Power and submission: unlocking the Mind's hidden potential

Introduction: Who Stole Your Freedom?

How We Were Taught to Suppress Ourselves from Childhood

From the very beginning of life, you were told who you should be: quiet, obedient, "good." These words sounded like care, but in reality, they laid the foundation for suppressing your natural impulses. "Don’t do that, it’s shameful," "You must be exemplary" – these are not just phrases but the first bricks in the wall separating you from your own desires.

A child’s brain works like a sponge: it absorbs not only words but also the emotional context in which they are spoken. If you did something adults considered wrong, you were punished. Not necessarily physically – a stern look or a judgmental remark was enough to instill guilt. The hippocampus recorded these moments as "dangerous," and the amygdala associated them with the emotion of fear. Every time you tried to express yourself, a red light flashed in your mind: "Stop, this is forbidden, this is bad."

School only amplified this process. You were expected to sit quietly, raise your hand, speak only when allowed. You were evaluated for your behavior, not your personality. Too active? "Hyperactive." Too emotional? "Problematic." These labels taught you that being yourself was wrong.

Society’s treatment of the body was particularly cruel. From an early age, you were taught that certain parts of your body were "indecent." You shouldn’t touch yourself, you shouldn’t ask "ugly" questions. Girls were taught to be "modest," boys to be "strong." Desires were suppressed even before you could understand what they were.

The fear of judgment became your constant companion. You learned to restrain yourself, hide your emotions, suppress your desires because you feared rejection. This became your second nature. You stopped asking questions because the answers would still be "wrong."

But it’s important to understand: this is not your fault. It’s a system designed to raise compliant people. People who don’t ask too many questions. People who are afraid to stand out. Your individuality was crushed under the weight of social expectations until you began to think of it as normal. But suppression is not normal. It’s a trap you can escape if you recognize its existence.

Fear and Shame as Social Tools

Fear and shame are subtle tools that society has learned to use with remarkable efficiency. These emotions are so deeply embedded in your psyche that you don’t even notice how they control you. You think these are your own feelings, that they are natural. But in reality, they were skillfully instilled in you to make you predictable, obedient, convenient.

Fear creates the illusion that your desire is a threat. As soon as you begin to want something, your brain automatically sounds an alarm. The amygdala, responsible for instinctive reactions, perceives any deviation from the norm as danger. But this "danger" is just an invention. Society has reprogrammed your brain to fear stepping out of bounds. You are afraid not because it’s scary, but because you were taught to feel this way.

Shame goes even deeper. It’s not just a momentary emotion but an embedded mechanism of self-censorship. You don’t need external control if you’re already afraid that something is wrong with you. Shame creates a constant internal dialogue: "I’m not good enough," "My desire is shameful." It makes you doubt yourself, abandon your thoughts and aspirations before they even take shape.

These emotions take root through social practices. In childhood, shame is instilled with seemingly harmless phrases: "What will people think?" "You can’t do that, it’s inappropriate." In school, fear becomes discipline: grades, punishments, labels. Culture and religion elevate this to the level of absolute control. Desires are declared sinful, the body a source of filth, and freedom a chaos to be avoided.

You grow up feeling that your own aspirations are a mistake to be corrected. The harder you try to meet others’ expectations, the more you lose connection with yourself. Your desires begin to seem foreign, frightening, wrong. You suppress them, but along with them, you suppress your energy, your nature, your "self."

Fear and shame are not your feelings. They are constructs designed to rob you of freedom. They turn your pursuit of happiness into guilt, your uniqueness into a problem, your strength into weakness. And until you realize this, they will continue to control you, forcing you to live not for yourself but for a system that never cared about your interests.

Religious and Cultural Control Over the Body

Your body has never belonged to you. Religion and culture have dictated the rules for centuries, turning it into an object of control and your desires into a source of shame. These systems are built on one idea: if a person fears their body, they are easier to subjugate. The body became a symbol of sin, imperfection, and weakness, and the more you accepted this, the deeper you lost connection with yourself.

Religion was the first to declare the body an enemy of the soul. Christianity proclaimed that the flesh is sinful and desires lead to degradation. The female body was particularly demonized: the image of Eve cemented the idea that female sexuality is a source of destruction. The medieval church reinforced this control, turning the body into an instrument of guilt. Masturbation was considered a mortal sin, sexual thoughts a crime. A woman’s body didn’t even belong to her: it "belonged" either to God or to her husband. Every desire was punished with fear, leaving an indelible mark on consciousness.

Culture took up this baton, making control subtler but no less cruel. In Victorian England, sexuality was so taboo that any mention of the body was deemed indecent. Women who expressed sexual desires were labeled hysterical and isolated in psychiatric hospitals. Men were scared with "diseases" from masturbation to suppress their nature. But this was not about morality but direct suppression of freedom.

Modern culture has changed its tone. Now it doesn’t forbid but dictates. Your body is no longer "sinful" but "insufficient." Advertising, media, and social networks show what it should look like: slim, toned, perfect. They instill that your body deserves respect only after changes. If before control was based on the fear of sin, now it’s based on the fear of being "not enough."

These mechanisms work because they affect your psyche on a deep level. According to research published in the Journal of Psychology & Health (2021), suppressing sexuality and feeling shame for the body increases the risk of anxiety disorders by 40% and depression by 30%. Your body becomes a source of fear because the brain has learned to associate desires with threat. The hippocampus remembers every instance of condemnation, and the amygdala triggers anxiety at any attempt to step out of bounds.

The result is that you fear yourself. You are ashamed of your desires, embarrassed by your body, and perceive this as normal. You no longer question why you have to conform. You simply follow the rules created by someone to keep you within limits.

Religion said your body is sinful. Culture says it’s imperfect. But the essence remains unchanged: your body must never be yours. As long as you accept this, you’re easy to control. But the truth is, your body is not an enemy. It became so only because it’s more convenient for those who want to keep you in check. Realizing this is the first step to reclaiming your right to be yourself.

The Role of Pharmaceutical Corporations: Pills Instead of Mindfulness

Pharmaceutical corporations have long turned our fears and shame into a source of profit. They offer a simple solution to complex problems: a pill that will "fix" your anxiety, depression, or insecurity. But these solutions are not about health. They are about business. Pills don’t treat the cause; they suppress the symptoms, leaving you dependent on the next dose. Corporations have convinced you that your anxiety, apathy, or discomfort are not natural reactions to life but deviations that need to be urgently "fixed." But who decided there is something wrong with you?

The market for antidepressants, tranquilizers, and stimulants generates billions annually. Medications for enhancing potency, for example, brought in more than $6 billion in 2023. These pills promise not only to restore your confidence but also to give you a "normal" life. But what is normal? It has no objective meaning – it’s an artificially created standard that changes depending on what is profitable to sell.

Guilt is the perfect tool for pharmaceutical companies. Are you afraid you can’t handle anxiety? Ashamed of your body or desires? Corporations are right there, offering "treatment." But instead of understanding your emotions or the causes of discomfort, you get only temporary relief. A pill doesn’t teach you to understand your feelings; it suppresses them. Mindfulness, self-work, acceptance – these take too long and are too complicated. And most importantly, they can’t be sold.

Companies play on your fears. Are you afraid you don’t meet standards? Afraid your desires are not normal? Afraid of being judged? A pill promises to relieve the tension and restore your confidence. But the truth is, it’s an illusion. Fears are not a disease; they are a signal that you need to work on yourself. But the pharmaceutical industry wants you to believe the problem is you. And instead of exploring your fears, you take another pill.

There is no room for mindfulness in this scheme. It’s not profitable for corporations. Mindfulness is the ability to listen to yourself, accept your emotions, work with your desires. But corporations are not interested in you becoming free. A free person doesn’t buy pills to fix what isn’t broken. But a dependent one buys again and again.

Pharmaceutical companies have built their business on suppression. They don’t want you to ask questions, to understand your fears, or to accept yourself. They want you to think the problem is you, not the system that made you feel ashamed. But a pill won’t make you yourself. Only you can do that by choosing mindfulness over suppression.

Why Society Dictates the Boundaries of "Normal" Sex

Society dictates the boundaries of "normal" sex for a reason. Control over sexuality is control over personality, and this mechanism has worked for centuries. Sexuality is a powerful force capable of inspiring, liberating, and making you stronger. But it equally frightens those who want to control you. A free person who accepts their desires stops being afraid, becomes less pliable, and breaks out of social norms. To maintain order and stability, sexuality is turned into an object of control, and its natural expression into sin, shame, or a problem.

Control over sexuality began with religion. In medieval Europe, the church defined what was permissible in sex and what was not. Sex outside marriage? Sin. Pleasure for the sake of pleasure? Sin. Female sexuality? A dangerous temptation threatening order, which had to be suppressed. These dogmas made people dependent on forgiveness and cleansing that only the church could offer. Religious prohibitions didn’t protect but suppressed, turning guilt for desires into a tool of power.

The Victorian era brought this idea to absurdity. Sexuality became taboo. Women who expressed sexual desires were labeled hysterical and isolated in psychiatric hospitals. Men were scared with myths about the "diseases" of masturbation, up to threats of blindness or insanity. Even talking about the body was forbidden. These rules suppressed people, increasing shame for their nature and turning sexuality into something shameful and dangerous.

Today, religion has lost its monopoly on control, and culture has taken its place. Films, advertising, and social networks create the illusion of "normal" sex: the right bodies, the right poses, the right desires. You must be sexy but not too sexy. Desires must exist, but only those approved by society. These norms create a vicious cycle in which a person is always "not good enough." Sexuality has become a commodity. It is sold through images, convincing you that you must adapt your body, behavior, and desires to unattainable standards.

Social networks amplify this pressure. Every day you see what sex should look like to be "ideal." In real life, sex is awkward, impulsive, funny. But culture imposes a performance: you must play a role to fit in. As a result, you begin to doubt yourself. If your desires or body don’t fit imposed standards, you feel abnormal. This shame becomes a constant background, affecting self-esteem, relationships, and confidence.

Scientific research confirms the destructive impact of such frameworks. According to the Journal of Sexual Medicine (2021), more than 60% of people experience anxiety or shame related to their sex life due to social norms. This leads to depression, lower self-esteem, and relationship problems. Shame activates the amygdala, increasing anxiety, while the hippocampus forms long-term associations between sex and fear. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational thinking, is suppressed, making a person even more vulnerable to external influence.

The boundaries of "normal" sex don’t protect; they suppress your individuality. They make you doubt your desires, see them as a problem. You’re afraid to ask yourself: "What do I really want?" because you’re used to orienting yourself to standards. Your desires become alien, and you become part of a system that suppresses you.

"Normal" is an illusion. It was invented to control you. Your desires were never abnormal. The abnormality was the fact that someone tried to regulate them. Freeing yourself from these boundaries means reclaiming your right to be yourself.

Control Through Guilt: How This Scheme Works

Guilt is the chain society puts on your freedom. This tool works skillfully and imperceptibly, making you doubt your desires, thoughts, and actions. You feel like you’re doing something wrong even when you’re just trying to be yourself. But who said your desires are wrong? That voice is not yours. It was created by family, school, culture, religion – all those who want to keep you within limits.

At the brain level, guilt triggers a chain reaction. The amygdala, responsible for fear and anxiety, activates as soon as you step outside the "permissible." This triggers a stress response: cortisol, the stress hormone, rises, and the hippocampus records this situation as "dangerous." Over time, your brain starts associating any manifestations of individuality with a threat. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational thinking, is suppressed, and you can no longer critically evaluate whether you actually did something wrong. Guilt becomes your automatic reflex every time you try to step out of bounds.

Historically, guilt has been used as a tool of control. Religion has instilled for centuries that desires are sinful. Want more than you’re allowed? Guilty. Deviate from the rules? Guilty. This turned a person into someone dependent on "forgiveness" and "cleansing." Only the religious institution could remove the guilt it imposed. Guilt strengthened power by suppressing people and making them obedient.

Modern culture has perfected this mechanism. Now you’re not told outright that you’re "bad." Instead, ideals are created that you must conform to. Social networks, advertising, media show "ideal" people with "ideal" bodies and "ideal" lives. You look at this and feel you’ll never measure up. You feel ashamed of your body, your desires, that you’re not what you "should" be. And you start trying: work more, buy more, adjust more to standards. But these standards are an illusion. They’re specifically designed so that you always feel not good enough.

Research confirms that chronic guilt destroys a person. According to the Journal of Neuroscience (2020), people who experience constant guilt have a 40% higher level of anxiety and are 30% more likely to suffer from depression. The amygdala in such people operates in a state of heightened activity, and cortisol levels remain consistently high. This makes them vulnerable to external influence and unable to critically assess their condition.

Guilt is not an emotion that helps you become better. It destroys your individuality, forcing you to suppress your desires and doubt your thoughts. You start living not your life but the life prescribed by society. You’re afraid to be yourself because you’ve been taught that being yourself is bad. And the more you try to conform, the more you feel guilty for not being able to achieve it.

But the truth is, guilt is not your nature. It is artificially created to make you easier to control. This mechanism benefits the system because a person who constantly feels something is wrong with them becomes obedient. They will work, buy, conform, but never ask: "Why should I live this way?"

Recognizing this scheme is the first step to liberation. It’s important to ask yourself questions: "Who said my desires are wrong?" "Why should I feel guilty for being who I am?" These questions break imposed boundaries. You begin to see that your desires are not wrong. What’s wrong is the system that made your natural state a source of shame. You are not made to fix yourself. You are made to be yourself. And you have the right to break these chains.

Why Power and Submission Are So Frightening

You fear power because it demands honesty. You fear submission because it demands trust. These states force you to face your true self, without masks or excuses. Power and submission are not opposites, as you were led to believe. They are mirrors that show who you are. And what could be scarier than seeing yourself without illusions?

The fear of power is rooted in responsibility. When you take control of a situation, you must take responsibility for it. This makes you vulnerable because your decisions become visible. You fear judgment, fear making mistakes, fear failing to meet expectations. Power reveals your strength, but with it also your weaknesses. It requires you to abandon the habit of shifting responsibility onto others and take it upon yourself.

Submission frightens in a different way. It breaks the illusion of complete control over your life. In a world where weakness is considered a vice, trust becomes an act of bravery. You fear that by trusting, you will lose yourself, become a victim. But in reality, submission is not weakness but liberation. It’s a way to let go of unnecessary tension, to give up some control, and to learn to live in harmony with yourself and others. It is not a renunciation of freedom but a new form of it – the freedom to trust.

Society has demonized these states for centuries. Power was portrayed as oppression, submission as humiliation. Why? Because conscious power makes you strong, and conscious submission makes you free. Someone who understands their boundaries becomes unpredictable for the system. Stereotypes about power and submission are an attempt to keep you within the bounds of fear so that you don’t realize they can be tools of self-discovery.

Scientific research confirms that power and submission are deeply connected to psychological resilience. Activation of the prefrontal cortex, associated with managing situations, helps reduce anxiety and build confidence. And trust, arising in the process of submission, reduces the activity of the amygdala, responsible for fear, and allows you to feel safe.

Your fears are rooted in childhood. When you were taught that power is evil because it oppresses, and submission is weakness because it makes you vulnerable. But true power is self-control, and submission is acceptance. They show you the boundaries of your personality and teach you how to interact with others. You are not afraid of them but of who you might become if you stop being afraid. Power and submission are not enemies but tools that can open the way to true freedom if you allow yourself to look in the mirror.

How Freedom Begins with Accepting Your Boundaries

Freedom is not chaos where anything goes, nor is it the absence of rules. It’s the ability to understand what you truly want and to realize where your desire ends and your responsibility begins. True freedom begins with accepting your boundaries. These boundaries are not a prison or an obstacle. They are the foundation of your personality, helping you to be yourself in a world full of expectations, pressure, and illusions.

We are used to perceiving boundaries as limitations. We were taught that being free means knowing no limits. But the truth is that boundaries give us freedom. They protect us from chaos, from unnecessary energy expenditure, from trying to please everyone at once. They tell us: "This is where you are. This is your territory. Here you can choose." Accepting your boundaries is the rejection of the illusion that you can be everything to everyone. It’s the realization that you don’t have to control everything and everyone, that there are things in the world that simply don’t depend on you. And that’s okay.

Boundaries are the map of your personality. Without them, you get lost in others’ expectations, forgetting what you want for yourself. You start living to conform rather than to be. But when you accept your boundaries, you stop scattering yourself. You learn to say "no" where it matters and "yes" to what helps you grow. This is not weakness but true strength. You stop trying to be perfect and start being yourself.

Freedom begins when you realize that you cannot control everything. And this is not defeat. It’s liberation. You are not omnipotent – and that is your strength. When you accept that there are things you cannot change, you begin to focus on what is truly in your hands. You stop fighting reality and find your place in it.

Scientific studies show that awareness of your boundaries reduces stress levels and increases psychological resilience. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, responsible for self-control, helps regulate emotions and make balanced decisions. According to the Journal of Psychology & Health (2022), people who are aware of their boundaries are 35% more likely to achieve their goals and 40% less likely to experience burnout. This is not a restriction of freedom but its enhancement. When you understand that you can control yourself, you become freer than when you try to control everything around you.

Freedom in accepting boundaries manifests in two paradoxical things: power and submission. Power through accepting boundaries is self-control. It’s the ability to say "no" to what destroys and "yes" to what helps. It’s not about dictating others but about controlling your decisions and emotions. And submission through boundaries is the ability to trust. When you understand that you don’t have to keep everything under control, you let go of fear. You find peace in trust, stop fighting situations, and open space for new opportunities. This is not weakness but strength that comes with the realization that control is not always your duty.

An example from life? Imagine you are overloaded with work. It’s hard for you to refuse new tasks because you fear letting down your team or appearing weak. But saying "no" is not selfishness. It’s self-respect. Recognizing your boundaries helps you avoid burnout and work productively. Or another case: you are in a relationship but are afraid to trust your partner because it makes you vulnerable. But when you let go of this fear, you find peace and depth that are impossible in the constant struggle for control.

Freedom is not the absence of boundaries but their awareness. It’s understanding that boundaries are not walls but doors. You decide when to open them and when to close them. Accepting your boundaries is the path to true freedom because only then do you begin to live not by others’ expectations but by your own values. And only then do you become truly strong.

What Awaits You if You Decide to Reassess Your Fears

Reassessing your fears is like stepping into a dark room full of mirrors. It’s not frightening because someone is there, but because you might see yourself as you’ve never seen before. Fears are not enemies. They are always there, whispering reminders of your weaknesses. But if you decide to face them, you’ll realize they don’t want to destroy you. Their task is to protect. But this protection too often becomes a cage.