Power [over others] corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
That is because power over others IS corrupt…the way a computer file is corrupt. It’s glitched. It’s confused. Because power is an illusion.
I have no power over anyone that has not been given by them, which means the power doesn’t sit in ME but in the one giving it.
Power can only be bestowed, not taken. No one can take my power and I cannot take anyone else’s power. Power can only be given.
When one tries to assert power over another, they are in an argument with reality, attempting the impossible. Which makes everything go haywire. Asserting that you have something that you do not have, conspiring to take something that doesn’t belong to you, is the definition of corruption.
Because it is impossible to seize power over others, anyone trying to seize power must create the illusion of the existence of power through the perpetuation of a stressful story that can never be true.
Examples of untrue stressful stories that that might cause me to believe someone has power over me:
Being a loyal member of this club / family / company / country requires me to recognize and accept their authority.
I am bound by the rules
I don’t have a choice.
I am weaker than…
They are responsible for the condition of my life.
I need protection from someone or something.
They can make life miserable for me / embarrass me / disgrace me / hurt me / kill me.
I cannot endure pain.
Death is unacceptable.
When I believe these false stories, I believe the power that actually resides in me lives elsewhere. I perpetuate the suffering that comes of the illusion of another’s power over me.
Examples of untrue stressful stories that that might cause me to believe I have power over someone else:
Being a loyal member of this club / family / company / country requires them to recognize and accept my authority.
They are bound by my rules
I can restrict their choices.
They are weaker than I am.
I am responsible for the condition of their life.
They need my protection from someone or something.
Things will be better if I make life miserable for them / embarrass them / disgrace them / hurt them / kill them.
They cannot endure pain
Death is unacceptable to them.
When I believe these false stories, I believe the power that resides in them somehow lives in me. I perpetuate the suffering that comes of the illusion that I have power over others.
There is no such thing as power over another.
The only power that exists is the power to retain or bestow one’s own power.
Everything else is a corruption.