Science was not my favourite subject at school but one thing I did look forward to about Chemistry was the Bunsen burners. The way you could change the colour and intensity of the flame by opening and closing the valve fascinated me.  A tiny action that created an immediate increase or decrease in power.

 Most people live life with their flames set at a low, safe temperature with their valves closed. It seems easier that way, accepting life as it is, doing the day to day and getting by. It’s not usually a conscious thing; you don’t wake up every day and decide to ‘keep your flame turned down’. It’s more like a default setting.

 But what would happen if you did wake up each day and consciously ‘opened the valve’ to increase the power and intensity of your flame and make it roar? What would happen? How would you feel? What would you do differently? How would it change the colour of your life?

 Mark Twain said; ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.’

Are there things you want to do right now that you are not doing; changes you need to make that you are not making; dreams that stay as dreams because you haven’t any action to make them real?

The first step towards achieving those changes is learning to open the valve so you can tap in to the full force of your power and energy when you want to. There will have been times when you have felt that force. There may be a particular situation in which you feel it, people and environments that inspire it.

Sixteen years ago I was lying in hospital being told I might not be able to walk. Before my illness I had been in the gym 5 days a week. I couldn’t imagine not being able to do that again. I was determined to defy the odds, but I knew I needed to be able to channel a massive amount of inner power to do it.

Then I made the connection. I discovered how to open my power valve by sourcing from my gym self. In a gym class when the familiar music started I always felt the energy surge up inside me with a roar and I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. I knew exactly how that felt so it was a case of how to recreate it. I ran movies of classes in my head, I listened to the same music; and felt something of that roar within me rise. The more I focused and practiced tapping into my power the stronger it became.

You don’t need a major life challenge to force you to discover your power and turn up your flame. It’s a choice you can make at any time. Focus on situations when you have felt that strength and energy within you. Notice exactly how you feel and what the triggers are for the feeling. A particular environment, an activity, a person, music, sounds, smells… many things can be the keys to opening your power source. Be curious, experiment with different ways of tapping in to the feeling and you will be surprised how quickly you can discover ways to turn up the flame of your power.