Sovereignty Is Your Birthright
If we want a better world, it's time for us to start claiming our power, our sovereignty... and actively, consciously creating the home we want to live in
How much do you think about sovereignty? Does it ever cross your mind? What images come to mind, when you consider this word? Given the dominance of the English monarchy in this world’s colonized imagination, chances are you’ll see a bejeweled crown. But sovereignty means SO much more than that, and it is relevant to all of us, every day of our lives.
Let’s explore how we relate to sovereignty….
Learning: A Lesson for You
We’ve been living through a nightmare here in Minnesota.
Under siege by a violent occupation. Terrorized. Traumatized. For some of us, literally detained and imprisoned in sub-human conditions. For others, caged at home. For others, unable to travel anywhere, for any purpose, without constantly being on high alert and very likely encountering horrific scenes we could never have imagined would go down on our familiar neighborhood streets.
The occupation got started in December…
… but it really ramped up after the new year started.
Perhaps needless to say, then, for most of us here, the first days and weeks of 2026 have been a blur and have seemed to stretch months or years. We’ve lost any sense of time, or normalcy. Our “fresh” year was swallowed by a real-life monster.
Even more, we’ve lost our felt sense of a sacred place that is our home, as it’s been chaotically trampled upon and routinely violated by masked, gun-toting wannabe soldiers frivolously treating our very real lives like a video game — one that they’ll win the more they embody cartoon villains and inflict maximum damage.
I know you know this, dear reader.
I know you’ve seen the many photos and videos my courageous fellow Minnesotans have captured and shared with the world. Or you’re here and you’ve experienced this yourself. And I know you know how much experiencing things like this can permanently leave negative and harmful imprints on a people, a community.
But here’s the thing.
We Minnesotans won’t let that happen.
Because from the beginning of this hostile invasion, we’ve been asserting and practicing our sovereignty wherever we can. We’ve intuitively known, despite what the invaders wanted us to believe, that we belong to each other. And we’ve collectively agreed that lawless thugs — even if they’ve been handed power by our government — have no power over us. Most importantly, we’ve decided to harness our inherent power — collectively.
As hard as the beginning of this year has been in Minnesota…
…it’s also been inspiring.
Because we’ve all been able to really see — to experience — the potential of solidarity. Of community. Of widening the boundaries of who is “us” and narrowing the behaviors that “we” will accept. Of speaking truth to power. Of making sacrifices for others out of love and care. Of insisting on the world we want, despite the very best efforts and massive budgets of official powers-that-be working to create a very different world — and then creating our longed-for world ourselves.
This hasn’t been easy, no.
But it’s absolutely been instructive.
And we are taking notes.
Yesterday, as I hosted and facilitated the Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy, we did a powerful visualization exercise together. As I told those gathered, January 1st is not by any stretch the only fresh start we have. We can find fresh starts everywhere. We can create them where we want them. Coming up, we’ve got the Chinese New Year — a nice global opportunity for one. And personally, I’ve always felt like the beginning of Spring is much more of a fresh start than the beginning of January. So as I told them: we’ve all struggled, in various ways, for various reasons, through the beginning of 2026. So let’s give ourselves a fresh start.
First, we all got the chance to actively visualize… and then dispose of what we didn’t want anymore.
And then we got to create what we wanted.
As we came to the end of the exercise, I asked everybody to bring to mind a word or phrase that embodied the energy they wanted to bring into their next chapter.
I did the exercise myself, even as I led it, and I was very clear that I wanted to keep the same word I had repeatedly thought of at the beginning of the year, as I considered what I wanted to embody and experience in 2026: sovereignty.
This word is rich with meaning.
But let me emphasize a few of its layers with you.
1️⃣ Claiming Authority: Your life is a story that you are writing. You are writing it… and no one else is. You might have been conditioned by people and circumstances to think otherwise. But claiming your sovereignty is owning your authority. Look at the root of that word: author. As the author of your life, you must own your power to author every part of your story. That power does not belong to anybody else but you.
2️⃣ Wielding Creativity: So many different spiritual traditions claim that we humans are “made in the image of the Creator.” What does that even mean? Of course, it means many things… but we can be assured that, if we’re made in the image of One Who Creates, that means that we are made to create too… yes? Creativity is one of the most essential gifts of being human. Many humans self-identify as “creative”… while many others seem to think they’re… not that. But sorry, boo. There ain’t none of us who aren’t, in our essence, creative. You are always creating — whether you mean to or not. Remember: you are writing your story. You’re not a passive victim. So: what do you want to create? How would you like to consciously funnel your creative energy? What do you want to visualize… and then bring into being? Because if you don’t do that? You’ll still be creating… and you’ll likely be creating what you don’t want. And why do that? Use your powerful Life Force — that creative energy you’re given to power your body and being every single day — to bring into being the experiences and creations you know you want.
3️⃣ Maximizing Inside-to-Out Reality: This one is more energetic than practical, but I know you’ll get it. Sit with yourself and visualize how energy tends to flow in your daily life. Does it tend to flow outside… to in? That looks like you responding or reacting to life most of the time… absorbing others’ thoughts, feelings, actions… and needing to then process them and respond. If emotions are running high or things are feeling urgent, you will react more than respond… and have even less agency. The alternative is for energy to flow more inside… to out. This looks like you reflecting before you go into a situation or conversation and consciously deciding how you want it to go — and then actively creating that vision. Or starting your day with a clear intention and carrying that energy with you throughout the day, regardless of what happens around you. Or like you walking into a conflict-filled room with a heart and mind full of peace… and gradually helping everyone else there calm and ground themselves. Stepping into your sovereignty is prioritizing inside-to-out reality.
We’ll talk more about this in the future.
But right now, I’m asking you to reflect on these three key aspects of your personal sovereignty… and on how you can actively practice embodying them. Starting today. And continuing in the days to come, as you write the next chapter of your life’s story….
Your community is waiting for you! Advice when you need it. Been-there, done-thats. Commiseration. Support. A place to vent. Guidance and mentoring. All of this, and more, is what I anticipate happening at Community-Weaving for Fundraisers.
Just fundraisers. Gathering for (virtual) lunch together. Twice a month. Year-round. Chatting and supporting each other via WhatsApp in between lunches. Being there for each other. All you need to do is show up, be present. I guide, facilitate, organize, and create the container.
The Waiting List is open now. Get on it!
Conversation: Your Response
Got more to say? Visit the comments section!
Wanna show up for residents of Minnesota who have now been feeling under siege for many weeks… and are seeing no end in sight? Be the wind beneath our wings! My brilliant friend Ashley created this website: Stand With Minnesota. There you’ll find opportunities to support mutual aid… crowdfunding campaigns… nonprofits working on the ground… and even real-life testimonies about what has been happening here.
You’ll find love. And you’ll find courage.
Because those two things are what have been powering us all through this most difficult time in our shared life together.
Also, I’m calling out a specific campaign raising emergency rental assistance for families who 1) have a kid in early childhood special education; and 2) haven’t been able to work because of the occupation of our city. These families are at risk for eviction if we cannot help them pay their rent ASAP and, according to my organizing buds, this particular group seems to have fallen through all the other cracks (i.e. they are not connected to other sources of support):
Practice: Make It Yours
I want to offer you the same visualization exercise I mentioned that we completed in the Wisdom Circle for Philanthropy.
Giving this to you in writing is not quite as powerful as guiding you through the exercise with my voice while we all do it together… but this at least gives you a way to start experiencing the same power we all did.
To start, settle into a comfortable seated position.
Then:
Breathe in deeply… and breathe out deeply. Do this several times. Start to feel yourself settling and grounding into your body. Be as present with yourself as you can be.
Start reflecting on all the hardest things you’ve experienced so far this year. The hard feelings. The arguments and conflicts. Any traumas. Fears. Struggles. Challenges that made you want to give up. Anything that you’d prefer not to be a part of your life going forward.
One by one, visualize each of these things. Re-experience what they were like — how they made you feel. And then place them on the ground, gradually piling them one on top of the other. Build your pile, as things come to mind.
After you’ve built your pile, pull out a matchbook… and hear that distinctive crackle, as you swipe the match across the rough edge and see a flame appear. Throw the match onto your pile. Take out and light another match… and another. Light as many matches as you need to set the entire pile on fire.
As the pile begins to go up in flames, watch it. Feel the heat on your skin. Watch the light as it illuminates your face. Notice as the leaping flames gradually grab and dissolve every piece of that pile… and it all starts to turn into ash.
Seeing a pile of ash having replaced your pile of struggles and regrets, reflect on what exactly you want to bring with you into your next chapter. A word. A phrase, if a word is not enough. An energy. What words capture the energy you want to embody and bring with you? Claim that word or phrase.
Then, hold out your hand. As you consciously intone that word or phrase, see a tiny seed appear in your outstretched hand. Marvel at the miracle. Give thanks for its creation. And then, take your hand up to your mouth, and swallow the seed.
Feel it moving in and through your body, to be planted and fertilized within you. Encourage it to start growing. Know that it will start and continue to mature within you, as you actively embody its energy in the days, weeks, months to come.
I hope this exercise is meaningful for you.
May self-sovereignty be yours.
Inspiration: Something to Reflect On
The cure for both the naive [person] and the instinct-injured [one] is the same: practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true.
These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves
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