Last Saturday I woke with a sore throat and congestion in my chest and knew straightaway I was getting sick. Did I want the experience of being sick? No. So I went within and said No! to the virus. And within minutes I was feeling better. I can't say my mastery of the body extends much beyond that, but it is a beginning. I came to the realisation many years ago that I wasn't a victim, and that I did have a say in my physical reality which extended to my own body. The first time I said No! to a cold bought me into a new sense of personal power. 

The idea of mastery of the body, even in that small way, opened up the world of Mastery to me. I looked at mastery of the mind, mastery of emotions and mastery over addictions and desires. Saying no to things that aren't in our best interest (such as alcohol, drugs, some foods, relationships and so on) is hard because they require mastery of the physical, emotional and mental self all in one. 

But only we can learn to master ourselves. No one can do it for us. 

It begins with saying No. No is a hard word for many. My grandmother said to me "It is okay to say no." I needed to hear that. I needed to know I could give myself permission to say no, and that was okay. I didn't need to accept the world that was presented to me.

So many people I connect with are damaged emotionally. They are damaged by relationships with parents, children, siblings, work colleagues, partners, and even by strangers online. Their fears, traumas, beliefs and sense of self-worth all entwine to affect how they interact with the world. It is hard to find mastery of self when so much that defines self is damaged and painful. 

Mastery starts with a single step. Mine began many years ago by saying no to a cold with all my being for the first time. It wasn't a weak no, it wasn't a hopeful no, it was a No that held no room for anything but my will being obeyed. That No came from my place of power. My No demanded the virus go, and it went. That single battle against a virus in my body led the way to me saying no to a lot of things in my life. 

It wasn't my Will over others in my life, but my Will to make change within myself. I knew I couldn't change others, but I could change how I felt, how I thought and how I acted. My growing mastery and new sense of personal power required that my actions and thoughts be for my highest good, and how I felt came from my highest place. Little did I know my active ascension had begun with saying No from my place of power.