The Scales of Balanced Energy

April 15, 2020

I think we can all agree that everything has energy.  To simplify the idea, we can just consider positive and negative energy.  We have all had positive experiences and been around someone super positive.   We have also had negative experiences and been around someone super negative.  

The interesting thing about energy is that since we can’t touch it, we might think it doesn’t exist.  However, consider how you feel after being in a positive or negative situation.  It is palpable in your body IF you are paying attention.  Yoga and meditation are two tools for really feeling what’s going on in our bodies and minds.  I remember reading an advice poster many years ago.  One piece of the advice really stuck out for me because I had been spending a lot of time with a very negative friend.  It said something like, “Love yourself enough to step away from negativity in your life.”  It might sound obvious now but at that time it was a totally new concept to me.  It occured to me right then and there that for MY OWN GOOD I needed to step away from that relationship and I could do it without feeling any guilt.  When I followed through I felt so much better.   

And on the flip side,  I had an amazing positive energy experience with someone who is a great friend now.  The first time I met her I felt an instant connection.  I absolutely knew in that moment that she was someone I wanted to get to know and I wanted to be around her energy.  So I pursued that positivity and I am so grateful that I listened to my body at that time.

Positivity feeds positivity.  Negativity feeds negativity.  Let’s consider all the choices we make each day that feeds one or the other.  Are we feeding the energy of calm and positivity or are we feeding this virus of negativity?  If we believe that positivity feeds positivity and vice versa then we have the power to calm this Coronavirus and ourselves at the same time.  

Everytime we have a positive thought, we are feeding our calm.

Everytime we choose to eat a food that feels good in our body, we are feeding our calm.  Everytime we choose to have a positive conversation with a friend or loved one, we are feeding our calm.  

Everytime we slow down and connect with our breath and body, we are feeding our calm.

Everytime we choose something positive that feels good inside, we are feeding our calm.

Conversely:

Every time we read another article or watch another news show with death statistics and contagion statistics and we feel that negativity in our body...we are feeding the virus and our calm disperses.

Everytime we go into overdrive with our fear about the “what if’s”, we are feeding the virus and our calm disperses.

Everytime we have a negative thought, we are feeding the virus and our calm disperses.

This is NOT to say that we must never acknowledge our fear or expect to never have a negative thought. That is not realistic. It’s about balance.  It’s about noticing when we are spiraling in fear and negativity and moving out as soon as we can.  It’s about noticing when we’ve made a positive choice and honoring ourselves for that choice.  It’s spending more time in positivity than negativity.  Feel it in your body...you will know which is which!

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Today’s Suggested Practice

Imagine a set of scales.  One side of the scales represents every positive thought, interaction and activity that you participate in.  The other side represents every negative thought, interaction and activity that you participate in.  

Throughout the day, each time you notice your participation in one or the other, imagine placing any object there.  Time and again, place the object on one side or the other.  See if you can begin to notice what your scales look like.  

This is an awareness practice.  We are often completely unaware how much time we spend in positivity or negativity.  Begin to notice.  Begin to be aware.  Begin to observe.  Once you are aware you can make a different choice.  

What choice do you make in this moment for your highest good?