We have come to recognize that the ancients had an excellent understanding of energy far before modern science was able to measure it. It has become an enormous field of study and generally can be divided into two forms, physical and non physical. Within these two categories are multiple sub categories and descriptions about how physical and non physical energy relate to each other. As this is a blog and by definition should be kept brief I will not go into all the academic areas of energy but will keep it simple and relevant as to how we can access more energy for our lives. I think it is evident to everyone that we need energy in our bodies to function and accomplish everything. Our bodies have an energy of their own which interacts with the energy that exists all around us and throughout the universe. All the ancient traditions have a name for it and it had been known for a long time. In India it is called Prana and in Asia it is called Chi or Qi. It is somewhat akin to the electromagnetic energy of modern science but not quite, as modern science hasn’t fully grasped the true nature of it. If they did we would have far more “clean” energy at our disposal.
Since the “Universal energy” is constant and always accessible I’ll discuss how and why we can’t always seem to access it ourselves. Why can’t our bodies continuously replenish themselves with the energy that is everywhere? I think we need to look at our nervous systems as the meeting point for the physical and non physical energy. If our nervous systems are in balance then there is a natural flow between the physical and non physical energies. Eastern medicine goes into great detail about the energetic system of the body and how to keep it in alignment so that the energy continues to flow. Western medicine is only beginning to recognize this but if we look at the nervous system we can find a meeting point for the two systems. We are well aware through our studies of stress that the autonomic nervous system is getting battered about by modern stress. We know that many of us end up getting stuck in the fight or flight response for years and that the ramifications of dealing with the resulting havoc on the nervous system are related to a host of health problems. When our health suffers, our ability to access the physical and non physical energy suffers. We end up disconnecting from ourselves in order to cope with the stress and in so doing perpetuate the situation. I’ve spoken many times about how mindfulness reverses this disconnection and sets the nervous system back on it’s course to balance. When that happens the body is able to regain it’s own energy and reestablish the connection with the “non physical” energy. When that happens, we can utilize both forms of energy to reestablish the vitality and energy that is so necessary in order to truly participate in life.