The Ripple Effect – Changing Life for the Better

In my last article, I shared how to pause deliberately to help regulate what energy you bring to your life. This article takes that further by using the power of the ripple effect.

Once you practice The Sacred Pause, your days can run more smoothly. The tasks, errands, and chores still exist, but minus the stress. And then the magic starts to happen. When you get to this point, it gives others permission to relax pause as well. This is the Ripple Effect that this article will take a closer look at.

Creating Your Own Life

There’s a saying that “where attention goes, energy flows.” You feel vastly different energy when you pay attention to the long list of tasks that have to be done than when you pay attention to all you’ve accomplished. One depletes you, and you find yourself pushing through the day. The other energizes you, and the momentum easily pulls you further. The only difference is what you think about and how you think about it.

Intentions have power. While ancient cultures have known this for millennia, modern science is still catching up. Studies have shown that patients in the hospital heal faster when others pray for them, or they pray for themselves. And even tears under a microscope can look different depending on the reason for them.

The Rice Experiment

In a classic experiment with rice, a Japanese researcher theorized that your thoughts would affect objects. He took cooked rice in water and put the same amount into three identical, sterilized jars. Then one jar was labeled “Love,” the second, “Hate,” and the third was ignored entirely. For 30 days, positive words were spoken to the Love jar, negative words were spoken to the Hate jar, and the third jar was ignored.

The results? The rice in the Love jar ended up slightly fermented with a slightly sweet smell. The rice in the Hate jar turned black or moldy, and the rice in the ignored jar deteriorated faster and further than that in the Hate jar. This implies that our thoughts affect multiple things in powerful ways. And that any attention might be better than none.

Many people report they can repeat this experiment successfully, and others cannot. Perhaps it is simply a belief that this is or isn’t possible. Regardless, we all know at some level that the energy we bring to a situation affects it.

The Maharishi Effect

In 1960, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi theorized that 1% of a population practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) daily would positively affect the rest of the population. The basis of this premise is that we are all connected and that our thoughts create an energy that affects everyone. It took until 1974 to try it out, and then again in 1976, when a more formal study was conducted. They found that the crime rate reduced by 16% in the formal study.

Since then, this study has been repeated successfully, with a reduction in crime, stress, and conflict while simultaneously seeing an increase in harmony, well-being, and quality of life. Utilizing those trained in TM gave them the strongest chance of creating repeatable research, but the implications are that even reaching for better thoughts in your life has ripple effects.

Take Charge of Your Life

This means that the energy you put out in the world has a larger effect than you may realize. Emotional regulation trains your mind to yield more positive outcomes in your life, and potentially the lives around you. This is the core of what Breathe & Balance is all about. It is a practice that can be learned. You no longer need to let your emotions drive your day.

Contact me if you want to learn more. I provide accessible tools and techniques to make small changes that will ripple through all aspects of your life and, potentially, those around you.

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