Power of Faith

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Presence is one of the a primary tenants of Faith. To be, or not to be? That is the question! Sometimes the smallest act of showing up, for ourselves and each other, is all you need to stay ahead of the curve. First things first, and one thing at a time.

If you have a background or previous interest in this area of holistic wellness, you may be familiar with the chakras. A chakra (meaning "wheel") is said to be a hub or vortex of observable energy that dwells in particular areas of the body, able to be influenced both internally and externally, as well as in relation to one another.

Generally I will be supplementing the term "energies" and "magic" instead, but each of our topics will draw on a very similar structure of progression and category as the chakras, because this is how it is frequently taught across modalities. In this instance, for example, as we consider our relationship with Root Energies located at the Feet and Seat of the body, those powers associated with Physicality, Earth and the color Red, we can take a moment to honor history and appreciate that these are also a reflection of the first chakra.

It has been said that the universe is made of Energy. If we view Magic as a power that comes from outside of us yet also sparking within, might it be argued that in a similar way everything could be made of this energetic Magic? In which case it would be impossible for anything, including any single person to be seen as entirely separate from… Well, anything really!

From culture to culture and family to family all around the world, people celebrate many different holidays through a variety of traditions. We don't need to know, understand, or believe in anyone else's customs in order to appreciate what it means to get into the Holiday Spirit. This is part of speaking in conceptual terms like "energies" or referring to "the spirit" of something. We can know, understand, and believe in the essence of something without having all the specifics spelled out for us.

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? What about the 0 or the 1, and which is definitely the "first" number? How do we wrap our brains around the concept of Infinity? That perhaps even we ourselves are infinite, and that our notion of beginnings, middles and endings may stem from a currently limited perspective. Could it be that everything is really born from what we could consider "Nothing" while nothingness is also "All" simultaneously? Is all of this Magic the illusive Alpha and Omega?

While some people could even think of Magic as a personified being, here we won't assume one way or another that this person would lean toward the male or female strictly speaking. If anything, I'd be more inclined to guess them to be Both and Neither. In terms of feminine and masculine energies —polarities between black and white, shade and light— we can use analogies like soil and seed to ponder some of these roots for us to build a platform of further study. The coming together of things to create a ground level, or floor on which we find stability and structure in order for flexibility to come in, allowing us to move about and explore the terrains ahead.

This sense of groundedness cuts straight to the core of the Power of Faith. Like a baby who doesn't fully comprehend who their parents are, yet feels safe as they're being held. Particularly when receiving skin-to-skin contact, which is a basic survival need that many people get less and less of as we grow older.

It is not my perception that Faith is something to be taken blindly or seen as unstable. Rather we're more likely to take Faith for granted because of how safe and secure it unknowingly makes us feel. Like accepting that without gravity we could up and float away, yet not walking around with a constant fear it will be gone from us at any moment. It's presence is just assumed! So much so that we have the privilege of forgetting all about it while moving about.

If you show up each and every day, Faith will be there, only just like gravity there are rules. It would be unfair to say it is the fault of gravity when I fall down and hurt myself. Gravity certainly plays a role, but I wouldn't go leaping off from greater and greater heights without safety precautions, then blame gravity when I'm injured on the other side. Similarly, Faith as a force may keep you grounded, but that doesn't mean it's meant to be tested with reckless abandon. You can have Faith that "everything will work out just fine," but it won't be the fault of Faith leading you astray if you're the one taking unnecessary risks.

This is why survival is a predominant issue when dealing with the powers of Faith. "Playing safe" is one of the first things we instinctively and unconsciously keep an eye out for. When someone or something in the atmosphere is giving off an unsafe vibe, our instincts kick in sending signals that something might be wrong. Even when we can't place exactly why, we know what it feels like when our internal coding says "beware!" In fact, Faith can be thought of as a mixture of Fear away from and Excitement toward different directions.

Driving a car can be fun, but it also comes with a high amount of responsibility that you will follow traffic rules and signals. Red stop signs are a great illustration for this lesson, because they involve the "warning" of Fear (informing you to come to a halt and pay attention) with the understanding that you may Excite your engine again once you've observed the way is clear. Therefore, when we say that Fear is a part of Faith, we don't mean that you should BE afraid. We mean to pay attention to signals, both within and outside of yourself.

Your body is incredibly smart and gains wisdom with every experience. It takes care of a lot of this on its own. Think of a time when you immediately jerked away from burning yourself or stepping on something sharp before the injury could have been even worse. This is the kind of healthy, inwardly intelligent Fear that we refer to, just like when you somehow "know" to avoid something that comes across as unsettling for you even if you can't explain why.

Fear and Excitement are stimulants. Just as we're more stimulated when we're awake and less when asleep, being alive at all is a stimulating force. The idea that pretty much anything can stimulate us to show up for (or to walk away from) something plays a huge role in the Power of Faith. You showed up! You're here! You're alive! The energy you bring to the world is uniquely stimulating, just like caffeine and sugar are uniquely stimulating, or music and books, singing and dancing, and I am OH SO EXCITED to have you here.