Very few people are aware of the kind of energy that they have. For the most part they tend to become aware of their energy level when becomes really low, in which case they are usually looking for a power drink or a cup of coffee. The reason for this is that most people tend to believe that their energy level is a direct result of their metabolism only.

While it is true that the kind of foods you eat and how much you eat tend to greatly affect your energy levels, your metabolism is not the only source of energy intake that you have. Since science does not have any great understanding of subtle energy, it does not take into account the fact that energy can be accessed in a more direct fashion. Since science is our new religion, in the West we are mostly bombarded with different ways of increasing our energy level through the ingestion of different supplements, foods, and drink.

You must realize though that you can greatly increase the amount of energy that you have. You must first become aware of the fact that energy can be accessed through more subtle means. In Asia for example, the old ways have not been forgotten and people practice many different techniques in order to increase energy in their bodies. The practice of yoga and chi-kung are the most famous and best known in the West.

There are of course ancient Western schools of thought that have understood this subtle energy and have taught how to work with it as well. Ancient European people understood quite well that energy existed in many different degrees and that these energies could be tapped in different ways to provide different benefits.

I would like to share with you here at technique that you can use to increase your energy level. This technique uses breathing, which is one of the best ways to tap into subtle energy and increase the flow of this energy within your body.

1. Find that nice relaxed sitting position either on a comfortable chair or on the floor. Keep your back erect. You can also stand to do this exercise if you so desire; if this is the case then try to take a comfortable standing position with both feet shoulder width apart and no slouching.
2. Take a really deep breath to the count of five.
3. Slowly relax your body and as you do so let the air out of your lungs for a count of 10.
4. Repeat this exercise to a count of 10.
5. While you are doing this exercise you must close your jaw firmly and clench both your hands into fists. You must keep your entire body relaxed except for your jaw and your hands. As you breathe in and out, think to yourself that each breath is bringing you a great surge of energy into your body and that this energy is being stored deep within your body.

The benefits of this exercise might not be noticeable at first. It usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes before you start noticing the great surge of energy that you have ingested into your body. This general increase in energy should last a few hours and should give you the extra ‘pep’ that you need to get through a hard day.

You can do this exercise as many times as you like during the day. If you are persistent and you do this exercise at least once a day for a month, you will notice a great increase in your overall energy level. Doing this exercise on a regular basis will allow you to fight off infection and disease and should actually even help you to increase your personal confidence since confidence is really just high energy level.

As we all know it is quite difficult to stay relaxed in some situations. We all have a certain physiological response under certain circumstances which makes it quite difficult for us to maintain composure. While this physiological response can be quite helpful if we ever find ourselves in a dangerous situation, it can be quite detrimental (supposedly) under modern normal social circumstances. This physiological response is colloquially referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response.

How it works is that if you ever find yourself in the situation that you find emotionally difficult, the limbic system will take over and get your body ready either to fight whatever threat you might be facing or to run away from this threat. If for example you are walking down the woods and you run across a bear, this reaction can be quite useful because it will instantly get your body ready to face this terrible danger.

Some say that this is an old and antiquated bodily reaction that is no longer required in this modern world. I tend to disagree because if you have ever walked in any crowded city anywhere, you will know that you might not face a terrible bear but you might face a terrible human being. What this wonderful system therefore is trying to do is to prepare you for any possible physical threat when you are facing an unknown individual. If you look at it logically, it is indeed quite helpful to have this response available to you since most of the individuals that you meet in everyday life are complete strangers and their motivation can often times be questionable.

To try and suppress this response is both futile and dangerous. It is futile because this is an incredibly old physiological response that cannot be overridden, no matter what some experts might say, through reasonable means. In other words you won’t be able to think your way out of the ‘fight or flight’ response. It is also dangerous to try and get rid of this response because it is really a response that we still need to have within ourselves no matter what some idealistic individuals might tell you. We live in a dangerous world and we need our bodies to function as they have been designed to function in order to survive it and thrive in it.

But what do we do then? Are we supposed to somehow be able to figure out when we need this fight or flight response and when not? No.
What we need to do is to be able to have a way to deal with this response in a way that actually enhances its abilities instead of constricts its capabilities.

If you are ever able to study your body while you go into this physiological response, you will notice that there is a great deal of construction. What I mean by this is that your body tends to tighten up to a great extent and your awareness as well, tends to constrict to the point where some individuals experience tunnel vision. There are people that I know of personally that have gone completely blind while in the throes of an intense ‘fight or flight’ response.

While this constriction can help to focus personal energy for whatever physical (or psychic) response, it is also the cause of our inability to act in a coherent manner. What you need to do therefore is to be able to allow your body to pool its incredible resources naturally but to also maintain a high level of awareness so that you can use this great energy to your advantage in the best way possible. In other words what you need to do is to combine the limbic system and the cerebral cortex so that they both work together as one. What this means is that you need to allow your body to become the Hulk and Bruce Banner at the same time.

The best way to do this is to do everything your power to maintain an expanded focus of awareness. As I said, when the ‘fight or flight’ response kicks in, you have a natural narrowing of awareness. This narrowing can be a huge hindrance to higher mental functions and you must therefore do what you can to expand your awareness so that you can logically act within your environment. You do this by making sure that you maintain an expanded awareness and you don’t let yourself go into tunnel vision.

‘The best way to do this is to maintain a peripheral focus with all your senses

For example:

*Make sure that you maintain peripheral focus with your vision; to do this extend your arms horizontally and perpendicular to your shoulder. Begin to wiggle your fingers and try to see both hands simultaneously using your peripheral vision. See how far you can extend your arms away from your field of vision while at the same time still be able to see your fingers wiggling. This is the extent of your peripheral vision and you should try to maintain a 180° field of vision at all times. What is most interesting about using your peripheral vision in this way is that you can instantly focus on any point in this 180° arc and you can also focus on one point in this 180° arc while at the same time still maintain your peripheral focus. Using this method alone you will be able to completely control your ‘fight or flight’ response so that you are able to experience this physiological ally while at the same time maintain a more logical demeanor to your actions.

*With your hearing; make sure that you expand your hearing as well, so you are able to hear everything in your environment and not just on the thing that is causing you to feel threatened. For example if you are talking to someone that is making you feel nervous, don’t just listen to what he is saying but also try to listen to everything that is going on around you.

*Try to become more aware of what you are smelling.

*Try to become more aware of what you are tasting.

*Try to become more aware of what you are feeling; notice that your body is most likely constricted and you are probably feeling quite tense. The idea is not to try to fight this tension but to allow your body to try and truly feel the space around you. As you become aware of the space and the environment around you and you try to feel the space around yourself, you will allow your body to naturally become much more aware of its environment.
In this way your body relaxes naturally and is even more capable physically and as a result becomes more confident. Use your mind to expand your senses and begin to discover the true power of your being.

Now this might not be easy for you at first. To fight that natural response to go into tunnel focus can be quite difficult and requires strong intent on your part; the more nervous you get the harder it will be. By expanding your awareness in this way, you will make it much easier for your body to respond in the proper way both physically and mentally. It will never though get rid of that sort of tense feeling that you experienced during these moments and if you are looking for some way to overcome these feelings then perhaps you should try some of the more silly methods that try to get rid of this response altogether. Methods created because it is believed to be some kind of antiquated phenomena that is no longer needed in this ‘modern’ world.

This great tension is actually your body bringing together and focusing a huge amount of energy in order to allow you to have the kind of power that you need to function at your best. If you put yourself into some state where you become completely lethargic during every single moment where your intuitions and your body knowledge are telling you that you need more power, you will end up restricting and completely cutting yourself off from your ability to function at your best. To cut yourself off from this power is really a misunderstanding, which is quite understandable because of all the silliness that has been taught lately, and a type of cowardly response where you feel like you do not wish to participate in the world any longer. Fight this attitude because it is not your natural attitude it is an attitude that has been fostered by decades of incorrect thinking.

Have you ever heard of a mission statement? I am certain that if you know anything about large corporations or you have worked for one yourself, you know that most of these organizations have a mission statement. A mission statement is basically a definition of who you are and what you are going to accomplish, more than this it is a definition of how you will meet the challenges that you face by defining the values that you wish to exemplify.

When we are young the last thing that we think about is our legacy. But as we get older we contemplate our own mortality and because of this we begin to think about what we wish to leave behind when are gone. We want to know that we will be remembered well and that the actions that we took in this life were positive and constructive instead of destructive or inconsequential. A legacy therefore is a way to extend the parameters of our mortality by leaving behind a positive effect upon the world that will be remembered.

In order to create a positive and worthwhile legacy, you need to create a ‘personal mission statement’. The difference between your ‘personal mission statement’ and the ones that you are probably used to hearing about, is that this one represents what YOU stand for and the challenges that you commit yourself to in order to make a difference.

A personal mission statement can seem a little dour but it is actually quite fun. It is also of extreme help because it helps you to define yourself, discover and define your value system, and motivate yourself to take positive action towards a greater good.

In order to begin your personal mission statement, you must define yourself. If you need help trying to come up with your mission statement, go to a major corporation and look up their mission statement on their website. This will give you a basic idea of what a mission statement can be like and how you should approach your own personal mission statement.
I mission statement though should always begin by defining yourself. Write down or type out a definition of who you are, where you came from and what you think were the most influential things that helped to define your life. In this mission statement you must also define your current self and how your life path has affected your present self. You do this by defining your values, that which is most important to you, and how it is that these values came to be through your past and present circumstance.

Once you have finished this personal history of yourself, you must also define who or what you are dedicated to. Define the values that you described above even further by writing down who and what is important to you and for what reason.

Another important thing that you must define is how you plan to grow. Here you start contemplating the future by defining how you will strive to become better than the person you are today. You write down how you will get better, what new things you will do, and how you will grow generally. Here is where the mission part of the mission statement comes in; you define the general objectives of your life. There is no need to get too specific, just try to give a general idea of how you wish to develop in the future considering the values that you have and what you think will make the greatest positive statement, allowing you to grow the most as a person.

In order to truly create a legacy that will be remembered by others, you must try and help the people around you. In your mission statement therefore you must commit yourself to community service, or at least helping your family and friends. More than this, in this mission statement, you need to define what it is that you will be doing. Again you do not need to be specific, what you need to do though is give the general feeling of what you wish to accomplish in order to define the parameters of the positive action that you will be taking in your community.
Once you have made this general statement, try to define how you will be doing this. How will you be making sure that your values are expressed in community service. Even if you don’t have exact ideas as to what you wish to do or when, make sure that you identify those things that you would like to do.

In order to have a positive legacy you need to live the kind of life that you think will be a good example for others. You essentially need to be the person you always wanted to be and the only way that you will be able to do this is to define exactly how you need to go about becoming that ideal person. The best way to do this is to create a ‘personal mission statement’ that will allow you to define:

• where you came from
• who you are
• what your values are and how they were shaped
• what your future objectives are and how these follow your values
• what positive actions you will take in your community
• and generally what kind of person you wish to be in the eyes of others

This type of personal definition is essentially the examples that you wish to set. Now there is no reason why this personal mission statement needs to stay the same forever, you can change it over time just as companies do as they change and grow. Always remember that your personal mission statement represents the ideals by which you wish to live, and if you remember this then you will have no problem creating a personal mission statement that will allow you to grow and expand positively and always.

Motivation is one of those things that seems to go in cycles. Sometimes we are highly motivated to do something and then there are other times when we just don’t seem to have the energy to do anything at all. Motivation is an internal sense, or it might be better to say that it is an internal feeling that propels us to take action. While many might say that it is discipline that creates motivation through initial action, it is indeed the case that there can be no positive action without internal motivation firstly.

People find it very difficult sometimes to change something. It is also the case that people find it very difficult to begin and finish whatever goal they have set for themselves. Unfortunately motivation can wane sometimes and it then becomes impossible to imagine overcoming whatever obstacles you might face. If you have ever felt this way then please realize that you are not alone, many people find themselves with a lack of motivation especially when they’re trying to do something that they considered to be tedious or difficult. There are ways to increase your motivation though and we will look at the simplest and probably one of the most effective methods to get you to take action and to stay motivated on any task. With the information in this article you should be able to get yourself to start and finish anything that you wish to accomplish.

The most effective way to build motivation within yourself is through the act of visualization. You do this by visualizing yourself performing whatever task it is that you wish to accomplish. For example if you wish to start a difficult task, visualize yourself engaged in this task and doing a very good job on it. Visualize yourself doing this task in as much detail as possible and try to feel positive emotions and desire to do a good job as you are visualizing yourself doing this. The better your visualization, and the more the positive emotion that you are able to generate, the better.

I suggest that you do this visualization for a good 5 to 10 minutes and then go on about your day. It will be the case that you will have possibly an instant desire to begin your task. As soon as you get this impulse, make sure that you act on it and begin whatever task it is that you need to get done. If you are not able to begin your task right away, try not to dwell on it too much and just continue doing what you need to do it until you need to perform your task. Just before you need to begin your task, remember the visualization you did and this should be enough to get your desire flowing. In this way you will be able to motivate yourself to do anything, by first visualizing whatever it is that you need to do and then waiting for the natural impulse to do it. You will never need to push yourself to do anything again, all you will need to do is to visualize yourself doing whatever it is that you are wanting to do and in short order your body will provide the impetus and energy that you need to get going on this task.

It might also be the case that halfway through your task or half way through some kind of regimen, you do feel like your motivation is gone and you wish to give up. If this is the case then once again visualize yourself in the next step of your task. Visualize yourself doing whatever it is that you are completely not motivated to do and if you can, try to imagine a positive feeling while you are doing this. If the visualization does not work and you are not motivated to get yourself going, do not fret. You will just need to keep visualizing throughout different times in the day and perhaps for a number of days until that motivation finally hits you and you are quite naturally willing to finish whatever task you started.

Using a simple visualization like this, you will be able to motivate yourself to do anything:

• lose weight
• stop smoking
• do homework
• work-out
• walk the dog
• etc.

The trick is to trust your natural impulses and not to fight any automatic desire to get up and do the task before you. If you do not fight these impulses when they come, you will find yourself automatically starting any difficult task or project and as we all know this is the most difficult part of doing anything, the part that we usually believe requires a lot of discipline. Using this method you will be able to motivate yourself to accomplish whatever it is that you wish to do and you will no longer need to whip yourself and perform like some kind of beast of burden.

Spare time is something that we all seem to be having less and less of lately. The hustle and bustle of life can get the best of you if you don’t take the time to make the time for yourself. If you consider the fact that you sleep for one third of your 24-hour day and that you work on average between 7 to 10 hours a day; you actually have in between 6 to 8 hours of free time. So during a 24-hour period, you might have six hours a day to yourself, and this does not include any time that you need to use to take care of errands, paying bills, and whatever bodily functions you need to perform during the day.

What we all need therefore, is more spare time. More time to be able to do the things that we want to do, so that we are able to enjoy our lives more instead of just surviving.

It is possible to find more extra time if you are willing to work at it:

Make a list of all the things that you do not need to do. It is often the case that we are making lists of things to do but it is also very important that you start making lists of things that you do not need to do. There are many things in your life that you don’t have to do but that you think you need to do because of some kind of perceived personal responsibility. Question those things that you are supposed to be obligated to do and discover how many of these things can be eliminated from the infinite tasks that you have during the day.

A figure out things that can go on your not to do list, is to ask yourself, “what is the worst that can happen if I don’t do it?”. If you ask yourself that question and answer honestly, you will discover that there are many things that you can do without, or that these obligations do not have as much power over you as you thought they did.

I’m certain that there are many, many things in your life that you want. But I also bet that you don’t want all those things all at once. In order be able to really enjoy things, you have to have them in an ordered process so that you can focus on them and take pleasure in them. In order to be able to focus on these good things in your life, you need to start eliminating those things that aren’t necessary now. You need to simplify your life by getting rid of ‘stuff’. It is indeed the case that most ‘stuff’ in our lives tends to add up and get out of control. There is very little that we actually need or want at any one time. In order to appreciate what you do have, and in order to be able to have the time to be able to appreciate your life in general, you need to get rid of the stuff that is taking away your freedom and your time.

After you are able to eliminate the ‘stuff’ that rules your life by simplifying your existence, after you are able to identify and eliminate those things that you do not need to do, you must start opening up yourself to all the things that you always wanted to do. The less stuff you have, the less that you have to work to maintain it which means that you will have more time to enjoy your existence.

The only way to find more time and more pleasure in your life is to focus on it and to work at it. The ‘stuff’ of life adds up if you let it and the weight of it can pin you to the ground with the sheer weight of the responsibilities that it brings. Eliminate this ‘stuff’ and rediscover the freedom and abundance of true living.

Everyone in the world suffers from the fear of failure, it is perhaps one of the most often felt phobias. It is true that failing has a number of bad consequences and a fear of failure is a quite natural thing; that it is giving you both a warning signal and energetic impetus to try and get you to perform at your best. Unfortunately too much of this fear without the realization that this fear is actually an ally, can stop you from taking any kind of positive action and this can be something that will stop any great success in your life.

A good way to overcome this fear, or any fear for that matter, is to logically understand the reasons for your fear and then to objectively tell yourself that this fear is natural and that the price of action outweighs the price of failure. Here are some points to keep in mind the next time that you feel the fear of failure:

Fear is simply a part of the discsovery proces; there is no possibility of success without discovery. Success comes as we gain new knowledge and this new knowledge can only be gained by making mistakes, because it is through these mistakes that we find the correct path that leads towards the accomplishment of our goals. Success means being prepared to fail in order to learn from this failure.

You are good enough; even when things don’t seem to be going your way, remember that you are worthy and capable no matter what you might be believing at the time or even what others might be telling you. Fear of failure is usually directly related to the fear of being seen as a loser by others. Remember though that failing at anything means that you are actually trying to do something that is possibly new and difficult for you, and this is quite often something that those that are judging you are not willing to do.

You can succeed; always remember that initial failure does not mean that you will fail completely. As I said failure is just a way to recognize a better way to approach or do something. If you try your best and you stay strong then it is more than likely that you will succeed at whatever you attempt. If success means learning, which is indeed the case, then it could be said that there is no failure because no matter what happens, you will always learn something new from whatever you attempt.

If you avoid failure then you avoid new possibilities; if ever you wish to get over the fear of failure then contemplate how much you will lose if you do not act. The fear of failure is nothing compared to the fear of having never accomplished anything, of having never experienced anything new; of living a life of despondent comfort.

Do not be afraid to let others down; it is quite often the case the we feel the fear of failure because we think that when we fail we shall let others down. Remember though that the best thing that you can do for others is to become a better individual yourself. There is no way to accomplish this unless you are willing to take a chance and do something outside of your comfort zone.

The best way to overcome the fear failure is to logically and objectively look at the reasons why you are afraid and then to realize that this fear is not capable of stopping you. If you are doing something that you truly wish to do and that you know will expand your abilities, then objectively you will see that this fear is just a good warning to help you perform your best but that it is not a barrier that can stop you.

Hypnotism is an incredibly powerful form of therapy that is being used with more and more frequency. Even though there have been many great advances in science, the subtle workings of the human mind still eludes us. As a result, science does not quite fully understand how hypnosis works.

Even though science does not understand how hypnosis works, it has been able to prove that the effects caused by hypnosis are quite real. Using brain scans and different physiological monitors, scientists have been able to prove the fact that hypnosis has a direct effect on the physical body and the mind.

It is now the case that some medical practitioners have begun to use hypnosis for some forms of treatment and for the relief of pain. There is to date no one theory to explain exactly how hypnosis works and there are a number of different and slightly conflicting models to instigate hypnosis.

Even though hypnosis comes from the word ‘hypnos’ which essentially means sleep, it is a fallacy to believe that you need to go into a sleep like state in order to be hypnotized. While you are in a hypnotic state, you can be very relaxed physically but it is always the case that your mind will be quite alert and aware. The one key factor in any kind of hypnotic state is the ability of the mind to focus with incredible intensity.

It is indeed the case that we go into trance states throughout the day without ever realizing it. For example anytime that you are watching a movie or a TV program and you completely lose track of all the things around you, even of time, you are essentially in a trance. In these instances, time seems to stand still and we are completely and utterly focused on what we are doing or experiencing at the moment.

If you are experienced with meditation, then you will most likely realize that hypnosis has many similarities to meditation. Hypnosis can be said to be a type of guided meditation where a trance state is induced and then this state is used in order to achieve physiological or mental changes. The hypnotic trance then relies on the ability of another person to induce it-the hypnotist.

Because of the work done by psychologists and psychiatrists in the early 19th century, hypnosis is seen as a method to induce a trance like state that allows the hypnotist to have direct access to the subconscious. These early psychologists and psychiatrists were the ones that separated the mind into the conscious and subconscious and began to separate different mental perceptions and abilities that were either experienced consciously or unconsciously. It was discovered that the subconscious was the true powerhouse of the human being and that most changes needed to involve a change in the subconscious before they would become apparent in the conscious being.

A hypnotist and a good hypnotic subject can create a number of incredibly fascinating effects. They can for example; stop pain in any part of the body, control blood pressure, control the amount of blood present in any one part of the body, slow or speed up the heart rate, induce credibly vivid hallucinations, erase both short-term and long-term memories and a host of other incredibly remarkable feats.

Hypnosis is used on a regular basis to treat:

• Addictions
• Phobias
• Pain
• lose weight
• childbirth and pregnancy
• memory work and regression
• peak efficiency training in sports

Hypnosis can be an incredibly powerful alternative form of therapy. It is important though that you make sure that you see a competent hypnotist, someone who is able to provide good credentials and examples of past experience.