"The energy of the mind is the essence of life." Aristotle
Energy leaks can leave you feeling drained and unproductive at best, and at worst they can actually harm your health. But, don’t stress because there are ways that you can fix your leaks.
I Had A Dream
I had a very short, but impactful dream. I believe it was one of those lucid type dreams where the subconscious reaches through and sends a powerful insight.
In this dream, I found myself completely surrounded by what I can only describe as zombies. Not disgusting, guts hanging out type zombies, but more like Word War Z type zombies that are sick or infected instead of dead, but even then, slightly subtler.
I was surrounded to the point that no other physical body could’ve fit in that space. Think, mega crowded subway train, like NYC rush hour crowded.
There was nothing else in this space except zombies, and myself. No colors, decorations, or any other significant tangibles. We may as well have been floating inside a cloud. It was more like a blank space.
The tension in said space, was palpable. I recall my eyes — the only part of me I could move — darting about trying to assess what was happening.
A nervous vibrating energy permeated the space.
Inception - The Movie & Deepak Chopra
It was exactly like in the movie Inception, where once the characters became self-aware of the dream state the characters would become aware of them, and all hell was about to break loose! Same thing.
In the dream a voice spoke from the ether. You may find this funny, but I swear it was Deepak Chopra’s voice. Understandable enough, I like his books.
The voice said to me, “You’re leaking energy.” That was it. It was calm and deliberate. As if simply stating a fact.
As soon as the voice spoke, for whatever reason, I panicked. Only in mind though, there wasn’t any movement necessarily, but there was definitely a loss of control in that moment. And, in that moment, just a fraction of a second as they were coming in for the kill, I woke up! Talk about a rude awakening.
I was shaken to say the least.
Why am I sharing this dream?
Because I quickly realized that it was literally referring to the many energy leaks that I’ve carried with me throughout my life.
As a human being we’re always dealing with these leaks. Some are worse than others.
So much so that there are holistic medicine traditions that posit that all disease begins in the energy body, and over time, will manifest as physical illness if not dealt with appropriately.
I’ve lived this first hand, and I strongly believe that these leaks will drain the vitality right out of your body and leave your life in shambles if not dealt with.
To put this in a way that is more practical let me give some examples.
Extremely Bad Habits – AKA - Addictions
The addict is an extreme form of energy leakage. The addictions run their lives. If they don’t receive adequate help, they will ultimately spiral out of control and loose everything including their life.
Even a person with moderate bad habits or addictions is not fully in control of their life. They spend what could be productive time in search of immediate gratification, and end up wasting their gifts over time as a result of not having addressed these “leaks.”
I’m not saying that handling energy drains will cure an addict of their addictions. Addiction is a complex process that requires a multifaceted approach for success.
What I am saying is that by dealing with these energy leaks you can create a space where a positive energy boosting habit or behavior can live. This can then lead to a cascade of positive behaviors.
We’ve all heard of the addict that started with an awareness of their problem and next thing you know 15 years later, they are healthy and fit. In some cases, going as far as speaking publicly about their failures and successes, inspiring others towards a positive change.
Dysfunction Junction
I’ve seen dysfunctional relationships in my own family where the tug of war between two people has left them both drained of resources and health.
We all have that family member that constantly behaves as if his/her actions don’t affect the rest of the family in a negative way. They continue on with their selfish behavior and expect everyone else to be ok with it.
This person doesn’t realize the massive energy drain he/she is creating for themselves and for those that continue to resist or enable their behavior.
Life Is Energy
It’s all about energy. Everything in life is composed of energy. It is manifested as matter in one way or another. If you can see a behavior as an energetic pattern, you can change that pattern if you have the right tools.
So when I say you are leaking energy, I mean you are literally wasting time and resources with situations that are keeping you from living your best life.
What are you putting up with? Even the small annoyances can have a big impact on your day to day energy.
Let’s bring it back to less severe examples.
Entrepreneurship
Say you’ve been meaning to start an online business. This type of business requires content in order to bring people back to your site, so they can see what you’re about and what your offerings are.
Without content you’re dead in the water. But still, how many of us have wasted valuable moments of productive time for the sake of dealing with petty annoyances on a day to day basis.
TV Much?
The panacea of the masses. On an almost global level in “advanced” societies, televisions — and more so computers screens — have become the default child sitters, stress relievers, mind numbing agents of unproductive behavior on an incredibly massive scale.
Imagine if all the time spent watching TV or other smart screens was instead spent in conversations with loved ones, or reading some quality books. How interesting would that be?
Is Your Car Clean?
This one is my favorite. In my youth I always had a messy car. My dad would always get on me about how that reflected who I was in my life. For a long time, I just went on with my messy car until one day it finally clicked.
From that point forward my car was always spotless. Like clockwork I’d get it cleaned and maintained. To this day whenever I get in someone’s car I can’t help but notice if it’s messy or clean. To me it speaks to the inner condition of that person’s life.
Always Late!
How about this one, for years I was always the guy that when my friends would come pick me up I’d literally still be wrapped in my bath towel, with shaving cream on my face! Eventually that changed for the better, but to this day it’s still a story we laugh about.
How Do We Move Beyond This?
The good news is we can do something about fixing these energy drains.
Awareness
The first thing is recognizing the situations where you are wasting energy. Awareness is always the first step.
Once you recognize where the leaks are happening you can stop them and now begin focusing on creating energy enhancing habits.
In part 2 of this blog I’ll go into some of the ways that you can begin transforming your energy leaks into energy enhancers.
Can you identify with energy leaks? If so, please post a comment and me know your thoughts.
In health,
Pablo