Mark Cunningham - Pathway to Power

Pathway to Power Mark Cunningham’s thoughts on personal power

First assumption: There is no true source of power outside yourself. That doesn't mean it's limited in any way -- there will always be all you need and more. It just means that all the rituals, exercises, blah blah blah you encounter are mechanisms to convince your subconscious to change and act/react. Your subconscious seems to be connected to the universe anyway, and it has what you need. If you seek power, look within yourself. Second assumption: Power is neutral. It doesn't care how it's expressed, or what the outcomes are. Sort of like a happily amoral angel. Power may be used to lift yourself (and others) into the light, it can be used to destroy. But it can be measured -- the unit of measure is influence. Third assumption: You accumulate power through the successful exercise of influence. It's like pinball -- if you score, you get to play again. You can concentrate on influencing yourself in the beginning (that's a good place to begin!) and move on to others later. Today state control, tomorrow the world. That's why I tell everyone to learn hypnosis, and begin a program of training rigorous enough to become conditioning. Fourth assumption: Power magnifies. If you bring a weak or flawed self to the expression of influence, you will inevitably destroy your "self". It's like passing a current through a crystal -- a clean crystal will channel the current, a flawed sample will shatter. Look at the people we know in other forums who've blown themselves up once they get a wee bit more power than they're ready to handle. Fifth assumption: You can learn the byways of power through exerting influence within a context. I've been touting stage hypnosis for years as an ideal way to learn and master EXPRESSING influence. Hey -- play with their minds, appear mysterious and godlike, get applause and a paycheck.....it's a Good Thing! But you'd probably be surprised how many well-trained and wellmotivated students still balk at the DOING of it. Powerful influence, shown in daylight for all to see, seems to some to be more daunting in reality than in one's private dreams. I must admit -- it IS a bit unnerving when people first begin to do exactly what you want them to do, thinking it's their own idea. If you have no interest in stage, then seek leadership positions in any activity. Sixth assumption: Direct, powerful influence over people and things is absurdly easy to obtain. Sometimes it seems to me the the entire universe is begging me to just tell it what to do. The original impetus of what is now Triskelion/Marknosis was to harvest the natural somnambulists, get them off the streets and doing something useful. But....you've got to change what you regard as "right or wrong". Example: I taught a class last year on the process of conditioning a human for maximum emotional and sexual response -- Build A Better Lover. As part of the class materials, I distributed a couple of conditioning scripts I've used in the past. And in retrospect it's pretty funny -- I lost about half the room when they realized that my first step is to demand, and condition for, obedience. And it was because they were afraid of the WORD. In Marknosis obedience is important because....until you shut the fuck up and HAVE THE EXPERIENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE, you can't possibly make

an informed choice. Obedience = following instructions, having a new experience, and THEN making up your mind. But for many attendees, their associations with the word outweighed the opportunity I was offering them. The really hilarious part was that I've never had a subject complain about the process and their results. The only objections have come from the ones who have (only) read the scripts and projected all the "bad" things than can come from trust and open-minded obedience. Makes you wonder what they're projecting, what their subconscious assumes would be the result. Because that's what THEY would do if they had the chance! The ones who have USED the scripts think I'm.....an OK guy. If I ever release that class with the scripts, I'll either get crucified or sanctified. Or both. Good thing I didn't release the other 10 scripts in the series! Seventh assumption: Power isn't all it's cracked up to be. The more I gain, the less I use. Where once I would have wielded direct, intrusive influence, I now am happy giving a precisely placed nudge. I imagine that pretty soon now I'll be content to control things with no effort whatsoever. The difference? People who lust for power are weak, people who HAVE power are strong. I think you should desire power for the experience it offers, not in and of itself. It turns out that power in this context is just a tool, no more malignant or useful than a socket wrench. But you won't really understand or believe that until you get some for yourself.