Basic Energy Work
The idea of working with energy may seem strange or even daunting, at first. Questions can remain even if you accept the view that everything is simply energy in relationships, even our minds. Questions such as “how do I know what energy feels like?” or “how do I know if I am doing anything with energy?” or “what do I do with the energy I perceive?” are common and perfectly reasonable. These questions and the doubt that goes along with them are due to years of allowing our physical senses and erroneous powers of observation to mold our view of reality and us. This is why I have touched on this concept in a number of the essays and from a variety of angles. In order to work more effectively with energy we must continue to expand our awareness of it, further we must assume that if we have become relatively insensitive to it then either this is all nonsense or should seriously consider that we cannot do so unless we change.
Our concept of reality is the strongest influence on how we experience that same reality. Yes, we leave some room for vague notions and thoughts around spirit and soul; however, we continue to look without. We rarely integrate or reconcile the differences with the physical reality presented to us with our concept of consciousness or a soul. Yet they are both part of the same reality and hence are not separate. The difference is in degree, not kind.
We have thoughts about how the real world works, and notions about our awareness, spirit, soul and consciousness that are separate. This is something we looked at in the previous essay Developing Sensitivity to Energy (1).
To enable our non-rational awareness requires that we shift from our ego-centric view based on the notion of each of us being independent from one another to an open one where we recognize that everything consists of energy and the only walls or barriers between “things” are those our minds have created. This is basically a necessity if we want to break the hold over us that we have given to our rational or thinking mind (our ego).
This is a notion fostered, in the Western World by sciences that avoid examining or including consciousness into their model of reality, and religious teachings that separate man from God, even humankind from the rest of God’s creation. This leaves a longing for something greater which we seek in the world around us. It also leaves us dependent on thinking processes and physical senses for our awareness and interpretation of reality. We do so to such an extent that it excludes or greatly restricts our accepting there is more to us than our physicality even if one has accepted we have a soul. This in turn leads us to uncertainty and doubt when we try to expand or move past this view. This, in itself, is neither “good or bad thing”, it is just the way it tends to be.
We are capable of much, but aware of so little. Over time, the thought forms that comprise our object-oriented and highly subjective external view of our reality become associated with just about every thought form we have. The result is fewer free or unattached thoughts, which are those thoughts not attached to existing notions, thoughts and beliefs. The lock our rational mind puts on us can be hard to break; however, it is far from impossible.
The view that everything consists of physical objects or “distinct things” can be challenging to overcome. The world around us is not a fixed and rigid thing despite its appearance. Our physical senses perceive only a small portion of potential vibrations. The same limitations also apply to our modern equipment, which extend our range but do not go much beyond the physically manifest aspects of the Cosmos. Our awareness has no such limitations, and though these abilities lie dormant for many, we can awaken them.
Awakening the dormant abilities of our consciousness is a process, not one act or a series of them. The challenge is not in learning how to work with energy, that skill is inherent in our consciousness. The challenges lie in reopening the closed doors in our minds and our efforts to increase our sensitivity are vital to this helping this to happen.
There is an old adage that a leopard cannot change its spots. This viewpoint is prevalent. I remember a conversation I had a number of years back with my Director when I first became a manager. The conversation was about an aspect of my personality that he believed made one area more challenging for me, and he was correct. He was not saying the trait was a bad one only that it affected the dynamics of certain relationships we had with our clients. I agreed with his assessment and mentioned I would work on changing it. My statement puzzled him as he had mentioned it for me to be aware of, and said something to the effect that “you cannot change your personality and even if you could why would you?” What I explained to him was that I am not my personality, and if I choose to change it, I can.
The fact is the mind is not rigid, it is dynamic, and what is in one’s personality changes over time. Our experiences and reactions to them continually affect and change us; we can also affect change with just our mind. We can recognize that we want to change, how we want to change and then set about doing it. The challenge in changing has more to do one’s attitude and beliefs than one’s age. While it can be an arduous task, it is far from impossible.
There are fundamental aspects to the process of altering our mind in order than we can work with energy, and while one can make a long list of steps, it really boils down to just a few. They are:
- Expand one’s view of reality
- Reevaluating and clearing old thought patterns
- Strengthen the expanded view
The first step we take to change this is to continue to expand our view of reality. Initially, when we try to consider something as vague as energy, something we cannot “touch”, the rational mind struggles to hold the concept as it lacks the thought constructs to support it. The senses tell us that the world consists of “things”; our eyes do not perceive the flow of energy all around us. It is not that we will necessary start to see this flow simply by starting to think about it; however, it is a necessary step in the process. The goal is not to occasionally consider this view, to treat it as an intellectual exercise or a notion we believe is possible; rather it is to make this view part of our natural thought processes. This is where mindfulness can be of assistance to us as well (2)
Our physical senses support the view that the world consists of separate things, that things are not connected. This view becomes highly ingrained and is effective at limiting what the rational mind is capable of perceiving and doing. We can overcome this limitation.
Those who have succeeding in learning something new understand that one must visualize doing it, that is use their imagination to see themselves doing it, and then manifest it by actually doing it. There are basic steps one takes to change consciously (such as modifying their view of reality) or in doing something new.
The first step is to create the thought forms, in case of energy work, it means grasping the concept of energy as the basis of everything in creation, and second we empower these forms by developing our trust and belief in the concepts truth. These are two distinct components with the latter being more challenging. We can reduce the challenge by seeing the two components as inseparable. To this end, we distil what we need to incorporate into our view of reality to a few points. These points are:
- Every “thing” that exists consists of energy or vibrations
- Our thoughts are constructs of energy
- Our thoughts affect the energies in and around us (energy follows attention).
It is not simply a matter of conceptually accepting or agreeing with the above points; we must believe them to be true else, when our attempts to work with energy directly will likely be sabotaged by the conflicting thoughts. The truth is we all work with energy as a matter of course, we are simply not aware of it as such. We work with energy when we think creatively and use our imagination, when we use emotions or words to try to influence people, when we try to calm ourselves, when we think about other people, when we work through new concepts, when praying or we find the courage to act in difficult circumstances. Every thought we have affects energy to some degree, the degree varies according to a number of factors including the nature of the thought, one’s beliefs, will, their clarity of purpose, ability to be transparent and sensitivity to energy.
The second step we take is to work on our thoughts. The material on site will help you understand how thoughts work, how our thoughts affect us and how to work with them. Nothing hampers our energy work more than a rational mind distracted by the physical world, unrelated thoughts, worries, wants and needs, concerns and so forth. In fact, we tend to lose our childhood sensitivity to energy primarily because of our focus on the physical world, our tendency towards subjective, fallacious observation and the emotional entanglements created by our experiences. Meditation provides us with a way to get past our physical world focus, a way to reconnect with our true selves, and a way to examine and work on the issues that distract us. It is one of the best means for refining one’s ability to focus and reawakening sensitivity to energy.
The other piece in the puzzle is not so much a step as a change in attitude, a change in ones way of being. To work with energy one must be able to elevate their awareness above the energy level they seek to work with. I have discussed this concept in a number of the essays on this site, notably those on the nature of thoughts, albeit in a circumspect fashion. Basically this means that to work with energy we must raise our vibration rate, something difficult to do with a subjective view of reality, if we are manifesting lower emotions and thought forms or when our primary focus is our physical reality or ourselves.
The question one may ask is how do I raise my vibration rate? We do raise our vibration rate when we:
- Grow past issues that manifest lower emotions
- Develop our higher emotional capabilities such as devotion, compassion and affection.
- Work on our sensitivity to energy and concentration
- Work towards becoming unconditional
- See ourselves as connected to everything around us rather than separate from it
- Develop our love and caring for all of creation
- Quiet the relentless activity of the rational mind and “detach” from it
The common phrase “going with the flow” is very appropriate when one is working with energy. Intuition is a great example, which we touched on in the section on meditation, in that it becomes more elusive the more one try to force it. Speaking figuratively, if you want to become more intuitive, you must reduce the noise in your rational mind, become less subjective, more accepting and honest and we must learn to listen. The same applies to learning to work with energy.
There are laws that govern consciousness just as there are laws that govern physics and chemistry, each of these being energy in various forms. The ways to raise our vibration level, as listed above, are all ones in harmony with, if you will, the laws governing energy and hence consciousness. One must start to be caring, compassionate and so forth, saying the words is not sufficient.
The fourth step is to practice, practice and then practice some more. There are no substitutes or short cuts for practice. We cannot just talk the walk; we actually have to walk it ourselves. Once on the path the form of energy work you choose to pursue will be up to you. Do not rush or hurry it, allow it to unfold as you learn and grow. I have put together a series of fun and interesting exercises to help you start to expand your awareness. The majority of them can be done just about any time you have a few minutes. While they may seem mundane on the surface, they will help you to develop your awareness and likely give you ideas of your own to try.
© 2010 Allan Beveridge
References (*- denotes essays only available to site members of TheTwinPowers.com):