E is for Energy

E is for Energy

Do any of the following phrases sound familiar?

“It has good energy”
“This place has some weird energy”

“I’m sending you energy”

“Can you feel the energy?”

“We raised a lot of energy last night”

I’m betting most people know what they mean, and have no idea how to describe what they think “energy” actually is.  Most people quoting the phrases above are referring to either psychic or magical energy, and yes they’re two different sorts of related things.

Psychic energy

Sometimes what we call “personal power” this is the life force of an individual, which is increased by physical health, positive mood, self confidence, etc.  A person with a strong energy field (yes, Aura) is usually a healthy, happy person who deals well with life’s little stressors.  It’s certainly possible for a negative person to have a strong aura also, for as long as they can maintain the emotion, but after they’re “spent” emotionally their aura is usually quite diminished and can take a while to recover.  Happier people have more energy all of the time.

Things that will lower someone’s energy levels – not handling stress well and internalizing it, poor diet, poor physical health, depression, anxiety, not enough sleep, etc.  People who are “running on low” are also usually more prone to catching diseases or having their energy further drained by those who intuitively know how to latch on to them.  While I won’t really get into psychic vampires here, they’re real but 99% of them don’t know what they are or what they’re doing, and telling them they’re doing it doesn’t generally help anyone.

Things you can do to maintain good personal energy

1.       Meditate – in addition to having a lot of good, proven health benefits, meditation will allow your mind to relax and gives you the space to listen to yourself and both hear what’s wrong and how to address it.  When I’m deficient on particular vitamins or minerals for my body’s current needs, meditation is when the food cravings hit, and that’s one important way you can help your system bounce back from whatever’s going on in your life.

2.       Cleanse – make a tea with some cleansing herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme, then pour it over yourself after you’re done showering.  The natural energetic properties of the herbs will help clean your energy field.  Smudging is also helpful, I just used it last night to detach someone else’s negative energy from me, and the effects were instant.

3.       Get enough rest – can’t stress this enough, go to bed earlier when you’re feeling low, watch a funny movie, curl up on the couch with a good book, etc.  These things help our psyche recover from stress, and sometimes you need something besides extra sleep.

4.       Pay attention to your nutrition – Forget about comfort food, most of the time it’s unhealthy.  Instead, focus on food that has a lot of vitamins in it.. make a spinach salad with orange slices, go to the farmer’s market and buy the freshest ripest fruit you can get that you love.  Feeding your body more vitamins will help it recover, and that’s good for your personal energy.

5.       Check your attitude – what is your initial reaction to things that happen in your life?  If you frown more than you smile, you need an attitude adjustment and spending 10-15 minutes a day figuring out why your life makes you happy will help.

6.       Language – what words do you choose?  The things you say have an impact on how you think.  If your brain hears you using negative words about yourself or others, it internalizes them and that negativity will pollute your aura.  Our brains don’t understand sarcasm, so saying “I’m a bitch” or “I’m stupid” will tell your brain that is the truth and make changes you don’t want to make about yourself.  If you need to engage in positive self-talk and feel stupid saying “I am magically delicious”, do it anyway.  Think of it as medicine.

7.       Get up and move – a moving body moves energy, it’s that simple.  I’m not saying you have to go run marathons, but something as simple as a Tai Chi or Yoga video that you follow to the best of your ability several days per week will increase your energetic health just as well as going on long hikes in the forest or spending a few hours a week at the gym.

Place Energy

The Earth we live on has an aura too, and like ours it fluctuates in flavor from one area to another.  A convergence of ley lines, which are like our bodily meridians running across the planet, will mean more life force is running through that area.  If it’s left to nature, it will probably be wild and pretty and feel amazing.  If there’s a power plant built on it, it might feel pretty unpleasant.  For places where the energy feels great – enjoy it!  Take only memories, leave only footprints, and give thanks that it’s there.  Places like this will help renew your own spiritual energy if you meditate and open yourself to it.

Group Energy

If you have a group of people who work magic together regularly, the group has its own energy that is like an amalgamation of everyone’s personal energies mixed with the residual energy of the magic they’ve worked together.  If one (or more) person in the group has not been maintaining their own energetic health it will have an impact on what the group does, as well as eventually depleting the energy of others in the group.  There are whole books written on group dynamics, but in a nutshell you have to help each other by checking on each other’s health and supporting one another.  Smudge, look for weak spots in the aura, look for psychic “riders” that are attachments from other people and may either pollute or drain someone’s energy, and get rid of them for each other.  I was feeling funky last night and thought it would be prudent to smudge myself, but something felt “off” about the back of my neck.  Since I have long hair, I wasn’t confident waving burning sage in that area blindly, so I got my roommate to do it for me.  The relief was instant and as dramatic as one of those loud thundering belches in a quiet cathedral.  Getting help from others is not weakness, it’s a strength to be able to trust them.

In summary, energy is all around us.  It is Life, and that invisible web that connects us to everything that lives, and to the Earth.  We have our own personal energy, and we are connected to the Earth’s energy all the time since we live on it.  When you’re doing magic to affect your environment, you are asserting your  own personal energy over the Earth’s – do so prudently and as your conscience dictates, if at all.