The Power of Standing in Your Weakness
If you’re in the culture of spirituality and self-improvement, you may be surrounded by people who talk about “stepping into your power” — but what does this actually mean?
How does this goal of being “in our power” impact our relationship with the parts of ourselves that we see as “weak,” that we are self-conscious of, or that we feel shameful of?
Many of us are aware of shadow work, yet how often do we still get caught in the trap of comparison and feeling on some level that we are “less than” or unworthy until we change, heal, or become something different?
In a culture that is all about “stepping into your power,” it causes many of us to uplift the parts of ourselves that we are proud of and to hide or conceal the parts of ourselves that we are self-conscious of.
As students on the path of spiritual evolution and healing, it’s important to understand that this path is not all about love and light. It is not one where certain parts of us get left behind to try to fit in with others who we may see as “evolved.”
We aren’t meant to silently work on the parts of ourselves we are ashamed of, hoping that one day, we’ll be whole and THEN we can be fully seen.
This path calls for our wholeness and our fullness… and the truth is, you are whole and full already — in both your light and your shadow.
In a culture that is all about “stepping into your power,” it causes many of us to uplift the parts of ourselves that we are proud of and to hide or conceal the parts of ourselves that we are self-conscious of.
✨ On an external level, this might look like wanting to belong; to be seen as healed, worthy, or even important; or to fit in with a spiritual community full of amazing beings who are also showing the best parts of themselves.
✨ On an internal level, this might look like “focusing on the positive” and “building the new,” while perhaps being afraid to fully face and integrate the parts of yourself that you struggle with or see as unlovable or shameful.
When we live in a culture that perpetually tells us that we need to look a certain way, act a certain way, and be a certain way to “be in our power,” it is an act of strength to be vulnerable.
I’ll take it even further:
It is an act of strength to stand in your weakness.
Standing in your weakness means owning what you are currently in the process of facing, healing, and learning to shift in your life.
One of my teachers, Kai Karrel, has introduced me to this concept in a different way than I have understood it before.
In certain spiritual circles, people can be pushed to vulnerably share in the name of “healing” or opening the space so that others feel able to share as well. This can often lead to vulnerability hangovers and further self-consciousness or self-shaming.
However, Kai teaches about standing in your weakness not in shame nor any subtleties of self-deprecation, but rather, standing in your weakness from a place of sovereignty.
When we stand in our weakness and take responsibility and ownership for what we are facing or shifting within ourselves, without shame, we actually ARE standing in our power.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy to worry in fear if someone is going to “find you out,” and to keep an image of what you believe you need to be in order to be loved. When we reclaim our energy, we can then utilize it towards sincere transformation — which mobilizes these patterns or parts to shift, heal, or transform with infinitely more ease.
RECLAIM YOUR POWER & ENERGY
When you know who you are and that you are worthy, even amidst the parts of yourself you may have previously felt shame about, you reclaim power and energy from the places you were giving it away.
It takes energy to hide something, stuffing it down and feeling it circulating in your mind and your energetic field.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy to worry in fear if someone is going to “find you out,” and to keep an image of what you believe you need to be in order to be loved. It’s exhausting, and it’s also codependent.
The reason many of us are in codependent dynamics is because of these parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of and want to hide.
Yet when we face these parts of ourselves and openly share our journey with others from a place of sovereignty and wholeness… that energy becomes liberated and we become more of ourselves.
We can stand more in the FULLNESS of our power, and not a partial expression of it, with the rest of it being clamped down.
It’s as though for years, you’ve been trying to “stand” in your power, but only on one leg: the leg of your perceived “strengths.” But what if the other leg you thought was weak and needed to hide away, is actually a part of your wholeness and is a source of strength as well?
When we share, not from a place of pressure or “should” and not from a place of shame, with our tail between our legs — but from a place of vulnerability and strength — it allows us to re-wire our relationship with these parts of ourselves.
It removes roadblocks we have created in our minds which have prevented us from fully facing and loving the parts of ourselves we have avoided or shamed.
Bit by bit, we begin to integrate a new way of relating to our shadow, our shame, our weaknesses, and the areas of our lives we want to improve.
With all the energy we reclaim, we can then utilize that energy towards sincere transformation — which mobilizes these patterns or parts to shift, heal, or transform with infinitely more ease.
It’s often as though a huge blockage is released and suddenly, that old thing doesn’t have as much power over us anymore. We feel free.
If we live in a society where we ONLY share certain parts of ourselves and ALWAYS hide other parts, how can we be in full integrity and step into our fullness and our power?
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
The parts of ourselves we feel shame towards and hide away are some of the parts of us that take the most courage to share openly.
Many of us create stories about what would happen if people knew what was really going on inside… or if we shared the things that we may even label as “not spiritual” or “not evolved.”
Standing in our weakness allows us to be in a place of humility as we say:
“This is where I am. This is something that I’m working on and it’s been a struggle for me. I want to be seen and witnessed in this, without shame. I choose to see that I am human just as much as I am divine. On this human path, we are all learning and growing… and I am, too.”
In sharing this, something miraculous happens…
✨ Whereas your fear may have told you that people would trust you less if they saw this side of you, they begin to trust you more.
✨ Whereas you thought people would see you differently or negatively, they see you as even more clear, courageous, and in integrity.
✨ Whereas you feared that people would judge you, they become inspired by you.
✨ Whereas you feared they’d run away from you, they actually lean in — often to share with you about what they have been struggling with and how through your share, now they see that they don’t have to be so ashamed either.
When you stand in your weakness, it creates a culture of authenticity and healing where all parts of ourselves are welcome.
If we live in a society where we ONLY share certain parts of ourselves and ALWAYS hide other parts, how can we be in full integrity and step into our fullness and our power?
Both our strengths and our weaknesses;
Both our light and our shadow;
Both our humanness and our Divine;
Are sacred and holy…
Because we are here to be human.
Show me your humanity.
Show me who you are at your greatest, and also how you struggle.
Show me who you are in ceremony, and also who you are when you’re with your mom.
Show me who you are in your spiritual practice, and also who you are when you’re opening your mail and doing your laundry.
What if ALL of this is “spiritual”?
What if ALL of this is a part of the reason we came here?
We aren’t meant to be perfect.
We aren’t meant to strive for some ideal of perfectionism.
We are HUMAN!
We came here as spiritual beings for the full spectrum of our human experience. We came here to be ALL of it, intentionally!
We came here to learn specific lessons we could only learn on earth while living in this physical world of relationships, to-do lists, density, war, and friction… so it’s time to let go of hiding parts of ourselves as if we need to be some “divine being” in order to be loved or to belong.
REDEFINING STRENGTH IN A NEW PARADIGM
What you see as your “weakness” or your “humanness” is actually your greatest strength.
It’s a part of what you came here to learn and when you own it with love, it helps you to integrate the lessons it came here to teach you with more ease, grace, and love.
By taking a stand in your “weakness,” you play a part in shifting the culture that we have as a humanity around shame, hiding our weaknesses, and needing to project a self-image into the world that only includes the qualities that we think are lovable or admirable.
By living in a culture where we only share and project the parts of ourselves that we think are admirable, it makes us consciously or unconsciously see parts of ourselves that we would label as “weak” or “shameful,” as “unlovable” and then these parts of us — and humanity — get cast aside.
But when we live a life where we see that ALL parts of humanity and all parts of ourselves are worthy of love — we transform the old paradigm idea that perfection needs to look a certain way. This old belief has furthered stories of separation — separation from parts of ourselves and separation from each other.
It’s time to heal and create a new paradigm together, for your evolution and the evolution of humanity.
Standing in your weakness with love and responsibility is an act of stepping into your power.
Reflection Prompts:
✨ How would it sound if you were to stand in your weakness from a place of power, versus a place of inner shame?
✨ What were your own personal beliefs about what it means to “step into your power,” and how has it shifted since reading this transmission?
✨ What is your own relationship to the parts of yourself that you are self-conscious of, or that you tend to hide from others… especially from “spiritual” friends, teachers, and community?
✨ How do you want to shift this relationship with these parts of yourself moving forward?
✨ What do you define as strength in the new paradigm we are creating?
✨ What are “green flags” in leaders and in a culture of spirituality and growth?
Take these prompts into your journal or feel free to email your reflections to us at support@sacredancestry.com — we would love to hear from you and support you on your journey.
