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To you my dear friend, thanks for visiting me!
Šopyrighted by Crystal Pages (1997)
E-N-E-R-G-Y: MORE THAN TINGLES, SHAKES, TONES AND FLASHES!! (c) Crystal Pages)
PREAMBLE: Energy is such an important term and concept, particularly for those with inclination towards the revived spiritualism that we see as a major part of the New Age Phenomenon! We use the term *energy* often and in many diverse ways at that. Come to think of it, our physical existence itself would end if we were suddenly deprived of energy. Plunging us into another Ice Age!!
Many of us know that although energy manifests itself in many different forms, all of these forms are interconvertible. Electricity can be converted into heat or light and vice versa (the solar batteries for example, convert light into electricity). That, energy cannot be created or destroyed is also recognized as true. This implies that all energy that will ever be is already here! The worldwide shortage of energy really refers to a shortage in the availability of proper sources of energy!
COSMIC ENERGY: In addition to the above manifestations of 'physical' energies, there is the subtle form of energy that we all perceive but which is so difficult to measure directly. Some call it the Life Force, Cosmic Energy, Chi, Ki, Prana, Mana, and by many other names. Those on the mystic/occultist/psychic paths are very aware of this 'energy' and sense it not only as emanating from live forms, but also from certain special inanimate reservoirs such as crystals, gems etc., which can be called the natural 'batteries' of sorts.
PERCEPTION: Some perceive the cosmic energy as light, sensations, or as sounds, while others perceive it as thoughts and impressions. Even subtler perceptions exist perhaps, each bound and shaped by one's beliefs and by personal feelings of greater comfort with certain modalities of perception, somewhat alike the perception of reality itself. Therefore, some of us are more visual, while others utilize other different channels of perception/sensations better. The ever constant variety that characterizes us as individuals!
Those who have just begun to perceive these subtle vibrations (for that is how those feel to quite a few, initially), often wonder if they are merely 'imagining' it all. They have yet to acquire the true insight into the powers of imagination, the key that opens doors to the magical hall, to the magnificient world of the 'remaining' facets of total reality. Even very advanced beings amongst us, when caught off-guard, give a glimpse into how deep-rooted our disbelief is in the powers of imagination. Rigors of everyday living in this physical reality do not leave much room for imagination to flourish, unless it becomes a means to one's livelihood! Unfortunately, in those circumstances, it often becomes self-limiting as well, a specific means to some narrow end. Its enormous powers remain unexplored, for the most part! Exercises in visualization and similar techniques, allow one to expand its utility considerably, if only we would let them! With full faith!!
In making that transformation from a physical framework of reference, into exploring other aspects of reality, insofar as the 'perception of energy' is concerned, the natural mode is to begin with the physical and proceed onwards from there. Early exercises aimed at making one familiar with energy and to tune into it, naturally utilize our physical senses, such as rubbing the palms together and then visualizing the warmth and physical sensation triggered by the 'touch' into focusing upon more subtle forms of energy as our awareness grows, while the actual physical sensations, originally perceived strongly, wane and grow fainter, physically and in their importance as tools for tuning-in.
THE BASIS FOR A TECHNIQUE: There are no set exercises, and all procedures that present themselves intuitively and imaginatively work. The main ingredient is to set up a situation in which the modality of perception is 'revved-up' or stepped-up and then 'let-go'. Whether it is touch, or a sharp sound or a flash, such as created by sitting with eyes closed and opening them very briefly to look at something blindingly bright and closing the eyes again to fix the inner focus on the fading and darting 'after-image', procedures like this somehow heighten the sensitivity of the nervous system. Equivocal as the opinion-poll might be, it makes sense to conceive of our nervous system as the interface that allows us to become aware of the cosmic energy, and indeed it is our nervous system through which this 'cosmic energy' flows in and out.
SHIFTING AWARENESS: Yet another way of looking at this is to visualize our 'body or point of awareness' as a monitor of sorts. Mostly remaining in the physical plane, we are aware of our surroundings and of our and other people's bodies. Then there are those instances when our point of awareness recedes into the mental planes. As a result, we are "lost in our thoughts", lost in a reverie, or shamelessly daydreaming. This body of awareness is hardly likely to be a specific function and is perhaps a derivative of the function of our different neural units and systems, some sort of a reference point generated by a matrix of complex functions perhaps, and all of these are not necessarily physical. Those who dream lucidly, usually know where their point of awareness exists when they dream, during the REM state. But what happens to this point or nidus of awareness during the NREM state? One might be tempted to say that the point of awareness ceases to exist because the matrix of neural functions that generated it in the first place is gone, temporaily during sleep. And yet, a sudden real or perceived danger, snaps it back in place in one blinding instant! So what is it that keeps track of where the 'point' is while it is not at the helm of affairs during deep sleep? What happens to that 'monitor' when we are dreaming? Or, for that matter, when we are awake??
Even when we are awake, this body or point of awareness can, with sufficient practice, be used as a vehicle to explore other realities. Is vivid daydreaming a form of meditation? Think about that! Is meditation a day-dream controlled by our spirit??
If there are subtler bodies, as mystics assure us, other than the physical, then by shifting our point of awareness, can we reach into those other planes through an act of will? When we sense energies during an everyday interaction, is our sensory apparatus beginning to 'feel' the energies or are we merely tuning our awareness into a level or plane of our existence from where we normally receive and send energies all the time?
IS IT A GIFT, OR A SKILL THAT CAN BE ACQUIRED??: We are alive and all of us possess this cosmic energy. We exist in an ocean of energy and communicate constantly through it. Even when we are not aware of such a communication, we are carrying it out constantly. With awareness, we could perhaps carry this out more efficiently and seemingly more coherently and powerfully! We must remember that the same light energy could be focused to become an intense laser beam, or it can be used to gently illuminate. There are some astrological indicators that indicate the preferred modality of perception of these energies in different individuals. However, the practice and skill really involves in one becoming more aware of what is already there and happening, and utilizing it consciously, rather than being on autopilot.
MODALITIES OF PERCEPTION: For most of us, tactile (touch) sensation is perhaps the most basic sensory faculty. Skin is, after all, the largest organ of our body! It is little wonder that many of us feel this 'energy' as tingles, buzzing, goosebumps, light breezy sensations, pin-pricks, warmth etc. Some also feel it as tremors. When this happens, usually it means that perhaps the energy inflow is too intense and is strong enough to activate our muscles. Tremors and spasms must be regarded as *warnings* to slow down or to reduce the physical inflow of the energy. People have been know to suffer from headaches when too much energy is let in carelessly. The commonest 'physical' reason for these headaches is perhaps the energy flowing into the physical space and causing sustained but barely perceptible muscle spasms in the temple and neck muscles and causing something similar to the condition that is clinically known as 'tension headaches'. Predisposing conditions, such as extremely intense concentration, sustained focusing, uncomfortable surroundings (too cold or hot, too dark, noise) can further enhance the undesirable experience. In some, the headaches could also be due to vascular changes, triggered by the nervous system's response. Other causes might coexist as well.
There are those individuals who perceive these energies not just as sensations, but as sounds. Whistles, sharp ringing, hissing noises, all have been reported. Still others 'see' the energies as light. Our auric shell (aura) is one such objectified perception of energy. Though contestable and hard to prove, it is safe to assume that the 'cosmic-energy' we are talking about is perhaps of a very high form and frequency and when we feel it as a sensation or sound or light, its perception is being down- graded or modulated somehow. So, when one sees an aura, it is perhaps not the original color associated with the energy itself that one sees, but a modulated form thereof! Those of us who see auras with relative ease simply have an efficient down-modulator. Training and practice helps! Perhaps it would help if we think about the process of seeing auras not as much as seeing the 'light' directly but seeing the energy in the 'form' of light! Light is the highest form of energy that we can perceive with our bare physical senses. Often, higher energy forms or higher vibrations are perceived after down-modulation as light! The realm of light, the bodies of light are some such examples.
This is not absolute, though. Many psychics can 'feel' the aura better than 'see' those and sometimes can even hear auras (usually as 'signature' tones). A goodly few, can actually 'feel' these auric energies as sensations in their palms or in the pit of their stomach when they approach, meet or talk with others. Some feel autonomic sensations that are akin to mild nausea or dizziness. All of this goes towards illustrating that psychic modulation can and does play a significant and individually varying role in how we perceive the cosmic energy!
THE THICK AND THIN OF IT: It is not uncommon for people to feel the perceived psychic energy as something that is dense or light, thick or thin, etc. Whether, these people are sensitive and can discriminate between the actual frequencies of benevolent and malevolent energies (if such beasts do exist! More later!!) is a moot point. From a purely waveform perspective, the least coherent the waves are in an energy envelope, the less powerful, the energy would be, and the less usable the energy would be. Are these differences in the phase and coherence felt as thick and thin energies? Before we accept this unconditionally, let us turn again to the physical world. Let us look at the brain waves (EEG) for instance. The awake pattern is of low power, incoherent and asynchronous ('squigglies' going stir-crazy all over the chart!), as the mind relaxes and proceeds all the way to deep sleep, the waveform gradually becomes more regular, coherent (in phase) and appears to increase in power (mostly as a consequence of the coherence, perhaps). Contrary to popular belief, in most people, the energies usually perceived as 'light' and haphazard are truly reflective of their unfocused nature and form in the subjects and not representative of spiritual ascendancy!
On the contrary, in those who have learned to harness their energies, to focus them so to speak, the energy could be perceived as a thick, dense, almost tangible envelope. The palpable sensation only indicates the coherence and power and not the *quality* of the energy! Having said that, I must admit the possibility that since we are really perceiving the 'modulated' form of the actual energy, our 'symbols' could perhaps have more significance than actual perceptions, unlike in a similar perceptive situation in the physical reality, for the most part. In the realm of psychic cosmic energies, 'interpretations', understandably override perceptions, and must be held in higher trust! So, in other words, if you have already 'trained' yourself to visualize disruptive energies as "thick", then that would be the working framework for you. This wide variation and conceptual flexibility can and does cause much confusion at times, especially when people from different schools or backgrounds use similar terms with different connotations!
IS THERE ANY EVIL ENERGY AT ALL?: I, personally, do not believe that there is any evil energy! That is not to say that there do not exist 'EVIL STATES' involving undesirable modes of energy transfers or exchanges! Cosmic energy is "life energy", it flows- in to sustain, to nurture, to promote growth, love, healing, contentment and joy, and it flows out from a state of higher potential (just as is the case for electricity, a prototype energy) to one of lower or negative potential. When a healer willingly acts as a channel or conduit of the universal store of 'energy', she establishes herself at a higher 'potential' and the energy flows to the one that needs to be healed! When a voodoo- specialist wishes to cast an evil spell on someone, she creates an energy vacuum or energy void, which sucks in the cosmic energy from the 'victim'. A similar vacuum is created also by the negative, whiney and spiteful person, generally knows as an 'energy vampire'! The kind of person who drains you of life and vigor within minutes of being in conversation with you or sometimes by just being in the same room as you! Any of us can act as energy vampires at one time or another, although some of us specialize in doing so effortlessly, most of the time!
MY ENERGY, HER ENERGY, THE UNIVERSE OF ENERGY: We sometimes (often?) find it easier to talk of energy in a possessive way. We exist in a universe of energy. Energy that manifests in many forms, at times even as matter with mass! We potentially have access to all of the energy that there is, all the time. When we feel drained, we are doing that to ourselves because our faith in our 'connection' with the universe is shaken or weakened. As soon as that happens, we visualize ourselves as closed compartments and by our inner choice 'block' ourselves from receiving cosmic energy and replenishing our stores, as is intended in nature. This 'arrangement' is difficult to visualize, especially if we try to do so after getting involved in a 'situation' which has already begun to drain us. The faith and personal visualization that enables us to stay connected to the universe of energy in spiritually difficult times needs to be inculcated and built upon by repeated affirmations and inner-practice, prior to its actual use. Specific procedures, such as utilizing certain meditations, chants, mantras, visualization procedures, are all different ways of experiencing and being in that inner state where the 'i' regains its identity with "I"! Easier said than done, you quip? Yes, but once it is done, the realization is permanent and can be invoked anytime, even all the time, if so needed!
I do believe that, despite what many have stated (I am thinking of Shakti Gawain specifically!), energy is just energy. It is easier to think of it as having different forms, such as love, healing, compassion, abundance, peace, etc., but those are the purposes or goals for which the one and only energy is being used by us! Like water, which can quench our thirst, bathe and clean us, wash our utensils, can generate electricity, carry logs from one shore to another, soothe us as we dip our tired feet in its cool gentle flow and wade across the shallow part of the sea near the beach, or use it as a vehicle for transferring healing energies or blessings! All the same water!! And this very life- sustaining water can also wreak havoc by its abundance, by its wild unfettered flow, as happens during incessant rains and floods!
SO ..., LIKE ..., HOW IS IT DONE?: Since, most of this energy flow is handled at the mental plane, one needs to be working from that plane, not only to create a healthy outflow of energy, but also to prevent an unwelcome drain! Visualization is the primary technique that can be utilized by one to get in the driver's seat. Visualization and its motivator, faith are the two essential requirements. Those who have used it, say that it is very easy. Those who haven't, disagree! But it is only as 'natural' and "easy" as learning to walk! Ask someone who having lost the use of his limbs for some time had to relearn what many of us take for granted! Takes time, but can be done!!
There are no set procedures and protocols. One's spiritually-felt comfort level with any given procedure is crucially important. Affirmations help. The more subjectively important they are, the more effective they seem to be. There is much to be said in favor of rolling one's own, when on this ride! Mantras, postures, incantations, all can be tried and all will help, but none of these are indispensible. Many of these perhaps act by grabbing the attention and occupying the conscious monkey of a mind, anyway, while the innersource does the real work.
SUN IS THE SOURCE OF ENERGY: It is hard not to believe that for us the sun is the source of all energy! Even cosmic energy!! How we tap into the source, how we provide ourselves as conduits of it and how we manifest the projection of this energy varies amongst us and some of the clues lie in the disposition of the sun in our astrological charts. Starting at mid-april (exact date varying by a day or two depending on the year), the first 30 days respond to the movable fire of aries:
STARTING SIDEREAL SUNSIGN PLANETARY LORDS/ATTRIBUTES mid-april aries mars/fire/movable mid-may taurus venus/earth/fixed mid-june gemini mercury/air/mutable mid-july cancer moon/water/movable mid-august leo sun/fire/fixed mid-september virgo mercury/earth/mutable mid-october libra venus/air/cardinal mid-november scorpio mars/water/fixed mid-december sagittarius jupiter/fire/mutable mid-january capricorn saturn/earth/cardinal mid-february aquarius saturn/air/fixed mid-march pisces jupiter/water/mutable
I will spare those who are not astrolgers amongst the readers from a more detailed discussion about the astrological perspective. Those who share my love for the 'celestial- wanderers' would easily be able to meditate on the connections between sun, energy and its expression through us individually, based on the above information. Such a meditation would be extremely rewarding when a chart is read by them.
TWO RECOMMENDED BOOKS: Much has been published and written about cosmic energy. Two inexpensive little books that have truly touched me with their nuggets of wisdom, are:
1) CREATIVE VISUALIZATION by Shakti Gawain, First published in 1978 and currently available in the following versions, eg.,
-Gawain, Shakti. Creative Visualization. 144p. 11/1983. Paper.
$4.99. (ISBN 0-553-27044-3). Bantam Books, Incorporated.
-Gawain, Shakti. Creative Visualization. Canyon, Rainbow,
illustrator. LC 79-13760. (Illus.). 160p. 11/1978. Paper. $9.95.
(ISBN 0-931432-02-2). New World Library.
2) Kieft, Kathleen V. Innersource: Channeling Your Unlimited Self. 256p. 04/1988. Paper. $4.95. (ISBN 0- 345-34651-3). Ballantine Books, Incorporated.
It would be unwise and even arrogant to 'conclude' this article with any kind of summing-up! I truly believe that the last word on this subject has not *emerged* yet. So I offer this article, as it stands, to you all reader friends with a humble bow.
Šopyrighted by Crystal Pages (1997)
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