Demystifying Energy 

Let’s talk about energy. 

In this day and age, it’s likely that you’ve heard of or maybe even experienced reiki, acupuncture, or aura photography. While these methods may not be widely practiced or accepted today, and might even be thought of as “woo woo”, they have one thing in common: energy. 

Good news for the skeptics out there: you don’t have to try or even believe in the above practices to start to become aware of energy and how you can harness its power to your benefit. 

Once we’ve demystified energy, we’ll explore some different ways to understand and strengthen our own personal energy, and use it as a tool to improve our lives. The more awareness we have around our personal energy and the relationship between energy and the world, the more power we have over our reality. 

Everything in the world is energy

We all know that everything in the world is made up of matter. And we may remember that the smallest building blocks of matter are atoms, and their subatomic particles are electrons, neutrons, and protons (thank you, grade school science class). 

While early physicists divided the world into matter and energy, we’ve since discovered that matter and energy are interchangeable. (Note: If you’re at all like me and geek out over this kind of stuff, Google ‘The Double Slit experiment’ and ‘Quantum Mechanics’).

Scientists in the quantum field have found that atoms are actually made up of 99% energy, and 1% matter. Therefore, 99% of the world is energy. 

Energy and you  

In the book The Power of Full Engagement, performance psychologist Jim Loehr and journalist Tony Shwartz describe four different types of energy that make up a holistic individual: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. 

Here are some examples we can all relate to:

Physical energy: the energy boost you feel from a cup of coffee (or three), or the lack of energy you feel if you haven’t been sleeping well. 

Mental energy: the feeling of being mentally exhausted after an intense day at work, or when you feel excited and energized to learn something new. 

Emotional energy: the positive vibes you experience after a good laugh, or the exhaustion you feel after arguing with someone you care about. 

Spiritual energy: the fullness you feel after you accomplish something that deeply matters to you, or the emptiness you feel working at a job that doesn’t align with your values. 

To be fully engaged in life, according to The Power of Full Engagement, “we must be physically energized, mentally focused, emotionally connected, and spiritually aligned with our minds and hearts directed by a purpose which is beyond our own self interest.” So how do we get there?

Physical energy: the most tangible type of energy  

Physical energy relates to your physical body, and the amount of energy you have to engage with the world. The amount of physical energy you have is dependent on three things you can control: diet, rest, and exercise. Before it became an entire industry, taking care of your physical energy was OG self care. 

Diving deep and asking ourselves thoughtful questions is a good place to start. This will help us build awareness and kickstart our growth. Introspection is powerful. 

Questions to ask yourself: Part I 

• What is your physical energy level right now? High, medium, low? Why?
• What can you do to support your physical energy? 
• A healthy diet - what foods are you putting into your body?
• Adequate rest - are you getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night? Do you have any down time to recharge?
• Physical activity - are you strengthening and moving your body in a way that feels good for you?

Mental energy: mind over matter

Perhaps the most important discovery from quantum physics is that your internal mind, your thoughts, have an effect on your external world, your reality. Through a phenomenon called the Observer effect, we know that atoms act differently when observed. This means that the subjective mind can produce measurable changes on the objective, physical world. 

Mind and matter are intimately connected – your observation of your personal reality has an effect on your body, genes, and overall health. Where your attention goes, your energy flows. The energy and frequency (vibrations) you emit into the world match your reality. 

In the New Thought philosophy, the law of attraction is the belief that the magnetic power of the universe draws similar energies together. Like attracts like. Therefore, if you’re emitting positive energy into the world, the world will bring you more of that energy.

In the words of author Zig Ziglar, “Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you see in others, exists in you.” 

Questions to ask yourself: Part II

• How can you focus your attention more on what you do want (your aspirations) instead of what you don’t want (your problems)?
• Start to become more aware of your conscious thoughts – does the way you speak, the way you act, and what you do, align with who you want to be?
• Start to become more aware of your unconscious beliefs – do you believe you’re worthy of what you aspire to? Do you believe they’re possible? The frequency of your beliefs must match the frequency of your thoughts to impact your reality.
• Can you practice gratitude more often? Gratitude has a high vibration. Being grateful for the things you have can help you access more of that in your future. If you want a loving partnership in your life, for example, can you be grateful for the love that you do have currently? With family, friends, a pet? 
• Can you connect more to the present moment, instead of living in the past or the future? Each time you bring yourself back to the present moment you’re strengthening your mental energy. 

Emotional energy: emotions have energy, too 

Joe Dispenza, a neuroscience researcher and author of Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, explains that if you’re living by specific emotions that keep you connected to the past, you can’t create a new future. There’s a valuable message or learning in every emotion we experience. Emotions hold particular energy and frequency too – and we know that the thoughts and frequency we emit into the world creates our experience, and our reality. 

Questions to ask yourself: Part III

1. List the things that you’re experiencing difficult emotions around in your life under three categories: situations, relationships, and things.
2. Name the emotions you’re experiencing that might not be serving you. Acknowledge these emotions. Name them.
3. Sit with the emotion, without trying to get rid of it. What does it feel like?
4. Ask yourself – does this emotion belong in your future? Does the energy / frequency of that emotion create the reality you’re wanting to achieve? 
5. Action/release – is there an action you can take to work through this emotion? How might you release this emotion? 
6. Pick a new emotion you wish to bring more of into your life. Visualize what that looks like, and feels like.
7. Marie Kondo style – what in your life brings you joy? How can you invite more of those situations/relationships/things into your life? 

Spiritual energy: defining your why 

Defining your values – what deeply matters to you – and exemplifying these in your daily life is critically important to fueling your spiritual energy. Your spiritual muscle will strengthen as you continue to reach for the truest expression of yourself. 

Even Oprah applies to this school of thought. In her words: “This is the commodity of human beings. Every person is trying to reach for the highest truest expression of themselves. Every person wants the same thing I want. But you can’t get there without practice. Being connected to the essence of yourself is like developing a spiritual muscle.”

Questions to ask yourself: Part IV

• What deeply matters to you? What values do you want to live in your life? 
• Once you define what deeply matters to you, conduct an energy audit of where you currently spend your time and energy in your life.
• Does the way you spend your time and energy align with the values that deeply matter to you? 
• How are you living your values in small ways (and big ways) in your life? 
• Are you engaging with things (relationships, activities, objects) that fill you up, or drain you? 

In the wise words of the all-knowing Drake, “I got enemies, got a lotta enemies, got a lotta people tryna drain me of my energy.”

Energy as a tool

In a world overflowing with wellness tips and tricks, energy is one of the most accessible and impactful concepts out there (and admittedly this article only scratches the surface!).

Building awareness of our personal energy and how to strengthen it, is a tool we can use to influence our reality, and manifest our deepest desires. Fuelling our bodies through self care, understanding how our thoughts can influence our reality, practicing gratitude and clearing incompatible emotions – and defining our values and living by them – are all important and intentional actions you can take to empower your holistic being. 

Your energy is a currency – it’s yours to save and it’s yours to spend. Spend it wisely.

“Nobody changes until they change their energy. And when you change your energy, you change your life.” - neuroscience researcher Joe Dispenza