902 | Soul Empowerment

902 | Evan Seeks Self-Control and Soul Empowerment

Chapter 902: Evan, Evelyn, Diesel, Abby, and Rev Explore Soul Empowerment and Self-Discipline

As Evan, Evelyn, Diesel, Abby, and Rev explore soul empowerment and self-discipline, the group grapples with the everyday challenges of mastering human impulses. Evan stares out the window, then finally speaks. “Evelyn, I want to live a better life than the one I see most people living.”

Evelyn looks up. “What makes you say that?”

“I feel vulnerable to the future,” Evan says. “And I feel hopeless to change it.”

“You’re not the only one who feels that way,” Evelyn says gently. “Who or what makes you feel vulnerable?”

Evan takes a breath. “I don’t like the direction the world is going. It feels like a downward spiral—less trust, less hope, less real caring. I feel vulnerable to powerful, controlling forces with selfish motives. I feel defenseless, unable to fight back. Part of me wants to run away and hide so no one can bother me. I’m afraid to stand up for what I think is right, because I know others will attack me and call me names.”

Evelyn jokes, trying to lighten the mood. “You need a vacation. Stay home from school tomorrow, play violent war video games all day, and blast those feelings out of you. You’re still young. You’re not supposed to solve the world’s problems yet.”

Evan lets out a short laugh. “Ha, ha. But adults were young once, too and most never learned how to overcome their vulnerabilities. Many still feel the same as when they were teenagers, but now they’re too set in their ways to change. I want to feel powerful and invulnerable. I want to feel protected from attacks and manipulation. I want to discover the core of who I really am and learn to think, feel, and act wisely and virtuously.

“I’m aware enough to see that people around me aren’t very mindful. At the same time, I can feel myself being pushed around by outside forces, pressured to act foolishly. It’s like there’s a battle inside me, and I’m not always winning.”

Evelyn nods slowly. “I understand what you’re asking, but it takes a complicated answer. To live a better life, you have to become a better version of yourself. The good news is, you’re already ahead of many people because you can consciously observe yourself. You already see that you’re not always the one in full control.”

“I try talking about this with my friends,” Evan says, “but they just brush it off. They say, ‘We’re teenagers. Teenagers are supposed to be rebellious and out of control.”

“To be a better you,” Evelyn says, “you can’t think, feel, and act the way most people do. Hormones, instincts, and false beliefs all influence your thoughts, feelings, and actions, and each one tries to play its own game.

“Most humans spend their lives trying to get these parts to cooperate. Sometimes they take turns getting what they want. Usually, the strongest and loudest part takes control. To become a better person, you must learn to override your human thoughts, emotions, and physical impulses and manage your temporary body from the level of your soul.

“You must live as a soul, not just as a human animal. Your body is like a horse your soul rides. The rider has more power than the horse and can direct it—but always within the horse’s natural limits.”

“Sometimes I feel exactly like that,” Evan admits. “Like I’m a rider on a horse I can’t control. The horse drags me into foolishness, and my soul ends up with cuts and bruises.”

“The horse and rider are meant to be a team,” Evelyn says. “The rider trains the horse to obey. The rider gives the command to run, but doesn’t control every tiny movement of the horse’s legs. In the same way, your soul must train your human body to be obedient. A disciplined human body responds to the soul’s reasonable commands. The real question is: are you in control, or is something else?”

“That’s exactly my problem,” Evan says quietly. “Looking back, I can see that sometimes I’m not in control at all. I regret what I did, but I can’t change it. In those moments, it’s like I become the horse and someone else climbs on and rides me. My stronger, more disciplined self gets shoved aside and put to sleep. When it’s over, I wake up from what feels like a hypnotic trance, and suddenly I’m ‘me’ again.”

“You’ve just described what drugs and alcohol do to a lot of people,” Evelyn says. “Many young people use them to escape their normal selves and get stupid on purpose. So, which drugs are you experimenting with?”

“I’m not,” Evan says, shaking his head. “I don’t like feeling stupid or out of control. But still, I lose control sometimes. I can resist temptation for weeks, and then something hits me, and I give in. Why?”

“That’s a very important question,” Evelyn says. “Most people never ask it. There’s more interest in distractions that lower awareness than in giving up certain desires to increase awareness.”

Diesel wanders into the conversation and smirks. “Unrestricted experimentation is my path to self-realization.”

“Teens have to develop self-control before they become adults,” Evan says, turning to Diesel. “Plenty of adults feel powerless to create positive change in today’s world. They decide it’s not their responsibility to help save anything. They never mastered the discipline needed to be truly empowered.”

Abby, listening from the side, chimes in softly, “Obedience and long suffering are the most important qualities. Believers are meant to be weak.”

Evan shakes his head. “Self-discipline is even more important for teenagers. When you’re a little kid, adults teach you obedience because you don’t have enough wisdom or experience to make big decisions.

“You get rewarded or punished for following rules. A little girl gets spanked for stealing a book or is rewarded with a cookie for cleaning her room. As kids grow, obedience gets reinforced through natural consequences. You can’t play sports if you’re out of shape. No one wants to be around you if you’re mean.

“As you show responsibility, you get more freedom. You start choosing your clothes or deciding when to go to bed.”

Diesel rolls his eyes. “My parents still tell me what to wear and when to go to bed. So I guess I’m not responsible at all.”

Rev shrugs. “I agree, early childhood is when you’re supposed to learn obedience to rules and regulations. If you don’t learn it then, it’s too late by the time you’re a teen.”

“Self-discipline,” Evan says, “depends on aligning yourself with laws and limits that everyone agrees on. Rebels can’t or won’t force themselves to follow laws made by people with more wisdom and experience.

“Rebels like to experiment with shortcuts and foolishness to prove they’re smarter than the rule-makers. A rebel might get away with driving 100 miles an hour on a straight road, but that doesn’t mean they understand how a car reacts at that speed on a sharp curve.”

“When I finally become an adult in, I don’t know, twenty-five years,” Diesel says, grinning, “I’m going to create a bunch of new laws and cancel all the old ones.”

Abby folds her hands. “I believe my Savior will fill me with self-control as long as I’m patient and long-suffering.”

“I’m not looking for shortcuts or excuses,” Evan says. “I want to know how to live a better life. I want my soul to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

“Self-control,” Evelyn says, “keeps the soul from wasting energy and opens the door to empowerment. But self-discipline rests on wisdom and divine virtues. To make wise, virtuous choices, you need the willpower to carry them out. Think of it as SSS: Smart, Saintly, and Self-disciplined.”

Rev smirks at Evan. “I dare you to wear a T-shirt that says: I want to be Smart, Saintly, and Self-disciplined.”

Abby brightens. “All the girls would love it. I want a T-shirt that says: Believers are obedient and long-suffering.”

“Why can’t I be self-controlled sometimes and a rebel at other times?” Diesel asks. “Isn’t that what free will is for? Using self-control to always be obedient feels like being a slave, terrified of punishment and torture. Wild rebels prove that SSS rules don’t enslave them.”

Evan answers calmly. “I already learned the value of obedience as a child. I don’t need to prove my ‘freedom’ by acting foolishly. I’m disciplined most of the time. So why do I still get tricked into losing control? It feels like my energy bucket has a slow leak, and I’m always trying to refill it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Abby says. “We’re all miserable, worthless sinners. Just say you’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, and move on.”

“I tried that after I wrecked my dad’s car the second time,” Diesel says dryly. “It doesn’t always work.”

“Let it be,” Rev says. “Be at peace. A lot of your consequences might be delayed for several lifetimes. By then, you’ll be someone else and won’t even remember why bad things are happening.”

Evelyn shakes her head. “Evan makes a good point. Losing control shows vulnerability. Most adults never get beyond being partly in control. Their teenage vulnerabilities grow into addictions, attachments, and explosions of negative emotion.

“Losing control gets relabeled as a reward, a medicine, or stress relief. But reaching full-time SSS empowerment is a requirement before you can handle advanced soul superpowers.”

“I’ve got too much negative karma from my last life to reach SSS,” Rev says. “I need my rewards, my medication, and my stress relief.”

“Only my Savior can have superpowers,” Abby insists.

“Would earning soul superpowers actually help me live a better life?” Evan asks.

“Of course,” Evelyn says. “Complete self-discipline opens the way to master control over matter and energy. You can learn to heal the sick, multiply bread, and cast out demons.

“But if you lack self-control, you’re vulnerable when you do those things. A disease could leap from the person you’re healing into your own body. A cast-out demon could see your weakness and attack you. You need full protection when you act as a mystic warrior.”

“Given those risks,” Diesel says, backing away a little, “I don’t want to be a spiritual warrior.”

“Then at least learn to observe people’s lives,” Evelyn says. “Notice where they could improve. Detect their vulnerabilities—to attachments, bad habits, and false beliefs. Notice when their senses fail them, keeping them from the knowledge they need. See how twisted virtues create chaos.

“And watch how a lack of self-control wrecks their ability to follow through on promises they made with good intentions. People with weak discipline practically invite others to take advantage of them and control them.”

Chapter Synopsis:

Evan expresses a deep concern about feeling vulnerable to the negative trajectory of the world and losing control of his own impulses. Evelyn guides the group—including Diesel, Abby, and Rev—through a discussion on soul empowerment, comparing the soul to a rider and the human body to a horse that must be trained. While Diesel advocates for unrestricted experimentation and Abby relies on passive obedience, Evan rejects shortcuts in favor of achieving complete self-mastery, wisdom, and virtue (referred to as being Smart, Saintly, and Self-disciplined, or SSS). Evelyn concludes by emphasizing that true self-control and spiritual discipline are absolute prerequisites for handling advanced soul superpowers safely.

Core Themes & Laws:

• The necessity of mastering human impulses by operating from the level of the soul rather than the physical body

• The contrast between unearned shortcuts/rebellion and true self-discipline

• The danger of losing self-control, which creates vulnerabilities to addictions, negative emotions, and manipulation

• The requirement of full self-discipline and protection before one can safely wield advanced spiritual or mystic powers

Key Entities Featured in this Document:

• Evan: A student who seeks self-control, soul empowerment, and genuine protection against negative worldly forces

• Evelyn: A mentor figure who explains soul discipline using the analogy of a rider and a horse, introducing the concept of SSS empowerment

• Diesel: A rebellious student who views unrestricted experimentation and fun as his path

• Abby: A student who believes humans are inherently weak and that spiritual progress comes solely through passive obedience and grace

• Rev: A cynical student who relies on fatalism and delayed karma rather than immediate personal discipline