Note from Marlene
Featured Article: 6 Tips on Practical Ways to Manage Your Energy
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I had a great Memorial weekend planting flowers and a few plants, going to the movies, reading and just kicking back. Often I want to pack a lot of things into a holiday weekend, sometimes too much, and then I often end up wanting a few more days off to recover! But this time I just relaxed, and it was wonderful and rejuvenating. As I thought about all of this I saw a deeper lesson for me to learn.

I have a tendency to go too fast in other areas of my life. I recently got a ticket for speeding. I had a great record going – no tickets in five years. Fortunately, I am able to go to an On-line Traffic school to keep it off my driving record. Doing too much, driving too fast, too often late to meetings . . . hmmm. Rebecca McLean, author and master coach, said it this way.” Life messages come in three ways: a whisper, a yell, or a two by four. “

I think the $225 ticket is somewhere between a whisper and a yell – in the big scheme of things, but a message, never the less, to do some things differently. After reflecting on it all, I’m not only slowing up my driving, I’m slowing up in other areas too – so I can get more done! I see this as my mid-year correction.

Summer is a good time to take a deep breath and relax our lives a little. How was your holiday weekend? What mid-year corrections might you want to make?

Springboard Conversation - Wednesday June 30, 2010 at 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

• Have you yearned to more fully understand your purpose in life, even late in life?
• Do you have limiting behaviors that you long to overcome?
• Have you wanted to learn ways to connect with your inner wisdom?

Join me for this empowering interview with Ania Brandysiewicz, author of Consciousness and the Enlightened Body.

In her book, Ania takes us on a journey of her life’s discoveries and lessons; from her childhood in postwar Poland, to working as an engineer on the world’s first MRI scanners, spending many years in a challenging corporate career, and ultimately, becoming a energy worker. Trying to make sense of ongoing health battles with mysterious allergies and a strange and often annoying empathic ability to feel other people’s pain led Ania on a desperate search for an “off-switch” and a lifetime of spiritual growth and discovery.

In her summary of her discoveries she offers us practical steps and observations that gives others insights on how they can approach life in a way that brings emotional healing and how we can upgrade our beliefs to honor the fullness of who we are and live the life we desire.

You are going to love this interview!

Join me on Wednesday the 30th of June at 5pm PT and 8 pm ET.

6 Tips on Practical Ways to Manage Your Energy

-- or living in the flow

Before I get to the tips let me ask you what does "living in the flow" mean to you? It’s a new phrase you hear tossed about now and then. As I thought about this phrase I discovered some helpful insights on how to manage my own energy. Living in the flow is learning to move with the energy within us in a positive way. Living in the flow is when things go forward without a hitch. Living in the flow means knowing how to respond even when the energy within us changes or perhaps stalls out.

What I have experienced is that life is a delicate balance between moving (flowing) forward and dealing with things (often myself) that slow me down or actually get in my way (blocks or resistance). When things are flowing smoothly, we usually pat ourselves on the back and say, "good for me, look at what I’ve accomplished." Unfortunately, when things aren’t flowing as we think they should, we often aren’t that nice to ourselves (or others).

We all know that in this life stuff just happens! The flow changes, slows down or sometimes gets interrupted altogether. Some things we can control, other things we can’t. But rather than resisting the kind of energy that is not serving me, I have found that it’s better to listen to what that energy is telling me and what I can learn from it. It is about creating space to get in touch with my intuitive self, listen to what I know or have to learn, and then shift my actions in a way that serves me better. Sometimes this can take longer than I would like.

In the past, and at times even now, when the energy within me would shift, I would often push back, trying to get myself back in the flow of where I should be. Notice that word "should"—when you find yourself using it, that's a clue that you might be looking at something in a less than healthy way. When I would push back against procrastination or some other form of unwanted (lack of) energy, I usually ended up frustrated and found myself complicating the issue and wasting unnecessary time. What I learned is that by taking some time to reflect on what my body is telling me I understand better why the energy shift occurred and what to do (if anything) about it.

I’m not excusing procrastination, irresponsibility or other poor habits. What I am saying is often our body has good information for us that can help us learn to manage ourselves in a healthier way. Instead of beating ourselves up, we treat ourselves more kindly, more respectfully. It puts us in a better place mentally to shift behavior that may not be working for us. When we look at it this way, it takes us out of the blame game.

Living in the flow and understanding your energy takes knowledge and practice. It takes time to cultivate the calm, well-being and energy that serves us best. I like the way Goddard talks about the flow in her book, Gulp, where she lists six different types of energy. I learned a lot from this little book. By putting language and definition to the different types of energy, it improved my ability to respond to energy shifts in a healthier way.

Below is a summary of Goddard's six definitions of energy flow. I've added some explanations of my own, as well as some tips on how you can better manage these shifts in flow or energy.

Flowing Energy
Things just seem to flow forward naturally and with ease. We feel relaxed, confident and life seems easy.

Tip #1: Move with the flow and enjoy. Life is sweet.

Blocked Energy
Nothing seems to go right. You feel like you are knocking your head against the same old brick wall. It may be your ego getting in the way, that you've planned too many things to do in one day, or that perhaps you aren’t headed in the right direction.

Tip #2: When your energy feels blocked, step back, breathe deeply a few times and make some space for reflection. Connect with your core center, refocus on your purpose and check how aligned things are with your personal values. Give yourself time to get clear and to let new insights emerge.

Expanding Energy
This is living in the flow to the max! You are inspired and alive. Your mood and spirits are high. You are passionate about your work. You know you are making a difference. You are creative and insightful.

Tip #3: Move forward with your senses wide open—you are creating something new.

Contracting Energy
If your energy is contracting you may be doing something that is not serving you. You may be going against your values. Perhaps there is something in the environment that doesn’t honor or respect you. Your mood can grow darker by the day. You may even begin to feel small.

Tip #4: Stop what you are doing. Look at the situation and ask yourself, "Is this where I belong?" "Does this work support my values?" "Do I need to make a request?" "Do I need to change directions sooner than later?" Don’t rush. Be patient and let go of any judgment of yourself or others. Just listen, and let your body—your deep sense of wisdom—inform you.

Bouncing Energy
You are doing more than one thing at a time. You are going here, going there and going everywhere, trying to do it all. Or the energy is internal, showing up as busy mind talk. Either way, you find yourself forgetting important things and nothing seems to be getting done as you would like it. You feel irritated with yourself!

Tip #5: Stop what you are doing. Find good Mother Earth, take your shoes off and connect with the ground beneath you. Now raise your arms to the sky, feeling the energy from the heavens flow through your body, out through your toes, deep down into the earth and then back again in reverse. This is a body practice taken from Qi Gong and Tai Chi. Next, take a few deep breaths, let out a few sighs, and take a moment to ask yourself what needs to be done first.

Flat Energy
It’s hard to even get out of bed. You have no motivation or drive. Life seems dull and blasé. You feel like you do not have direction in your life. You may even feel a deep sadness or lethargy. Maybe you are in an in-between-space, where nothing new has revealed itself. Or perhaps you are inadvertently moving away from your passion.

Tip #6: It is time to be patient and to focus on taking good care of yourself. Eat well, get enough rest and get outdoors where the power and energy of nature can gradually heal and empower you. Be open to what is new or trying to emerge. Give yourself time to gain clarity about what is next for you. You have the answers within. They will reveal themselves. Writing in your journal will help you get in touch with the wisdom you hold within.

Summary

Living is the flow is about taking life as it comes. Too often we see it as wrong when our energy is not what we think it "should" be. Overreacting this way only creates resistance that further blocks our progress. Fighting this way may bring us success, but eventually only drains us.

If we use the river as a metaphor for life, we know we will have smooth waters, flowing waters and a few rapids here and there. There are obstacles in the river, rocks, tree roots, or other people making their own way. Life is about embracing the river and all its challenges. Sometimes life requires you to take your boat out of the water for a time.

Living in the flow is learning to appreciate what is and not to up our energy resisting. When we acknowledge unwanted behavior we consult our own wisdom, so we can continue to be kind to ourselves while gently moving forward with our new insights.

My experience is that when I listen to and work with my energy, I know exactly what I need to do ... cut hay while the sun shines, take the opportunity to learn something new about myself, or maybe just bask in the sunlight.

What is your energy telling you?

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Reference:
Goddard, G. (2006). Gulp. The 7 Day Crash Course to Master Fear and Break Through Any Challenge: New York, Bantam Dell, a division of Random House, Inc.

The Power of Self Care