I’m going to begin our conversation today by reminding you that most of our behavior is automatic, conditioned, and programmed. Please take a look at this post to begin our discussion: http://www.transcendentjourney.com/habitual-conditioning-vs-authenticity

Follow the Energy – Lost and Found

As you can see, we are programmed to have a habitual response to life experience, where our brain processes thousands of comparisons in order to judge a current situation based on past experience (and most times not even our own past experience). Because we wish to avoid future pain, we generally follow this conditioning unconsciously, even when a different choice is available. The strength of this programming cannot be underestimated, as most of us have lost faith in our own authentic choices and tend to live a life of pleasing other people. Unfortunately, in most cases, we aren’t happy pleasing other people, and other people aren’t pleased when we make inauthentic choices. How many times have you heard, “He’s a phony.” “She’s a phony.” “You’re a phony.” So, people know we aren’t coming from an authentic place, even though they understand that we are masters of our conditioned programs.

Interrupting the Pattern

When you understand that your habits are preventing you from making desired change (choosing a different, more authentic response), there is an easy way to interrupt the pattern so that your brain slows down and stops habitual processing. Start asking questions. When your brain hears you ask a  question, it will focus its enormous computing power on answering that question. Since any question will interrupt the pattern, it doesn’t really matter what question you ask. But, I like the following questions for pattern interrupts:

• How does it get any better than this?
• What else is possible?
• Are there other choices out there that I haven’t looked at yet?
• What could be more fun?
• What could be more lucrative?
• What would feel better than this?
• What would be more authentic for me?
• Is there something out there that is more aligned with who I really am?

Often, I’ll ask two or three questions, one right after the other, so my brain starts slowing down and pays attention to answering the questions.

What Does Follow the Energy Mean?

There are more and more studies about applying the cyclical nature of energy. I like this article on cycling emotional energy: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sapient-nature/201106/energy-cycles-flow-and-emotional-positivity, for example.

For purposes of our conversation, let’s take a look at this graph of a tidal wave (It’s a great graphic that illustrates the active and passive phases of energy.):

 

What is important about this graph is that the picture illustrates a build up of energy that peaks at the top of the wave. Then, the energy dissipates until we reach the trough of the wave where there is little to no activity. This is a perfect illustration of the two main phases of energy, for purposes of our discussion, active and receptive. There is passive receiving of the benefits of action; then, action to build more energy.

Simple Guide to Help You
Follow the Energy

Westerners predominately are programmed that a person’s value comes from the success or failure of his/her actions. We are so heavily conditioned to act, that we will allow  our lives to go to do-do,… before we think of another response to our experiences. So, when actions aren’t producing results, people generally will continue to keep acting, whether their activity continues to produce desired results or not. This is how our unconscious, habitual programming runs.

The truth of the matter is that action is the active phase of the energy, moving the cycle from inertia to movement. But, this is only half the equation. As you can see by the above graph, there also is a passive phase to the energy, where it looks as if nothing is happening. This passive phase is receptive — meaning there is a stillness that allows the Universe to arrange and send us the matter, means, relationships, and circumstances that will bring our chosen experience to us. We can’t actualize an experience without receiving these resources.

Germination Is a Good Example of Receptivity

If a farmer has done his/her soil preparation and plants a seed, the last action until the seed sprouts is watering. Once the seed is watered, the farmer goes on to other business. He/She doesn’t dig up the seed daily to see if the seed is behaving in a desired for way. He/She doesn’t criticize the seed or cry with disappointment because germination takes time. The farmer allows the seed to do what it does while it is in the germination process — gather resources from the soil, air, and water to create a beautiful plant.

When We Follow the Energy,
Actualization is Natural

When you make a choice in any life experience, you lock actualization of that reality in. At that point, unless you are inspired to participate in how the Universe moves that reality toward you, you can go about the business of following the energy. Since your body is an infinite being with energy mastery, try paying attention to him/her. If you are too active, your body is going to get tired and your posture will start pulling you into the fetal position, one movement at a time (contraction). Pay attention to this sign and rest.

When you rest, refrain from the habitual conditioning of criticizing yourself, your body, the actualization and learn how to enjoy stillness. It is during this stillness that you are receiving the matter, means, relationships, and circumstances for the perfect actualization of your choice. Why would that be bad? How does resisting receiving your heart’s desire help you become more healthy, wealthy, and joyful? It does not. Without those times of stillness and receptivity, your actualization process will be out of balance and random. Your willingness to rest, to follow the energy when it goes into a receptive phase will naturalize your actualization process. When actualization becomes natural again, any experience you choose starts moving toward you, without your effort. This so reminds me of guidance given to me by my first mentor, Arzella Kay:

If you are efforting, you ain’t doing it right.

Arzella, it’s fortunate that I finally understand what you were telling me all those years ago. I hope folk reading this post won’t wait as long as I did to apply your wisdom and begin to follow the energy right now!