What’s Your Authority Response? | Finding Conscious Self-Empowerment in Relation To Authority | BABH S1Ep29

EPISODE 29: What’s Your Authority Response? | Finding Conscious Self-Empowerment in Relation To Authority

In episode 28 I told you about the social media question I asked:

“What’s the biggest issue that’s coming up for you during lockdown and all that’s going on with Covid-19 virus?”

And last week I covered trust, which came up in response to that question.

Another big theme was issues of feeling controlled, so today we’re gonna run a similar format to last week but this time I’m going to look in depth at the idea of control - and specifically help you take a conscious look at how you respond to authority - answering the question “What’s your authority response?”

I’ve identified 3 different authority responses that could get you in a pickle, and one that will give you back your sense of freedom.

I’ll share those then walk you through how you can adapt the 3 exercises I shared last week when we were looking at trust - but this time we’ll look at how to use them to help you feel more empowered in the face of authority so those control issues don't stress you out and define your lockdown experience.

Now, you might be thinking “Well I’m no rebel, I don't have control or authority issues!” - well let me tell you, when it comes to self-empowerment - authority and control issues aren’t just for the rebels.

Sometimes authority and control issues manifest as an unwillingness to (or discomfort with) standing in your own authority. In other words - passiveness can be as much of an authority issue as rebellion.

Remember to download the free NPA Process sheet and Unconditional Pivot Exercise.

DOWNLOAD THE NPA PROCESS SHEET

DOWNLOAD THE UNCONDITIONAL PIVOT EXERCISE

So let’s crack on…

NOTES:

The definition of authority according to dictionary.com is:
“The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience”

A key question when it comes to issues of authority, power and control is:
“What is your relationship to vulnerability”

THE FOUR AUTHORITY RESPONSES

1. PASSIVE OBEDIENCE

This is the response of blind compliance. There’s no discernment or questioning.

2. RESENTFUL OBEDIENCE

Where there’s some questioning but an inability or unwillingness to step into your own full authority and power, we can get seduced into the trap of buying a false sense of power - which manifests as resentment and inaction.

Passive aggressive delays and indirect complaining are hallmarks of this projective response.

3. REACTIVE REBELLION

People who live here are often strongly identified with their behaviour: “I’m different, the rules don't apply to me, Fuck authority I do what I want when I want”

They’ll claim that they are the free ones and the rest of you are sheep.

4. CONSCIOUS SELF-EMPOWERMENT

This IS freedom.

The behaviours from conscious self-empowerment might, on the surface, look like reactive rebellion or passive obedience at times - but they are not.

The distinction is that your behaviours come from a conscious choice and you wholeheartedly stand in your decision to follow or not follow, to agree or not agree, to obey or not obey.

You’re not bound by an identity - it doesn't say something positive or negative about you if you appear to follow the herd or you’re a lone wolf - because you’re not doing either blindly or reactively - your choice of behaviour is based on an honest inner check - based on context, inner alignment, self-responsibility and social responsibility.

You literally get behind your decisions and feel satisfied by them… AND, of course you’re willing and able to adjust as the context changes.

I'm encouraging you here to notice where you’re trapped in a projection based response and to move into conscious self-empowerment.

THE JOURNEY FROM PROJECTION TO CONSCIOUS SELF-EMPOWERMENT

This is going to require a few things from you:

• A willingness to be ruthlessly honest with yourself about where you’re stuck in projection
• A willingness to start your journey to conscious self-empowerment.
• You’re going to need to get still - to halt the momentum of the projected response so you can come inside and...
• Inquire with neutrality.
• Powerful mindset 1: Wholeness 
  An openness to all possibilities and options - without an agenda or the limitations of dogma
• Powerful mindset 2: Contextual Awareness
  Being aware of both the macro and micro - the big picture and the local details
• Be in a receptive state so that the answers -(your most appropriate response in the moment) can find you
• The willingness to act on them 
  I call that inspired action as distinct from passive or reactive action

Using The NPA Process for Authority Issues

OPTION 1: For Inexperienced NPA-ers

Decide which projected authority response most resonates with you:
Passive Obedience | Resentful Obedience | Reactive Rebellion

“In relation to [AUTHORITY RESPONSE], what am I experiencing that I would like to allow to pass?”

Replace "[AUTHORITY RESPONSE]" with whichever authority response you resonate with.

Let your answer spew out - onto paper or into a voice recording app. Listen or read it back and notice which word or phrase pops out to you. That’s your cookie cutter, which you will run through the process.

Once you feel complete, ask yourself this question:

"In relation to conscious self-empowerment what am I not experiencing that I would like to allow to come?”

Again let your answer spew out, find your cookie cutter and run it through the process.

OPTION 2: For Experienced NPA-ers (and those who like a challenge)

Start by asking yourself the question:

“Where in my life do I experience control issues, authority issues or have difficulties with vulnerability?”

Again let your answer spew out and find your cookie cutter.

You’ll start by running that cookie cutter through the process, effectively letting it go…

Once you feel complete, ask yourself:

"In relation to [YOUR COOKIE CUTTER] what would I like to allow to come?”

So let’s say after my spew, the cookie cutter I choose is “angry and scared”.
I’d start by NPA-ing that, then I would ask myself "In relation to ANGRY AND SCARED what would I like to allow to come?”

Then I would spew in response to that, find a second cookie cutter and run THAT through the process - effectively letting that energy in.

Let me know what you experience.

DOWNLOAD THE NPA PROCESS SHEET

Authority Issues with The Unconditional Pivot Exercise

Option 1: 

Simply taking yourself through the entire exercise and simply focus on a sucky situation that represents whatever control issues you have - anywhere where you express one of the projective authority responses.

Option 2:

Write out a short paragraph that starts with:
“If I fully embodied conscious self-empowerment I would feel…”

This, in effect, is an alternative step 2 of the exercise. From there you can follow the other steps through - choosing only the self-focused feelings from your paragraph and running those words through steps 4-8.

Again let me know what you experience.

DOWNLOAD THE UNCONDITIONAL PIVOT EXERCISE

Self-Inquiry for Authority Issues

These questions are designed to help you focus on alignment and find your congruence in the face of authority.

I’ve got 3 questions for you and each one hones in on one aspect of each of the 3 projective authority responses.

One note: The questions are phrased situationally, so they’re designed for when you are focused on a specific situation where you have noticed these issues arise.

Remember the secret to self-inquiry is being inwardly still and letting the answer find you, it’s not about using your mind to go seek out the answers. And I’m a big fan of letting my answers flow onto paper.

Take a deep breath in…. let it go… becoming relaxed, alert and still…
Read the question that resonates, be still… let the answers find you… and write them down…

PASSIVE OBEDIENCE
What would trusting my own judgement look like in this situation?

RESENTFUL OBEDIENCE
What are my true feelings about this situation and what would it look like to really step into them?

REACTIVE REBELLION
What do I actually want?

OK - take a deep breath in… let it out… and relax…

NOTE:

Inquiry questions can bring a variety of responses - perhaps realisations and aha’s that bring relief, an awakening or realisation but they can also bring deeper issues to light.

NPA BONUS:

If that’s the case for you with these questions you can take your answers as a spew and use The NPA Process to help you move through those underlying issues.

OTHER LINKS:

1:1 Sessions with Joel

RELATED EPISODES:

Full instructions for The Unconditional Pivot exercise in Episode 27 👇🏻

NPA, context and trust building in Episode 28 👇🏻

GET THE FULL TRANSCRIPT