What is Internal Sovereignty?
What is remembering, realizing, and reclaiming our internal sovereignty?
Let’s examine the word sovereignty in the words of Martin Heidegger
“Language is the house of Being. In its home man dwells. Those who think and those who create with words are the guardians of this home. Their guardianship accomplishes the manifestation of being insofar as they bring this manifestation to language and preserve it in language through their saying."
What exactly are we telling ourselves? Are we the commander and chief, to use the language of the day, of our internal world? Who is calling the shots? From what place are the decisions we make daily coming from?
Sovereignty as defined by the Webster's dictionary:
a. supreme power especially over a body politic
b. freedom from external control: AUTONOMY
c. controlling influenceone who is sovereign especially: an autonomous state
obsolete: supreme excellence or an example of it
The word “sovereignty” ultimately derives from the Latin word “supernus” meaning “chief” or “principal”.
(from 1b), What does the word “autonomy” mean?
Autonomy as defined by the Webster's Dictionary:
the quality or state of being self-governing especially: the right of self-government
self-directing freedom and especially moral independence
a self-governing state
The word autonomy has origins in Ancient Greek and was adopted into Latin before entering English It literally means self-governance.
I find it extremely important and liberating to fully understand the words we speak so we can “see” what each other means. Often we spend our lives sleepwalking, speaking and acting either in the programs running from the past or the fantasy of the life I will “get to” in the future. Completely oblivious of our actions in the present moment.
I also believe it is incredibly important to fully understand what it means to be a human being.
We have a human nervous system which is a complex network designed to coordinate actions by transmitting signals between different parts of the body. We cannot escape the natural reactions of the body but humans can actively train, feed, and create an optimum running system to maximize and understand what it means to physically “feel” alive. In the un-awakened state we can become a slave to our own system and not even realize it. But there is another dimension to the human being and that lies in the word “being.”
What does the word being mean?
Being as defined by the Webster's Dictionary:
a: the quality or state of having existence
b: (1): something that is conceivable and hence capable of existing
(2): something that actually exists
(3): the totality of existing things
c : conscious existence: LIFE
The word “being” originated from ancient linguistic roots tied to the concept of existence. In the Proto-Indo-European it was bheu which meant “to grow, to become, to exist”
Therefore understanding the words “human being” we can see that we are life. A part of life growing into existence every moment of every day. We are bound by physical constraints within the human body to the natural laws of the physical universe but we are not confined in the mental realm by any constraints except the ones we impose upon ourselves. We can also see that because we are life growing into existence we are participants in existence through language.
What are we actually telling ourselves?
The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons.
Each neuron forms connections, or synapses, with many other neurons. On average, a single neuron can have between 1,000 to 10,000 synapses. If we take the lower estimate, the brain has roughly 100 trillion synapses (86 billion neurons x 1,000 synapses per neuron). Some estimates suggest the number could be as high as 1,000 trillion synapses. The nervous system works in close conjunction with various chemicals within the human body, including neurotransmitters, hormones, and other signaling molecules. This collaboration is crucial for regulating bodily functions. Maintaining homeostasis, and facilitating communication between different parts of the body.
All of these actions are done unconsciously.
From what place are the decisions we make coming from?
With this in mind we can see how important the health of the physical body plays into the function of our thinking. But not only are we “human” but we are also “being” (life) and we can become conscious of our thinking and from here we can align our thinking with creation. We can do this by remembering, realizing, reclaiming our sovereignty. We can consciously choose what goes into the human system through our food, and exercise. We can also consciously choose what we consume in our minds. We can optimize our physical and mental systems through mindfulness practices to build a foundation from which we can create the life we want.
“the truth is
you were born for you.
you were wanted by you.
you came for you.
you are here for you.
your existence is yours.
yes.”
–Nayyirah Waheed, Nejma
How are you choosing to remember, realize, and reclaim
your inner sovereignty today?
