Energy investments and returns

I asked the angels for a quick newsletter today. I am getting ready for a family visit in August, when I’ll be offline for several weeks, so I need to channel three newsletters in advance. One usually takes a large portion of a day, so I was heartened when I sat down and they dropped this one in on me! I don’t think they’ve ever used a financial metaphor before, but I loved the perspective.

I had to stop myself earlier today. I wasn’t thinking in terms of investment, but I was thinking, “Uh oh, I have a million things to get done so I can relax and enjoy my family!” I’m organizing. I’ve got the newsletters. I had to update some things on Etsy because I won’t be able to do much other than customer service. I have finances and work that need to be organized. And those are just a few things on a to-do list that grows every day. At this age, I do not take a precious minute for granted with my senior family members. We don’t know how much time we have, and I want to treasure every moment together. I’ll be seeing my nieces too, and as every one of you with kids in your life knows, if you miss the moment, it flashes by quickly.

I started the morning with every good intention to move quickly through the to-do list. Then I got an email that required me to spend time with customer service at a financial institution. Half an hour later, they determined they had a bug in their software. I spent another half hour with my Etsy printer until they determined they had a bug in their system. I got frustrated, got up, and tripped… You can see where this is going! About that time, it occurred to me that I was investing in the energy of frustration! And I knew I needed to stop that ASAP or I’d get more.

I did as the angels advise all of us. I stopped. I took a few breaths. I reminded myself that, in a good space, all would be accomplished easily. I reminded myself that it was a blessing to help the companies involved find the bugs in their software so they could be fixed. One system is already working better. I realized I was hungry, so I stopped working and fixed the breakfast I had forgotten to eat. Suddenly, everything seemed doable. I got a few projects accomplished easily, enjoyed my biweekly visit to the cold plunge, did a short reading for someone who works there, came home, organized an area of the house, and am now truly enjoying the newsletter!

Back in flow, things are easy. In my overwhelmed “uh oh” energy, I created overwhelm and frustration. In my frustration with software bugs, I inspired another situation with bad software! In my frustration, I tripped. And after I recalibrated, which took about two minutes, the day has been beautiful and brilliant. It’s time for dinner. Then I’m going to see what new newsletters arrive for the next few weeks so you can all continue to enjoy the connection while I am “investing” in loving my family 🙂

Using the angels’ metaphor of “investing” every moment, here are a few tips to help you make wise energetic investments!

1.  Notice that “Energy Invested = Energy Returned”… from the Bank of the Universe

When you consider the energy you are feeling in the moment, ask yourself, “Do I want more of this feeling?” If so, continue. If not, change your thoughts, actions, or perspective to create an energy you would like to see more of.

A quick way to determine your “investment” in the moment is to ask yourself, “How am I feeling?” Happy, content, excited, sad, frustrated, joyous, neutral? The answer will tell you what return this energy is creating.

This is not saying that if you “invest” love in a job, person, or situation, that particular job, person, or situation will grant you the return. Instead, the “Bank of the Universe” will make sure you get a return, even if a particular job, person, or situation is not the vehicle through which it comes.

For example, you may be loving and kind to someone who completely abandons or ignores you. You did nothing wrong. Hold your head up high. Continue to be loving. You’ll lose the ones who can’t return your energy and attract new ones who will.

As you play with these questions and notice the results, you’ll quickly see this principle in action. And if someone or something that you wanted to be the “return” falls away or isn’t the answer, stay on course. Keep investing in good energy. The Bank of the Universe is in charge of issuing our dividends!

2. Create an energetic “Investment Strategy”

Write down different positive emotions—one per page—in a journal. Write down various things, actions, thoughts, and situations that inspire these feelings.

For example, your “Peace” page might list beautiful songs, a warm blanket, a cup of tea or a half glass of wine, watching your dog, breathing deeply, meditating, watching a candle flame, etc.

Your “Joy” page might include going to the farmers market, spending time with a friend, reading a book by an author you love, listening to a song that gets you up and dancing, walking in nature, or anything else that brings you joy.

Your “Abundance” page might list things like organizing your finances, counting your blessings, opening your pantry, thinking of all the people you love, reflecting on the places you’ve been or experiences you’ve had, counting your gifts and talents, etc.

3. Keep a “Balance Sheet”

Every night write down some of your best energetic investments—what you did and how they made you feel. For example:

Enjoyed the dog — love, appreciation, joy
Appreciated my coffee — appreciation and abundance
Stopped to pause and take a few breaths — time abundance, self-love
Pivoted when I started to get frustrated — appreciation, gratitude, self-love

And then write down, completely separately, what returns you saw today and how they made you feel:

Joyful dog — love, appreciation, joy
Ran into a friend I love — love, appreciation, joy
Found an old happy photo while cleaning — love, appreciation, joy

Errands didn’t take as long as I thought — time abundance
I had time to stop for a beverage at the coffee shop — time abundance, self-love

I couldn’t get my computer to work — frustration
I resolved it, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought — contentment, appreciation

A day might not reveal all your returns, but over time, you’ll notice them and begin to appreciate how much more control we have over what we get based on our “investments” in the present moment.

I’m investing in thoughts of love and appreciation now for all of you, and my friends and family. I’m investing in thoughts of joyful anticipation about my dinner and using up some pantry ingredients I discovered in my cleaning-fest over the past few days. And I’m investing in thoughts of contentment, sitting here in a cool house on a hot, beautiful day as the wind kicks up outside and the skies turn sunset pink. Time to grab my delicious dinner, then return to channel a few more chats with heaven 🙂

May your week be filled with great “investments” and joyous “returns.”