Defining Empowerment

The three aspects of becoming conscious and empowered (part 2)

Empowerment is a major focus for so many teachers. At the bottom of our slides when I teach, it says Empower The Planet. That is our mission at The Empowerment Partnership.

The first article that I wrote about this topic focused on the first aspect of empowerment, which is becoming free from fear. Thank you for all the amazing feedback from that article. So, let’s begin with a quick recap.

Uncle George Na`ope, one of my kumu (teachers) helped me to understand what it takes to become empowered as an individual. This leads to a clearer consciousness and helps you to be more congruent on your path.

First, you need Ku`oko`a, which is to be free and independent from the fear. The baggage from the past must be released first, and then new strategies must be used to move towards the energy of positive emotions and concepts like courage.

The next aspect of Ho`omana (Empowerment) is becoming Pono. Pono is the Hawaiian word for right; however, it does not mean right or wrong, it means becoming right with who you are. It means to have unwavering congruency in who you are meant to be, what you are meant to do, and what you deserve to have. Pono is a very powerful word and an amazing state of being.

Now, some of you having read my first article where I discussed freedom from fear may have asked yourself how do you do that if you are not clear or right with who you are or what you do. That is exactly the point! These three things that you need to focus on to become empowered need to be worked on together, because they each affect the other.

As with the first aspect, this is also in our popular culture. I could again reference the Green Lantern, who had to become right with who he had become, or I could talk about Neo from the movie The Matrix, becoming right with being “The One”. However, I had a specific talk with my daughter about this when she first saw the Disney movie Mulan.

Mulan was a girl, who pretended to be a boy to accomplish a goal. She was amazing and began to achieve her goals; however, she was discovered and when they found she was a girl, they stopped her from being a part of the army. She gave up and as she was turning to go back home disgraced, she saw that the enemy was still alive and so she went to warn the others who had thrown her out.

Long story short, she saved the day and conquered the enemy. And it was in becoming right with who she was that allowed her to accomplish what she truly wanted. This was true all the way down to being ok as a woman. Each of us can make excuses and each of us can have reasons why we are not on the right track. I am a white guy teaching Huna and Ho`oponopono, which are Hawaiian concepts. What if I wasn’t pono with who I am? Have you ever talked with someone that was clearly uncomfortable in his or her skin? I have, and it is unfortunate. Because when you are not pono, the light you have inside has trouble coming out.

Skylar the other day while playing outside with my son Ethan said she wished she could kick the soccer ball as good as a boy. Ethan responded by explaining that the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team is one of the best in the world, and that in fact, girls are better at soccer in this country! (Sorry guys….) Skylar turned to me and said, “Watch daddy! I kick the ball like a girl because I’m better!” That is called being pono!

To become empowered, we have to become 100% all right with who we are. Neo’s big lesson in The Matrix was Know Thyself, Luke Skywalker in Star Wars had to accept he was the son of Darth Vader, and the list goes on and on. We write about this and share it in stories because we know this is a major part of the path to empowerment.

So to recap, not only are empowered people free from fear and able to choose courage, they know who they are and they are 100% right with their state of being. To become pono allows you to become more empowered. Techniques like Ho`oponopono help one become right with themselves and right with other. This is also a part of the path. That is why we each need to spend time learning about who we are and learn to accept all aspects of our being. I promise, it feels so good to be able to look in the mirror and love what I see.

This is the second of three parts to becoming empowered. The last post will relate to the final aspect of empowerment and how to become more conscious.

Mahalo,
Dr. Matt

NLP.com and Huna.com