informing influence of the other two virtues, you can get a taste of that reality right now.

Fun: Increasing What’s Enjoyable

While possibly more a personal value than a universal principle, I would argue that all things and people have a vested interest in either being enjoyed, or getting as much enjoyment as possible out of their experiences. While it’s not realistic or even desirable to have every minute filled with all sorts of fun and bliss, that’s not my aim here. What I have found is that by making “fun” part of my mission statement, it orients me in such a way that if there’s a way to make something more enjoyable for myself, I’m more likely to find it. Not only does holding this intention help me to make unavoidable tasks easier on myself; it also raises the chances of steering myself away from situations I’d rather not be in, and toward more of those that I would prefer. It also has a way of putting things in perspective such that I don’t take myself, or most other things, more seriously than they actually warrant. Aside of weaker areas I’m still working on, this has done wonders for my stress level, and even allowed me to design the “playing field” some of my own life lessons.

Paradoxically, I take fun very seriously, since realizing how important and beneficial it truly is. All too often fun and responsibility are seen as being at odds with each other – we do the “responsible adult” thing (which usually means “hand over control of our time and energy for someone else’s personal profit”) during the week, and have our fun on the weekends. Most peoples entire lives are structured this way: trudge through your “responsibilities” now, have fun later… maybe.

As with most things: I reject your reality, and substitute my own.

I challenge myself and stretch my creativity by trying to bring as much fun and enjoyment as I can, into as many areas of my life as possible. This does not necessarily mean that I try to make things “easier” on myself; I do that as well in many cases, but that’s a separate concept. I enjoy struggle for the sake of a good challenge (and then there are times when I’d prefer to relax and be on autopilot)… but the important distinction I came to recognize is that we have a tremendous degree of choice in the matter of whether we make progress through painful struggle, or fun struggle (or, as some people prefer, dispensing with struggle entirely and simply “going with the flow”). Why should work have to be difficult or tedious, and fun reserved for playtime? Why not find ways to play for profit and work for fun? Whose life are we supposed to be living here, anyway?

Far from decreasing my productivity or turning me into someone who veges out and floats through life without accomplishing anything meaningful; when I’m enjoying myself, I learn better, have more motivation to keep challenging myself, produce more, and the product of my efforts radiates the energy of my enjoyment. That should probably go without saying, though a brief glance at the corporate world betrays the fact that most people would probably need to be grabbed by the ears and shaken vigorously for this concept to sink in. This, in turn, allows me to produce a greater amount of value for others, which segues nicely into…

Service: Broadening Your Perspective

As I said in a previous post, I have recognized great value in orienting all my systems toward the concept of service. In contrast to the way “service to others” is usually portrayed though, like most things, I spin it in my own way. While it pleases me very much to have others gain value from anything I’m able to offer, my direct focus is not on “serving all people at all times, indiscriminately.” I’m a big fan of the philosophy encapsulated by the airline safety rule “secure your own air mask first, and then help the person next to you.” My concept of service starts with myself, and works its way outward, first to my immediate family, then to what I call “extended family,” which includes some friends and others I have strong previous-incarnational ties with, and then to everyone else who can be served by what I’m able to offer. Simply put: service starts in my own house. I’m not saying there aren’t times when putting others before myself isn’t advisable, there definitely are. But as someone who has lived with my focus on “others first” for quite a few years, I find my current approach to be a much more sustainable and fulfilling use of my resources.

I proceed in this way because I find that it puts me in the strongest position to focus my energy and provide the greatest amount of service. When I’m careful to take care of myself, I’m more likely to be physically and mentally healthy and content, which makes me more productive. I serve my family next, not out of obligation to the concept of “family,” but because 1. I value the people that I call family, and 2. this small group provides me with a strong, mutual support network, from which everyone in it draws a degree of security and a boost to each individual’s ability to serve how they will. I realize that not everyone’s biological family members fit this definition, but I would recommend to anybody that you find a way to cultivate this sense of “home and family” in whatever way you can make it happen, no matter how far “outside the box,” before trying to be of service on a wider scale.

While I’ve said before that I reject the idea of “service to self vs. service to others” as a false dichotomy, I do make a distinction between service and gratification, or even personal security. I enjoy those things, same as anybody, but holding them as something to seek for their own sake is a dead end. Orienting your systems toward gratification and security, programs you to take in energy and focus it only on the self without putting any back out again. The universe likes to keep things flowing and doesn’t respond well to hoarders – so you end up trying to secure your foundation on this hoarded energy that’s being broken down by the universe trying to take it back out again. Orient all systems toward service of the self and others, as someone who takes in what they need in order to find new, better and more enjoyable ways to use it as well as hand it back out again, and you’ll find that personal gratification and security take care of themselves in abundance.

While I encourage everybody to create their own individual statement of purpose, I suspect that the strongest ones will be aligned with these elements in some form. When I began working with them myself, I also suggested them to my brother, who is very new to self-development and metaphysics. For privacy’s sake I won’t say much about his personal struggles at the time, though I will say he had tried a lot of things to overcome them already. Within about a week’s time after specifically focusing on Power, Wisdom and Love, he came back to excitedly report some pretty drastic, positive changes. So, try it, see what you come up with and share your results with us!

In my next post I’ll take a look at the three primal addictions the ego is conditioned with from birth, that obscure, distort and block us from aligning ourselves with Power, Wisdom and Love.

–Palehorse
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