How often do you consciously manage your energy? Are you aware of the mood you bring to the people around you? Do you have certain habits you'd like to change?
There are clear ways we maintain our energy, such as having a cup of caffeine in the morning or a nice stretch. Having an exercise routine is one of the best ways to keep energy levels high. You might even have a complex morning routine to maintain energy such as the likes of James Cameron, famously known for directing Avatar.
An advanced concept within mindfulness and meditation is this idea of managing our energies.
From a work-life standpoint, we are familiar with the energy needed to show up and do our jobs. It is undeniable that for most people, a certain amount of energy is needed to make a living. As we get older, our habits become ingrained to maintain our lifestyles. The question is, can we be more intentional about our habits to manage our energy? The answer is yes.
In our fast-paced technology-driven world of today, we typically have to bring an even higher level of energy to our work. In many cases our roles require us to be “on” for more than the traditional 40 hours a week, which is leading more people toward burnout.
Even though we are working more hours and taking less vacation time, no increase in productivity is reported and burnout is still rampant.
By paying attention to how we release our energy through mindfulness and awareness, we can better manage our life force. People hardly ever talk about managing these subtle energies, so we dive into the topic more deeply below.
Thinking about your routine and habits will give you more insight into your own “subtle energies”. Start by asking yourself:
- How do you currently maintain your energy and be present in your life?
- Is there anything in your weekly routine that drains your energy?
- Have you ever noticed weeks with less energy?
What is Subtle Energy?
From a neuroscientific perspective, it is important to note how our bodies and minds work together to budget energy. This process is called allostasis. The mind and body are constantly working to get back to homeostasis. When you exercise heavily, your brain manages the repairing of torn muscles and brings the body back to balance. This not only applies to physical exertion, but also mental. You may have heard that high-profile people like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg limit their clothing options to decrease the amount of decisions they have to make every day. They are managing their energetic budgets.
"Every thought you have, every feeling of happiness or anger or awe you experience, every kindness you extend and every insult you bear or sling is part of your brain’s calculations as it anticipates and budgets your metabolic needs."
- Lisa Feldman Barrett, Neuroscientist & Psychologist, Your Brain is Not For Thinking
If you have not practiced mindfulness or meditation, this concept may be new to you. Paying conscious attention to inner subtleties is a common method used in mindfulness and meditation practices. We cannot create in the past or the future, so being in the present moment is most productive. Spending a few moments to feel the coolness of our inhales and continuing to follow that same exhale through our nostrils has been scientifically noted to reduce stress.
So, we define subtle energies as the ebbs and flows of our inner perceptions.
These subtle energies are typically expressed as 1) thoughts, 2) emotions, and 3) physical sensations. As mindfulness and meditation becomes more accessible, more people learn and adapt to how complex our inner perceptions are.
Modalities of Subtle Energy Perception That Create Your State of Mind
Our states of mind are defined by the relationship of our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. In fact, they all share the same neural network. This gives us clues on how to practice awareness and eventually manage our moods.
If you could choose any feeling, you would choose to feel happy or content, right? So, why don’t we just choose to feel that way all the time?
There are many reasons why we may not be happy in any given moment and some of those reasons may be within our control. Though, many of the reasons why people are unhappy in any given moment are outside of their control, at least for the present moment. By paying closer attention to our inner subtle energies, we can better investigate and take action toward happiness. For example, when you have a persistent negative thought, it can turn into an emotion, which if left unchecked, can lead to a physical sensation. Through mindfulness of subtle energies, we can catch negative persistent emotions before they become habitual. Or, you can work toward replacing that habit.
Below, we expand on the three modalities to help you identify them. We also provide a list of benefits and challenges of participating in this practice.
1) Thoughts Are Meant to be Let Go
Our first thoughts upon waking up could be a stream of consciousness rapidly entering and exiting our minds. This typically happens on autopilot.
“What a weird dream”..
“Where’s my phone”..
“What time is it?”..
“I need to get to work”..
“I’m going to be late!”..
“I’ve got a big day today!”..
All these thoughts can happen in a matter of seconds. With the 86,400 seconds in one day, the idea of having many thousands of thoughts per day is very possible. Recent research indicates that humans can think up to 6,200 thoughts per day. Some even speculate we think up to 60,000 thoughts per day.
One powerful thought can make or break the entire day. It could be a random thought you had to yourself. Maybe it was prompted by something on social media. More commonly, you could be reliving a triggering conversation from the past.
Once you are aware of them, you can manage them and more easily let them go.
“Where your attention goes, energy flows.”
- T. Harv Eker
1) You can become more productive by spending less time thinking about the past or future and be in the present moment
2) You get to know yourself better by understanding how your mind works
3) You will become more in control of your mood by catching persistent negative thoughts that can subconsciously influence you
4) Your ability to communicate will improve as it becomes easier to share your thoughts
1) It can be hard to pay attention to thoughts as they come and go so quickly
2) You may find negative habits that are triggering to address
3) It can be hard to accept that certain thoughts are entering your mind
4) It is important to remember that things like horror movies and sad news can influence our moods without our “permission"
2) Managing Emotions is Key
Most of us know when we are feeling emotions such as joy, love, or anxiety. We don’t often pay attention to the two other modalities (thoughts and physical sensations) that accompany emotions. For example, after feeling joy from eating a delicious meal, you might start to think thoughts about how much you appreciate the ingredients and perhaps the person who made it.
Furthermore, we are taught that certain feelings are wrong, especially when you think about the history of gender roles. Men were taught to never be scared and that being hurt is not manly. Women have notoriously been stereotyped as too emotional.
“Don’t feel that way”
“Stay positive!”
“Don’t be scared”
“Get over it.”
In mindfulness practice, emotions are neither good nor bad. They are what they are. Mindfulness practice coupled with meditation helps build a gentle, non-judgmental relationship with our emotions.
We are familiar with the concept of emotions, but most don’t understand the deeper, inner workings of how emotions impact our actions and more importantly, how to make emotions work for you.
How can you make awareness of emotion work for you? Not only is it helpful to be aware of the emotional energies of those around you, but being more in tune with yourself can also help you predict burnout. Emotions are flows of energy, and you can direct it. Without managing them, you may quickly find yourself fatigued and overwhelmed. On top of that, you might not even know why.
“One of the main reasons for our mental exhaustion is high-intensity emotions.”
- Emma Seppälä Ph.D., Harvard Business Review, Your High-Intensity Feelings May Be Tiring You Out
Let’s dive into how anxiety can be directed and take a look at a real world example -
Social media has recently become a hot topic as a source of anxiety for humanity. The reason for this is simple to explain from an evolutionary perspective. Our brains were designed to keep us alive. With the fast paced speed at which information travels through the internet and especially social media, our fight or flight responses are constantly activated.
“Studies have found that using social media platforms can have a detrimental effect on the psychological health of its users.”
- Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review
When we scroll through feeds and see polarizing viewpoints, it’s easy to get triggered. Hearing opposing political views can be an example of how sensitive we can be in any given moment. Instead of instantly reacting in any triggering moment, use this mindfulness tool:
Before immediately taking action on an emotion, try pausing as a first response. The goal is to respond, not react.
Reflect: Who’s responsibility is it to manage our social media feeds? With an increased level of mindfulness, can we take more responsibility for the content we consume?
Act: Manage your social media feeds. Unfollow people or organizations that make you feel stressed. To do this, pay attention to how you feel about a person or organization when you are reading a post. If they do not bring you joy, unfollow!
1) You will raise your emotional quotient (EQ), which is a growing & needed skill in the workplace
2) There are many similar benefits to thought management including better communication, teamwork, self-control, and self-awareness
1) Personal emotions are complex to become acquainted with and it is recommended to start with managing thoughts first, especially if focusing on emotions is too advanced
2) Many people use substances such as alcohol, food, or drugs to manage emotions and it can be hard to break the habit
3) Subtle Physical Sensations Work With Thoughts and Emotions
Have you ever gotten a gut wrenching feeling from an anxious thought? Or, after a productive physical activity you might have felt the effects of a runner’s high pulsing through your body. These are examples of subtle physical sensations.
“A bad stomach ache that follows an indulgent meal may send us to the gastroenterologist, but if we experience that same ache during a messy divorce, we may head to a psychotherapist instead.”
- Lisa Feldman Barrett, Neuroscientist & Psychologist
Awareness of physical sensations is one of the most scientifically measured tools within mindfulness and meditation. Known as Body Scanning, the benefits of this practice are understated.
“The body scan encourages awareness and acceptance of inner states, whether positive, negative or neutral.”
- Samuel J.Dreeben, Michelle H. Mamberg & Paul Salmon, The MBSR body scan in clinical practice
Being aware of physical states will help us be more aware of its impact on emotions and thoughts. For example, when drinking a lot of coffee, we may get jittery and anxious. Without this awareness, you might let your thoughts run with troubling thoughts which could lead to regrettable actions.
1) You can be more in tune with what you eat and how different foods impact you
2) You may be able to catch issues that can develop into illnesses such as headaches or body aches on a regular basis, which are easy to shrug off
3) Awareness of physical sensations gives us clues about emotions and thoughts that may be occurring or about to occur
1) You might become anxious about nuances with how your body naturally works versus what may be an anomaly, leaning toward hypochondriac tendencies
2) People that have had traumatic experiences with regards to the body may have triggering experiences with this increased awareness
Why pay attention to the subtleties?
We are responsible for the energy we release. If you are not consciously aware of managing your state of mind, it is likely that external factors are deciding it for you. It is almost impossible to have everything happen the way you want it in life, and that is perfectly fine. The problem is that we try to change everything externally when many problems can be solved by managing our thoughts, emotions, and bodies.
“As there is a science and technology to create external well-being, there is a whole dimension of science and technology for inner well-being.”
- Sadhguru, New York Times Bestselling Author, Top 50 most influential people in India
When we have a better understanding of what is happening inside of us, we can better take action on everything outside of us. Without creating a stable environment internally, everything external to us will be built on an unstable foundation. Before learning any other skill, I recommend first learning mindfulness and meditation to build a strong foundation.
Science is beginning to understand these relationships and it can most clearly be understood when you look at burnout. Why does burnout seem to happen out of nowhere? Can we mitigate burnout and catch it before we become too drained?
“Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.”
- Douglas Queen and Keith Harding, Societal pandemic burnout: A COVID legacy
When these three modalities are in sync, life becomes more smooth. You have significant control over your perceptions. You put as much or as little focus on any thought you choose. And, external factors do not affect you without your permission.
In the morning when you wake up, you can be deliberate about what thoughts are entering your mind. In turn, moods and emotions that come up during the day will be more predictable and manageable. Adding subtle physical sensation awareness, you can be more in tune by caring for and making sure that our bodies are happy. With this, we can all be more present for the people we care about.
“Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going on inside ourselves.”
- Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score
What can you do today?
If you are just beginning to understand this concept, start by practicing awareness of your thoughts. You can practice with MindfulText. The next most important step is to practice non-judgement. It is very easy to judge ourselves and others too harshly for something as small as a thought. Remember that you do not have to be your thoughts. Thoughts come from anywhere and everywhere.
If you are more advanced, get involved with MindfulText as a coach or mentor in the community. Communities where you can interact with similar people and help others on their paths are great for personal growth. One of the best ways to learn is to teach.
MindfulText was created to help keep this practice top of mind. Consistency is key, and everyone can use a reminder here and there! Learn more about MindfulText and get in touch here.