If we open ourselves up to be connected, can we still protect our own energy?

in #emotions6 years ago

This post was inspired by a post about connectedness by @onetree. When we have a sense of connectedness, it opens us up to feel other people’s emotions. And sometimes that can get too much. But there are ways of using our sense of our own energy field to decide whether we want to be open or protected at any moment.

I’m not talking here about people who are empaths. While some of these techniques might help, I suspect their life path is something special. I’m thinking more of your average person who is discovering these feelings as part of their own personal voyage of discovery about themselves.

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My background

As well as being primarily a nutrition consultant, I also work with energy.

• I have been attuned to Reiki, which means channelling healing energy
• With EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), we are working with the energy pathways in the body (meridians)
• As a kinesiologist, I use muscle monitoring to get information about what is happening to a person’s energy (usually also in the meridians).

I’m not claiming to be any kind of expert in this area though. There are lots of ways to protect yourself, and Mr Google will point you to them. This is just a small handful of simple ones I know about, that don’t require any equipment, special words or special knowledge of any kind.

Is the bubble of white light good?

When people talk about protection, this is the one that usually gets brought up first. Imagine a bubble of white, protective light completing surrounding you, including above, below and behind. This seems to work well for many people, though personally I’ve needed something a bit more heavy duty. So I can’t give you any more tips on this one.

But this seems like a comprehensive list, talking about all the different colours of light shield. Or this article actually suggests not using white light, but using gold instead.

So what have I used?

The physical barrier

OK, not actually a physical barrier, but an image of a physical barrier created in the mind’s eye.

Let’s back track to the 90s, when I was doing a series of personal development courses called The Turning Point. They’re something a bit like Landmark Forum. After doing a few, I trained to be on the service team. This was the group of helpers that were there to support everybody in their process. One of the important things about being on the service team was that, no matter how harrowing or heart wrenching a story someone was telling, we were not at liberty to indulge our feelings. We were there to support the course participants.

So we were taught to build an imaginary barrier in front of our solar plexus. Everybody else seemed to be able to just imagine it and it was there. But I’m not very good at visualising, and my system took a bit longer. I had to build a brick wall, brick by brick, in my mind, until it was big enough. It took a while to build, but once it was up, it did work.

brick-wall.jpg

Another variant of this is to imagine a protective garment. Maybe something like a suit of armour, or maybe a motorcycle jacket. Something that you can relate to and imagine easily is best. It might even be a business suit. How many businessmen do you think become removed from other people’s feelings, when they’re in their uniform?

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Once you become familiar with your garment, put it on when you want to protect yourself, and take it off when you want to be open.

Working with your energy body

I’m not going to get into technical information about the different layers of our energy bodies, or auras. Let’s keep it simple.

Sit or lie comfortably. Close your eyes and get as relaxed as you can. See if you can get a sense of the layer of energy that surrounds your physical body. If you can’t, imagine what it would look like if you had one. If you still can’t, all good, go with the motorcycle jacket.

If you can, have a look at the energy. Is it intact, or does it have holes? If it has gaps or holes, you might need to do some research and find some info on how to mend it. That’s not what I’m covering today.

If it’s intact, the next thing to observe is – how far from your body does it extend, and how diffuse is it? As a general rule, if it’s close to your body, it will be denser. If it extends further from your body, it will be lighter.

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Part of the aura is your emotional body, so do you think that if it was pulled in close to your body and dense, you would be far less likely to feel other people’s emotions than if it extends several feet and is very light and diffuse? Does how your energy body feels line up with how you experience other people?

The energy body is within your control. Imagine drawing it in close to your body, and see if it happens. How do you feel? Now imagine it expanding outwards, as if it’s reaching out to engage with others. How does that feel? Once you get used to it, you should be able to adjust it to what’s appropriate for the situation. In a situation where you don’t feel safe, or are overwhelmed by another’s emotions, you can pull it in towards you almost instantly. When you want to be more expansive, let it float further out.

We’re not talking here about someone who consciously or unconsciously is malevolent towards you. You might need to take extra measures. This is for just generally when you’re out and about.

Containing your own emotions

This is a slightly different technique that I teach my EFT clients. When we work together, they are opening up to some of the painful things that have happened in the past. Generally, EFT is very effective for releasing those emotions. But sometimes, it opens the floodgates for other stuff to come up.

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I get them to visualise a container inside themselves where all the painful memories and feelings are stored. I explain that we’ve taken the lid off for our work. Then I get them to check whether the lid is still off. If it’s securely back on, great. If it isn’t, I get them to imagine putting the lid securely back on. If they can’t do that, sometimes they need to ask permission from their energy system, and might need to promise to come back and deal with more of the emotions at a later time.

Thanks for reading

Images from Pixabay, unless otherwise stated.

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All the info I have read on how we are connected, how we fit in this world - it all comes down to free-will and energy! I believe we are all unique individuals but connected to ALL living things here in this dimension. Our intentions in life create our reality. Great post!

I agree completely. Thanks.

Thank you for this post! I have always found visualisations difficult, but I have started to identify my energy/aura through yoga. I don't see it, but rather feel it pulsing.

From this article I surmise I must work on getting a better sense of this energy, so that I can feel it all the time, and then I will be able to contract it closer, or let it expand if I want to be more open. It will require some work initially, but I can see it working once I get the hang of it.

Thank you for taking the time to write this useful guide, and for being the kind of person who looks to better the lives of others. <3

I don't know that you need to feel it all the time, that sounds like hard work! But putting in the time to practice, so we can access it when we need to, would be helpful. Thanks for the appreciation xx

I hadn't heard of the physical barrier visualisation, but it makes a lot of sense.

Thank you for sharing these tips, it is always good to get a reminder about such things as day-to-day life drags us in different directions (usually unwittingly). :)

Somebody said something to me today about life living us, instead of us living life. I think the phrase came from Eckhart Tolle originally. Bringing our conscious awareness to these sorts of things, as often as possible, is hopefully a step in the right direction.

I believe you are quite right. We don't have to shout anything from the rooftops, merely go quietly about our business but always with that particular awareness in whatever we do.

Since I first heard it, I've always liked the saying: we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Sums things up nicely, I reckon. :)

I've often been considered as an empath, and while I try to deny it, I'm bombarded with a lot of emotions on a daily basis. It's hard because not many people could relate, and I always feel drained. That's why I turn to meditation to control what I process. It's a tough process, but any significant progress is beneficial.

I've heard people say things like "oh, I wish I could see auras" but the reality of seeing auras or feeling other people's emotions would be no easy burden. Maybe there are other techniques you can combine with meditation to help you?

Oh yeah definitely, I roll my eyes at them every time and tell them I would pass the burden if only I can. I've been wanting to try out sensory deprivation, but there are no local spots that offer them. I tried DIY-ing one once or twice before, but it didn't work as intended.

Thanks for this Deb, and for the links. These methods can all work well. I find that EFT is a great way of making sure that other people's energy doesn't end up settling on you, as if you are tapping while speaking with them or working with them, even if you are open, you are constantly clearing your own energy field.

This is why I think tapping is incredibly useful for anyone working with other peoples trauma, emotions or even energy field and body (such as massage therapists). Even if they don't use it with clients, they can still "tap down" during sessions to make sure that nothing sticks.

Yes, wouldn't it be amazing to live in a world where everybody could manage their emotions / energy like that. I've seen you mentioning Borrowing Benefits, so I imagine you know that it was "discovered" due to the number of practitioners who found that by tapping along with their clients they made many shifts themselves.

Thanx for this informative post.. I heard some of them like energy part of aurA but dont knw the exact process and its name or techniqe.. Its infrmative and now i think i can use it myself

I hope you find it useful.

Yes kiwi.. I think you were busy.. I missed you and visiting you daily to see something from you.. God bless you and keep you healthy and safe..

Remember you asked how I fit it all in? I can only fit it all in by not posting every day. I'm aiming to do Mon, Wed & Friday and have no idea what I'm going to post tomorrow. It will surprise both of us. :-)

Haha.. You are amazing.. its your good communication skills and polite attitude that ppl love to visit you.. Its good dear now i ll visit you on respective days.. Same here i dnt knw what i ll post next.. Anyhow waiting for your next surprise.. One other thing i wish to all my friends here that they ll guide me regarding my posts improvement so from you.. If you can give me some tips to inprove my sharing in steemit community and success here then it ll be honour for me...

Thanks, @kiwideb, for being the counterpart of a good exchange today.

Kind regards,

@creatr

😄😇😄

@creatr

Thank you, for making it so easy!

Really informative post.i love the way you take about our energy,our emotional.
Great post.

Glad you enjoyed it :-)

ur very nice person @kiwideb good post

You Were Created For Greatness!!! :-) I Hope YOU Have A WONDERFUL Day!!

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