Tips
for Taking Charge of Your Energy
by Shirley Ryan
We would all like
to get more out of life. An abundant lifestyle chuck full of good things,
a lifestyle that works for us rather than against us, right? Have you
ever wondered how to make that happen? Consider for a moment that taking
charge of your life is also taking charge of your energy. The self-regulating
methods of meditation work with the ebb and flow of energy, and consciousness.
This creates a dynamic new way to look at life. One in which you are
the maker of all that comes your way.
The possibilities
internally are endless, but most of us live life looking outwardly,
scanning the horizon for important data that reinforces whatever we
are doing. We make the point to ourselves that it is prudent to be
ever watchful, to save ourselves from problems in the long run. If
you take your eye off the ball it sometimes drops like a lead balloon,
right?
Actually looking
within can be just as useful to enhance life, because it increases
energy, clarity, adds greater meaning and a healthier lifestyle. A
life that includes the discipline of looking inward is meditation.
Meditation enhances our ability to observe what is inside and outside
of ourselves.
Meditating regularly
increases personal power and allows us to detach, find balance and
continuity within. Most of the issues of living surround strenuous
attachment to those things outside of us. Attachment and detachment
are two of many paired opposites that need to be balanced in life to
find greater peace. This duality drains the spirit of its energy. In
meditation, our body and mind will spontaneously work to develop that
balance, so it helps to get out of the way.
Detachment is the
key to meditation. Detachment is a sense of disconnection or a neutral
attitude towards what we have and see in the outside world. That is,
a detachment from our need for these things, not that we must give
up what we possess. It means that we must give up possessiveness in
ourselves, or release the attachments that limit us. Detachment allows
the freedom to fully meditate, expanding awareness of the possible.
Symbolic
things are internalized regardless of the external reality of a thing,
so find a symbol that helps you detach to a greater degree of readiness.
- When thoughts
interrupt, just let them pass through you as the observer of your
thinking. (Keep a notepad for those things that need to
be documented, and then let it go)
- Wash your hands
in a symbolic gesture of finality when you quit work for the day
or sit to meditate.
- Lock your briefcase
in your trunk to signal closure for day or weekend. (Say to yourself--out
of my life until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow or Monday morning!)
- Make an appointment
with yourself to disengage a project--at 4:00 p.m. I switch gears
to meditate. (Send an e-mail auto-timed to signal a private moment.)
- Make one hour
of the day off limits to business e-mail and phone calls. (Dedicate
this private time to yourself.)
- Turn the phone
off or lower the sound so it can’t be heard.
- Turn off the light
to signal the start of meditation.
- Have a special
shirt, jacket, sweater or scarf: a meditation garment which protects
from external stimuli.
- Create a bubble
around yourself that is soundproof to assist concentration.
- Wear sunglasses--to
symbolically block outside stimuli. (Think instead, I now see my
own internal light, the light of the Universe pulsating in me and
through me.)
- Create a physical
ritual as a symbolic gesture to neutralize the energy around you.
This is symbolic, so the more meaningful to you the more you will
use it. (E.g. Wave your arms in a wide symmetrical and expansive
gesture of openness.)
- Then find a comfortable
place to begin the process of meditation.
Connecting with the
Universe through meditation helps us to live in a world that is ever,
clearer and ever peaceful. When we get frustrated about things, it
is usually because we see can’t see them from a higher perspective.
Meditation creates a peaceful detachment from the external world and
a life balance like no other. One that helps us see the beauty all
around us, to see things through the eyes of God.
Shirley
Ryan was led to create the book Searching for
the Waters of Antiquity a meditation tool, and a unique
integration of her extensive career experience and her skills
of painting and meditation. She is also the founder and president
of Working Together, a business specializing in managing life’s
changes in Mind, Body & Spirit through the coaching process. She
has worked as a professional life coach since 1994.
