May 2012 – It’s Time to Really Commit To What You Want

The theme for May 2012 is commitment…but it’s probably not what you’re thinking…

Commitment is removing the back door, the escape route and the words “if”, “maybe” and “when” from your vocabulary. Commitment is moving into your future with no turning back and no escape hatch. Commitment is eliminating the worry and anxiety that comes with ambivalence, doubt, consideration and “too much thinking”. Commitment is a natural segway of any bid for power. A bid for power without a proper commitment to launch it is not a serious bid for power.

If your bid for power is to stop smoking, you can’t qualify it with “if I find the right program” or “when I get more of a handle on my life” or “maybe next week”. No, if you want to stop smoking you stop right now. You make a commitment that goes along with your bid for power. Once you commit 100 percent, then the program or other support will show up and you will begin to get a handle on your life.

It is the same thing for relationships or work or health. If your bid for power is to make a change in the direction that is better for you, then do it now without procrastination and without the ability to sneak out if it does not work. Most of the reason for something not working out is your lack of true commitment to it. All of you have made some bid for power last month whether you are aware of it or not. This is the month where you either commit to it or choose a new one that you can commit to.

There are two types of Commitment: Commitment that is unconscious and manifested by your actions rather than what you verbally intend.  And commitment that is consciously and deliberately planned for and chosen. The unconscious commitment is the one you may not be aware of but everyone else is by your actions around it.

A good example is someone who complains and complains about the nature of their relationship because it is not a good fit, and says they want something else, but ends up staying in the same relationship “until something better comes along”. This is not a serious bid for power for a new relationship and certainly not the way spirit works. This example is showing an action that the universe reads as a commitment and therefore will not provide another “better relationship” to take its place while the action shows a commitment to the current one. So this person may think they are bidding to change their circumstance but as long as they stay in the current relationship they are not serious about the change. If you are truly committed to changing your relationship dynamics you must show you are serious by becoming conscious about the ways you are showing commitment to the things you say you do not want.

Another example may be the person who says, I am on a diet, I intend to lose weight and really should not eat this piece of cake and then proceeds to eat it anyway. Are they serious about their bid for power to lose weight? Where is the commitment? Another example is the bid for power to have more fun and make more time for self. However if the person continues adding things that are not fun to their plate, they are showing by their actions that they are not truly committed to their intention and guess what, spirit will always give you more of what you are putting your energy into. This person may likely say, “I will make time when things slow down.” This is not good enough for spirit, as it is a conditional commitment and shows through action that the real commitment is something different than the spoken intention.

True commitment is unconditional, something we are not used to having or working with. Conditions create the “ifs”, “whens”, and “maybes” in our vocabulary. Placing conditions on your bid for power waters down the commitment to it and is like putting only your big toe in the water when you really intended to take a swim. Hesitancy, doubt, confusion, ambivalence, worry, anxiety, fear and mistrust, all take their toll on your ability to commit to something cleanly and clearly.

There are other ways that unconscious commitment manifests itself. If you get pregnant and decide you are keeping the child, you are committing to the relationship of being a parent. How many parents have there been that have never really consciously committed to this huge bid for power? And how many interesting and karmic issues are being dealt with and untangled because of it.

We could also say that just by being born you have committed to being on this planet, which is in itself a bid for power. Many of you out there are still a bit ambivalent about that one, and until you truly commit to being here, spirit will not support you in the most powerful way. You could say it was not your choice to be here, your parents decided it for you and so on… That is giving your power away and allowing Martyrdom to rule. The Martyrdom we have plaguing us this year is actually providing us with an opportunity to eliminate the inner victim by taking responsibility for our lives and our bids for power, and committing to what we want through our actions as adults. We also need to stop blaming others for things that don’t work out.

Look at your life and see if you can identify the commitments you find yourself in due to either taking action or not taking action. If you can’t in good conscience choose them as conscious commitments you have work to do. It is OK to eliminate or change the bids for power they represent as long as you communicate this clearly and are 100 percent committed to your withdrawing. If however you identify a commitment you were unconscious about but really want to keep then consciously commit to it 100 percent and you will see a big difference in how spirit begins to support your decision and that bid for power. Remember you do not have to know all the details of how things will manifest or what steps will show up. Your commitment is enough.

The opportunities this month:


Commitment, certainty, clarity, expansion, abundance, movement, manifestation, direction, support, insight and fulfillment.

The above is an excerpt from the monthly forecast.  The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and has written extensively about tips to increase personal energy.

Click here to access the full forecast.

April 2012 – Are You Ready To Make A Bid For Power?

The main theme for April is POWER.

This month you will get to look at all things related to power. All of your old patterns, belief systems, reactions, experiences, trust or mistrust, resistance, desire, access; all of it is up for observation, recapitulation, clearing, re-defining, clarifying and re-negotiating. This is the opportunity to free yourself from your old beliefs about power and the old paradigm in which those beliefs live. You will be able to look at your self-imposed limitations, hopefully clear them, and make some bids for power this month that will move you into your next level of expansion and evolution.

Everything this month will be powerful. From events to reactions and personal experiences, everything is potentiated with a greater energy and vitality. For many of you this will come as an exciting and welcome opportunity for moving ahead with your dreams and goals. For some of you this may be a difficult time of resistance and feeling overwhelmed, especially if you are not used to handling large amounts of energy.

The instinctive center continues to regurgitate material that needs to be looked at and in most cases discarded without giving it too much power. If you are reacting strongly in a negative or confused way, that does not seem to have any connection to what is going on currently in your life, you can be sure it is instinctive material from the past that is still somehow running the show and getting in the way of all your great possibilities. It is important that you not judge what is coming up but rather see it as a positive opportunity to do some more deep cleaning and clearing. Acknowledge it for what it is; old stuff, and let it go.

Martyrdom is also up in spades this month as people grapple with the “why” of feeling powerless. Even if martyrdom is not your personal obstacle, you may feel it some. Beneath all martyrdom is anger so you need to be aware of your reactions as well as the reactions of others. You may witness some pretty bad behavior out there this month with blame, jealousy and aggression especially among the younger souls. Have compassion, curb your own reactions and don’t take anything personally. The martyrdom will especially show up around failed bids for power.

What is a bid for power?

A bid for power is a decision and action taken towards something you want in your life. It is usually very exciting and a bit scary and it definitely pushes the envelope of your comfort zone. It always takes you into the unknown territory of doing something for the first time. It requires an element of courage and some risk. The bid can be about work, relationship, personal growth, health, knowledge, leadership, personal environment, finances, responsibility and/or many other things. Being decisive and taking action are the operative words. True bids for power do not usually rest only on words. The action is necessary.

The universe is very responsive to a true bid for power. You will quickly find out whether or not you are ready, or if the bid is important enough for your essence goals to be viable. Whenever you make a bid for power, you will always be tested. The test itself will tell you if you are on the right track. What can get in the way of a bid for power? Not being ready, or making the bid from a place of arrogance or impatience, or the bid being based on someone else’s dream.

There are many stories of people being offered what looks like the perfect situation and then backing away at the last minute because it is not what they really want. There are equally as many stories of people trying something and failing because they were not ready. It is important to hold all failures as trial runs and opportunities for learning. It is not ok to sit around and do nothing in these times. They require you to be active in working with power and to make concrete decisions and choices about how you will step forward into more power.

It is important to understand that in these times, healing will take place no matter what. So it is up to you. You can be in resistance to it, which will cause pain and suffering, or you can get on with the program. Part of the healing is the healing of the masculine that is connected with the understanding and use/abuse of power up to this point. A great forgiveness is called for to release the masculine principle from the role it has served over these past centuries. It has done its job of anchoring the physical plane and all of its concrete belief systems but now the times have changed and we need to liberate the construct if we are to move on. On a personal level, the healing is about healing your relationship to power and forgiving everything that has compromised your relationship with your own power.

We need to clarify the definition of what power is.

Power is an energy. It is an enhanced ability to manifest. It is knowledge, ability, wisdom, well-being and inner security. True power is something no one can take from you. So true power is never anything external that can be de-valued or repossessed. Power is your health, talent, service, higher mind, ability to love and to be neutral, your creativity and ability to understand and work with the quantum field. The more you understand about power this month the better advantage you will have to take of the opportunities. It is a good exercise to contemplate all of your beliefs about power; powerful people, powerful events, how you define your own power, how you interact with power, how you resist or embrace it, your fear of power or your fear of power in others. Ask yourself if you are still in an old paradigm and what may need to change.

You may have been told in the past that in order to become more powerful it is a good idea to spend time around powerful people. This is still true, but with the distinction that the more powerful person should be in their true power, their inner power. It is also helpful to spend time with and around powerful allies, places, elements and nature. If you do this with intention, acknowledgement, presence and gratitude, you will gain much in the way of more personal power. One of the best ways you can empower yourself is by spending time in nature and in contemplation. There is no competition and no ego involved. We always recommend solo time as a practice to become more powerful.

There is an element of tension this month that can manifest either negatively or positively. Tension builds energy that can either show up as irritability and aggression or be a productive manifestation of a bid for power. Because of the tension it is advisable that you have an outlet for the moving center this month. Make sure to get enough regular exercise that you can put some aggression behind. Otherwise you will find yourself not sleeping well and being agitated about unimportant things.

Pay attention to where your thoughts go this month. Remember that the universe is very receptive and will feed you back what you put out. If you are getting garbage, you are giving garbage. Watch where your thoughts get hung up, as this is a powerful time to clean up your thoughts and beliefs. If you find yourself in a funk, ask yourself what you may have been putting out that created it instead of what something out there did to you to put you in that state. Reworking the mental process and waking up the higher mind takes discipline and focus. No one said it was going to be easy but it will be incredibly rewarding. Ask and you shall receive!

The challenges this month:

Feeling and experiencing: Martyrdom, blame, feeling powerless, stuck, despairing, angry, resentful, agitated, overwhelmed, confused, and like a complete failure.

The opportunities this month:

Getting over yourself, becoming more powerful, releasing old beliefs, becoming free of other’s expectations, manifesting in a big way, learning some lessons once and for all, becoming available for all the gifts and opportunities.

Helpful practices:

Spend time with that and those of more power than you

Pay close attention to what is coming up and deal with it accordingly

Keep things moving, exercise daily

Don’t take anything personally

Make a bid for power somewhere in your life.

Print out the 2012 forecast and highlight what calls out to you.  The above is an excerpt from the monthly forecast.  The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.

Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and has written extensively about tips to increase personal energy.

Click here to access the full forecast to help you strengthen your relationships, health, relieve stress and learn about specific power days of the month.