Positive Energy
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha
You experience and create all kinds of different energies that affect how you feel and what you accomplish throughout your day. Some energies are powerful and easily recognizable, while others are more subtle and often only intuitively felt. I believe it is fair to say that everything is, in a sense, energy.
The things you say, the things you think, the things you do—even the things you don’t do—all produce energy that impacts you and the people around you. If you work on creating more positive energy, you’ll see improvements in your life and you’ll touch more lives than you thought possible.
So what do I mean by energy?
I like to think of energy as anything that invokes a reaction inside you. In other words, anything that makes you tick, ponder, feel, or react. Energy comes to us in different forms. The chair you’re sitting on, the music you’re listening to, or the book you just finished reading, all provoke some sort of reaction within you.
Take music, for example. How does your favorite song make you feel? What type of energy do you enjoy most from music? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, dig into your iTunes right now and put on a song you love.
Take a break from reading this, close your eyes for the entire song, and see what you feel. Music is one of the most powerful and recognizable forms of energy, which is perhaps why it is grounded in so many sacred traditions. A powerful musician can create the same sensations in many different people.
Becoming Energized!
Music is the easiest way to shift your energy quickly. Athletes often listen to certain songs before games to help channel adrenaline; artists listen to music to help get their creative juices flowing; and many writers write with the help from music.
While music is the easiest way to understand this concept, it is definitely not the only way to become energized.
Often, when I wake up I fling the curtains open and let the sun flood into the room. This is a great way to become energized first thing in the morning. I don’t let rain sap my energy, though. If it’s raining, I try to be fully aware of the beauty before me so it becomes a positive influence, as well.
Maybe I’ll follow a few raindrops down the window or watch the ripples form in a puddle below me. Either way, I’m fully present. I find being present is the most important thing if you want to feel energy in a positive way. When you are here and now, everything is beautiful energy!
How can you obtain energy in a positive way?
Make a list of all the things that make you feel good and use it as a guide as you learn to become energized from a wider variety of things.
If being in nature is something that energizes you, try spending a little more time outdoors. If the sun energizes you, there is a good chance that flowers, trees, and animals will do the same.
Some of the things that bring positive energy into my life include:
Yoga
Meditating
Creative writing
Keeping a dream journal
Reading
Focusing on gratitude
Why focus on positive energy?
Positive energy is contagious. When you constantly take in the positive energy from your surroundings, it will be visible in the outer world.
My good friend Alex is perhaps the best example of this. He is so present that he radiates beautiful energy in everything he does. Everyone recognizes it and everyone loves being around him. They feed off his energy.
I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times people have told me stories about Alex making their day, or making them smile or simply making them feel good. After many late night conversations with Alex, the best piece of advice I can share in terms of this is to be fully in the here and now.
To make room for the positive energy available in this moment, you’ll need to release negative energy you’re holding onto from the past—be it distant or recent.
This can seem like an overwhelming task, but it doesn’t need to be if you focus solely on this moment and ask yourself: What about what I see in front of me makes me feel good? And if I don’t see anything that provides that feeling, how else can I access it?
—
A lot of people think of energy as a spiritual term, like the divine energy of Christ, Buddha, or Krishna. It isn’t necessarily an otherworldly concept. It’s something we create in our day-to-day activities.
If you learn to fully appreciate this moment, you will see you have profound power to manifest positive feelings within—to create divinely inspired energy, if you will, that impacts everything and everyone around you. In this way, we play a much larger part in the bigger picture than we realize.