As I mentioned in the article, Believe in Yourself (on my site), one day in 1985, I was meditating and praying at a spiritual center in Santa Monica, California. At the time, I was having a lot of trouble getting my life to work, and as I prayed, I kept pleading with God to change my life. I can remember repeating "Please God. Please change my life!"

Suddenly, a voice inside of me boomed out, "Joan, no more 'Please God.' The Power is within you. Release it!"

It soon became clear to me that doing this would not be an easy task. We are all part of the Universal Power, but veils of illusion that are part of the human experience keep us from knowing that power.

When we "sign up" for the human experience and come into body, we bring along a layer of pain that keeps us from seeing who we are. Life stories in our formative years often strengthen the intensity of our pain. Our task is to find our Self underneath the hurt, sorrow, grief and fear. Once we do this, we can be free to express ourselves creatively and experience abundance.

It sounds simple, but isn't. Very few of us were taught that we have unlimited power. Instead, the "less-than" beliefs of generations who lived before us were passed down and become part of our consciousness. In recent years, many teachers have told us that we have the power to create what we want. Many of us believe it, but continue to plod along, living lives characterized by lack and longing. Why is it so difficult to break away from the pain and be the Power that we are?

The main reason is that it is easier *not* to change and to continue on the path we have been on. Learning to accept and release the power within means breaking the habit of weakness. It also means developing an intimate relationship with yourself so that you can carefully examine your thoughts, beliefs and emotions (TBE's) and change them if they stand in your way.

Is it easy? The theory may be, but not the practice. It takes a tremendous commitment to the transformational process to move from one point of consciousness to another. However, the basic methods are quite simple, and they work well if you are willing to do them.

For example, the power is within you, not somewhere out in space. Traveling deep within yourself, on a regular basis, will help you connect to your powerful Self. The time-tested methods for inner traveling are meditation, affirmations, visualizations and a willingness to face and change uncomfortable emotions that charge your life.

Making a conscious effort to change destructive habits will also help you create a comfortable life. You could probably list a dozen things you do that you know are more destructive than constructive and wish they would just go away. They most likely won't unless you make the effort to change them. If you make one tiny change each day, eventually you will transform yourself.

On this site, you will find many articles that can help you through this transformation. My book, Build Your Money Muscles, although it focuses on finances, has simple, but detailed instructions for developing a new mindset and connecting to your authentic Self.

IIf we all allow ourselves to release the power within us, we can create Peace, Love, and Joy on Planet Earth!