Vitality – The External World
In the last couple of Thursday posts, we have looked at what the principle of prioritising increasing vitality means when applied to our internal world.
Now we will cast our focus out and consider factors within our external world.
Social Connections
From a physical perspective our bodies are still designed for hunting and gathering. What has made us successful though, is the genetic design of our brains. It has allowed us to transform our cultures and societies from tribal subsistence living, to what we see today.
Early man existed in scattered and isolated tribes, and survived by coexisting with nature for tens of thousands of years. Through the discovery of agriculture and deepening social connections between tribes, the first civilisations were born.
Effective collaboration aided knowledge sharing, and allowed human societies to make improvements to our tools and techniques generation by generation.
We are social animals through to our core.
The quality of our face-to-face social connections is what underpinned the progression towards the global community we see today. The human mind is designed to form social connections. Our emotions are a mechanism that has evolved specifically for this purpose.
When we are able to trust ourselves, this opens the door to trusting other people. The trust of other people allows for strong social connections which in turn raises our sense of wellbeing and thus increases our vitality.
When we become deeply connected with ourselves and others, we can then collaborate to achieve success in endeavours that would otherwise not be possible.
When it comes to humans and genuine honest social connections:
The strength of the whole, is always more than the sum of its parts.
Meaningful Connections
Meaningful social connection speak to the fourth principle of The Mountain Pathway: Establish equilibrium.
Social connections are most effective when there are balanced positive outcomes for both parties. In biology, this would be regarded as a mutualistic symbiotic relationship or, mutualism.
On the other hand, in nature, commensalism occurs when one organism benefits but the other does not. In humans (assuming both parties are aware of the relationship), this does not apply as there is no such thing as a selfless act. This is all thanks to our conscious mind and the feeling of fulfilment we get when we act with kindness and compassion.
As a result, in humans, we call this kind of relationship altruistic. To be clear though, if you approach altruism with the intent of receiving a benefit back, it is can be classed as selfishness. There is no shame in that though, just be honest about it.
If in a relationship, you are the only one receiving benefit, and the other party is suffering. Your relationship would be classed as a parasitic.
Balancing benefit value in relationship is a tricky thing as the perceived value of the benefit by each party will be different. You can’t compare apples with pears.
What allows people to effectively address this, is having a clear balance of power and respect. When respect and power (dominance) within a relationship are at equilibrium, this opens up the ability to have meaningful conversations about anything that is needed to strengthen the relationship and increase the benefit for both parties. Equilibrium in this area sits at the core of a meaningful relationship.
It is only when the energy of a relationship is in equilibrium, that the resonance will be echoed and amplified by all parties.
Our social connections create a positive feedback loop of life energy. The more we give to and help others, the more we will receive back in turn. Kindness creates kindness. Focusing on the total energy gain for all connected parties is the key.
The consciousness of the global community is only just starting to become aware of the concept of life energy and how it underpins everything in our universe. It is through practices such as the insights shared in The Mountain Pathway, that we can individually take responsibility for our actions and work towards creating a critical mass.
A critical mass which will trigger all human kind to collaborate with each other and the universe on a higher plain of existence.
One to ponder…
There is no me in you, but there is a you in us.
Environmental Resonance
The texture and shape of the environment that we choose to surround our ourselves with has a direct impact on the way we feel psychologically, and how our life energy resonates.
Different colours and materials all affect the way that light and energy flow throughout a space. The materials resonate their own wavelengths of life energy and also reflect your own energy back at you.
This is a subject that has been studied greatly as part of the ancient Chinese philosophy of feng shui. The Chinese words “feng” and “shui” translate to mean “wind” and “water,” respectively.
The concept was originally derived from an ancient poem which talks about human life being connected and flowing with the environment around it. As such, it is fundamentally a practice of looking at our living spaces and working environment, and cultivating a harmony with the natural world.
When applied, feng shui looks to optimise, the colours, materials and layout of the spaces within our homes to increase the energy that flows from, and to us.
I am not suggesting that we all need to go out and spend bags of money redecorating and buying material possessions to fill our houses. We just need to be mindful of the effect our environment has on us and take steps to optimise our surroundings.
Effective Change
One thing we can do for free, is to make sure your home is laid out in a way that makes it easy for you to do what you want.
If you like cooking and use lots of spices, optimise the use of your kitchen cupboards so that you can most easily access the things you use all of the time. If you like to play certain sports, make sure the equipment you use regularly is not stashed away in an awkward location.
Prioritise functionality over form.
Within your home environment, order and structure is important. Yes, some people like to have a messy desk or cluttered shed, and pretty much everyone has an all-sorts drawer. It does not matter, as long as you can use your space to do everything you want to do in the most time and energy efficient way available to you.
Be honest with yourself when thinking about your home setup and the options freely available to you. Is this the best I can do?
Humans are part of Nature
One environment which truly costs us nothing is nature, be it your local park, an epic mountain vista or simply a tree in someone’s front garden down the end of your road.
Surrounding yourself with nature is the best way to reconnect with your own flow of energy, and to tap in to the universal sea of all energy. The more nature and natural elements you surround yourself with the more you can synchronise with this resonance.
Looking to feng shui; one of the core practices is to bring natural colours and materials in to your home. It is the colours and materials of nature that resonate best with us and promote our vitality.
Withstanding this, nature inside your home is good, but a living tree still vibrates at a higher frequency than a wooden table! Spending time walking or sitting; existing; in a natural environment on a regular basis is essential to keep you grounded and rooted to your deep connection with the universe.
Plants have no prejudice.
They simply exist and resonate with everything around them.
Sharing a meaningful connection, even for just a single moment, with the thousands of leaves on a single tree increases your vitality more than a thousand friends on Facebook ever will.
(says the man posting this on Facebook!)
Oh, and remember, humour is a virtue. Don’t take yourself or life too seriously!
Enjoy, for now.