Living Energy Blog

Letting Go of Resistance Boosts Energy

Resistance can be subtle—I have noticed that I can be fundamentally positive in my philosophy or outlook but still have a subtle resistance to certain events or situation. Resistance constricts our energy and contributes to low energy states and negative moods which then create more of the same. We need to actively intervene in this cycle in order to erase its hold on our energy and nervous system. Once we are “onto” the subtle ways of resistance, the increased energy motivates us to keep practicing until we have a new pattern installed.

Here are three affirmations to help release resistance you may not even be aware you are holding.

Today I will notice the subtle ways I resist and say “No” to life.

Today I will notice how the inner resistance I hold constricts my energy and feelings and contributes to negative thought loops.

Today I can practice softening and opening to a more spacious feeling in my mind and body, not fighting or resisting what is and simply notice the effect.

The following is an excerpt from Session Two of Twelve Keys for Life and Self Mastery: Opening the Gate to Self Knowledge and Self Awareness

For a complete description of the one hour downloadable program and worksheets click here: http://bit.ly/JztBYf
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We are energetic beings living in a sea of energy and just as the energy of the universe takes many forms and has many layers, so do WE. To fully connect with and express our best selves in the world then it is imperative to have true Self knowledge and Self awareness. These are most efficiently gained through understanding  of the structure of our minds and energy systems.

It has often been said that “knowledge is power,” and nowhere is that truer than when we are speaking about ourselves and the lives we create. Self-knowledge includes understanding how we work as human beings as well as how we have personally operated up until now to construct our lives.

That brings us to Self-awareness. Self-awareness includes the ability to observe oneself, but the way we are using the term implies even more than that.

We share the view that each of us is in the world to bring more of our spiritual nature into human form – to become more of our authentic Selves and grow past the small identity that may have served us well until now but no longer does.

We live in a time that necessitates living in new ways … a time that requires us to rise to challenges from a different perspective than in the past so we can live lives that are more nurturing, satisfying, fulfilling, abundant and prosperous in every way.

To us, the term Self-awareness represents a knowing beyond observation of our patterns of thought, feeling and action. It describes a presence of “I AMNESS” that is beyond the average thought, feeling or sensation of human experience. It is the direct awareness of our spiritual nature.

We are addressing moving from the lower mind controlled by the ego and its self-protective – but often mistaken – ideas and beliefs to a level of BEING that embodies more of your spiritual essence … your soul nature. This is the place where we embrace our full potential and engage the power of our authentic Selves.

There is an art and science involved in this opening to the authentic Self. The way has been laid out for us through the millennia, but now we have the additional benefit of research in Mind-Body Medicine and Energy Psychology, as well as Quantum Physics, documenting age-old wisdom and providing important information to help speed us along on this exciting adventure of discovery.

The beginning of this journey necessarily includes a working knowledge of the mind, as it is the vehicle that transports us for a portion of our journey.

Our mind is not only an operating system; it is also where many of our obstacles lie. To understand the mind’s structure and have a working knowledge of its functions can help smooth our way as we seek to create change in our lives.

In this session we discuss the three levels of mind and how to use each of them appropriately. We talk about methods that are most useful with each level and provide an experiential exercise to help you begin to identify and sort out the layers of your own mind.

As many of you know, Living Energy’s Tony Pace is an singer and performer who has been in the entertainment industry for three decades. He brings his perspective to the recent tragic loss of Whitney Houston below.

As technology brings the world closer and closer together, the stresses and tragedies of nations once a world away are often felt like the pain of loss of a loved one. There are so many stresses and tragedies in our modern world that call out to deeper understanding. Unfortunately it often takes significant pain for we humans to dive deeper and look at what is going on beneath the surface and emerge from those depths with approaches that really work to heal ourselves and our lives.

Our perceptions (unknowingly skewed), leading with a false ego (as opposed to a healthy ego) and a fundamental separation from our deeper authentic spiritual selves are all a recipe for disaster that claims way too many souls. I (Tony)can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when John F Kennedy was assassinated. Will that be the case regarding Whitney Houston? For some maybe. Others couldn’t care less and feel that our fallen soldiers deserve as much recognition, if not more, for what they have done. Regardless of how you feel, the fact is we all leave an imprint in the hearts and minds of those around us. Importance is based on the lens we look through. As part of the music industry for well over 30 years, so I may look at Whitney’s death through a different lens than some or most.

The music industry is unforgiving, filled with sorrow, reinvention, and rejection and then there’s the bad side! Whitney Houston reached superstardom and lived within that realm for most of her life. It started as a dream and then one day, nothing was beyond her reach. The problem, in my opinion, came the moment she fell from grace within the industry. She was no longer the hot commodity of the day and the paparazzi moved on. “What have you done lately” is the question of the day in the entertainment world. When your 15 minutes of fame are up, it can be one of the most devastating experiences in your life as an artist. How you cope with that loss can determine life, death, or at best your growth as a human/soul.

Whitney brought joy to a generation of people, a gift which she happily shared with the world. She was one who endured the anguish and whispers in the shadow of domestic abuse. She fell victim to substance abuse in her final act when her inner foundation fell. Life can erode a beautiful soul if it is not cherished and nurtured. Pain fragments and disconnects us from the universe when we are not centered and grounded. The ethereal high we seek from substances or any external means serves to sever connection to the beauty of the soul and destroy the human body. Would that it should be so easy to reach for the stars and stay among them. It is a truth that we must keep balance in this life, stay in touch with the energy and splendor all around us, and know our authentic selves.

Whitney endured the anguish of having her shadow self exposed to the public eye as she struggled to deal with the effects of domestic abuse, the rigors of show business and the agony of not having a firm inner foundation (authentic self) to cushion her and help to recreate her life. Substance abuse is more often than not a combination of dealing with unmanageable pain, a sign of a fragmented self disconnected from source energy that nurtures and strengthens. Regardless of what the coroner’s report says, The cause of her death for me, through my lens, was the inability to cope with being normal: The loss of the Superstar Persona in her own mind became the loss of her self. The climb to her true self became too much.

Release, by Rita Loyd

There is something deeply settling in living with awareness, to our life questions and being open to the information, release  and healing that comes from attending to them. It feels like an ever present opportunity to come home to our essential self in the midst of daily life….the inner space that nourishes and sustains u…s if we connect with it.

Recently I was searching for a file and came across an article I had written back in 2007. The topic was about these very things–looking at life through different eyes,  being aware of messages and their deeper meaning. The funny thing about the core issue I discovered and wrote about in the article is that I have recently been having thesame  message come back around….again! Not so strange really, just human and the way it is for those of us who learn more slowly! It gets easier with experience and there is gratitude for that!

To pay attention to life moments , with an attitude of ease and patient spaciousness is one of the ways that we turn the ordinary into extraordinary- paying attention, we open our hearts and minds and become receptive to something beyond the noise in our heads, the something that heals.

I do not think that we should live our lives under the burden of analyzing and inspecting every moment for deeper meaning. However, my experience has taught me that there is a great deal to be gained through being open to the broader perspectives that life is always inviting us toward.

To read Energy, Meaning and Messages:  http://bit.ly/A35PTH

Questions to Ponder

Do you think symbolically about the events of your life?

How does the universe speak to you?

How has your life been enriched by deeper listening and clearer seeing/vision?

I would love to hear your experiences and comments about this topic!

Galaxy in Universe courtesy of thanucorn

Mark Borax’s Cosmic Weather Report for November is worth reading if you would like to gain a deeper understanding of our unprecedented times.

He articulates how the patterns and cycles of the past 40 years have moved into mainstream consciousness, with 57% of the USA supporting change.

He tells us why the time is right to step into our authentic selves, breaking free of past patterns that have kept us locked in place.

At minimum you may begin to understand your deeper self a little better and know that at times we have all been feeling a bit confused. It is part of the pattern.

Mark tells us that the next significant date of revolutionary social change is June 24, 2012. Hold on tight and ride the wave. You may find that moving forward is about going with the flow rather than fighting against it.

We’re hearing a lot about memory these days. What does it have to do with energy and being? Quite a bit, actually. Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Science of Remembering Everything, tells us that to memorize is to be more mindful and to pay more attention to the world around you. He says that “remembering can only happen if you decide to take notice.” Taking notice is about being present. The more you notice and register in your mind via lively details, the more you truly experience. Your perspective broadens and your life becomes richer.

One of the tricks to remembering is to categorize what you’d like to remember into segments that represent people, objects and actions, make them vivid or “sticky”, and then store them in memory palaces (such as the rooms of your childhood home). Think about your own life and some of the things you can clearly recall. What are some of your happiest moments as a child? What about the saddest or the most frightening? What do you recall about your first job? How about your first relationship? More than likely an array of events, circumstances and situations come to mind. You can probably recall the exact day or time, who was present, where you were, what was happening. The deeper the imprint, the more likely you are to remember.

Although it takes a bit of practice, you can train your memory. As your memory expands, your knowledge base and perspective do as well. In ancient times, the collective memory was maintained and shared orally through the power of story. People memorized the stories and passed them down from generation to generation, expanding the mind. As the written word emerged, the human collective memory shifted from the individual mind to books. Now we are experiencing another significant shift with the proliferation of aids — such as the internet, smart phones with apps that will tell you where to park, what to eat, GPS systems that remember addresses and direct you how to go, and much more — that literally replace our memory. One of the downsides is that we don’t have to remember … our devices do it for us. This trend coincides with our stress-filled lives and the increasing decline of our memories.

Our lives are profoundly shaped by our perceptions and our perspective about life is expanded by our experiences … what we see, feel, hear, touch, and what we know.  To help broaden your mind and expand your energy, seek out new experiences and be mindful of them. Observe everything and remember to practice the art of presence every day.

Related articles

• Moonwalking (thefineprints.wordpress.com)
• Memory: Content or Method? (customerthink.com)

A Halloween sign, from a shop in Northern London. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the latest challenges was the October Nor’easter that swept through New England last weekend. I (Peg) happened to be in NYC and was caught off-guard. Following a gorgeous late October Friday, the wet and heavy snow felt a bit surreal as we were suddenly plunged into winter. Sloshing through city streets with umbrellas blowing and wearing shoes instead of boots was not fun. The next day was gorgeous again: a clear blue and sun glistening through foliage. As we traveled north, however, a different picture emerged. Abandoned cars on snowy roadways and fallen trees soon gave way to long gas lines that reminded me of the 1970’s energy crisis. We knew something more had happened. Power was out throughout parts of NY, CT, MA and NH. Luckily we were able to fill the gas tank just when we needed it.

We arrived home to no power and an hour’s light left. Since our town felt like a war zone with extensive damage to trees and power lines, we decided to pack our bags for a Tuesday trip to CA and head further north where things were operating fine. I spent Monday with a client near the NH seacoast. By mid-day the snow had melted and everyone was preparing for Halloween. Simultaneously, Halloween was quickly being rescheduled in areas hard hit by the storm. Very early Tuesday morning we traveled back home and emptied our refrigerator by flashlight. Three days without power were beginning to take its toll on the refrigerator. Later in the day we arrived in San Diego, a world apart from the one we left behind, where five days later the power remains out in many areas. Along the way, our connecting flight was cancelled due to a maintenance issue. The two-hour delay gave us time to slow down, enjoy a meal and people-watch in Phoenix.

It’s been a whirlwind week with many experiences of energy extremes: calm vs. stormy weather, cool vs. warm temperatures, East vs. West coast, city energy vs. country vs. seacoast, the generosity of friends and neighbors, and more. I used much of the time to observe and study energy …energy of the environment, the weather, people, and people’s reactions to events, as well as my own feelings and reactions to the circumstances and events around me. I consciously pulled my energy in while riding the NYC subway and allowed it to expand and soak up the energy of the NH seacoast as well as the coastline of southern CA. I was grateful to one neighbor for clearing our driveway of fallen tree branches before we returned home on Sunday and for another driving us to the airport Tuesday morning. I was also grateful that we found gas exactly when we needed it on our return trip from NYC and to the airline customer service rep for rescheduling us on the next flight to San Diego after the cancelled flight. We were delighted to find our luggage waiting for us when we arrived and now look forward to visiting our West Coast family and friends.

We are clearly living through changing times. An effective response is to be flexible and adaptable. Know that plans may change at any time. Be open to the unexpected and maintain a sense of curiosity about what it may bring. Notice your reactions and feelings. If you find yourself getting tense or feeling stressed, breathe. Take a step back, reflect about what is going on and more importantly, notice your reaction to what is occurring. You may not be able to change what is happening, but you are in charge of your reaction to it. Use these changing times to practice going with the flow. Be flexible, kind, compassionate, and patient. Adapt to each situation at hand based on what is happening in the moment. You may find it’s an easier way to live.

Energy. It’s everywhere. Inside. Outside. All around and ever-expanding. Karen Kallie, Tony Pace and I call our work together Living Energy because it is alive, connected and always changing.

One of the aspects of energy that fascinates me is how our individual and collective energy patterns are mirrored in our space and visa versa. Have you ever noticed a pattern between your computer or technical devices and personal energy?  I have. When my energy is not running smoothly, my computer displays similar patterns and visa versa.

When it takes me longer than usual to do something, I know it is time to shift my energy, attention and focus: take a break, go for a walk, do some yoga, meditate, garden, write a note, cook a meal, call a friend, etc.  When I return, the process usually goes much more smoothly and takes far less time. Since this is a type of energy I want to expand every day, it’s worthwhile for me to tune in and notice what is happening. If I continued on the same path, I would be expanding the energy of blockage, frustration, jams and more.

The next time you realize that you are pushing against something, take a break. As Esther and Jerry Hicks might say, drop your oars, allow your boat to turn around and float downstream. Shifting your focus changes your energy and enables a new pattern to take root. Going with the flow that comes naturally to each of us, through our hearts and intuition, is far easier than moving against the current. It also feels much better.

Everything we experience has an energetic reality. How can we begin to notice it in order to have more awareness and ability to shift  things in our lives? Consider the following examples…

Have you ever felt or said any of the following?

1. I feel like I am always running to catch up. (With yourself, life, others)

2. I feel drained, empty, depleted, like I am out of gas.

3. I am burned out.

4. I am beside myself. (In general, or with a feeling E.G. fear, anger, jealousy)

5. I feel so scattered, fragmented, all over the place.

6. My heart is breaking; is broken.

7. I feel knifed in the back; sucker punched.

An energetic perspective offers us more options for resolutions to problems that are not available otherwise. Our solutions can be more to the point, more effective and permanent.

Here are a few examples to illustrate an energy connection to our expressions using the above statements as examples.

1. Your energy field may be projected way out ahead of you making you feel like you have to catch up with it. Our energy belongs inside us
where it can perfuse our physical bodies, inform our feelings and help us think clearly. Illness results when our energy is chronically projected out, or we are not properly aligned with it.

2. When our energy supplies are low we feel drained, depleted, like we have no fuel to go on. Of course the solution here is to learn how to build, replenish and maintain energy, but also we must look to where and how our energy is leached out of us and make a correction at the
source.

3. Feeling burned out is an extreme state of depletion that can come into being as a result of not paying attention to restoring ourselves when we hear the whispers that tell us we are running out of fuel/energy.

4. Intense emotion can result in our energy leaving the body as a way to protect ourselves. However we can forget to correct that situation
after the stress has passed and a part of ourselves remains split off. This can become a habitual way of responding to intensity as well and then we have feelings of not being fully present in our lives…and we’re not!

5. Being scattered is exactly that. You are sending your energy in so many directions that it is not with you and you are not available
to perform at your best.

6. Who has not felt the pain of loss, disappointment or hurt in the heart chakra?

7. As stated previously, everything has an energetic component including thoughts, words, deeds and intentions. If someone speaks harshly or
abusively, you feel it. Think about a time when you felt that someone had slung an arrow of insult toward you, or ‘put you down’ or gave you a mixed message. With mixed messages (E.G. someone gives you a barb but denies that they are often shifting the blame to you for being too sensitive or imagining things),  the problem is that we are sensing the person’s intentions along with the awareness that the words and
intent do not match.

Other ways to recognize energetic patterns

Another way to notice the dance of energy in your life is to look at what happens on a daily basis. Are the people you meet friendly? How do
you get treated in stores by clerks?

Do you always run into the worst traffic? Is it easy for you to find what you want or need? Does chaos follow you?  Now we are not going to suggest that you see every detail as somehow speaking to your inner state. BUT a lot of what happens, what walks by on a daily basis, reverberates with our deeper thoughts, feelings, limiting beliefs and unresolved issues and it is there that we can take charge of ourselves and shift some of our experience.

These ways of looking more deeply at your life also can help you get clear on what is not an issue, not a part of your makeup. As you
ask different questions, observe the ebb and flow of events, you are calling on the ability to define and know who you are. The process itself has a way of helping you to know yourself more intimately.

Listening to others interpretations about you and your patterns can also be enlightening but a balance needs to be struck. On one hand,
others have a vantage point that you do not have. On the other hand, they can have their own agendas, projections and unresolved material that may be coloring their feedback to you. After all, since we are human, everything is filtered through our perspective and the perspectives of everyone around us daily.  Wisdom grows as we learn to sift and sort through these various stacks of information to come to the best truth
possible at any given moment.

Above all, cultivate a light heart, an open mind, a playful spirit to help understand these rich sources of self knowledge. Over time this approach ultimately makes your life more interesting, flowing,  happy, rewarding and fun!

Related articles

• Are You Feeling Scattered, Stressed or Frazzled? (fengshuiconnections.com)

Take a time out when your energy is tangled or knotted!

Do you ever feel like your wires get crossed, knotted or all tangled up?  This happens to me periodically, particularly with technology. Yesterday I spent three times the length of time it took me to write a communication to rectify a technical snag in the program. The longer I spent trying to fix the problem, the more constricted my energy became. I knew what was happening, yet I continued down the path. I felt that if I just tried a little harder I just might “get it.” I took a break for a few hours while I went for a walk and prepared dinner before approaching it again in the evening. I made progress, which brought some relief, but there was still one piece evading me. By the time I was ready to call for help, online support was closed for the evening. I tried again … using a few different approaches. Still no luck. Late into the night I acknowledged that I would set the problem aside, get a good night’s sleep, and contact the Help Desk in the morning. I’m glad I did. The problem was fixed within half an hour.

As I was going through this process I realized that my experience was a replica of what many of us do each day. When we have a problem, we push and push, trying harder and harder. We might make some progress but often not enough to resolve it completely. As we get deeper and deeper into the issue, our energy gets all tangled up. Once it is knotted up inside it gets harder to extract ourselves and seek a different route. We experience blockages at many levels … mental confusion and frustration, physical tightness of breath and body, emotionally we may feel anxious, be short with oneself or those we encounter.  The more wrapped up or emotionally invested we are in the issue, the harder it is to solve.

There is an art to gently untangling knotted energy. The solution is to step away from the situation, create some space and allow options to present themselves. Anything that brings relief will ease such situations, open the door and allow options to present themselves. A walk usually helps me. I often get a lot of ideas and answers as I walk. Yesterday this was not the case. A good night’s sleep is next on my list. This is what helped me. I went to sleep knowing that I would get a resolution to my problem in the morning. After I finally set it aside, I knew getting the right help would take far less time than I had already invested. And that is exactly what happened.

The next time you realize that your energy is tangled, step away from the situation and create space. Withdraw your attention from the problem and change your pace. Breathe. Go for a walk. Meditate. Play. Watch a movie. Read a book. Spend time with family or friends. Do something creative. Sleep. Return with a fresh perspective and re-charged energy. Take a new approach. It will make a difference.

Related articles

• Untangled (chrisbrogan.com)
• An Untangled Moment (karmalifereadings.wordpress.com)