Do you feel chronically dissatisfied with your life? Do you feel hurried and anxious? Depressed? Do you breath shallowly? Do you wish you were ahead of where you find yourself on a financial, spiritual, or physical level?
If any of these statements resonate with you, you are probably suffering from a lack of what we in the energy world call absorption. Did you know that your chakras (the organs of your energy field) are designed primarily to take energy in? That tells us something about what our natural state looks like. We are designed to be receivers as much as we are doers. Anytime the balance is too tipped towards doing without the receptivity, we are headed on a path of dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and overwhelm.
Most of us are so output-oriented, and trained to do-do-do, that perhaps we don’t know that we could absorb anything, or why absorption would be beneficial. Let me help you understand why.
What is Absorption?
Absorption is action’s counterpart. It is the intake of energy. Anytime you make an action, large or small, absorption is the feeling of the return of your investment of time and energy. When you fully absorb, your actions stick, and you’ll feel a deep sense of satisfaction and self-love. Without absorption there is only endless action with no satisfaction. You might get things done but not feel like it amounts to anything. Or you might have something positive happen but not really feel it. Without absorption, we tend to become mechanical and repetitive, meaningless bots with endless to do lists and little satisfaction.
Absorption is the digestion of the energy field. Like food, we want to be able to take the nutrients (meaningful elements) from our life experience and digest them, incorporating them into our system. This means enjoying, savoring, and feeling life. It means the sunlight touches us and we feel it. We are available to life. We are available to synchronicity and beauty, and we feel in relationship with the elements in nature.
Signs of Non-Absorption
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Poor physical digestion
-Fatigue
-Loss of inspiration
-Distractedness
-Irritability
-Insomnia
-Fear
-Addictions
Learning to Absorb Again
There are many beliefs that we’ve taken on as truth that block absorption. Reclaiming our right to take energy in means challenging and releasing beliefs like “I’m not doing enough unless I’m exhausted,” or “my worth is measured in how accomplished I am.”
These core beliefs need to be overhauled and replaced by more natural statements, like “I am enough,” “I am doing enough,” and “my natural state is ease.” In other words, we want to set ourselves up for happiness being an attainable option, right here and now.
So many depressed clients I work with don’t allow themselves to savor life, to feel connected to the moment, because they are so focused on telling themselves negative things like “I haven’t amounted to anything” or “there’s something wrong with me.” At some point we have to stand up to the more negative inner voices and recognize that their strategy for life isn’t helpful to us. When we buy into those voices we block absorption. The energies of beauty and peace cannot touch the person who is in a negative inner voice.
Reclaiming Naturalness
What can be absorbed most easily is the purity of nature and the elements. Many shamans I have worked with over the years agree that the lack of relationship with nature is the root cause of many illnesses, both physical and mental. As a whole humanity has strayed farther and farther from its naturalness. We forget that we are a part of nature, which is why both humanity and nature are so out of balance.
Yes you can be busy, working, on computers and phones, totally modern, and yet still connect with nature. The pure energy of nature purifies the energy field, and creates peace and harmony within. So next time you’re dashing around town running errands, notice your surroundings. Feel the sun, notice the elements. Practice being with nature even when you’re driving. Feel the energy from the stars, the intelligence of life entering your being. We can connect with these things just through intending to do so, and the result is a strong calming, life-giving influence on the body/mind. Anxiety is naturally reduced.
If you’re experiencing depression, the best remedy can be to block out time for yourself to get out into nature. As you walk through the woods or on the beach, allow the feeling of the elements to come in and support you. They love to do this and they will be also benefit from being in this kind of relationship with you.
Being in Pace with Our Unfolding
An important rule of energy: we can only keep that which we absorb. That means we need to be in pace with our destiny; not behind or ahead of our natural unfoldment.
Under-doing life or over-doing life both create deep dis-satisfaction and keep us out of absorption.
Under-doing life could look like:
-not taking risks
-not standing up for your needs
-staying in a situation (job, relationship) that isn’t healthy for you
-being unhappy but not doing anything about it
-choosing safety over creative expression
Overexpansion beyond what we can metabolize is problematic as well. A great example of this is a lottery winner. They go from very little in their bank account to an incredible fortune in a second. But the level of expansion that it would require for them to function at their new financial level has not been set up, has not developed inside of them, so they get overwhelmed, lose the money, and end up poorer than before. This example gives a teaching in how important it is to practice expanding ourself in tandem with spirit, taking more risks and standing in more authority each day but not jumping ahead of what truly makes sense for where we are at.
Other examples of getting ahead of oneself in life are:
-letting go of one’s safety net job before the life purpose work is fully mature
-disappointment that we don’t have _______ yet
-anger/disappointment with our current life situation
-wishful thinking or fantasizing
-expectations and disappointments
If we can practice absorption every day, it is much easier to stay on track with our soul’s unfolding. It is great and necessary to have goals in order to stay purposeful in life, but enjoyment of each phase of your life is equally important. You know you are in absorption when you are enjoying and savoring your life, and in acceptance of your life situation as it is right now. Absorption is the beautiful balance of appreciating/accepting what is while being willing to take the steps to move closer to where you’d ultimately like to be.
This means changing your relationship to your pain, sorrow, and depression. Instead of something to hate and wish weren’t there, these pangs of discomfort become your ally in creating change for yourself. I go more into this principle in last month’s article, “Depression, the Doorway to Purpose.”
I hope this article gets you started thinking about how and if you are absorbing energy in your life. Just deepening the breath when you notice it is very shallow is a great way to start integrating more life-supporting energy into your system. For some of us, taking more risks to express ourselves and our true desires is the key to experiencing deeper satisfaction, and for others it is to slow down and really feel our accomplishments and enjoy where we are. Whatever it is for you, I invite you to try doubling your absorption today! Notice how you think about yourself changes, how your sleep changes, how you notice the love that is available to you right here, right now.