Most of us just aren’t that sensitive to our own energy state, or shifts in our energy field as they occur in life. Usually it isn’t until the energy affects the state of tension in our muscles that we notice anything. Even then, especially when it triggers emotional memories, we may miss the change in energy and quite literally just ’tense up.” A tense, stressed person cannot think as clearly or move as smoothly as someone who is “open and settled.”
Sometimes our energy levels can get so high we do notice the change and the feelings that result, often described as feeling anxious, worried, angry, upset, riled-up, or overwhelmed. Sometime it is only after we’ve ‘lost it’ do we realize something caused our energy to change suddenly, and this extra energy was driving the feelings that were driving the behaviors.
When you watch someone get stressed to the point of inappropriate behavior, don’t you wish they could see themselves from your perspective. Much more importantly to our lives, don’t we wish we could all “see” ourselves “in the moment,” so we could shift our behavior from “acting out” emotional pressures to “choosing” how to channel increased energy in peaceful, creative , constructive, healthy ways.
In many ways, Aikido practice involves tuning in to a finer dimension of awareness, over time developing a state of attention that enables us to sense our feelings arising sooner. As we develop ourselves through continuous practice to tune into finer and finer dimensions, we naturally begin to notice changes in our own energy state as our personal magnetic electromagnetic field (ki, aura, prana) changes. It becomes possible to manage our energy state long before we need to control our emotional response.
As O Sensei, the founder of Aikido said, “My students think i don’t lose my center. But that’s not so. I simply recognize it sooner and get back quicker.”
Whenever we’re feeling uncomfortable it should set off an internal alert that we are likely falling behind the energy curve.
Whatever level of sensitivity we are aware of at the moment, if we pay attention to how we’re feeling, our alignment improves. We tend to behave more appropriately. We tend to act more intelligently, especially in the sense of “emotional intelligence.” Ifwe can notice our energy changing,even before the energy amplifies our feelings, it is much easier to shift into a better space. It is particularly during moments of silence that we can better hear our internal voice, sense our internal energies, and find our true selves.
R. Moon Edited by Laurin Herr