For most of us finding the energy to just get through the day can be a challenge. Sometimes the best read of the zen-o-meter is whether or not the activity or emotion we are engaging in throughout the day nurtures our energy or drains it. For example, playing with the kids in the park, makes you feel more alive. Fighting your way through the grocery store, drains the life blood out of you. When you get out of bed you only have so much energy to get through the day. Many things will come at you that you have no control over. So this month we will explore controlling one emotional habit that is guaranteed to drain your soul. Learning to master this beast will leave you with more energy for you to spend the way you want.

Judgment never feels good. Often we do it subconsciously without giving it a second thought. However, most of the time it's a very conscious act. Most popular psychology holds that we judge to make ourselves feel better; That by judging others we somehow feel superior to them. Most ancient spiritual traditions hold that we judge to separate ourselves one from another. No matter why we do it, or how we do it either blatantly, silently, or in the form of gossip, judgment drains your spirit and leaves your energy lower then it needs to be.

A few nights ago I was standing in my son's room as he was talking on the phone ignoring my presence. It wasn't that he didn't know I was there, he had simply made the choice not not notice me. He was ignoring me because it was easier to do that then to acknowledge he had not done the dishes or his homework. Needless to say, I was having some escalating judgment and although I felt particularly righteous in my position, it didn't feel good. After several minutes of my heated glare he finally succumbed and to my evil eye and as he begrudgingly hung up the phone he bid his friend,