The story of the grandfather’s energy.

Why did he have such energy, compared with is grandson?

Why is it such an important story?

Expansions:

-  In even the smallest movement and action there is physical skill, that when practiced, reduces the effort required.

Sawing wood for example seems easy; hold the saw and move it back and forth. There are, though, 10 to 20 different elements to the physical skill of sawing that if learnt and practiced will reduce the effort of sawing by 80%, which means you will be able to saw ‘5 times’ the amount with the same effort.

-  In even the smallest movement and action there can be complete attention to it. With the practice of attention tasks require less effort.

We rarely pay complete attention to what we are doing. Our mind is off somewhere dreaming, worrying, lazing around, unfocused. EVERY item on this list requires attention to the ‘present moment’ to have any effect. Attention is NOT about what you’re supposed to be doing, (like paying attention in class) it is about what you ARE doing. By complete attention to what you ARE doing in every moment you will maximise the benefits to you of that moment and minimise the effort in whatever you are doing.

-  In even the smallest task there is mental skill that, when used, reduces the effort required.

During a task hold in your mind all your experience applicable to the task and apply it imaginatively. Whatever you have done before there will invariably be something different this time around so you are doing this task for the first time. If you approach every task as if you are doing it anew you will learn more, find new ways and become more effective. And you will never get bored.

-  In and before every task there is mental planning that when practiced reduces the effort required for the task.

Before every task do it in detail in your imagination. You will see the potential problems, materials and tools you will need, changes you will need to make and alternatives that may save time and effort. You can do a job in any number of different ways in your imagination without lifting a finger where doing and changing in practice takes effort, time and causes frustration.

-  In every movement and action there is physical strength, that when achieved, requires less effort.

Lifting a 10Kg weight when you’re unfit takes a lot of effort but with exactly the same body but fitter it takes much less. Be physically fit and tasks will take much less effort.

-  Before and during every action there is time to worry about many things. Replace your fruitless worries with complete attention and they will take no effort.

People often spend a good deal of energy worrying about the past, the future, other people or other circumstances. Worry takes energy but achieves nothing. Observe lessons from the past and plan for the future, and leave other people and other circumstances until you next encounter them. Pay attention to what you are doing in the moment.

-  There is a time in every task when something may go wrong and you curse. Dispense with your curses. They bare no fruit yet steal much effort.

Cursing is like pushing your left hand hard against your right hand; you are spending energy fighting yourself and your circumstance. Every curse is based on a thought that “something is working against me”. ‘Things’ cannot think so have no ‘thoughts’ for you. It is you that is working against you. Involve yourself in achieving the result you want. If things go wrong use your energy to make them go right.

-  During every task feed yourself with the joy of being alive. Feed your heart to give yourself spirit, breath to feed your body with energy.

It is wonderful to have life and to be able to do things. Whatever you do and however well you do it you will be giving substance to the life you have been given. Do everything for the love of being alive. Reflect on this and remember to breathe well.

-  In your body there are many muscular tensions from past issues. Leave your tensions in history and the tensions will fall from your body, and your body will save the effort of overcoming them.

Your body holds emotion in the same way that emotional stress leads to physical tension. Tension is one muscle set against another causing greater exertion with every movement. When movement is required your muscles have to overcome these pre-existing tensions so moving requires much more effort. Your body will also be less fluid and less accurate. Consciously relax your body and pay complete attention to the moment

-  In your mind there are many tensions from many issues. Place them in abeyance until they become necessary and useful at their time.

Your mind is not constrained by physical circumstance. You can set it to work on issues and stresses of all manner of things that cannot be resolved by your mind alone. You are asking your mind to waste much effort in trying to achieve the impossible. Be considerate to your mind and use it to do what it’s best at; paying complete attention to what you are doing in the moment.

-  In every task you could ‘perform for others’, become your own puppet master controlling yourself by strings. Be yourself without performance and the task will take less effort.

When you ‘perform’ a task for the appreciation of others your consciousness is trying to perceive the consciousness of others and work via that perception so as to please them. This makes the task much more difficult. Do the task for yourself directly and then let others judge the result as they wish.

-  Every task has a right or wrong moment for you to start it. Only do a task at its right moment, and it will take less effort. But if the moment is not of your choosing find your ‘want’ that is asking you to do it, and do the task to fulfil your want, and it will take less effort.

Don’t mend your car in the cold and rain, do something inside instead. ‘Feel’ for a good time to start, when your want and enthusiasm is greatest. Equally don’t put off a task. A task not done at the right time will become bigger. A task that is embarked upon promptly in joy and comfort will take less effort.

-  Sing your skills, accomplishments and your progress and tasks will take less effort.

Aim for the maximum joy the task can give you in self worth, satisfaction and reward, and give yourself due recognition for your accomplishments. Play always takes much less effort than ‘work’ even if practically they are the same thing.

-  In every task there may be the intrusion of others. Leave them be, yet give to them your attention and love, and they will take less effort.

People circulate energy either positively or negatively. Check the nature of your own energy by observing how others react to it. Let your negative energy go but catch and circulate your positive energy. Circulate positive energy and it will come back to you and add to your energy, and more energy means less effort.

-  Every task will teach you new skills. Learn them with ease as they arise and the task will take less effort.

During every task you will find new ways of doing things, new skills, and new understandings. Be flexible and alert to these lessons rather than tied to your old ways.

-  Take to a task as little as you truly need and use up as little as is necessary to complete it and the task will take less effort.

This discipline reflects your use of your resources and yourself.

-  And finally, there are many tasks that aren’t necessary, and some that aren’t truly yours to do. Check with your heart the truth of a task before you begin it and you will waste no effort in untrue tasks.

Many, many tasks appear to need doing. Sometimes we invent tasks to avoid doing things that are more important but frightening to us, preferring the mundane to the courageous. Sometimes we get caught up in tasks that are rightfully other peoples. Focus on the tasks most important to you and forget the rest; you or someone else will do them if and when they become important.

All of these you know yet little practice. The grandfather did and the youth not.

There are limits to your mind and body and there are heavy and long jobs that will test those limits but with practice all can be done effortlessly.

If you find yourself tired, look to see where your effort is going. Your tiredness will be from your own wasted effort, not from the task.

Energy is a strange commodity. It does not follow the laws of mathematics. Energy shared, both positive and negative, is doubled. Energy has no sign; it is our choice to use it either positively or negatively or dissipate it with no results. Energy is a universal currency; it can go anywhere and come from anywhere.

It stems from our desire to love and be loved but it remains our choice as to how we use it.

Our weakness is almost always in the misuse of our intelligence. We use it to construct ourselves, our fears, our images of other people. We misuse it in fruitless attempts to change the past and control the future and all things that are not present. Its only true use is to exist in the present, exactly as our body and senses do. In the present our intelligence can usefully construct lessons from the past, ideas from information and make plans for the future but only in as much as it is ‘present’ in activity.