Cultivate Good Energy

We all have an aura of energy. There are powerful invisible,

nonmaterial forces in us that we aren’t aware of. My term for this
force for good in each of us is “spirit-energy.” Our spirit is the breath
of
life, the vital principle, and the mystery inside each of us. The biggest
challenge we have is to nurture, improve, and refine our life force, our
energy. In order to transform ourselves, we need good, strong,
productive
vitality. Living the good life makes us rich, abundantly alive, able to
soar.
We need to use all our strength and power to live the best possible life
imaginable.
No one can do this inner work for us. It’s up to us to change our
attitude to be more positive, to use our energy for greater good, to
spread
more light. What goes on externally may be beyond our power to
choose,
but our inner development, how we deal with our emotions, how we
train
and discipline our mind, is in our power.
The good news is that the brain stays changeable throughout our
lives.
Through training, any disturbing, wrong, inappropriate emotions can
be changed to intelligent, good feelings. A Buddhist monk once told
his
students, “There is the possibility of transforming the undesirable into
the
desirable.” Neuroscience teaches us we have a magic quarter of a
second

in which we have a crucial choice point to flip a negative, self-

destructive
thought into a good, life-sustaining emotion. If you look out the
window
in the morning and see stormy weather, before you give yourself time
to say “Uh oh, this is going to be a bad day for me,” flip it around and
think to be sure to wear a raincoat and a smile and carry a brightly
colored umbrella. When you’re playing cards and think, “My opponent
is
cheating,” focus on the reality that this is your best friend. Play your
best
game. If you have a thought that your boss doesn’t like you and wants
you
fired, you may wonder if you should quit. Recall that you received a
bonus
last year and recently were complimented on the major project that
you
completed. Flip it. It is here where the energy changes and becomes
more
pure, more vitally alive.
There is no time in our life when we’re faced with a choice-less
moment. You and I continuously choose in order to cultivate good
energy.
Because energy is contagious, even though it is invisible its intangible
quality surrounds us and creates an atmosphere. I’ve learned to trust
my
sixth sense about people and places, and it has been a tremendous
help to
me in my quest.
In his important book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman writes,
“Among the main biological changes in happiness is an increased
activity
in a brain center that inhibits negative feelings and fosters an increase
in
available energy.” We’re naturally attracted to positive energy. It
directly
adds to the sense of well-being, happiness, and good energy around
us.
Cultivating good energy is a worthwhile pursuit that is accumulative.
The more we eliminate any bad thoughts that are counterproductive,
the
more we will be retraining our minds to choose positive over negative
reactions.
In my book Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life, I wrote that our
natural temperament and disposition is divided evenly between
nature—
our genetic endowment—and nurture—the influence of our
environment
and our choices. We can change our life by as much as 50 percent by
retraining our minds and attitudes. By thinking thoughts that aim us in
the direction of greater happiness, we will, in time, transform our inner
life. We’re able to improve ourselves choice by choice, by our habits of
thought and attitude. This character development brings rich rewards.
Our mental state becomes more dependable, predictable, and stable
as we
cultivate good energy. When we develop this essential virtue of clarity
of
thinking by training and reprogramming our minds, we will live well.
Where do you choose to channel your energy? What makes you feel
most alive? What inspires you to choose to do the right thing, to think
the good thought? We can practice cultivating good energy in all of
our real life situations, right where we are, even in tense situations. A
miserable couple went to a restaurant for dinner. From the moment
they
sat down, they had a big chip on their shoulder. They were rude,
mean,
and confrontational. Karen, the waitress, told us she killed them with
kindness, but it didn’t work. Smiling, Karen said, “Bad vibes.” They
stormed out without paying. Karen kept smiling. “Good riddance.”
In general, try to be more mindful of your breathing, your energy—
your breath of life—especially when you are faced with a disturbing
situation. Try to catch yourself thinking negative thoughts. Be mindful
of your choice to replace a negative automatic reaction with a
constructive
thought. We expand the scope of our awareness by being totally
present
to what we are thinking, feeling, and observing. Be still and receptive
to
your attitude. There may be a lot of upsetting things happening
around
us and to us. Still, we choose how we are going to control ourselves,
how
we are going to react.
Our wise thoughts can make the world better. Bad thoughts create
chaos. Choose the good-quality thought, the one that is the most
helpful
to you and to others. Good thinking leads to good living. The good life
demands that we develop an optimistic philosophy as the framework
for
our thinking. We change the way we feel by what we think. The world
may or may not be a good world overall, but it is possible, in fact it is
vital,

to make that part of the world where you live as good as it can be. If
we do
the things that we are capable of doing, no matter how small, the
world
would be a better place for us all.