Personal Sovereignty

Personal Sovereignty and the shamanic path 1


Over the past few weeks there have been several jolts that have made me think about my personal sovereignty. There has been a lot of noise on my social media about saying I should be doing this or that. I have noticed people trying to control how I behave and how I express myself. Personal sovereignty has also come up as an issue in my journey work. When I’m told to do something by Spirit what control do I have over the task.

For me, personal sovereignty is about control. Control is one of push buttons that does still set me off. There have been times when I have abdicated control to another. There have been times when others have forcibly taken control. There have been times when I have tried to control another. I often seem to find control linked to emotions, as the method for exerting that control. Inside my head there is an ongoing drama worthy of any soap.

So I have started to explore personal sovereignty deeper. This is ongoing work with spirit which continues to be revealed.

The first aspect is around “Know thy self”. By knowing myself better I am less likely to go down a path that is not me. It quickly becomes clear that the behaviour being sort is not me.

The second aspect is around strengthening my true self. The stronger the tree, the less it can be bent or moved. A strong tree just is. A strong tree will bend with the wind but comes back to itself with little drama most of the time.

The third aspect is around examining the stories I am telling myself in my head. If I see myself as the person who allows himself to be controlled then I’m more likely to see these issues around me. If I change that story to one that notices the reaction of others to myself, then continues as if there is just a light breeze around. That story is more empowering. But part of me thinks that changing as others would wish keeps me grounded. It stops me flying away.

So personal sovereignty becomes about where do I get my power and support from. How do I feed the tree and ensure it is health, rather than a diseased empty hollow shell. The obvious answer to this is by deepening my relationship with spirit and ensuring that I am feeding myself well. I have been struck by the need to ensure that I am surrounded by love. I have also been struck by this needing to come from myself internally rather than being the responsibility of others. I have fallen into the trap on many occasions of blaming those around me for issues that are in fact inside me.

Personal sovereignty is also part of my relationship with spirit. I have always been told that working with Spirit is a partnership. Yet often my approach has been just to do as I’m asked whatever the consequences for me. Driven by the need to feel spiritual, if I am doing the work of Spirit then I must be on the right path. This is not being a sovereign being. I’m not being a partner when working like this. I’m just doing as I’m told. As I deepened into the shamanic work, the voice of Spirit became stronger. I rejoice in that clarity. Yet on reflection, I was giving away my personal power. I found that I needed to be honest about what I needed from spiritual work. I had to be honest with myself about how I am and what I like. I needed to recognise that some aspects were my responsibility and some aspects were the responsibility of Spirit.

Personal sovereignty is important for me. Trusting who I am and what I feel to be my truth. Trusting Spirit in our work together, will produce the results we both want.


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One thought on “Personal Sovereignty and the shamanic path

  • Jules de Bharra

    Well put..I agree with it all. My only thought is that ST asks us to do what we can manage, they are all compassionate, so they wouldn’t ask us to do something that wasn’t beneficial for us. But there are times when I have negotiated with my ali over a task they’ve given me because I feel I can’t manage it. They have always capitulated and given me another choice. XX