Throughout this blog, I will bring up fundamental concepts for spirituality, life, or psychology which should benefit anyone. These fundamental concepts are important to understand more complicated theories and techniques. Rather than listing and defining all the concepts at once, I am going to incorporate these concepts into blog posts which reflect a discovery or solution to a problem.
The first concept is energy. The best way to describe energy is for you to reflect on two different times in your life, one is when you had energy and the other is when you had no energy. Think about a time when nothing was going the way you wanted, you felt exhausted, you got frustrated easily, you were making small stupid mistakes, nothing interested you, and/or you could not focus on basic tasks. During a time like this, you probably had low energy. Now think to a time when everything was going wonderfully, you were the life of the party, you made jokes which made everyone laugh, you were creative, you could come up with amazing solutions to difficult problems, and/or life was filled with joy. This was probably a time of high energy. Thinking back, I come to the conclusion that life would be better if I had high energy all the time. But how can one gain or maintain energy?
The best way to acquire and maintain energy is by getting enough sleep, meditating, and avoiding energy draining activities. I have found that 8 hours of sleep a night allows me to function normally throughout the day. Lately, I have had difficulty sleeping through the night because my mind wakes me up at 4 AM and is determined to think about anything and everything. It could be trying to solve a problem I am dealing with at work or pondering on a cringe-worthy statement I made to a friend. If you find yourself in a situation like this, rather than tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I suggest you get out of bed and meditate.
Meditation can clear your mind which allows you to go back to sleep. While this blog is currently discussing meditation to help you fall back asleep, you should practice meditation daily and not wait until your life is out of control to start. Meditation can also be used for gaining energy by using the same technique described below.
There are countless books and websites on the proper meditation posture, so I will not go into a lot of detail here. Find a position that is comfortable for you, but for this type of meditation I would suggest you avoid lying down, keep your eyes open (because you are trying to "wake up"), and keep your knees lower than your butt (use a cushion).
Once you are in your comfortable posture, the first technique of meditation I will discuss is to focus on your breath. As soon as a thought enters your mind, acknowledge the thought and focus back on your breathing. Repeat as often as necessary throughout the meditation session. If starting your daily meditation practice, meditate for only 5 minutes because it takes practice to sit for extended periods. The more you practice, the longer you can sit with fewer problems, but do not over do it. This basic technique of focusing on your breath will relax you, clear out your mind, and increase your energy. When I wake up at 4 am and meditate rather than toss and turn, I will fall back asleep quicker and feel refreshed in the morning.
Lastly, avoid energy draining activities to maintain high energy. Watching 4 hours of television a night is an excellent example of an energy draining activity. You become tired watching TV, but never too tired to not continue watching. But I am not indicating that watching television is bad! I enjoy watching sitcoms so I find one sitcom per season and watch it. After the show is over, I turn off my television and do other productive activities. You need to find the right balance for these kinds of energy draining activities.
For the next week, focus on your energy level. Determine if you are doing anything which is significantly draining your energy and come up with a solution to this problem. Try to meditate daily and see if there is an increase in your energy level.
The first concept is energy. The best way to describe energy is for you to reflect on two different times in your life, one is when you had energy and the other is when you had no energy. Think about a time when nothing was going the way you wanted, you felt exhausted, you got frustrated easily, you were making small stupid mistakes, nothing interested you, and/or you could not focus on basic tasks. During a time like this, you probably had low energy. Now think to a time when everything was going wonderfully, you were the life of the party, you made jokes which made everyone laugh, you were creative, you could come up with amazing solutions to difficult problems, and/or life was filled with joy. This was probably a time of high energy. Thinking back, I come to the conclusion that life would be better if I had high energy all the time. But how can one gain or maintain energy?
The best way to acquire and maintain energy is by getting enough sleep, meditating, and avoiding energy draining activities. I have found that 8 hours of sleep a night allows me to function normally throughout the day. Lately, I have had difficulty sleeping through the night because my mind wakes me up at 4 AM and is determined to think about anything and everything. It could be trying to solve a problem I am dealing with at work or pondering on a cringe-worthy statement I made to a friend. If you find yourself in a situation like this, rather than tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I suggest you get out of bed and meditate.
Meditation can clear your mind which allows you to go back to sleep. While this blog is currently discussing meditation to help you fall back asleep, you should practice meditation daily and not wait until your life is out of control to start. Meditation can also be used for gaining energy by using the same technique described below.
There are countless books and websites on the proper meditation posture, so I will not go into a lot of detail here. Find a position that is comfortable for you, but for this type of meditation I would suggest you avoid lying down, keep your eyes open (because you are trying to "wake up"), and keep your knees lower than your butt (use a cushion).
Once you are in your comfortable posture, the first technique of meditation I will discuss is to focus on your breath. As soon as a thought enters your mind, acknowledge the thought and focus back on your breathing. Repeat as often as necessary throughout the meditation session. If starting your daily meditation practice, meditate for only 5 minutes because it takes practice to sit for extended periods. The more you practice, the longer you can sit with fewer problems, but do not over do it. This basic technique of focusing on your breath will relax you, clear out your mind, and increase your energy. When I wake up at 4 am and meditate rather than toss and turn, I will fall back asleep quicker and feel refreshed in the morning.
Lastly, avoid energy draining activities to maintain high energy. Watching 4 hours of television a night is an excellent example of an energy draining activity. You become tired watching TV, but never too tired to not continue watching. But I am not indicating that watching television is bad! I enjoy watching sitcoms so I find one sitcom per season and watch it. After the show is over, I turn off my television and do other productive activities. You need to find the right balance for these kinds of energy draining activities.
For the next week, focus on your energy level. Determine if you are doing anything which is significantly draining your energy and come up with a solution to this problem. Try to meditate daily and see if there is an increase in your energy level.
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