Maintenance

((I might be going a little Woo Weee Woo for some with this one, so feel free to check out. No hard feelings.))

It's one of those things that you always seem to forget. Change your oil. Have your teeth cleaned. Yearly check up. Those physical things that are deeply important to maintaining our lives and the world around us. Things we have to do but forget because they aren't an emergency. But there's other types of maintenance that we regularly forget about. Namely Mental maintenance, and Spiritual maintenance.

Now these shouldn't be things that consume up all your time any more then changing your oil will. And there's a lot of simple things you can do regardless of your view on any of the New Age Hippy Bullshit. Just cause many times it's presented in an unpalatable form doesn't mean it's a bad idea. But there are simple things you can do to keep yourself a spiritually and mentally happy and healthy individual.

For me it's all about striking a balance. I have many parts of my life that are very important and I only realize how important they are once I forget to do anything about it. Writing, Video Games, Table Top Roleplaying Games, Acting, and Energy work.

Those things are all things I need in my life to feel healthy and complete as a person. But the one I find by far the most important is to keep an awareness of my energy body. Because through analysis of that you can find out damn near whatever it is that's metaphysically wrong.

I've had dear friends of mine talk about how impressive my level of self awareness is. I believe that directly translates from my energetic awareness. I can spend some time sitting quietly and sorting through all the stuff inside, all the stuff that I'm radiating and look for all the rough patches. The places that don't quite mess up with the rest.

Now sometimes those rough patches serve a purpose. They create conflict that translates into usable energy. Like my relationship with anger. It's not something that I'm proud of about myself, but it's something that I've learned to use because it's too deeply ingrained for me to just smooth out. I incorporated it into a part of the machine.

Now for those who have trouble with that level of self understand, or sensing their spirit body (as it were) here's a little trick I learned years ago, a meditative cheat code as it were.

Close your eyes. Sit comfortably. And think. Now I know a lot of folks say that thinking is the opposite of what you want to do. You want to find that Zen Void Mind state.

But here's the thing... the Void Mind is a pain in the ass to achieve.

So I found a cheat. Indulge the Chaos Mind. Think of everything and let it was over you. Bounce off the ideas and see where it takes you. Eventually if you keep doing this, your brain gets tired and will naturally settle into a meditative state. Or at least mine does.

And I think that's the most important thing to remember when seeking to do this kind of spiritual or mental maintenance. What works for one person will not work for another. I knew of a number of Philosophy professors who would unhinge and relax their brains by watching Walker Texas Ranger or professional wrestling. Because when they were deeply exercising they're minds all day it was important to let them have a chance to unclench with something that is at its best when you don't have to think to hard.

Hell it's why I watch so many cartoons.

But to get back to my point, it's important to find what works for you in particular. We're all unique. Or at least unique enough were there's no hard rules.

Sometimes the thing that will grant me spiritual balance and mental tension release is a round of digital carnage followed with some face melting metal music.

And that isn't the norm.

But it's part of the maintenance I need to keeping being me.