What is Power?

[Cooky]

power (n.)
possession of controlling influence;

Whatever some hypocritical ministers of government may say about it, power is the greatest of all pleasures. It seems to me that only love can beat it, and love is a happy illness that can't be picked up as easily as a Ministry. ~ Stendhal - de l'Amour- 1822

What is power to you? Do you see it as something useful in itself, or is it a means to gain something else, such as riches, or love, or enjoyment..?

Is power the key to total happiness..? That with power, come all the other imaginable joys..? Like heaven on earth..? Total bliss..?

 

[Cooky]

Is losing power the greatest loss imaginable?

Or is it the greatest lesson ever taught..? Considering we all lose life in the end. Nature's inevitable, greatest lesson of all.

 

[Eddi]

I used to crave power. As an adolescent I fantasised about ruling the world as some kind of communist dictator.

As I grew older, I grew to value knowledge over power

I still do

I now believe that knowledge can be a source of power, that having knowledge makes you a more powerful human being - that it helps you wield whatever controlling influence you possess, thus magnifying it

 

[Thief]

there's no greater power than the power of .....goodbye

Madonna

 

[Cooky]

I used to crave power. As an adolescent I fantasised about ruling the world as some kind of communist dictator.

As I grew older, I grew to value knowledge over power

I still do

I now believe that knowledge can be a source of power, that having knowledge makes you a more powerful human being - that it helps you wield whatever controlling influence you possess, thus magnifying it

This is very useful. I know during a massive loss of power in my life, years ago, I took to information gathering almost instantly as a cure for my emotional ills. It became an escape route.

 

[Cooky]

there's no greater power than the power of .....goodbye

Madonna

That's amazing.

 

[Thief]

That's amazing.

at this moment ....I don't remember the name of the song

but it's worth the search

 

[exchemist]

power (n.)
possession of controlling influence;

Whatever some hypocritical ministers of government may say about it, power is the greatest of all pleasures. It seems to me that only love can beat it, and love is a happy illness that can't be picked up as easily as a Ministry. ~ Stendhal - de l'Amour- 1822

What is power to you? Do you see it as something useful in itself, or is it a means to gain something else, such as riches, or love, or enjoyment..?

Is power the key to total happiness..? That with power, come all the other imaginable joys..? Like heaven on earth..? Total bliss..?

In science, power is the rate of output of energy. But that's not what you mean.

In human affairs, power is being in control of what matters to you in your life, either for your own benefit to to help others.

I see the goal of human life as personal fulfilment, of one sort or another. A degree of power is obviously helpful - necessary even - to achieving most fulfilling goals.

 

[Cooky]

In human affairs, power is being in control of what matters to you in your life, either for your own benefit to to help others.

I see the goal of human life as personal fulfilment, of one sort or another. A degree of power is obviously helpful - necessary even - to achieving most fulfilling goals.

Yet too, the relinquishing of power can be a time of *total* liberation... To... Let go... Is another kind of bliss... A hidden one.

 

[Twilight Hue]

power (n.)
possession of controlling influence;

Whatever some hypocritical ministers of government may say about it, power is the greatest of all pleasures. It seems to me that only love can beat it, and love is a happy illness that can't be picked up as easily as a Ministry. ~ Stendhal - de l'Amour- 1822

What is power to you? Do you see it as something useful in itself, or is it a means to gain something else, such as riches, or love, or enjoyment..?

Is power the key to total happiness..? That with power, come all the other imaginable joys..? Like heaven on earth..? Total bliss..?

Power like all things is fleeting.

One day your the cat, the next day your the mouse.

 

[Cooky]

I finally understand John Lennon.

 

[Cooky]

Power like all things is fleeting.

One day your the cat, the next day your the mouse.

That's true too. I'm between jobs again. A great time of liberation itself, but it will be short lived.

Soon, I'll be a cat again.

 

[sun rise]

Yet too, the relinquishing of power can be a time of *total* liberation... To... Let go... Is another kind of bliss... A hidden one.

The path of the Buddha - renouncing a kingship to pursue enlightenment.

 

[Cooky]

The path of the Buddha - renouncing a kingship to pursue enlightenment.

It's like a hidden pathway to a tropical island in the middle of a barren desert.

 

[Quintessence]

I don't abide the OP's definition of power because it contains assumptions about the world I don't agree with. More specifically, to say power is about "controlling influence" presupposes free will is an operating principle of our universe. Instead, it can simply be framed as "the ability to do something." That is how I view power - the ability to do something. I wouldn't say it is a "key to happiness" but it is certainly mandatory for existing and surviving.

 

[ChristineM]

power (n.)
possession of controlling influence;

Whatever some hypocritical ministers of government may say about it, power is the greatest of all pleasures. It seems to me that only love can beat it, and love is a happy illness that can't be picked up as easily as a Ministry. ~ Stendhal - de l'Amour- 1822

What is power to you? Do you see it as something useful in itself, or is it a means to gain something else, such as riches, or love, or enjoyment..?

Is power the key to total happiness..? That with power, come all the other imaginable joys..? Like heaven on earth..? Total bliss..?

Power is the rate of using energy over time

Is power the key to happiness? I don't think so, i have known powerful people who are very dissatisfied.
That with power, come all the other imaginable joys? No. Some things don't need power, .
Like heaven on earth? I sure hope not
Total bliss? Been there, no power required.

 

[Cooky]

I don't abide the OP's definition of power because it contains assumptions about the world I don't agree with. More specifically, to say power is about "controlling influence" presupposes free will is an operating principle of our universe. Instead, it can simply be framed as "the ability to do something." That is how I view power - the ability to do something. I wouldn't say it is a "key to happiness" but it is certainly mandatory for existing and surviving.

But "the ability to do something" could also be the definition for achievement. You can have achievements such as feeding the poor or assisting an elderly woman cross the street, but these activities have little or nothing to do with "power".

Power is obviously something different... Power is seizing control. And total control, in it's fullest capacity, is to take all power from others for yourself.

 

[Cooky]

One example of "power" might be having a moderator position at RF. It means you have power that I am denied from having.

What makes a person more entitled to a position of power than another person? Is it an internal desire for control? I wouldn't know.

What I do appreciate, however, and I have to speak it out loud, is @Sunstone making RF a democracy. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but he creates questioneers for members to cast votes on rules. A commendable task that we should all thank him for... It's what I would consider positive leadership, and not "power". It introduces an aspect of liberation into what otherwise could devolve into total power.

 

[Quintessence]

But "the ability to do something" could also be the definition for achievement. You can have achievements such as feeding the poor or assisting an elderly woman cross the street, but these activities have little or nothing to do with "power".

Power is obviously something different... Power is seizing control. And total control, in it's fullest capacity, is to take all power from others for yourself.

I don't agree.

Even if I didn't reject the notion of free will - which makes the notion of control nonsensical from the outset - the "power" granted by "control" would still be illusory because of some simple logic. Let's grant for the moment that power is seizing control. I don't agree, but just for the sake of argument here. What happens when there is nothing to seize control over?

Your definition of power is a relationship that requires two things to be involved, or two subjects. Without that relationship - without two subjects - there is no power. That begs the question - who really has the power then? If the controller has no power without something to control, who really holds the power? The answer to me is neither - your way of defining power is an illusion.

 

[Cooky]

I don't agree.

Even if I didn't reject the notion of free will - which makes the notion of control nonsensical from the outset - the "power" granted by "control" would still be illusory because of some simple logic. Let's grant for the moment that power is seizing control. I don't agree, but just for the sake of argument here. What happens when there is nothing to seize control over?

Your definition of power is a relationship that requires two things to be involved, or two subjects. Without that relationship - without two subjects - there is no power. That begs the question - who really has the power then? If the controller has no power without something to control, who really holds the power? The answer to me is neither - your way of defining power is an illusion.

But we live in a world with endless interactions and innumerous relationships since the onset if life and an ecosystem. We see animals such as lions and baboons seizing control over swaths of land. There's a reason why the lion is considered the King of the jungle -because he possesses "power" over the other animals, including his own den.

...There's no need for free will. Power is a natural occurrence with life. But is it something mankind is capable of rejecting for the sake of liberation? Should he? Isn't liberation a higher enlightened frame of mind? An advancement in evolution?