The following are a list of principles, states, and powers within one’s self that can provide benefit, strength, and help on an inner level.
Allowing – Involves a state where you allow things in life to be. It is opposed to fighting, and can help one to move with realities instead of against them, which can help with observation, relaxation, understanding, compassion, and having a sense of giving towards yourself and others.
Awareness – A power that is essential to knowing one’s self and one’s inner world. Awareness is like a silent presence that is always there, and can look all manner of directions. Calm, gentle awareness often follows curiosity.
Authenticity – A principle of action where nothing is hidden, obscured, or dishonest. For instance, it bypasses obstructions such as: insecurity, neediness, desires, easy ways out, fear, panic, anxiety, mentally-recognized safety, pridefulness, and more. Involves feelings of purity, forthrightness, and good will, and is honest to one’s self.
Balance – The general principle of finding and regaining a sense of balance in one’s life, such that one feels balanced. Balance can give one a place of rest amid chaotic and uncertain elements. It can reconcile opposites, or opposed ideologies or pulls within one’s self. It can be a driving force, then, behind conflict resolution and inner health.
Calm – Can help one find perspective, and find a sense of grounding even when circumstances could give rise to panic.
Choice – The ability to choose is an essential element in one’s life, and can affect all aspects of one’s reality. It can be an incredibly powerful tool when choices are informed and well-placed. Taking responsibility for choices can also be used to reform destructive habits.
Courage – Involves a willingness to be vulnerable and to proceed in a direction that one strongly suspects to be good, and that feels right to go in, despite dangers. Helps with not falling prey to a fearful way of living.
Curiosity – A natural, peaceful sense of intrigue that can lead one to uncover things in life that are of great importance to them. A different path of interest than a fear-driven one.
Empathy – The choice and capacity to connect on a heartfelt level with another being, particularly ones who are or may be suffering. This can also be with respect to parts of one’s own being, and allow one to better understand one’s self. Can help with being able to listen patiently to one’s own feelings, and circumvent self-judgment and prejudice.
Expression – Can be a tool for both becoming more self-aware of one’s feelings, but also for working through those feelings. Active expression works with awareness to go from felt signatures within the inner world and translate them into recognizable formats, such as words, art, music, dance, etc. These feelings are fluid and change with the expression, and can help one to find new perspectives, resolve inner conflicts, and find new, potentially rewarding feelings.
Detachment – A disposition that involves a release of attachment, and a centering of one’s self within the flow of reality, elements of which may move at a different pace than you. Things that normally could drag you down, or dictate your movements with their own, cannot. They slip off more easily.
Focus – The power to put all of one’s attention in a particular spot. Improvements here can help to calm impulsiveness, both in decision-making and on the mental level. Can also help to calm emotions, and to not be swayed by pleasure or pain in the moment.
Freedom – a principle that involves growth to where one is able to choose authentically, without certain attachments and dilemmas that can limit one. Involves the flourishing and empowerment of one’s self.
Grounding – when one’s awareness and state of being is squarely in the present moment and experience. Grounding involves the choice to let go of extraneous things and reside in the moment, connecting with it. Can help to re-center one’s self, reevaluate priorities, relax, abandon or question false notions, and reconnect with patience and feeling, and to find a new sense of direction.
Independence – A state where one is open to whatever is, rather than being dependent emotionally on circumstance. Involves freedom from being controlling or manipulative, and in general is a positive, free state. It is vastly different from independence from circumstances, since this can mean striving for one circumstance over another. To get here, one must be able to release control of everything, remaining aware in the moment.
Inspiration – A sense of wonder and positivity that can arise and stir the self even amidst dark or downtrodden states of being. Can lift the spirit, ease burdens, and relax mind and emotions.
Intuition – A sense that can lead one to innovative thoughts and solutions to dilemmas. Can also help one to sense patterns and understand both the bigger picture and deeper themes in reality. Can help bridge places where rigid thinking isn’t unveiling an obvious answer or direction.
Letting Go – A choice and direction that can help one to reduce one’s own burdens, while still remaining sensitive to the things one finds important. A lot of times we can try to control too much, and what’s really important falls by the wayside. Letting go, therefore, helps improve perspective, increases calm, and allows one to judge a situation with greater discernment. Found most reliably through grounding, since when you’re grounded the past and ideas are abandoned in favor of the present experience.
Patience – A force that helps one to actually live in the moment, with all that is beyond one’s control. Patience is not so much about endurance as it is about understanding the fluid nature of reality, and that tending to one’s own sense of balance in the midst of uncertainty and changeability is still important and valuable to living within moments where circumstances might not seem that positive or welcome.
Perspective – Finding perspective and alternative points of view on a situation can help one to unlock a situation where an answer seems impossible to find. It can also help break one’s sense of certainty, when that certainty actually harms one’s self, and where the certainty is aimed at a falsehood instead of one’s actual sense of reality.
Openness – Allows one to be open to both new experiences, and certain elements of reality that one might rather close down to. Can help one to be more receptive with reality, rather than prescriptive (telling others and the world how it should be), which increases one’s ease in the moment. Enhances learning and understanding, but also allows one to be open to one’s own self, and to listen and learn from feelings that one has the choice to be open to and entertain. Can be construed with approval, but really it is about non-judgment about one’s self and others.
Owned Vulnerability – In some way or another, we are all vulnerable, but we can often act in struggle against that vulnerability, scared as to what its presence entails, and where we might be hurt. When we own our vulnerability, we forgo struggle and can be at rest, even amidst great danger. Our decision-making abilities increase, impatience and fear subside, and we can maintain inner balance. Owning vulnerability is basically a process of acknowledging conditions and uncertainties, but without fear or reaction to those conditions.
Relaxation – A state of being that is rewarding in its own right, and also helps with perception, understanding, self-reflection, and connection with one’s self. Can be vital to connect with this state in order to not get lost, to retain and manage balance, and to heal from trauma and panic.
Self-acceptance – An extremely important principle that can lead to a more beautiful experience of life. By accepting one’s self unconditionally, one can move past judgement and rejection of any kind, whether from one’s self or others. Also can help with accepting one’s own feelings, and being understanding, and fair with one’s self. Can empower one to humbly stand up for one’s self, as well as inspire self-protection, and seeing the good in one’s self. Can help to create an inner environment where it’s safe to be one’s self, in all one’s weaknesses, fears, and vulnerabilities.
Self-honesty – Essential when it comes to expressing one’s feelings to one’s self, which is essential for awareness and for knowing one’s own feelings. Being gentle, patient, and accepting with one’s self can help with this.
Self-kindness – An extremely important principle that involves treating one’s self, and all aspects of one’s being, with respect, love, patience, understanding, and openness. Can allow one’s self to flourish more easily, to feel loved, to feel more gentle and understood. Is one of the building blocks for the kind of life where one can thrive, and feel free to feel, to experiment, and to grow and change. In some sense, it is the opening of one’s heart to one’s self, in all one’s vulnerability. It is also central in believing in one’s self, as well as in seeing the importance in not accepting abuse, either from others, or from parts of one’s self.
Trust – A disposition that sees the good and potential in things despite immediate evidence. Is calm, and can grasp the larger picture of things, as well as make assessments based on observation rather than fear. Self-trust can allow for a smoother operation of the self, and free up space to make decisions. Also perceives the nature of things, rather than being stopped by the level of appearances.
Truth – A universal principle on an inner level, that is the ultimate arbiter in all conflicts. The truth carries tremendous power in it, and those who look for the truth can learn much from it. The truth is also not based in perceptions or beliefs, but in the nature of reality itself, which may be glimpsed and perceived. Truth is also multi-faceted, and two things that seem to conflict may be true, but within certain contexts or from different angles. It may be understood, but overall the power of the truth is in those who are open to it, and open to learning. A lot of times truth will be argued or claimed by one perspective, but there may be important truths not being considered that also have their own validity.
Understanding – A mode of being where one tries to understand the nature of reality. This can involve trying to understand a part of one’s self, feelings, another person, how a part of reality works, or maybe how things fit together. It can be part of the pursuits of curiosity. It can also be of great relief to one’s self and others, when one acts with understanding, perhaps in tandem with patience.