The other day someone asked me why we are constantly in a state of action and motion; and why is our mind constantly full of thoughts. I answered that it was due to the fact that our physical, vital, and mental energies are not under control. I.e. if our physical energies were under a modicum of restraint, we wouldn't be in constant motion. Similarly, if our mental energies were held in check, our thoughts wouldn't be constantly running. Let's then examine uncontrolled energy at each of these planes a little closer.
One extreme of unfettered physical energy is the child who races around haphazardly here and there, as the mind has not learned to control and direct those energies. However, as we get older, our physical energies are absorbed in other pursuits: in dealing with work, family problems, romantic and other personal relationships, and so forth. As a result, we tend to move around less arbitrarily. Or to put it another way, as we mature, our vital and mental parts take the reins from the physical.
We also squander our vital energies in a variety of ways. Examples are taking to excessive drink and drugs, intense emotional or physical interchange, overreacting to the inputs of others, being absorbed in trivial pursuits, pushing ourselves too far, and many others. In addition, there is a litany of primal negative emotions, feelings, and attitudes -- such as anger, hate, and jealousy -- that constantly drain our vital energies. Most of the time, we are completely aware of this dynamic.
Then there are the various ways we waste our mental energies. For example, "running thoughts," -- i.e. the mind's tendency to constantly have to think -- is another form of uncontrolled energy release that depletes it. It is large part due to the restlessness of our lower, physical-oriented mentality, which constantly has to think about things in order to feel secure and assured. Then there is what I like to call "momentum thinking," which is the tendency of mind to constantly have to review current circumstance and conditions well after it is necessary to do so. Again, there is a kind of subconscious fear that if one is not constantly reviewing current circumstance that life will not work out well; when in fact the opposite is true. Finally, as the mind develops, through education and various life experiences, it seeks to express itself ever-more frequently like a powerful muscle. All three forms deplete our mental energies at a time they need to be rejuvenated for future mental freshness.
And yet, we can learn to control any of these forms of energy depletion if we just become aware of their expression, and then develop a simple method to restrain it. One method is to periodically scan ourselves, and determine if we are squandering our physical, vital, and mental energies. That effort, in tandem with our energy depletion knowledge, will generally reveal where we need to control ourselves. For example, if I go for a walk after completing a relatively important work, and I find myself constantly having to review and reassess every detail of my earlier efforts, it indicates that I need to develop a degree of restraint in that area. I therefore decide that every time I take that afternoon walk, I will not think of anything to do with work. If I do, not only will my energies be restored, but the effort to create that mental silence will attract positive conditions, including intuitions of important knowledge, from seemingly out of nowhere.
Another technique is that whenever we feel tired, we can consider what we did at the physical, vital/emotional, or mental levels that precipitated it. E.g. if we find ourselves exhausted the day after an intense meeting with a friend, then we know that it has drained our energies, and we should try to avoid such forceful interactions in the future.
In the end, it is only through self-analysis and self-discipline that we can maintain high levels of physical, vital, and mental energy. If we are vigilant, observe ourselves, and make the effort to change our energy-wasting ways, not only will our vigor and energy in life be constantly overflowing, but we will feel continuous joy in being alive. There is no more wonderful condition in life!