Clearing and Centering
Clearing
We have looked at grounding and discussed the importance and benefits of it. Grounding keeps us connected to the earth and its renewing energies. The primary reason we ground is to maintain that connection and to help us deal with strong energies whether created by us, or by outside sources. Grounding helps in the process of moving energy down into the earth; it does not necessarily remove all negative or lower vibration energies from our aura or those outside of it. We can do this by clearing or neutralizing these vibrations.
In order to clear energy one must have thoughts related to the type of energy you intend to deal with. Your first questions might be “What are these lower or negative vibrations, and where do they come from?”
The answer to the first question is the vibrations I refer to are those we experience and subsequently react to, as we go about our lives. The answer to the second one comes in two parts; the source of the energy can be internal or external. We will discuss the internal sources first.
We have looked at how, throughout every moment we live, our thoughts manifest energies. These energies do not just go away on their own; they inherit their vitality from the power and nature of the thoughts and desires we had that give rise to them. The potency is dependent on the level, intensity and duration of the thought. These energies manifest every time the thought form is activate and most of the energy generated remains close to us. Certainly, we direct some energy at any external objects or people we turn our attention to. Whether the energy or potency of them is sufficient to reach them is another matter.
The vibrations manifested by thoughts about our self-image would be an example of this. A positive self-image manifests energies in kind, energy that elevates our thoughts and is in harmony with the Cosmos around us. These types of energy are good for us, we want them to flourish and grow within us. Negative or lower vibration energies have the opposite effect. Self-critical thoughts literally results in our striking ourselves with the negative energy this thought manifests. In addition, our energy attracts energy of the same kind further clouding up our energy field.
Imagine if you will that every time you have a negative thought or manifest lower vibration emotions you have put a rock on a string, you are holding onto that string and are dragging it behind you. You do not see it as you live day by day; however, it is always there and becomes a growing burden to you. Now, think of all the individual lower vibrations you have manifested through judgmental or negative thoughts during your every second, minute and hour of your life and imagine each of them as one of the rocks. While we may have dealt with some or many of the issues that gave rise to these lower vibrations the remnants will persist unless you have consciously removed them. Further, every negative thought we continue to have manifests more of the same. Clearing our energy reduces the amount of negative vibrations in our aura whether from distant past experiences or ones we have had today. It is like a shower or bath for your spirit.
We must remember that thought forms are interconnected, synergistic. Connections form between thoughts and energies in every conceivable manner based on commonalities or similarities in vibration. The longer the thought form remains the stronger the connection and the potential influence. Hence, resolving one issue does not necessarily mean all connections it had to other thoughts and experiences automatically disappear. These severed links still exists thus part of the energy of the connection remains. They continue on, building up over the years as we add new ones every day. Each of them will manifest negative energy anytime we have a thought or emotion that shares a commonality with them. Even if we have not resolved the underlying issue we can deal with the build up by learning to keep our energy clear.
Clearing our energy of the lower vibrations we manifest does not remove the thought forms that gave rise to them; however, when you clear these energies you can tag them (make note of their vibratory signature if you will) allowing you to work on the source thought(s) later. Perform this type of work during meditation, where you are in a good space to perceive and work on the thought forms that gave rise to them. We will go through the clearing process first so you understand it; a reference to the exercise will follow.
The way we clear our aura of negative vibrations is by using the power of our thoughts. While I cannot give you a definitive visualization for this, as we all have our own thoughts around various mental images, I can explain the process and the kinds of thoughts you need to have to clear your energy.
Essentially, we clear energies from our aura by going through it in a systematic fashion to first notice and then to modify, drain or remove all the negative vibrations we perceive regardless of their source. We should not start the process of clearing our energy unless we are well grounded. For one, it is harder to clear the energy if it has no place to go, and two, you do not want to dump the energy you are clearing around you or onto someone else.
Clearing generally refers to the movement of energy, it does not necessarily mean we transmute or convert it. That is another process; we will examine this, in part, in the exercise. We are responsible for the energy we manifest. We ground so that the energy we move has a safe place to go. By grounding on an ongoing basis, we also reduce the energy we cast off lessening their potential affect on others and interestingly enough to ourselves. Why, you ask? Well, when we get emotional, we manifest various energies that can affect anyone or anything nearby; further, some is invariably unassociated. The unassociated energy, beneficial or otherwise, collects in physical locations or simply settles like dust. If this continues to happen, they eventually form into a pool or cloud of energies in our homes, office and any other places we frequent.
You start the act of clearing your energy only after you have grounded. The process for clearing is the use of will to direct energies perceived as neutral or enriching through every part of the aura or a location and in doing so push or move any lower vibrations down into the earth. Whether you believe in aura’s or not is not important, what is important is that by this act you are “letting go” of vibrations that are negative, that is harmful or restrictive. You also tend to reduce or eliminate many negative thoughts in the process.
The process relies heavily, certainly when first learning it, on visualization as this helps one focus their attention and it gives the rational mind something familiar to work with. With practice, you will begin to feel it and not need to picture yourself in your mind.
One starts the clearing process by visualizing or seeing himself or herself as energy rather than as a physical body. Visualize your body as being transparent rather than solid. Imagine it as a dense energy field centered within and extended a foot or so outside of the body.
Now, the degree of clearing is comparable to the clarity of your sight. This seeing I am referring to is not a picture in your head, it is a feeling and a knowing, if you will, that the image in your mind’s eye is reality. The visualization is merely a mental reference.
Before you move any energy, it is important to take some time to get a feel for your own base energy. You want to make sure that the energy cleared is of the negative or lower vibrations type and not energies that are beneficial or needed. The next step is to feel or visualize the energy you intend to use to clear your aura. You will draw this energy, from above, down and through your aura.
The energy you use for this must be strong, unmovable and “solid”, that is with no gaps or holes in it. Hence, do not visualize the energy as “something” because the untrained mind does not usually consider that it’s concept of reality consists of molecules with spaces in between. Our minds are quite literal. As a result, this visualization will leave gaps allowing some energy to escape the clearing. See the energy as a wave, one that is strong, powerful and pure. This minimizes the potential for there to be gaps in the energy, as this will leave negative energy behind. One then gradually pulls or draws this energy down through their aura and body into the earth all the while visualizing or feeling the energy move. You should notice that you feel different in the areas you have cleared versus those below it.
Now, the movement of energy is to be done consciously and the first few times slowly and methodically. As you gradually draw the energy down from above see and feel it move through your aura and body. Keep your focus on what you are doing so that as you gradually draw the energy down through your aura you notice any intuitions about the affect of this act on your own energy.
There will be points where you encounter resistance to further movement. This resistance can be due to your lack of skill and confidence or a negative vibration that is firmly rooted or currently activated. You need to exert your will (and not will power) to push this energy down. It will exit through your ground and you can continue to work your way down. You may need to pause in your clearing to examine the issue that gave rise to the energy enough to loosen it up. Do this by quieting your thoughts and then, focusing on the energy you perceive, try to put it into works. Allow it to speak to you.
How long clearing you energy takes is dependent on your skills and confidence at with the thought forms needed, including thoughts related to your ability to perceive and move energy.
The benefits of clearing our energy cannot be overstated. Clearing your energy removes vibrations we manifest ourselves, those picked up from others or energies we encounter that are unattached to any person or object. We all have experienced places that feel bad, negative or where we just feel uncomfortable. We will attract some of those energies to ourselves if we have within us any thought forms that manifest similar energies. In addition, so long as lower, negative vibrations remain in our aura they will influence on us by affecting our thoughts and emotional state.
You can also clear energy that is external to you such as in your own home, or a place by a similar method to the above; however, we do this with utmost care. We must not clear the energy of another consciousness unless we have developed the requisite skills and clarity, can elevate our awareness so that we are unconditional and have permission. Otherwise, we are interfering with them. Other consciousnesses include animals and plants as well as people. Any interference could be potentially harmful and will result in karma. The more skilled and aware one is the greater the karmic burden for inappropriate acts. Simply put, without the proper skill and level of awareness we ought not to be interfering with others even if asked and regardless of how beneficial we believe it to be.
Note: Further information on this topic can be found in the essay Auric Hygiene: Maintaining Our Energy Field (1)
Centering
There are a number of views as to the meaning of the word centering in the context of one’s energy. I will state as clearly as possible what I mean when I speak of centering. I am not going to say someone else is wrong, terminology is open to discussion as well as interpretation. In my meditative and energy work, centering is the act of putting oneself into a balanced energy state with minimal subjective thoughts. You can think of it as being in, relatively, a neutral space.
We looked at how grounding connects us to the earth, thus giving excess and strong lower energies a place to go. We also explored how, once grounded, we can clear our aura of lower vibrations. Centering is a very different act altogether as the goal of doing so is to achieve a particular “state of mind”. We can center ourselves by various mechanisms, though the result should be the same: to achieve a state of balance within oneself, that is neutral, objective and peaceful. When we are not neutral or centered then there is greater chance of reacting emotionally to experiences. In turn, these emotions build up and lead to other problems.
When centered, we are objective, able to see things clearer than before, or otherwise. We can test how centered we are by testing ourselves mentally. One can do this with visualizations or if we are skilled enough by remembering a particular energy that causes us to react. That is, we visualize an event or potential experience in an area where we typically respond emotionally. A memory that triggers strong emotions, either positive or negative, works well. If, when we bring this memory into our conscious mind, we do not perceive or feel the emotions we normally do from thinking about it, that is we are not “moved” from our centered and grounded place then we were successful. Bear in mind that to be sure you are successful, you must have developed some ability notice subtle shift in your emotional body (that is changes in how you feel).
An example would be to imagine oneself in a situation that would normally cause you to react. For a person who is intimidated by a certain type of person imagine being close to such a person, and that they are getting closer. By monitoring your feelings as you visualize this you should be able to tell whether you are affected or not. The stronger the reaction less centered one is.
My primary use for centering is stability and clarity of self, as this is a virtual requirement for becoming transparent or less led by self-conscious thoughts, though it also brings with it a powerful peaceful feeling. Clarity is important, especially when we realize that our rational mind is not necessarily rational. One of our greatest personal growth aids is our own ability to recognize the energies we manifest, something that is hard to do when caught up in them. To do so we need to become sensitive to changes in our energy and to the vibrations, subtle or otherwise, that we experience. When we are not sensitive to these vibrations, we leave it to our highly biased rational minds to make decisions.
Our emotional attachments and responses can move us in the wrong direction and lead us to make poor choices. This is another reason why honesty is so important. Feelings blind and restrict our honesty; however, in the act of centering, many of our rational mind’s subjective thought processes are suspended and we can see beyond their restriction. We can learn to be less scared of the truth or so frightened by choices that we cannot see what is in our best interests. This allows us to explore issues without the accompanying emotional baggage. When we return to our normal waking consciousness we may still resist what is in our best interests; however, at least we are aware of what we ought to be doing and can work on what binds us to the less beneficial choice.
Why is this important? There are times in all our lives where we struggle with a decision or a choice. We tend to go with what feels comfortable, or with what we are familiar even if it is not in our best interests. Why do we cling to one path, and resist another? The short answer is this is how our reactions to experiences have programmed our rational mind. Just because we think a choice is best for us and can justify or rationalize its benefits does not mean that it is. As mentioned, we may not be able to overcome every bias that inhibits our choices; however, if we are trying to grow we must start to learn about the blocks we have. It is the only way to clear them. This is why I try to stay in a centered state of mind as much as I can be, even when not meditating, and it is far easier when we are also well grounded.
At first, it is a challenge to learn to center ourselves as our rational mind often resists the act of even trying. We may find ourselves thinking that it has little value, that it is of little benefit to us or we start thinking about other things we think we should be doing. Then there is the struggle to feel and see in a manner to which we are not accustomed. Few people spend any time in quiet repose, as it seems everyone always has something to do, some next act to accomplish. We are so accustomed to doing things that we fail to slow down enough to get to know ourselves beyond our thoughts and actions. How are people to know if they are agitated if they do not know what they feel like at a core level?
The benefit is that staying grounded and centered is it helps people get in touch with what they feel like outside of the noise of the outside world and their own rational mind. Learning to center can take some time due to these challenges. Again, persevere; you will come to know what “I” feel like through your meditation. It is an important foundation element for energy work and over time, leads to the ability to shift into a centered state at will.
The exercise on centering will provide some tips and “mental tricks” to help you learn to center yourself, increasing the reliability of our responses, choices, and hence our direction in life. Repeated practice is necessary to build up our confidence and skills at performing this. We can then test our level or degree of honesty at any point in time. It helps us to notice and correct our habit of making fallacious and erroneous observations and improves our powers to perceive our experiences and ourselves objectively. With this comes a better idea of how much to trust our thinking processes and the decisions we reach. The results are only as valuable as the amount of effort we expend in this fashion. Please consider this when you are trying to make change for yourself, it can be invaluable.
© 2009 Allan Beveridge
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