Like an Ocean

If anyone is really reading this (ha!) you may have noticed I haven’t posted in a month or so. Partly this was due to me taking sabbatical to the beach for about a month (I know. It was as nice as it sounds.).

It occurred to me on one of my walks that the ocean was a perfect way to illustrate our personal energy. It's an esoteric topic but I'd like to try this anyway, ok?!

Our personal energy, much like the ocean, is constant and has cycles influenced by circumstances near and far. Some moods are cyclical, produced by a current circumstance or by a past childhood event, for example, which we've never properly processed. The latter often reproduces itself in waves of unproductive slash self-destructive behavior. But the former can be equally stormy or content (the smell of grandma's pie/stew/casserole!?)

Likewise, the ocean is effected by circumstances near and far. Waves are created by the energy of the wind transferring to the surface of the water. And that energy continues to transfer many times over unto itself until you see it wash upon your feet at the seashore. So, even if there isn’t any wind where you are that day, the wind hundreds and thousands of miles away will result in those waves being there regardless.

What do our bodies have to do with waves? Well, if you think about it our bodies are made of mostly water. We also know that a mood- stress for example - has energy. When we feel stress, that mood gets transferred through the fluid in our system, causing everything from muscle aches to cancer (I’m guessing on the cancer, but since everything seems to cause cancer now, I’m going to go out on a limb here.). Other people can even feel that energy, as I’m sure we’ve all experienced when our boss or significant other responds poorly to their own stress. Do you ever feel sour after they leave the room? Or watch an entire room dynamic change in a meeting? That’s energy transferring. Just like the ocean.

If you need a little more convincing, do the following exercise:

1. Stand up and close your eyes.

2. Think about whatever it is that is stressing or bothering you.

3. Notice where in your body that thought is registering. Is it in your stomach? Your back?

4. Continue to pay attention to the physical sensation. Does it change? Does it go elsewhere in your body?

5. Keep your attention there until you notice your breathing change.

6. Open your eyes.

How was that? What struck you the most? Did you notice that your mood didn’t reside in any particular thought in your brain, but rather your entire body? Sometimes we don’t realize how one mood can so deeply effect us until we pause to embody it. In fact, I would argue that we mistakenly believe that our mind resides in our brain rather than our bodies. It pays to pay attention!

I encourage you to continue doing the exercise for an entire week. Don’t think too much about it. Just observe. See if you can draw any insights. Let me know how it goes and we’ll meet around these parts soon.

#wonk #yoga #ocean #energy #basics #whatisenergy