What Can a Strong Core Do for You?
Not your abs, your energy center…
Energy Medicine specialist, Dr. Sue Morter, tells us that when we land in a physical body, we sort of splat, maybe like an egg shattered on the floor.
I resonate with this idea because I often feel splintered. My attention is pulled in several directions. I have a lot of intentions, but I don’t remember them in all circumstances. I have a lot of interests. (One theory as to why I got booted from Facebook several years ago is that I had joined too many groups and the algorithm couldn’t follow me.??) I have a lot of projects going.
Abraham Hicks warns us against splitting our energy. We would be more powerful if we could focus a bit more. If we could effectively decide where to place our attention and powerfully hold it where we want it to be. Piero Ferrucci devotes the very first chapter of his book, What We May Be: Techniques for Psychological and Spiritual Growth through Psychosynthesis, to focus and the development of attention. In a recent talk with The Shift Network, Gregg Braden identifies the human ability to self-regulate—to choose our feelings and thoughts intentionally- as one of our superpowers.
Energy follows our attention, many times in direct opposition to our stated intentions. Much of our mental activity takes place in our subconscious minds. We’re not always aware of the thoughts that run uninterruptedly, creating the inner dialog that directs our lives.
If we develop a strong energy core, much of our scattered energy will be pulled into cohesion. When our energies are cohesive and organized, we feel better, more centered and grounded, more effective and empowered. We can gather the necessary personal power to achieve the things we want to achieve in life.
So, how do we develop this strength at the core of our energy body?
Just like when we want to develop muscular strength, we need to commit to working out. It doesn’t work to just pay attention to our strength once a week, or on a vacation in the summer. We have to create a practice and commit to it.
Fortunately, there are lots of ways to approach the strengthening of our energetic core.
We can work directly with our energies. Or, we can practice mental focus, as Ferrucci suggests. We can practice self-selecting how we want to feel. Or we can develop behavioral disciplines.
Energy Direct
To my mind, energy exercises are the most accessible and easy to incorporate into a busy life. Here are a few examples:
· Imagine moving a wave of energy up and down your body from head to toes and back again. See if you can feel the energy moving through the parts of your body. Do this several times each day, especially when you feel unfocused or upset.
· Fluff your aura. This comes from Donna Eden’s five-minute energy routine and is a way to release unnecessary energy disharmonies from your field. Simply wave your hands through the area around your body, especially your head for a few minutes.
· Ground yourself. Imagine a root system growing from your hips down into the Earth. Feel the stability of a giant redwood.
· Find your center. Close your eyes and search around with your mind to find the center of your being. Hold your attention there and imagine a strong magnet pulling your energies inward.
Mental Focus
Our minds are notoriously skittery. Any attempt to focus the thoughts can strengthen the energetic core.
· Practice Mindfulness. Pay attention to what you are doing. Use all your senses to appreciate your activity and surroundings. Stay present with your current activity.
· Imagine various sensory experiences and focus on them for as long as you can without your mind veering off. Try visualizing a red triangle in front of you, a kitten purring on your lap, the smell of coffee, the sound of a bell, or the taste of a lemon, for example. Aim for holding a thought for three minutes.
· Try to catch your first thought. When you enter a room, pull out of your driveway, or start a new project, try to be aware of the first thought that runs through your mind.
· Spend a few minutes appreciating yourself. This may be harder than you imagine. Keep your focus on what has gone right, on how strong you have been, how kind you are.
Emotional Focus
We are, unfortunately, usually taught very little about our emotions and what the heck to do with them. Emotional energy does not need to be scary or difficult. As we learn to regulate our own emotional states, we strengthen our energetic core in significant ways.
· Stay present with whatever you are feeling. Try your best not to let your mind go into a story dredged up from your past, or imagined in your future.
· Notice if your mood is being influenced by your surroundings. Can you feel sunny even on a drizzly day? Practice choosing how you want to feel and pulling yourself back to that feeling when you find you have strayed.
· Practice “turning on” happiness, appreciation, or playfulness. At first, it is helpful to use some past experiences to ignite different emotions. As you get more practiced, you will realize that all emotions exist within you at all times, and you get to choose.
Behavioral Self-Regulation
This is the most familiar type of discipline for most people. We are used to adhering to diets or exercise routines. However, it can be the least effective way to strengthen the energy core because, though we may be successful in changing our behavior, (like kicking a bad habit or developing a good one) our inner world tends to be divided when we focus on changing only our behavior. As we know from the fiasco of declaring New Year’s Resolutions every January, it is difficult to stick to our intentions if we don’t also work on other levels of our consciousness such as rewriting limiting beliefs or processing stored emotional charges that subtly influence our behavior. Here are a few things to try.
· Use your will to spend five minutes doing nothing. No TV. No thinking or planning. No singing a song. No movement. No falling asleep. Do this every day for at least 30 days.
· Schedule in play, happiness, or joy in your calendar. Treat these sessions as seriously as you would treat chemotherapy sessions.
· Develop a simple, nature-based habit like going outside to look at the stars before going to bed or saying hello to a tree on your way to the office. Notice how challenging it can be to develop a new habit. But stay with it. Make it a part of your routine, just like brushing your teeth.
Your energy core is important to your wellbeing and fulfillment. Any or all of these exercises will help you pull your scattered energy inward and help it self-organize in the most satisfying and joyful configuration. You don’t need to understand how this happens, but you will feel the positive results in all areas of your life.
Let me know how it goes.
https://bookshop.org/a/89539/9781585427260 What We May Be, Piero Ferrucci
https://bookshop.org/a/89539/9781585426508 Energy Medicine, Donna Eden
NOTE: The links to these books are my Bookshop affiliate links. When you purchase books from Bookshop, you contribute to local, indie book sellers. And you support the non-mega-coporate marketplace and independent writers and readers like me.