Inula Austin Soul Growth

It was the philosopher and physician John locke who defined the term ‘Personal Sovereignty’ as ‘Self Ownership’.

When we think of something being sovereign, we usually identify that with monarchs, those born into positions of privilege. But YOU yourself are a sovereign being and that is where your Power and beauty lies.You were given life by the breath of the Great Spirit and that makes you a sacred individual.

Self Ownership, as understood by Locke and the generations that came after him, meant that we each have an inalienable right to bodily autonomy, freedom of expression and the choice to do as we see fit in terms of our own lives, occupations, relationships and life choices.

I think many of us have taken for granted the freedoms that we have enjoyed for many decades in the West, freedoms that have mostly been won upon the broken backs of others who took a stand for what they believed in.

Community and a sense of belonging is a very human need. It’s a great thing if we can help each other raise our children, take care of our elderly, honour one another, but we must always try to remember that we as individuals have the final say in choices we make about the things that affect us directly.

What is medicine for one man is another’s poison.

As individual Spirit Beings we have ideas, beliefs and experiences that are as vast in number and as unique as we each are.

Reminding ourselves of our own sovereignty reminds us that the power, control and responsibility for the type of life we wish to live rests firmly on our own shoulders. It is important to remember this whenever we feel helpless or hopeless about a situation or the general state of the world. In times like those it is easy to find ourselves thinking ‘what can one person do?’ We have a tendency to forget that we do have the power to change things, beginning with our own lives, our own boundaries and what we are willing to do to help others.

Remembering your sovereignty means being able to stand firm in your individuality, whilst still being able to respect the views of others. It means being able to say ‘No’, even though your voice may tremble, it means being able to change the world for the better one individual, one Soul at a time.

Personal Responsibility is bound up tightly in the idea of Self Ownership. It is a Universal Spiritual Law. You cannot on the one hand proclaim your independence yet continue to blame others for the conditions of your life. Self Ownership demands that you own it all, the good, the bad and the indifferent. When we can each seek to have personal responsibility for our lives then real change can happen.

We stop waiting for someone or something else to be different in order for our situation to change for the better. We begin to understand that even a small change for the better is better than no change at all and when the successes come, they are all ours, earned from our own effort and hard work.

Your Sovereignty is therefore a source of great strength and power within you.

Like a Sovereign Nation, you get to rule for yourself and make autonomous decisions on what is best for you.

With this knowledge and practice comes liberation and a great sense of freedom and relief. You will get to know yourself inside and out and begin to live more in alignment with what you truly believe.

Choosing to live consciously is empowering because it allows one to go from bumping along in an existence to creating a life that one is proud of living.

Remembering your own sovereignty hands back the keys of your destiny to you and asks ‘how are you going to live your best life?’