In earthly terms, power is the ability to get things done. At a deeper level that is both spiritual and practical, power is based on principle and integrity. An understanding of Universal Principles gives you power. Universal Principles teach you to live from the inside out, to refrain from attachment, and to live in alignment with who you are.

You can become great, by earthly standards, by using force to gain riches or popularity. You can achieve earthly greatness by cultivating powerful beliefs and still choose not to acknowledge your Source. In either case, you can fool yourself into thinking that your personality has power, exclusive of any Higher Power. These kinds of success make you dependent on outside factors for your well being.

The person who finds his power in money, loses his power when the money is gone. The movie star who finds success through a beautiful appearance and popularity loses her feeling of power when the body changes or when popularity wanes. If money, popularity, or other external factors drive you, then you fear losing them. Your fear causes you to think, act, and speak in ways incongruent with your Inner Being. This is not power at all, since you are owned by whatever outside factors you think you must have.

You may use spiritual principles to get money. If the money is your source of well being, then you are owned by it. If money is your god it will surely fail you. People owned by their money, or owned by their desire for money, are powerless. Their well being is subject to the rise and fall of their fortunes. This is not true well being.

Power and well being based on spiritual strength are not subject to outside factors. There is no fear of loss to a person with spiritual power. Money may come and go, but the Source always provides what is needed. Money, fame, pleasure, or physical prowess may bring enjoyment, but they are only forms of well being. Forms change; essence stays. True personal power recognizes this and does not invest its well being in the form. True well being always comes from within.

Our ability to align with Universal Principles will have us in our power. There are many Universal principles. Here are five that have held special meaning for me:

1. There is only one Power and One Source from which all good flows. This Power is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Nothing exists outside of It. We are expressions of this One Power. There is no separation. You are one with your Source.

2. All life comes under the Law of Cause and Effect. You will reap what you sow. You will attract that which resonates with the state of your mind. All thoughts are creative. Every thought and every feeling that emanate from you manifest as something in the world.

3. You are continuously sustained by the Love of the Creator. The only reason you experience something other than love and well being is that you block this pure positive energy. You block it by thinking your well being comes from something earthly. When earthly "sources" don't deliver, you feel fear. Love is the essence of all creation. All forms of creation are empty of meaning by themselves. The Love of the Creator expressing through you brings joy and well being. You feel this joy and well being wherever you are and with whatever you have.

4. What you resist, persists. Your upset over something increases its power to affect you.

5. Means and ends are the same. The essence underlying your words and actions will be reflected in the result. For example, to create peace, you must be peace. To create prosperity, you must be prosperity. You have the power to create well being. The problem for most of us is that we are constantly giving our power away. These principles teach us to not be attached to any form. In non attachment, we are not attached to people, things, or events being a certain way. We do not spend our energy wishing things were different, trying to make others different, or battling the way things are. Non attachment to results is power. Knowing the principles, we withdraw our energy from specific results and look inward for power, well being, and success.

Knowing Universal principles, there is no need to fear loss, because there is nothing to lose. You are always sustained by the Love of the Creator, therefore you can never be alone, poor, sick, or rejected. This is a difficult concept, because we see so much apparent loneliness, poverty, illness, and pain in the world. When you think and live in alignment with Universal Principles you have the power to transcend these issues. You have the power to experience well being.

You have the power to intentionally create. By consciously deciding what you want in work, in relationships, in your physical well being, and in your lifestyle, you establish influence over your life. Not knowing what you want makes you reactive and depletes your power. Clarity is power.

What you want goes beyond things and feelings. It includes who you are. What are your values? What standards do you set for yourself? Values and standards are not to be used as a club to beat others into submission. Your values and standards are to guide you. When you live in alignment with your own values and standards you feel more powerful. When you violate them you suffer. Self betrayal creates a loss of power.

Power exists only in this moment. To live in the past, or to be concerned over the future is to give away your power. Be here now, responding to what is, and you will find power.

Power arises from within us. No external person, event, or thing gives us power. Externals are the effects of our power, not the cause. Power comes from our alignment with Source, with who we are, and with what we want. When these factors are integrated we experience power. This is called integrity. When we are living in integrity, we feel powerful.