When asked to name those we consider powerful, we immediately think of presidents and prime ministers, business magnates and those we experience as intimidating.

People who most intimidate us are those who are physically stronger than we are, and who are not above using their physical advantage to control us, those who benefit from the economic advantage they have over us, and organizations, frequently bureaucracies, whose inertia is infuriating.

The lure of power is not merely in the exercise of power itself, and the gratification this brings. It has other advantages. Some have noted the link between power and sexual attractiveness. As former American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger argued, power is an aphrodisiac.¹⁰²

Most people adopt one of two reactions to those they perceive as having power over them. They either resent, or envy them. Our reactions are usually a mixture of both, particularly if we see ourselves one-day exercising a similar power.

Power?

To what are we referring when we talk about power? [173]

Raw Power

The rawest form of power is the power to take life. It is an atavistic power that can surprise us by its intensity and seduction.

Sam Keen, reflecting on the emotions he experienced when he killed one of his goats, commented that the fact of shooting the goat excited him, affording him a throbbing sense of power. This reaction surprised, almost frightened him.¹⁰³

Power Over

When we speak of power, it is usually some form of control over others to which we are referring.

There are many instances of "power over".

Physical Force

The most elementary form of power is physical force. Those who exercised power in the earliest human societies did so, more often than not, because of their size and physical prowess. The style of leadership associated with these qualities was necessary to group survival, which was menaced by wild animals, and other clans competing for territory.

Size and physical strength continued to pay a critical role in the life of the human communities following the development of tribal confederacies. Goliath, the Philistines champion, was over nine feet tall!¹⁰⁴

It is interesting to note, in the conflict between Goliath and young David, that Goliath's size, physical strength and [174] battle-experience were no match for the young man who volunteered to meet him in one-on-one combat. By this stage, sheer physical force was beginning to yield to superior brain-power. It was the combination of athleticism and intelligence that gave David eventual victory over King Saul, leading to his succession to the Israelite monarchy.

In arguing that physical strength yielded to intelligence, as the principal source of power, is not meant to imply that the former was unimportant, or that there is no place in the modern world for the exercise of physical restraint, or military might, despite the fact that both can be abused.

Coercion

It has been argued that the most primitive exercise of power is the application of physical force, against others, to achieve one's goal. However, it is no less obvious that one can coerce others, not so much by applying a physical force, as by threatening it.

Bullying tactics, by those higher on the pecking order, can intimidate others into complying. If some enjoy an undue physical advantage, whether this is sheer physical strength, or the fact that they possess a deadly weapon, we find it difficult to resist their demands. Prisoners in a gulag, irrespective of the degree to which there are able to work the system, are relatively powerless.

Control

Control over others can be either direct or indirect.

Direct control involves formal, hierarchical structures. [175]

At the lowliest level, this is evident in the family. Under Roman law, the patriarch enjoyed the power of life and death over members of his family.¹⁰⁵

Control, exercised through formal structures, is evident in education, employment, government, the judiciary, the police force, and the military. It has a role to play in jails and the confinement wards of psychiatric hospitals.

Control can also be exercised indirectly through informal structures.

This is evident in the influence each of us exerts over others through persuasion, bombast, withdrawal, or sheer strength of will.

Indirect influence can also be subliminal, operating at an unconscious level, where influence is rarely vetted. We are oblivious of the assault, or seduction, and our inner citadel is captured before we are aware of what is happening.

It is obvious that some people are programmed to exercise control over others. It is in their genes, or a consequence of their status in society.

Others need to dominate, because, when they were imposed on when they were young, they countered by bullying others. Such individuals are often considered leaders.

Sometimes those who assume control in this way have little awareness of the unconscious motives driving them. Vaguely aware of an inner distress, which is beyond their control, they compensate by seeking to control their external environment. [176]

The need to control, fuelled the desire to ensure that we are not controlled, is endemic to the human situation. As Adi Da suggested, we are motivated in a primary sense by the feeling that we are not in control of our existence. In every domain of our living we elaborate, dramatize this stress. Philosophy, even academic, scientific philosophy, is a stress-based activity, an acknowledgement that we are not in control. Philosophy seeks to discover who, or what is in control. This is why we defend, so ferociously, our points of view, scientific theories, social structures, and political systems. It is through these that we seek control. Science and philosophy, therefore, are professionalized, academic developments of the basic, stressful, neurotic impulse.¹⁰⁶

Taking the issue further, Adi Da argued that materialism, particularly scientific materialism, which denies the dimension of Spirit, is locked into this denial as a consequence of the need to control. One cannot exercise control if there is a big God, or some sort of sublime Wisdom, exercising control.¹⁰⁷

It is because we feel we need to control the world that we cannot live in sympathy with it, as the American Indians, or the Australian Aborigines did. This need to control, and the science in which it is manifest, while it has yielded many positive benefits, has also contributed to a degradation of the environment.

Manipulation

Power can be exercised through manipulation.

This may occur in a number of ways.

Those who can out-reason others exercise power over them by virtue of their intellectual superiority. [177]

Those with the gift of the gab exercise power over others because of their plausibility. They have a confident manner, which impresses. Their arguments may not stand up under scrutiny, but they carry all before them because of their persuasiveness and energy.

Others are able to exercise power over others because they know how to appeal to their emotions. With animal cunning, they dangle the carrot and threaten the stick. They have no compunction in using deliberate flattery, cultivated warmth or contrived intimacy. On the other hand, they may also have no hesitation in arousing fear, guilt, or anger, if it suits their purpose.

Some conjure up an evocative mythology to conscript the allegiance of potential followers. This mythology may be slumbering in the unconscious of those to whom they are appealing, or it may be manufactured on the spur of the moment.

Those who employ this form of manipulation most unscrupulously are religious zealots, political aspirants, cult leaders, and dictators. The manipulation is most effective when those seeking to control others are themselves at the mercy of their pathologies.

Those who seek to manipulate others through appealing to mythological themes are less in control of the process than they imagine. They are often the unwitting victims of the mythologies they employ. They are merely the articulators of a superorganismic mind. Howard Bloom, commenting on these "memes", or mythologies, suggested that people are attracted to ideas because they offer them the illusion of control, and because they are the threads that hold us together in the vast network of a superorganismic mind. [178]

These webs of ideas, hungry replicators eager to remold the world, can turn the superorganism they control into a killing machine.¹⁰⁸

In the end, it is not the articulators who control the meme, but the meme, the mythology of the superorganism, which controls, and uses the articulators.

Both men and women can use their sexuality manipulatively.

Men, in particular, find the allure of women's bodies provocative and disempowering. They are at the mercy of women's attractiveness, and of the needs evoked in them by the attraction.

Power can be exercised manipulatively through superior intelligence, plausibility, unscrupulous appeal to the emotions, the evocation of powerful mythological themes, and sexual seduction. Experience has indicated that intelligence, alone, is an insufficient defence against manipulation.

Advantage

Power can also be defined as an advantage one person has over another.

Sometimes the advantage derives from superior personal capacities. Some are more intelligent than others. Some are more emotionally stable. Some enjoy strong support from family and other social networks. The greatest advantage one can possess is being loved, and knowing that one is loved. These advantages place one in a more powerful position in comparison to those lacking them. [179]

Knowledge, or access to knowledge, through literacy and opportunity, is also a source of power.

We may also be advantaged by circumstances. We may belong to the dominant cultural group. We may have available to us a range of resources--wealth, education, information technology. We may have the advantage of networks, which offer us opportunities not available to others.

The most dangerous of those enjoying such advantages are people whose self-esteem derives from comparing themselves with those less fortunate; people who feel the need to engage in symbolic actions designed to emphasize the relative disparity in the balance of power.

Influence

We influence each other.

Power deriving from influence is generally less open to abuse than power associated with manipulation.

We are influenced by those we admire--mentors, heroes and gurus. We are also influenced by benefactors, who have assisted us in some way, and towards whom we feel a sense of obligation.

We are influenced by those who have the position and opportunity to do so. These include educators, counsellors, clergy, and others, whose position in the community affords them the advantage of specialist knowledge. Exploring the reason for this influence, Bloom argued that witch doctors, prophets, priests, scientists, and medical doctors influence us by suggesting that they have access to invisible truth, to truth hidden behind the surface world we see. They exude [180] certainty, suggesting to us that, through their contact with this invisible world, they are able to solve the problems we find baffling.¹⁰⁹

One of the most potent influences in contemporary society is the media. It shapes attitudes by the way it slants information. It also filters what is presented to us. Those whose advertising finances the media, those who hold a majority shareholding in media empires, as well as the whiz kids of the advertising industry, enjoy an unparalleled opportunity to mould public opinion.

Individuals with charisma--intellectuals, union leaders, pop stars--also exert enormous influence.

Prophets are also influential. According to Bloom, their influence lies in their ability to paint a picture of an irresistible Utopia, and to convince us that this better world is almost within our grasp.¹¹⁰

Those with the greatest charisma are often deeply troubled individuals, whose energy is poisoned by their pathologies. Anthony Storr, a psychiatrist and Emeritus Fellow of Green College, Oxford, drew attention to the fact that charismatic individuals are often flawed characters, who should be regarded with deep suspicion. Their persuasiveness is a product of the grandiose conviction of their own importance. Dominating others confirms their status.¹¹¹

One of the most powerful of all unconscious influences derives from our sexuality. We frequently find ourselves at the mercy of our hormones, a fact we recognise more in retrospect than at the time. Human sexuality is the means the species uses to perpetuate itself, and we are its willing, though of ten unwitting accomplices. It is little wonder that [181] Jung argued that sex is the most important and the most dreaded aspect of our humanity.¹¹²

Power is Legitimate

Power, an unavoidable aspect of our inter-relatedness, is, in itself, neither good nor bad.

It is an aspect of personal relationships. Self-preservation, or the preservation of our integrity, is an instinctive response. If we feel overpowered by another's personality, our unconscious puts in place processes to balance, or counter unwelcome oppression.

If someone tries to impose his or her will on us, we may seek to counter this by vocal opposition, or by withdrawing into silence. Either response may be healthy, or unhealthy, depending on whether it is the deliberate maneuver of a centred individual, or the weak response of someone who is unsure of themselves.

Power is also an inevitable aspect of our broader social relationships. Hierarchy, of some sort, is necessary to the survival of communities. Those in positions of authority, however, can misuse their power. The tendency to do so, which is endemic in the species, increases the longer people remain in positions of power, and is proportional to the degree of power they exercise. Nevertheless, communities, like individuals, will resist autocracy, by discovering informal ways of working the system, by publicly protesting abuses, and eventually by overthrowing leaders abusing their power.

Civilization, over time, has evolved forms of government that limit autocracy, require accountability, and allow for the [182] fuller participation of ordinary citizens in the management of the State.

The battle is never complete, however, and no community can afford to dispense with vigilance.

New opportunities for the abuse of power are continually thrown up. The more evolved, the more democratic the system of government, the greater the participation of its citizenry in the political process, the more likely it will be that the system will be able to recognise and counter, or at least moderate, the activity of those seeking to accumulate an excess of power.

The Difference

What makes the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy, destructive exercise of power?

To manage power healthfully, we need a degree of self-awareness. We are more likely to abuse our power if we are unacquainted with our shadow side.

We need to identify, and befriend our demons--aspects of ourselves that have never been allowed to develop, or that have been repressed, and which control us without our being aware of their influence. The identification, and integration, of these elements, into that part of us of which we are aware, is a precondition for the healthy exercise of power.

Whether power is exercised beneficially, or detrimentally, will depend upon whether or not we are using our power, over others, to meet our most basic psychological needs, such as self-esteem, identity, and security, or whether we meet these needs from resources within ourselves, or from [183] within the circle of our intimates. If these basic needs are being met elsewhere than in the power relationship, we are less likely to abuse the advantage we enjoy in the relationship.

We will not exercise power healthfully if we are captive to a cultural pathology. If our services are unconsciously enlisted by a meme, an ideology or mythology that takes over a community, we will serve its interests, rather than those of the community.

Power For

While we can exercise power over others, it is also possible for us to exercise power for the benefit of ourselves, others, and the communities of which we are a part.

There are various ways in which this "power for" manifests itself.

Achievement

We experience power, or, more accurately, empowerment, when we achieve a goal.

The tasks we devise vary according to ability, circumstances, and the manner in which we order priorities.

Albert Schweitzer argued that he felt a special sense of achievement when he mastered subjects he found difficult.¹¹³ Sir Edmund Hillary was exhilarated when he finally reached Everest's speak. Mahatma Gandhi had the satisfaction of knowing that he had contributed significantly to India's independence, in spite of the fact that he was distressed by the division of the country between Hindus and Muslims. [184]

The empowerment we feel in achieving is enhanced when the achievement is not at the expense of others, or where we are competing, not with others, but with ourselves. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with competition. Competitive achievement can be helpful where it builds self-esteem. However, there are circumstances in which no amount of achievement seems to appease our thirst for acclamation, particularly where the acclamation is a compensation for the love and affection we did not receive as children. It merely exaggerates it.

Restraint

Where we have sufficient moral strength, we can restrain ourselves from taking advantage of our position to intimidate others, or seek revenge. This sort of restraint was evident in the behaviour of Nelson Mandella, who, following his release from prison, was appointed President of the Republic of South Africa.

The Rule of Law

Where the rule of law is established, this law can be used to remedy injustice, and to promote equality.

The law is not perfect. It is a blunt instrument. A legal victory does not always represent a moral victory. Moral nuances cannot always be legislated for, and wealthy individuals, companies, and governments can use the law to avoid responsibility, or deny justice to those who have a legitimate case against them, but who cannot afford expert legal representation. The law finds it difficult to keep up with developments in science and technology, and can be immobilized by its protocols. In spite of these deficiencies, however, the rule of law is far superior to cronyism, lawlessness or arbitrary dictatorship. The law, in countries [185] where the judiciary is independent, can be used to counter injustice, and to benefit the deserving.

People Power

People power can influence governments that are dependent on the votes of the majority of the population to keep them in power. While it can be manipulated by propaganda, intimidation, and an appeal to prejudice, and while it can serve the selfish, short-term interests of lobby groups, to the detriment of the future of the wider community, people power remains a powerful, and mostly beneficial instrument of power.

In recent years, people power has been conspicuously successful in the Philippines, Serbia and Indonesia. It is less likely to issue in violence where the population is educated, and subject to the rule of law administered by independent justices.

Going Deeper

We have looked at "power over" and "power for". We will now consider inner power.

This power takes many forms, though all are related to the capacity to engage the deeper levels of the self.

There is a power latent in the capacity for insight, for seeing deeply into things, where understanding is born of participation. This includes insight into oneself.

The capacity for creativity is a unique power. Those who possess it do not boast of it, as they recognise its givenness. [186]

Those who are able to exercise a healthy vulnerability possess a power that is beyond the experience of people who feel they need to give the impression that they are together. The former are able to share themselves without intimidating, or overwhelming others. Their vulnerability lays the foundation for interpersonal intimacy that is powerful, but non-manipulative.

Power also resides in gentleness and tenderness, which should not be confused with weakness.

When we are self-accepting, we are able to forgive. Mature forgiveness, as distinct from premature forgiveness, which is a frightened or coerced forgiveness, is powerful. The power of forgiveness is illustrated in an incident involving the Zen Master Bankei.

On one occasion, when Bankei was lecturing, one of his disciples stood up, and, pointing to another disciple, shouted, "Caught you filching money again!" Bankei simply said, "Forgive him!" The enraged disciples said, "No way! We have forgiven him every time, and he just keeps on stealing". Another of the disciples joined in: "If you don't kick him out this time, we'll all leave". The Zen master replied, "You are all perceptive students, and understand the difference between right and wrong. He is the only one who doesn't understand even this. If I don't teach him, who will? I am going to let him stay here even if every one of you leaves". At this, the pickpocket monk fell to his knees, promising to reform, suddenly understanding right and wrong, good and bad."¹¹⁴

Another form of power is the power of other-centred compassion. Those possessing this power deny themselves for the sake of others. This self-denial is not be the result of attempting to please those who argue that self denial is a [187] virtue, or of attempting to recommend themselves to God, but flows naturally from their identification with the deeper levels of the self.

Wisdom is power, the wisdom that derives from a conscious participation in the being of God. Wisdom, unlike knowledge, is accessed through intuitive awareness. It is garnered fresh from its source every moment.¹¹⁵ It is a graced knowing.

The most powerful energy in the universe is love.

What is this love? This is a difficult question to answer. One of the problems that those of us that use the English language have is that the one word, "love" can refer to so many different experiences.

The phenomenon I am referring to is neither infatuation, nor lust. It is associated with the experience of being embraced by the goodwill of another, of being valued and cared for. The essence of love, however, lies deeper even than this.

Krishnamurti hints at this profound dimension in contending that love cannot be forced. It cannot be acquired through discipline, or be taught. It comes unexpectedly, like a lovely sunset. The one requirement is passion without motive, total self-abandonment. Flowers offer us their perfume, animals their essence, and people their energy. The perfume, the essence, the energy is there for the savoring, and it is available to all. We come upon it unknowingly. This engagement, this being totally present, this enjoyment that is beyond possessiveness or lust, is love.¹¹⁶

Love is the gift of the universe, of the Spirit Presence sustaining the universe. To receive this gift, a gift that cannot be possessed, one must have ceased striving, and learned to [188] live the present with a non-compulsive but vibrant passion evoked by exposure to the Eternal Now. The intuitive apprehension of the Divine that Jesus exhibited derived, in part, from the fact that he lived the God-drenched Now.

Luther Burbank, a prodigious plant breeder and pioneer of modern genetics, showing a friend around his garden, suggested that secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, was love. He often talked to the plants he was experimenting with, telling them that they had nothing to fear, and creating a vibration of love.¹¹⁷

It is a little wonder that those who identify with the broadest dimensions of human consciousness associate power with grace. They have reached a unique stage of openness, or faith, which is the same thing. It is natural for them to surrender to the graced energies of the Beloved, to flow with the Dao, to dance with the Spirit, to flourish as branches of the Vine of which Jesus spoke.¹¹⁸ This power is far from being an exercise of "power over", or even "power for". It is the voluntary powerlessness from which true authority derives. The need to pose, to bluff, to manipulate, and even the thirst for power derived from achievement, have been overcome in a delicious surrender. [189]

[ROI 173-189]