The real difference so often lies in that ill defined quality known as their Inner Strength. And to make the point a little finer, it is not just the existence of their inner strength that counted, for it is an assumption of this book that everybody has stocks of inner strength, it is their relative ability to access their inner strength that was important in the end.
What an appealing idea it would be if we could all use this inner strength. But why not? Why can't we all use it .... or, can we? Why is it that the television reporter can be so certain about predictions of ruin, when, left to themselves, people often recover from the worst traumas?
One of the purposes of this book is to open you to the idea that it is possible to use your inner strength in a conscious, self directed and deliberate way.
Viktor Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning described the process of inner strength. Many holocaust victims were shot, gassed, and otherwise murdered violently. For these people any will to survive was transcended by the physical violence of their deaths. It is also true that many of those who died in the holocaust, died of sickness, deprivation and exposure. Of the people who were not actually murdered, the ones who had goals, who had a family they knew they had to survive for and those who had a great purpose, tended to be the ones who withstood enormous difficulties and survived.
Those who were not obeying some great purpose, those who were not gripped by the need to achieve an important goal, soon found no meaning in the daily struggle for life, gave up psychologically, and eventually died.
Some years ago, I was quite brutally sexually assaulted at knife point. This, teamed with the ensuing trauma of coping with family concern, and medical and police activity, left me in a dismal state of mental upheaval, which was unmoved with any type of professional counselling.
In order to reclaim myself, manage the distress and return to a considered normality, I plunged into your “power of the mind” technique and thoroughly soaked myself in large, satisfying doses of meditation and healing.
The results are not only remarkable self therapy, but a very new and real acceptance of myself, of other people and the life around me.
From a CALM Participant who does not wish to be named.
Many people have used their inner strength without consciously knowing what they are doing. They have used it in a way that might be called instinctive or intuitive. Many others have used this strength in a conscious way knowing it to be there when they need it – these people used their inner strength deliberately. Can you imagine the results if you started deliberately using your reserves of inner strength to overcome challenges and create opportunities in your life?
What then is inner strength? And can we pin down the concept to a neat definition, a scientific formula of words that will be true in every situation? ....... Probably not. Instead, the best way to look at inner strength is by giving a series of examples that are the evidence of, the tell-tale signs of, the existence of inner strength. For this reason a number of true stories have been included in this book at the conclusion of each chapter and occasionally in the body of a chapter.
I will also attempt a working definition of inner strength. This is because, as a Civil Engineer graduate of Sydney University, I just cannot resist the urge to start with a definition. It satisfies my engineer's need to work with the known, for everything to be logical and for all parts of the structure to be measurable. I will, however, call it a working definition because I am fully open to the idea that my definition may be improved upon. Indeed by the end of this book you, the reader, may wish to formulate your own definition which may be quite different from mine.
My definition is this: “Inner Strength is that deep quality of our mind and spirit that enables us to create opportunities in life or rise above adversity. I'm saying you don't have to go through it to rise above it – you can just tap it. It is an inherent part of our creation (or existence) as beings and it allows us to rise above adversity if and when it strikes.”
These wonderful words from Marianne Williamson were used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inauguration Speech.
Our deepest fear
is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves who am I to
be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are we NOT to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure
around you.
We are born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just within some of us
it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light
shine we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our
own fear our presence
automatically liberates others.
Inner strength is an inherent part of our creation (or existence) in the same way that our physical characteristics are an inherent part of our being. People differ markedly from one another in their physical characteristics. So too it may be in the way of inner strength. As people differ in their talents, or in their powers, so they differ in the degree of their inner strength. But though we may all differ, what is certain is that this inner strength is in all of us to a greater or lesser extent. I suspect that once you start a conscious, self directed and deliberate exploration of your inner strength you will be surprised that it is there within you in a greater, not a lesser, extent.
There is another similarity too between how people use their physical powers and how they use their inner strength. Whatever physical characteristics we have at birth, one fact is for certain, these are only our physical potential. Some people take their bodies for granted and rarely exercise. It is no surprise that such people will never achieve high sporting prowess. Other people actually abuse their bodies by excessive smoking, use of drugs, bad eating habits and utter laziness. It is no surprise that such people perform physically at a much lower level in life than their original potential.
On the other had some people develop the original potential of their bodies by a reasonable lifestyle and a program of exercise. It is no surprise that these people achieve a higher level of physical achievement than the other two groups.
So too it may be with the powers of our inner strength. Some will take it for granted, neither developing nor abusing it but just letting it lie dormant. Some will actually abuse that part of their creation and some will do things to develop those powers. Of those who wish to develop their
