The energy we bring to a situation has the power to completely change the experience. Have you ever been so nervous or stressed about a situation that you ruined it for yourself? And when it was over your wished you could do it again without the hard feelings YOU brought to the table?
We have the capacity to shift our ourselves but the first step is an understanding and awareness of energy.
Energy is the power behind our thoughts, words and actions. It behaves like water. Once you have a certain energy that you are experiencing there are only a number of things that can be done:
1) Freeze the water-- suppress it. If you are not able to process the feeling you push it down as if its not happening. It is still there and will have to be dealt with eventually. As you become stronger "frozen" experiences will "melt back to water" or "come up to come out" and then must be dealt with in one of the following ways.
2) Let the water flow elsewhere. Pass on the feeling to someone else. Have you ever seen someone get yelled at or criticized and they unknowingly turn around and do the same thing to someone else? This is a very common way of managing our hard feelings but it is not very aware or healthy. Plus the people around you will eventually get tired of being your punching bag.
3) Let it sit and pool. This is wallowing in a feeling without allowing yourself any room or support to release it. Just like a stagnant pool of water is gonna get gross and murky and possibly damage its container-- stagnant heavy energy is damaging to the body and mind. Dis- ease becomes disease.
4) Boil the water. The feelings get so strong you bubble and get "hot". Emotions run wild. Things are said or done that wouldnt be without the force of the bouncing untamed energy.
5) Allow the water to evaporate. This is transforming the energy by processing it and letting it go. Of course this takes practice and some level of self mastery - but how nice if everyone could see that most of us are doing our best and have good intentions and that sometimes life and misperceptions get in the way.
So how do we bring this idea into practice? We can start by becoming aware of our energy:
Tune inward
PAUSE
Take a DEEP BREATH or 3
What do you feel - frustration? Overwhelm? Self-critical?
Where in body do I have physical sensations and what could they be telling me?
NO JUDGEMENT JUST FACTS
Can you find acceptance and surrender?
Can you shift to gratitude or another more positive state?
Taking a moment of stillness and quiet to assess our current state periodically over the course of the day will help us begin to become more in tune with our energetic state and the cues that our body (in physical sensations) and mind (via behavioral patterns and emotional feelings) send us as we shift.
MINDFUL SELF COMPASSION
While working on cultivating your awareness of your energy and what triggers or situations got you there it is crucial that we do not add to the layers that need healing love. It is crucial that we don't judge ourselves. We are here to heal. Be proud that you are doing hard inner work to release old wounds. Just reflecting on your current state is healing but we tend to think we should be better, more, less, farther along blah blah blah
There is NO SHOULD. Just be.
Give yourself credit for wanting to take responsibility for your experience and how you show up to your life!
Stick around for the next installment: How do I work on my Energy?
Happy Reflecting,
Rebecca
Adapted from a talk I gave: Energetics of Your Classroom.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/entertainment/12th/2016/06/29/how-change-energy-room/86441328/
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