How to Stop Wasting Your Mental Energy
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“Most of our energy goes into upholding our importance”¦ If we were capable of losing some of that importance, two extraordinary things would happen to us. One, we would free our energy from trying to maintain the illusory idea of our grandeur; and two, we would provide ourselves enough energy to catch a glimpse of the actual grandeur of the universe.”
- Don Juan in the Art of Dreaming
Have you ever experienced THAT “draining” feeling?
You know the one I’m talking about.
The one where you feel like all of your mental energy is being sucked out of you and you can’t seem to figure out why.
I’ve experienced this feeling many times, and I always feel powerless when it starts to happen. How are we supposed to rid ourselves of this parasitic force if we don’t even know what causes it to happen?
Don’t lose all hope just yet. There is a solution I’ve managed to stumble upon.
The Law of Least Effort
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been heavily involved in spiritual study. One of the tenets of spirituality is “The Law of Least Effort.” What this law states is that the people who prosper in life are those who can extend beyond their ego, accept the present moment for what it is, and accept responsibility for what they’ve created. By doing so, they conserve the massive amount of energy tied to maintaining the ego, fighting the present moment, and blaming their circumstances on other people and things in their environment.
Understanding this, I found the cure for that familiar “draining” feeling we discussed before.
- I realized how much mental energy I was wasting trying to “uphold my importance,” as Don Juan stated in his quote above.
- I realized how much mental energy I was wasting trying to fight the present moment, and not accepting it for what it really was.
- I realized how much mental energy I was wasting by not accepting responsibility for the circumstances in my life.
Refrain from engaging in these draining practices, and the end result is more mental energy at your disposal that can be put to good use.
Three Ways to Regain Your Mental Energy
- Accept the present moment for what it is: The present is simply a reflection of all of our past thoughts, choices, and actions. There is nothing we can do right now to change the present moment; however there is something we can do right now to change the next moment in our future. In my article Leave the Past Behind, I explain how to release yourself from the burden of your past, and how to gain acceptance for the present moment as it is.
- Accept responsibility for your circumstances: As long as we choose to blame the circumstances in our life on people and things in our external environment, we remain powerless to change these circumstances. We become the victims of our external environment, and in the process expend a tremendous amount of mental energy complaining about the lack of control over our lives. Only by understanding that the circumstances in your life are your responsibility will you be able to regain control over your life. You can then be proactive, and consciously improve the quality of your life by acting responsibly in the present.
- Defenselessness: People waste so much energy defending their point of view. Why waste time doing this? What’s the point? While you are trying to uphold your importance in other people’s eyes and in your own, you’re wasting precious mental energy. By releasing yourself from the need to defend your point of view, you regain lost mental energy.
Where Do You Stand?
Take a deep look at yourself. Are you struggling against the present moment? Do you accept responsibility for the circumstances in your life? Do you constantly defend your point of view, and try to uphold your sense of importance?
If so, decide to adopt the mental practices listed above and feel the heavy weight lift off of your shoulders. That familiar draining feeling we talked about will soon be a thing of the past, and you will have access to an enormous amount of mental energy you’ve never had before.
What you do with this mental energy hereafter is up to you. I recommend that you put it to good use, and dedicate it towards a worthy cause, something that makes a significant contribution to this world. 
This article was inspired by The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success by Deepak Chopra.
Photo by lel4nd
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How to Make the Right Decision Every Time
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You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait; just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
- Franz Kafka
What if I were to tell you that you could learn how to make the right decision in every single situation, every single time? Would you believe me? Would you think I’m crazy?
Actually, you don’t have to learn how to make the right decision every time, you already know how.
Now you must really think I’m crazy.
You Already Have Everything You Need
Each one of us has been blessed with an internal compass that lets us know whether or not we are about to make the right decision in any situation. I like to call this compass universal intuition.
This universal intuition quickly takes into account all of the factors and outcomes involved with a certain decision, computes it in the universal super-computer, and quickly gives us feedback in the form of a feeling within our bodies.
This speedy wisdom comes from within us, but is not exactly human. It’s a wisdom that is in touch with the universe at large. It understands how a decision we make reverberates throughout the universe, and the effect it will have in the grand scheme of things.
The longer we choose to act in violation of our universal intuition, the longer we will be dissatisfied with our results in life. Every time we choose to disobey the universe’s wisdom, we are choosing to pit ourselves against the entire force of the universe. No longer will it be working for us, instead it will begin to work against us.
Talk about an uphill battle! It’s no wonder most people are unhappy with their lives.
What is Universal Intuition?
If we wish to gain the cooperation of universal intuition, we must learn to accept its advice. It has been present inside of us since we were born, but as we’ve grown up we’ve been conditioned to ignore it. We’ve been taught to use our “heads” to think through things, and to be rational. All of this has put us out of touch with universal intuition.
Often times, this drives us crazy. We can think, and think, and think through a decision, but most of the time we’ll come up with nothing. When I was deciding whether or not to drop out of college, I thought about it for nearly a year before I realized thinking was driving me nuts, and was ultimately futile.
I finally decided to stop thinking, and start feeling. It was so simple, yet so profound. As soon as I acknowledged the feeling associated with each of my options, I achieved incredible clarity. The right choice had been right underneath my nose all along.
I was so miserable in school, and the universe had been telling me so for an entire year. During that year I continued to fight this wisdom, and school progressively became more draining and more tedious day by day. Once I made the decision to drop out, I experienced an immediate and substantial release of tension. It felt like everything was right again.
Our huge brains are double-edged swords. They are miraculous in that they give us access to so much raw thinking power, but they are a hindrance in that they put us out of touch with our hearts (universal intuition). When our hearts are trying to tell us something, our thoughts cloud our minds and often times cause us to make wrong and painful decisions.
How to Listen to Universal Intuition
Listening to universal intuition is only as hard as we choose to make it. The more we deny its existence, and the more we choose to let our thoughts dominate our decision making process, the harder life will be.
Life is not meant to be excessively hard. Life is not meant to be overwhelmingly draining.
Life is meant to be enjoyable. Life is meant to be invigorating.
The next time you face a tough decision, sit down in a quiet place and clear your mind. Rid yourself of the conflicting thoughts racing around inside of your head. Be still. Try to feel the wisdom of the universe by your side. This feeling may be extremely faint, but you’ll find that it’s always there, pointing you in the right direction.
It may be telling you yes, or no. It may be saying stop, or go. It may be telling you that you need to quit your job, or that you need to end your unsatisfactory relationship of 5 years. It may be telling you the business you are trying to get started doesn’t truly stir your passion, and that you need to pursue something else. It may manifest itself as a feeling of discomfort, advising you not to make a certain decision. Or it may manifest itself as a feeling of comfort, advising you to make a certain decision.
Acknowledge this feeling, and understand that when you listen to it, you cannot make the wrong decision. Have faith that something more powerful than you can understand is working for you behind the scenes. Choose to act in accordance with this universal wisdom, and the entire universe will have no choice but to roll in ecstasy at your feet.
It’s that simple.
Photo by jackcaptive
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