I thought this week I\u2019d expand a bit on the idea of \u201cpersonal empowerment.\u201d In the past few weeks I\u2019ve discussed how self-care is not selfish. I wrote about how making decisions that are right for us personally doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t love our family and friends if they disagree.<\/strong><\/p>\n But what exactly is \u201cpersonal empowerment?\u201d In New Thought personal empowerment is God empowerment, since we are that which God is. To the evangelical Christian and Orthodox Muslim that might sound like heresy. Many people are taught not to rely on themselves, but rather only on God as that Supreme Power outside of us. Interestingly enough, as religious scientists we rely on ourselves first because we rely solely on God as our only Source. That may seem like a paradox, but in the unity of all creation it makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n We often hear the saying we are \u201cone with God.\u201d Unfortunately, being one with<\/em> anything already implies a reunion of two or more entities healing a separation, which in true oneness can\u2019t exist. English is perhaps one of the most difficult languages in which to express unity or the concept of oneness. Arabic poetry is some of the most beautifully intense writing I\u2019ve encountered. I have a Lebanese friend, Alaaeddine, who has opened my eyes to the beauty of expression in Arabic. I asked him if his language was any better than English. Unfortunately, in this case, Arabic is about as helpful as English! Here\u2019s what he told me:<\/p>\n There is no expression in Arabic that I can think of at this moment that would not imply some sort of separation between God and his creation. Muslims do believe in the oneness of God, but they haven\u2019t used expressions that would show a unity between God and the universe. Sufis on the other hand are more daring, because they understand that oneness of God includes everyone and everything. They understand that they are the seed of God on earth \u2013 that they are actually God. They know there is no separation between what we call God and the universe in its entirety.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>There is definitely a sense of separation when someone says, \u201cI am one with God.\u201d But this separation can be removed once someone says, \u201cI am God.\u201d Unfortunately though, most people are afraid of saying such a statement and that\u2019s mainly because they are unaware of who they are. In Arabic, there is a story of a Sufi mystic who once said, \u201cI am the truth\/Ana Al-hak,\u201d and Truth is one of the 99 names of God in Islam. Orthodox Muslims misunderstood what he was saying, so he was condemned to death. Sufis believe in the concept of \u201cAl Fanaa\u201d which is the death of one\u2019s ego and\/or self so that nothing remains but God. When the Sufi mystic said, \u201cI am the truth,\u201d he was simply saying, \u201cI as a self don\u2019t exist \u2013 Only God does.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n