Stepping into our power

There’s a fire inside you. Can you feel it?

Some days it’s a quiet ember. Other days it burns hot and pushes you to act or speak up. In the yogic tradition this is the third chakra, Manipura, at the solar plexus, which yogis link with willpower, action and a sense of who you are. If you work with the chakras, it’s a good place to ask where your confidence comes from and where you draw your boundaries.

Stepping into your power, as we mean it here, is about being clearly present in your own life. It has nothing to do with controlling anyone else. It’s a choice you make every day to live from the inside out.

And how often do we forget we even have that choice?

A lot of us grew up with stories that taught us to keep our heads down, doubt our own judgment and be “good” before being real. Some of us learned that wanting power was selfish or dangerous, or something you had to earn. So we shrink, and we wait for permission.

Nobody is going to hand you that permission. Once you see that, something shifts, and that’s where it starts.

The question then is: Am I willing to choose this, every day?

Resistance

That’s also when resistance shows up.

Whenever you move toward change, some part of you pushes back. It can look like procrastination, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or a heavy tiredness that says “maybe later.” None of that means you’re on the wrong path. Often it means an old way of coping is being asked to step aside, and it doesn’t want to.

The work is to get curious about what the resistance is protecting, and then act anyway. Fear doesn’t have to be gone before you move. You can name it and still choose.

Every step forward moves you away from who you used to be. The part of you that learned to stay small to stay safe won’t give up that job quietly. So when you feel the friction, don’t freeze. Feel it, then move.

Power and responsibility

One clear sign you’re stepping into your power is that you stop handing your life over to blame. When you can say, “I didn’t choose what happened to me, but I choose what I do with it now,” you stop watching your life from the sidelines.

That doesn’t mean playing down your pain or skipping past your story. It means the story doesn’t get to define you. Responsibility, or response-ability, has nothing to do with fault. It’s your ability to respond and to choose.

This is what manifesting looks like in practice: showing up for your life with intention, instead of waiting for the universe to rearrange itself for you. It means lining up who you say you are with how you actually live.

Walking into your power

Most of this happens in small ways.

You don’t need to climb a mountain or start a business. Some days it’s a walk where you pay attention: your feet on the ground, slow breaths into your belly, walking to come back to yourself more than to get somewhere.

Other days it’s learning something new, even when it’s uncomfortable, and letting yourself be a beginner again. Ask: Where have I gone stagnant? What part of me is ready to grow? Then act on the answer.

Mostly it comes down to daily choices. Speaking up in a conversation when you’d usually stay quiet. Asking for what you need, or saying no kindly. Noticing where you’ve been numbing out or hiding, and coming back to the present, even a little.

Many of us wait for the fear to go away before we act. Usually we have to act with it. That means trusting your voice when it shakes, and trusting your sense of direction before anyone else can see it. You do it because you’re tired of letting yourself down.

Over time, one choice at a time, something changes. You blame less and wait less. You stop handing your authority to the past or to the people around you, and you build a self-respect that outside approval can’t give you. You don’t have to act confident anymore. You get to be yourself.

There’s no checklist and no finish line. You’ll circle back to old lessons and see them differently. And power won’t look the same for you as it does for anyone else. For some people it’s loud and active; for others it’s quiet and steady. For one person it’s stepping onto a stage, and for another it’s walking off one.

Some of us are here to make art. Others make families, gardens, businesses or change. What we share is the choice to live from that fire, with courage and self-trust.

Choosing it again

If you’ve been feeling stuck or unsure, take this as permission. You’re allowed to want more. You’re allowed to change and to outgrow who you used to be. You have more power than you’ve been led to believe.

Start small if you need to. Move your body. Write down what you want. Try something new. Say what you really feel. Stop apologizing for taking up space. And when the fear shows up, thank it for its concern and keep going.

You can choose your power again in any moment, and you’ll need to, more than once. Let it be practical and messy. Let it be yours.

In the yogic picture, that’s the third chakra’s ember slowly becoming a flame.

If you’d like to do this work alongside other people, come to Sunday Service, 3 to 6pm in Anna.

With you in the fire, always,
Two Birds Church