We may have the will to stop, but our habit energies are often stronger than our will. Habit energy is called vāsanā in Sanskrit. It is very important to recognize our habit energy. This energy may have been transmitted to us by many generations of ancestors, and we continue to cultivate it. It is very powerful. We are intelligent enough to know that if we do this or say that, we will damage our relationship. Yet when the time comes, we do or say it anyway. Why? Because our habit energy is stronger than we are. It is pushing us all the time. Even if you want to stop, it doesn’t allow you to stop. We say and do things we don’t want to, and afterward we regret it. We make ourselves and others suffer, and we bring about a lot of damage. We vow not to do it again, but we do it again, because our habit energies push us. We need the energy of mindfulness to recognize and be present with our habit energy in order to stop this course of destruction.
With mindfulness we have the capacity to recognize the habit energy every time it manifests. We can say, “Hello, my habit energy, I know you are there!” If we just smile to it, it will lose much of its strength. Mindfulness and concentration are the energies that allow us to recognize our habit energy and prevent it from dominating us. Intellectually we know we should live in the present moment. Yet we’re always being pushed by our habit energy of rushing around. We’ve lost our capacity to be in the present moment. This is why practicing mindfulness and concentration is so important; talking and reading about it is not enough.