Gathering Energy

Basically I could stop writing this blog right here as John Muir said it all for me. It was on a sign at one of our stops west of Coos Bay along the Oregon Coast. But, of course, if I did that, I'd not have much of a blog and besides there is another point to how we gather energy. What interferes with the gathering.

Even before I went through a month of minor but irritating and energy depleting events-- ear infection, tooth breaking, dental visit, crown, crown not comfortable, tmj irritated by dentist visit, and finally add in sinus irritations due to all the weather pressure changes-- I was into thinking how I build energy within myself. Does what gives us peace emotionally also work for our bodies? Can we, as the eastern teachings would tell us, align our bodies in ways that lead to better physical health (and that doesn't mean avoid all illnesses)?

Looking at energy purely from the emotional end, I think most can see how it helps us feel better when we are doing things that feel positive and not draining. We find it less able to do that when something is going wrong physically. That hurts pretty much trumps anything else and often it should as it is a bodily warning. Still if we are constantly submerged in what has gone wrong, it's hard to concentrate on what has gone right. There are times, January was a lot that way for me, where we just want to pull a blanket over our heads and say wake us when it's spring.

What I did instead was write down the kinds of things I do in a standard month and try to evaluate which ones built energy (physically and emotionally) and which ones sucked it out. It wasn't like I thought it would be possible to stop doing the depleting things. Some jobs must be done-- depleting or not.

After awhile I realized most of them can be both energy gathering and depleting depending partly on how I look at them and which part of them I am doing. Some things seem neutral as I go through the paces and not sure they add or detract. They simply must be done.

I think that slowing down to take deep breaths, more time letting myself think about something positive, even in a dentist chair or at the doctor's office, can make any of the less pleasant things more positive.

Studies have shown that meditation can lower blood pressure. What else can it do for the energy in our bodies, the stuff that is holding us together? Visualizations of say cancer cells being gobbled up by the body's defenses have also shown positive results in tests. There have been studies on prayer likewise helping people heal faster.

What if the reason these things work isn't because of a godly intervention but instead the body's response to what are all forms of meditation. If it makes us feel better emotionally to do certain things, how do we know it doesn't do the same thing on a cellular level?

Farm Boss has something he does and suggests I do when I am feeling stressed. Turn on the kitchen faucet until the temperature is hot but not too hot, and then hold my wrists under them. It is relaxing if it's not energy gathering, it would help avoid the tension that can block positive energy.

When things seem dark, I try to have as many positive things going on as possible which can be good books, movies, the right music, in my case perfect silence most often, conversations with friends, possible plans to improve things, and there are places I feel as though energy grows within me and leaves me clearer and cleaner feeling. Those places are not the same from time to time. Some aren't that close to visit when I need them, but I can draw up their memories.

Some think vortexes are energy hot spots which can be used for such purposes. Most people know about Sedona's claim for that. The thing is vortexes aren't in one place. They don't need an advertisement telling you where they are. Many are along energy lines which some call ley lines.

Yes, I know I just lost those leery of anything smacking of New Age, but there are strong energy places and whether we can measure them, whether someone is trying to sell them, we know them when we are there-- woo-woo person or not-- if we are open to what we are feeling.

For January finding such energy places led to more frequent trips to the ocean in many types of weather. Most were just for a drive as we live about 50 miles from the beach, but one was over night.

There have been studies on the positive impact of the ocean on people. Our Oregon coast has a higher than average population of divorced people because of its healing qualities, they think. They say there is a biological reason for that--the ions in the air. Same thing is true at waterfalls.

I think there is also an emotional reason for the coast impacting a person that way. It is so vast, always changing, and the power of the waves dwarfs our problems whatever they might be. It's never quite the same whenever I go.


These photos in January were taken near Yaquina Lighthouse. In the photo above, the light caught something unusual almost like an echo of the wave. You could think it happened because the camera moved but everything else is sharp. Farm Boss thought it was the mist rising off the breaking wave due to the temperature of the water and the air. That later led to fog all along the drive up the Coast. It does look like energy rising though doesn't it?





You think this seagull on the rock is gathering energy, meditating, or just enjoying that sunshine? He stood like that all the time we were there. If you can't see him, click on the photo to enlarge. It's one of the problems we have sometimes-- not a broad enough perspective to see what is really there.

The first of February-- 5-6th to be exact, we were again at the Coast. We took a lot of photos. The ocean which almost looked as though it was being seen in black and white, had spectacular waves. I realized later that the photos went well with music I liked. Finding such a combination is another way I gather energy.

If you click on the link, you can make the photos full screen and be sure you have your volume on to enjoy Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Rhapsody of Waves