Someone told me, “I don’t think anyone can change how they feel.” From my experience, we do this all the time. When we do something we enjoy, we feel different. When we hold a crying child or our partner when they are sad, they feel better. Actions change mental/emotional energy.
Energy shifting is changing the energy within us which changes the energy around us. Emotional energy is interesting. The word emotion originates in Latin and means to stir, agitate, or move. Emotion is a conscious mental reaction accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.
Mindfulness is about paying attention to the energy in us and around us. Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Mindfulness is the energy of being aware of what is happening in the present moment . . . Concentration can help us look deeply into the nature of reality and bring about the kind of insight that can liberate us from suffering.”
My most recent suffering was due to losing my dog. I’ve lost people dear to me, like my father, and mother & father-in-law; each I loved deeply and felt extremely close to. But losing Scout was different.
Scout was my constant companion, losing him affected my entire way of living. I said good morning to him and good night to him. Every day we spent together going on walks and playing. I laughed and sometimes I cried. He was constantly by my side.
Most of us try to run away from our suffering or feelings we don’t like, but the pain doesn’t disappear, and feelings persist. Meditation is the opposite of running away, it’s sitting with the energy that is and then discovering the truth about it which ultimately transforms that energy.
Jon Kabat-Zinn says, “Mindfulness means paying attention in the present moment non-judgmentally.” When I feel sad or mad, or some other emotion I don’t like, I often try to escape it, and I also judge myself for not feeling the way I want. Instead, I can sit with the feeling, and become aware of why I feel as I do. This often leads to being able to let go of whatever I may be holding on to.
Acceptance is the greatest energy shifter because it changes how we feel. When we accept what is, we go from feeling things like anger, pain, or emptiness, to feeling peace at the moment.
Clouds shift, the sand shifts, the tides shift, and I can shift my feelings. I simply sit with them to understand them, and then I can accept them. When I accept things, I feel differently! That is mindful energy shifting.