So often, happiness, health and hitting our goals is about connecting with the right energy at the right moment.
We in New England are experiencing an amazing autumn this year, skyfuls of color everywhere. It would be easy to say that this is my favorite time of year. My family and I are just loving the mountains that surround us and their tremendously healing and revitalizing energies.
Yet, I realize even as I write this that each turn of the seasons sparks specific energy that feels physically, mentally and spiritually good -- just as each part of the day can. What's key is becoming more sensitive (mindful) to these. Such energies are freebees, helping us find our physical and mental compass -- e.g., having good whole being energy isn't about soaring all the time as much as it is about having the "right energy" to accomplish your goals, whatever it is you are trying to do at the moment and in the long run. And it's about balance -- e.g., being alert yet calm, strong yet fluid and so on. The energy we need not only to accomplish our goals, but to live with deeper satisfaction and greater spirit is all around us and I want everyone to find it, connect with it and bring their life into vivid technicolor.
Our bodies are incredibly intelligent instruments. We can use them to discover the specific energy we need and what resources will give it to us. Learning to listen your body will help you achieve the power and balance you require to live your best life.
Just the other day, my family and I took an early morning ride over the mountains. The sky was deep blue with bright-white cotton candy clouds, and the air bonfire sharp. Patches of leaves scattered across the cidery fields in a kaleidoscope of colors. But lucky for us, the most vivid colors are still bursting from the leaves in the thousands of trees that cover the mountains. The kids say they look like Kicks or Fruit Loops.
My youngest, who learned to use the relaxing sounds of the river as well as of ocean waves early in her life and how she could amplify these frequencies with the environment's colors, commented that orange is her favorite leaf color. She said it makes her feel beautiful and makes her mind sparkle. My oldest said red is hers. It makes her feel, she said, warm and cozy and alive at the same time. Both of these reasons, she said, are why she enjoys wearing red during the winter.
We as a family have emphasized nature's energetic gifts as fun and joyful -- natural ways to cultivate the specific energies we need throughout the day in specific situations -- say, to increase mental alertness or to reverse stress or stimulate focus. I want to encourage everyone to discover these gifts.
Finding natural ways to cultivate the physical energy and luminous mindset you need to live a vibrant life is a skill that will last you a lifetime. Like all good tools your ability to use it will snowball. This may seem like a little thing, but learning how to use and balance the energies that affect your body and mind is, in this writer's opinion, vital. Some of consequences of not managing your energy show up as memory fatigue, having no energy to think, midday slump, and loss of physical strength -- so you don't produce satisfactorily, and by the end of the day you're feeling stressed, experiencing poor sleep, and waking up with diminished returns. This is the short list. The full list includes a full range of even more serious health concerns.
So it is autumn. The skyline is sparkling with colors. I want to suggest you consider some ways you can spend a little more time outside. Be mindful of the myriad of colors and how they make you feel physically. Which is your favorite? Which one warms you, which enlivens, which calms? Emblazon these into your memory. Consider drawing on them for specific tasks in the upcoming days.
There are many, many more matter-over-mind ways to harness the energies that influence our body, mind, and spirit, starting with taking a look at your body's full and available energy spectrum. Taking a single break for a colorful autumn drive is a simple way to charge up the moment with more positive energy and shift into better physical and mental patterns. But there are a lot more tools you can use to spark these moments more often and at will, especially during life's most important times.
Stay tuned as we explore this topic further in upcoming posts.
Here's an energy bite you can try at work. It's easy and doable...
Instead of afternoon coffee when your body is craving vitamin D and you're dragging, refresh your blood chemistry with a short walk outdoors. The exercise will increase your energy & sunlight eliminates melatonin (hormone making you feel groggy).
Note: For more in-depth discussion, you may wish to check out my newest book, Body Intelligence -- Harness Your Body's Energies for Your Best Life.