I have already talked a bit about the constant struggle of the human mind. Let me also share the vicious cycle of “have”, “do”, and “be”. I want to “have” (the next big car, better house, better relationships, financial freedom) so I must “do” (work hard, sacrifice balance in life) and once I have all that I want, I will “be” (happy). This is a never ending cycle and a perpetually losing proposition. Those who are happy and feel fulfilled are not so because of what they possess but that they have made a choice to “be” that way. What we need to do is to reverse the pattern – choose to “be” happy and fulfilled first and that state will create the platform for us to “do” the meaningful work most appropriate for us and that in turn will make us “have” everything we need.

While that may sound good, but how do we “be” in that state? For that, we need to look inwards – into ourselves and understand who we are. The ultimate truth is that everything in the universe is made from Energy. All beings – the plants, animals and all of us are manifestations of the same Energy. This Energy has been called different names by different societies – Reiki (Japanese), Chi (Chinese), Ight (Christians), and Prana (Hindus). Even science has begun to corroborate this thought process. Quantum field theory suggests that particles of matter are nothing but momentary interacting manifestations of an Energy field, which, intangible and insubstantial as it maybe, is the only real thing in the universe. Put another way, matter is not made of Energy; it is Energy. The same Energy just manifests itself in different forms.

In the human form, this presents tremendous opportunities and challenges – the most powerful opportunity is for humans to undertake the journey of self-realization and the greatest challenge is that of mastering the ever growing smarter brain. As humans continue to rely more and more on their minds for survival and growth, over millions of years of evolution, the prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of the brain) has actually grown in size and its abilities. In an odd way, that raises the potential risk to lead us away from the path of self-realization. The human mind grows up with the strong belief of a self and an individual identity and this sense of separation from the universe is the essential cause of the struggle in our entire lifetime.

It makes us feel threatened, worried, anxious, fearful, doubtful as we struggle with the idea of needing to fend for ourselves in this challenging and “big bad” world. Somewhere losing the connection with the eternal source of all Energy and not realizing how it is helping us and will always be there for us to progress, create, build, have, and enjoy whatever we need to. This belief does not make us complacent or fatalistic in the faith of some bigger powers that will take care of us – instead, it makes us focus on what we need to do with the power of knowing that whatever happens, will happen for the best.

This Energy in its manifestation in the human form has all the intelligence it needs. How else does one explain that a single human cell measuring 1/1000 of an inch across contains instructions within its DNA that would fill 2,000 books of 300 pages each? The human brain has 10billion neurons, each with 10,000 dendrites for making different connections. Scientific studies using radio-isotope tracings convincingly show that 98% of ten trillion quadrillion (10 to the power of 28) atoms in a human body are replaced annually. Stomach lining recreates itself about every 5 days, skin is made anew every month, and the liver cells turn over every 6 weeks.

But do we let this universal life Energy flow freely through us and let it unfold the future for us? We are humans and “smart” – we want to control our destiny through our conditioned minds. This desire to control and its related emotions (anxiety, anger, jealousy, regrets) is what causes the disruption of the natural flow of the universal Energy through our bodies. Often, it also shows up in physical ailments – throat related (from the inability to freely communicate), heart related (from inability to freely give or receive love and compassion), lower back ache (from the insecurity of the future) and so on…

How do we embrace this Energy then? By letting our conditioned minds’ thinking dissolve in favor of our subconscious mind – the part of us that can truly connect us to the source of this Energy. It is believed that even the most successful people probably use up to a maximum of 5% of their brain in their lifetime. How do we tap in to the balance 95%? The ancient wisdom suggests many ways to embark on that journey…but more on that later…