Strength (Intellectual, Masculine)

Strength is an affirmation of personal power to offset our lack of confidence. It is about proving we have the “stuff” to be heroes and about having the courage to take on any problem no matter how difficult. It also has the quality of endurance even though, in many situations, it does not endure. If we had parents who constantly berated us for not having Strength, then we tend to either ignore this Attraction or push ourselves to do things to prove we are courageous (even though it seems stupid). Sometimes individuals telling us we cannot do something, stimulates us to prove them wrong. This is the reactionary usefulness of Strength, although we possess more power when we take ownership in a positive way for our Strength. The problem with Strength is whether we use it to strengthen our Personality (creating Pride) or whether we use it to strengthen our Creativity, which is transpersonal.

Strength tends to be anchored in terms of our physical prowess and sense of independence where we are seen as decisive and focused. However, here, the need to be independent is actually a reaction to not wanting to be compromised by the needs of others. Therefore, it is about control and not authentic Creative Power. If we cannot live up to these possibilities, it is often easier to take the alternate route of being seen as Innocent. On a Personality level, Strength is about looking good, confident, and even intimidating. This further reinforces personal power over authentic group creativity. Competition trumps cooperation when Strength is personality based. Eventually, we come to realize that Strength and Innocence are two sides of the same coin. Innocence is an inner form of Strength, while Strength is an outer form of Innocence. Both perspectives provide a balanced way to be clear about the right thing to do in any situation.

The problem is that Personality Strength talks down to others while authentic Creative Strength honors the equality of everyone. It is about building a capacity that does not wither under attack. It is about constantly affirming and expanding our sense of justice so others feel secure around us. Strength is amplified by perseverance and personal commitment. Strength is a generic masculine value that suggests intelligence, but focuses on unified results (not false authoritarian line item checklists). Anyone who is not confident about their own Strength will find them selves drawn to those who possess it. Confidence itself can be interpreted as Strength in the short term.

Individuals who are repulsed by Strength have usually grown up at the effect of the apparent strength of others over them. While Strength can be many things to many people, it is usually a subjectification pattern when others use it to force our agreement with them. This is because Strength is so misunderstood. Strength can be seen as either a physical, intellectual, or emotional defense phenomenon, or as a commitment to being heroic in making a difference with others. The more Strength is physical, the more it is perceived as being pushy, strange, or off-balance. Our perceptions of body-builders reflect our personal views about this. When Strength is about the pursuit of knowledge, then the need to be right supersedes the need to be effective. We then have to ask the question at what cost is this Strength? It is only when we transcend our personality safety and security rules where our ego can get out of the way, that Strength becomes a positive expression by encouraging us to be heroic for others. The more we are caught up in personality definitions, the more likely we experience obstacles to acknowledging Strength in our own life.

In the diagram we can see that there are four ways to develop Strength as an attraction. The first is to be repulsed by Weakness. What we need to remember is that Weakness is a negative internal self-judgment based upon comparing ourselves to others where they manifested more external will than we did. Since Strength is a masculine framework, it is facilitated by masculine Intelligences that set the standard for how willpower is externalized. This means that if you have a lot of feminine Creative Expressions where you attract possibilities to you, you could think of yourself as weak whereas you are actually strong. The more you doubt your Strength and label yourself as weak, the less you discover how to be both internally and externally congruent. What makes labeling Weakness so misguided is that there is such a vast range of ways to show Strength not understood by society. Each Creative Expression has its own unique path to balancing Inner Strength with Preemptive Outer Strength. Until we can free our selves of these inherent, societal biases, we have little ability to embrace these possibilities.

Preemptive Strength can initially be seen as destructive because it uses a fixed pattern to evaluate what is strong. Whenever a judgment is substituted for Intuitive Discrimination, it distorts the evolutionary process by attempting to externalize a result when we are not aligned internally. What we do not understand is that trying to live to external beliefs about Strength is actually a destructive way of creating internal Strength because then we resist ourselves. To the degree that we are not internally aligned, is the same degree that we unconsciously sabotage ourselves and feel weak when we cannot externalize what we believe is the right solution. For example, we might be married, yet be attracted to another individual and find ourselves having sex with them even though we know it is not right. This is an example where our external beliefs did not override our perceived internal needs. Having Preemptive Strength is the opposite of having Internal Strength because with Internal Strength we experience it but do not express it outwardly.

Internal Strength is based upon an internal congruence about what works with an inability to speak up for it and be aligned externally to the experience. The quality of Internal Strength is one of having a clear sense of what needs to be done but without claiming ownership. Some would say it is focused on making a difference without attempting to appear heroic. For example, a fireman may run into a burning building to save someone and upon being recognized for it, may revert to the statement that it was just their training because they are no hero. What is actually going on here, is that they do not want the pressure of living up to an external label or have to explain themselves in a way that seems arbitrary to them. What they seek instead is the flexibility to do what they perceive is needed in the moment. This gives them the freedom to continue to grow because they do not trap themselves in external descriptions, which limit them over time. What they are most avoiding is a set of certainties that inhibit their evolutionary development.

Inclusive Strength is where the internal and external forms of Strength including the possibility of Weakness become unified. The way to embody Strength is to go beyond the issue of perception to how our commitment to engage life becomes natural and obvious. For a masculine expression, it is fulfilled by the ability to take responsibility for the well being of others around them when something goes wrong. This means that others with less certainty about their Strength are naturally attracted to individuals who manifest, without reservation, the ability to provide Strength to others in their lives. This is why the highest expression of Strength is about being inclusive about what is going on around them because they naturally lend their support whenever it is needed. This is further enhanced when around those with Innocence Reborn. The combination of these two is what empowers us to personally be able to declare our Autonomy.

Lessons of Strength

Strength helps us to unify our willpower. From this perspective it allows us to take ownership of our masculine nature. It is about our desire to take risks in pursuing our ideals or in being heroic both to ourselves and to others in pursuing our Authentic Life Expression. In this way, it requires us to build personal self-discipline or to concentrate on that which focuses us toward a result. It is the opposite of being ambivalent, disengaged, or dispassionate. Some individuals have difficulty in seeing themselves as a hero or heroine because the way we use these terms feels more like a personality judgment. Instead, this is an invitation to do what is necessary to fulfill our creative aspirations. It is a signal that we want to make a difference by our presence in this world. It is the result of being clear that we have a contribution to make because we want to leave the world a better place.

Strength of will requires Innocence to be open and available rather than fixating on how we want it to be. We need to be open to the input of others so we can mutually create opportunities for everyone. This means developing our curiosity about possibilities and engaging others in an ongoing discussion about how to make things better. True Strength is where we are able to speak our truth without being caught up in our positions. Inclusive Strength builds upon common aspirations and desires.  Instead of interpreting Strength as an independent issue, let us begin to see how being with others with a similar purpose creates a natural desire to work together.