Thoughts on Power & New Painting: “Ceremony”
Dear Friends,
What does the word “power” mean to you?
To me it is simply this:
If I have “power” it means I can create the life experience that I prefer.
After all, isn’t that what we all want?
Some degree of control…
Of ourself, our health, the quality of our relationships, our success, and of whatever is most important and meaningful to us?
And to what end?
If you believed that you possess full control of yourself and your circumstances, what would you do with it? Would you change anything about yourself and your life?
With great power comes great responsibility.
That’s what they say, isn’t it?
But perhaps what it should say is:
“Great responsibility is the path to great power.”
Meaning: the ownership part (taking responsibility) comes first. Power follows… in proportion to the depth and breadth of responsibility we are willing to assume.
That’s a hard pill to swallow for some. I know it has been for me.
In Carlos Castaneda’s books his mentor Don Juan Matus was teaching him how to “stalk power.” That is, how to gather power around himself, how to “make himself accessible to power.”
One of the things that Don Juan was always teaching Carlos was to put aside his “self pity” and not ‘indulge’ his negative emotions by dwelling on them.
For me personally, as long as I have occupied the perspective that my life is something that is happening “to me” instead of something I am fully responsible for creating, I have occupied, to some degree, the position of a victim.
And a victim doesn’t have to be responsible. They cannot take ownership of what is happening because power is not accessible to a victim… by definition.
A victim is someone who is powerless… period.
Feelings of fear, frustration, self-pity, and negativity are made solid and real by identifying with the perception: “I am a victim.”
For Carlos Castaneda, and for me, recognizing my own negative emotions and feelings of self pity have been a key to recognizing when I am not assuming the role of creator, when I am making myself ‘inaccessible to power.’
And power is something that I want to experience within myself and my life.
It is much more fulfilling and satisfying to believe that I have the ability to make myself as I would like to be, and for my world to be a reflection of my choices.
If the ability to choose our state of being, thoughts, emotions, and actions were not available to any of us in any capacity what would be the point of living?
It is, therefore, simply a sliding scale of perceived power.
And the slider reads:
“Powerless victim” on one end and “powerful responsible creator” on the other.
I am choosing to embody a position on that sliding scale in my energy, my thoughts, my emotions, and my actions every day.
Where I land on that scale is reflected in the quality of my life experience.
I can choose to be a victim of how I feel and what is happening or I can assume that I am the one who is making everything the way it is and respond accordingly.
“Ceremony”
Oil on Herringbone Linen
27 x 41 inches, 2023
Okay, so, why am I talking about all of this?
Because if I had to choose one word to represent the intention behind my latest painting “Ceremony” it would be “power.”
This painting took me almost a year to make and through it I aimed to craft a symbolic representation of this perspective on the idea of power.
I wanted to create an image that would be a poetic and visceral reminder that connection, freedom, and power are not something distant, abstract, or apart from us. But that these things are immediate, present, and within us… to the degree that we assume responsibility for creating them.
“I am powerful, to the degree that I am responsible.”
That is the core of the message behind this painting.
And I am very happy to share it with you here in it’s completed form.
In my next post, I’ll go into more detail regarding some of the symbols that I chose, and the deeper meaning behind them.
Sincerely,
Dustin Neece
P.S. — I’d love to know what you think about my new painting, and what I said. If you have any thoughts and would like to share, please feel free to reply.
Disclaimer
It should be clear that I do not see acts of violence or oppression as being acts of “power.” Quite the opposite. Genuine acts of physical violence reflect a belief in lack. Primarily, the belief in a lack of worthiness ie. “I cannot get what I want any other way.”
Furthermore, my writing should not be taken as a commentary on those people who feel that they are true victims of an oppressive event.
These are simply reflections on my own personal experience and my own prescription for cultivating the inner and outer experience that I prefer.