The Secret Of Lifelong Energy
Deepak Chopra
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We expect to be engaged and involved into our 70s and 80s, a far cry from the automatic decline that prior generations identified with ageing. But the ageing process undermines many people, who find that they lose energy as the years go by.I don't mean just diminished physical energy , because mind and body are linked. We have to consider the entire person who is thinking, feeling, hoping and wishing every day .Where do you get enough energy to keep going on all fronts? Physics offers a simple but profound answer. In every physical system, the law of entropy dictates that energy will dissipate over time, which is why ice cubes melt and stars burn out. But a counterforce, evolution, allows energy to be stored and increased. Life is the prime example of negative entropy , as this energy storage is called, because living things use food, air, and sunlight to extract more energy than they give off.
We must favour evolution over entropy if we want to have energy for a lifetime. In us there is energy loss on the physical, emotional, and spiritual plane if we fail to counter it.
Physical entropy is linked to ageing in most people's minds, but in reality we are worn down by overwork, stress, the inability to take downtime, bad sleep, and a frenetic pace that the body can adapt to for only so long.
Emotional entropy can't be separated from the physical, since factors like bad sleep, overwork, and stress have emotional consequences we lose enthusiasm and interest in what we're doing. Emotional entropy is also caused by psychological issues like depression, anxiety, bad relationships, abusive behaviour, and low self-esteem.
Spiritual entropy comes about when we lose our sense of purpose and meaning. This is a prevalent danger for millions of people when they retire or see their children leave home. But there's also spiritual depletion through grief, abuse, lack of productive work, and any occasion of personal defeat.
In modern times there have been major victories against entropy , most of them physical. We can cure diseases that have sapped the life out of people for centuries. We know how prevention works. We can have clean air and water, along with natural, whole foods, by exerting some effort. Recovery from debilitating stroke and heart attack is better than ever.
These are all positive signs of evolution or progress.
But the subtle aspects of entropy , the psychological and spiritual setbacks that drain us, need to be countered, too, equires expanded awareness. and that requires expanded awareness.The evolution of the inner person holds the key to energising the entire system, including the body . Research into meditation, for example, indicates that its benefits are holistic. Yet many people have negative associations with the whole project of consciousness raising, self-awareness, and the alien eastern ethos surrounding yoga and meditation.
If you ignore the emotional and spiritual issues that drain away enthusiasm, self-confidence, curiosity, inspiration, and self-worth, you have pushed away the possibility of evolving and growing. When that possibility lies fallow, entropy finds a way to win, no matter how smart, good-looking, physically fit, and rich you are. The reason we are here as living creatures is entirely due to the force of evolution.For billions of years evolution operated as an external, physical agent of growth. Now the frame has shifted, and as conscious beings we must go inward to activate our evolution. If you want to have energy that lasts a lifetime, consciousness evolution is the key .
We must favour evolution over entropy if we want to have energy for a lifetime. In us there is energy loss on the physical, emotional, and spiritual plane if we fail to counter it.
Physical entropy is linked to ageing in most people's minds, but in reality we are worn down by overwork, stress, the inability to take downtime, bad sleep, and a frenetic pace that the body can adapt to for only so long.
Emotional entropy can't be separated from the physical, since factors like bad sleep, overwork, and stress have emotional consequences we lose enthusiasm and interest in what we're doing. Emotional entropy is also caused by psychological issues like depression, anxiety, bad relationships, abusive behaviour, and low self-esteem.
Spiritual entropy comes about when we lose our sense of purpose and meaning. This is a prevalent danger for millions of people when they retire or see their children leave home. But there's also spiritual depletion through grief, abuse, lack of productive work, and any occasion of personal defeat.
In modern times there have been major victories against entropy , most of them physical. We can cure diseases that have sapped the life out of people for centuries. We know how prevention works. We can have clean air and water, along with natural, whole foods, by exerting some effort. Recovery from debilitating stroke and heart attack is better than ever.
These are all positive signs of evolution or progress.
But the subtle aspects of entropy , the psychological and spiritual setbacks that drain us, need to be countered, too, equires expanded awareness. and that requires expanded awareness.The evolution of the inner person holds the key to energising the entire system, including the body . Research into meditation, for example, indicates that its benefits are holistic. Yet many people have negative associations with the whole project of consciousness raising, self-awareness, and the alien eastern ethos surrounding yoga and meditation.
If you ignore the emotional and spiritual issues that drain away enthusiasm, self-confidence, curiosity, inspiration, and self-worth, you have pushed away the possibility of evolving and growing. When that possibility lies fallow, entropy finds a way to win, no matter how smart, good-looking, physically fit, and rich you are. The reason we are here as living creatures is entirely due to the force of evolution.For billions of years evolution operated as an external, physical agent of growth. Now the frame has shifted, and as conscious beings we must go inward to activate our evolution. If you want to have energy that lasts a lifetime, consciousness evolution is the key .
