Image by dewdrop157
Quite simply, you are more than just your physical being. You have a field of energy that surrounds you—your personal energy field. It is unique to you, just like a fingerprint or a snowflake pattern. Basic physiology teaches us that each cell in our body has a charge. The very fact that you are alive—from electrical impulses traveling throughout your body to your cells converting food to energy—creates an energy field.
Your energy field is made up of everything you can possibly imagine that makes you, you—your beliefs, desires, experiences, unresolved issues, passions, dreams, creative expressions, disappointments, physical ailments, shadow aspects, and more. All of these things have a vibration to them—a life force of their own—and they combine to create your individual, unique energetic signature.
The size of your energy field is ever changing and not at all static. Humans are dynamic beings who are acted upon by multiple internal and external forces thousands of times a day. Our energy fields are constantly responding to our thoughts, reactions, emotions, circumstances, environment, and the degree of wellness or illness we are experiencing, as well as other people, marketing messages, the weather, and much more.
What Colors Are In Your Bubble?
For simplicity’s sake, I’d like you to think of the shape of your energy container as being a bubble, cylinder, cocoon, or any other shape that’s roughly oblong or spherical. However you visualize it, your energy field consists of everything inside that container, including the space “inside” your body.
Get The Latest By Email
Every day, with every interaction we have, our energy field comes in contact with hundreds and even thousands of other energies. Think of it like this: Pretend that we are all a different color of paint, and with every interaction we have—in person, over the phone, through social media, or by any other method of interacting—we get a little bit of our color on whomever we interact with. So, if I’m red and you’re blue, and we have a conversation in the grocery store, you walk away with a smudge of red in your blue, and I walk away with a smudge of blue in my red.
Can you imagine how many different smudges of paint color we would have all over us at the end of each day?! It would be difficult to figure out what color we started out as if we didn’t already know. And, to be clear, we aren’t judging any paint color as good or bad here. Whether we like the person or not, agree with them or not, touch them physically in some way or not, have a happy interaction with them or not, we still exchange paint colors.
Who and What's in Your Energy Field?
Now, to the who in your energy field you need to also add the what. In addition to all the people you cart around, you also carry problems, health issues, pets, decisions you’re trying to make, obligations, old belief systems, unforgiveness, and so much more. No wonder we all feel cluttered and claustrophobic! Fair warning: once you become aware of these energies, it will be almost impossible to go back to being ignorant of them.
* Everyone who is currently affecting your life or whom you carry in your consciousness: family, friends, coworkers, et cetera
* Animals/pets
* Decisions/issues/problems you are sitting with
* Health concerns
* Major stressors, whether ongoing (paying down debt) or one time (a death)
* Things you feel responsible for
* Unforgiveness
* “Shoulds”
* Wants/desires
* Regrets
* Obligations
* Anything else that’s affecting you at this time
Some of these people or things in your energy field are legitimate, right, and necessary, and some are invasive, draining, and nonessential. These are energies that you’ve let into your space whether you’re conscious of it or not.
Some of these people or situations give energy back to you, meaning there’s a partnership or equal investment in each other, but many are not supporting you. Either they are taking or expecting something from you or telling you what to do, or you’re overgiving or in some form of codependence or taking responsibility for them when the responsibility isn’t yours.
Daily Practices for Managing Your Energy Field
It’s essential to our well-being that we give ourselves the opportunity—daily—to purge our nervous system of the chaos we’ve been exposed to throughout the day. The rings and beeps of electronic equipment, the noise of traffic, engines, or machinery, the din of constant background conversations, the vibrational assault of unhealthy electromagnetic frequencies, challenging arguments—whatever the source, if we cannot release this energy, then we become stressed.
More importantly, these loads can build up in our energy body and, over time, can become locked in our physical body. A deep or extended purge is highly recommended at regular intervals to release the stubborn stress and to help restore your natural biorhythms.
Checking In
The most important habit to develop is what I call checking in with yourself. This only takes a couple of minutes, and I encourage you to do it several times a day and especially before bed. Checking in means taking a moment to assess your physical, mental, emotional, and energetic state and then to make whatever adjustments are necessary.
In assessing your physical state, you want to notice how your body feels. Are your shoulders tense or hunched? Is your breathing shallow? Is there a knot in your gut? Is there an ache or pain somewhere? Taking one or two deep slow breaths can then act as a reset button.
In next assessing your mental and emotional state, you want to notice what you are thinking and feeling. If you’ve already checked in with your body, chances are that you have a hint of your emotional/mental state because your body will reflect it. Are you feeling empowered or disempowered? Clear or confused? Overwhelmed or eager? Are you running old arguments over and over in your mind? Are you in the future, planning your day or making your grocery list? Did you let someone tear you down? Did you say or do something you regret? Is something trying to get your attention that you are ignoring?
Assessing your energetic container involves looking at what and who is in your field that doesn’t need to be there. The next step is to clear your energy field of what isn’t serving you.
Clearing Your Energy Field
Think of clearing your energy field as like brushing your teeth: you can skip brushing your teeth, and you won’t die, but it leaves a really bad film and taste in your mouth if you do, and prolonged periods of dental neglect can lead to gum disease and many other issues. It is the same with your energy field. Dis-ease begins in the energetic body and, if not addressed, will lower in vibration and manifest physically.
Once you become attuned to your energetic state, you will immediately notice when you need to do some clearing. There are dozens of methods for clearing and tending to energies, so this list is not exhaustive. However, it does offer a variety depending on your personal preferences, the availability of supplies, and the environments you spend your time in.
Method 1—Deep Breaths
Multiple times throughout the day, I will take a series of deep breaths to clear and center myself. I imagine the exhale combing down my energy field like the rake that runs through an automatic self-cleaning cat litter box, picking up any “waste” and releasing it into the earth.
When you take deep, conscious breaths, breathe in slowly and deliberately, pause for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly and deliberately, directing the flow very specifically instead of haphazardly. When I move energy using my breath, I can hear the air moving, and it’s not uncommon for me to have shivers, tingling, or other bodily reactions as my energy field clears itself.
There are all manner of visualizations you can use to accompany your deep breathing, too, from inhaling through your crown and exhaling through your feet to inhaling a color and sending it to the tight or heavy parts of your field and then exhaling the waste as gray or black. You might also bring your in-breath to each of the seven chakras to clear them one at a time. Experiment and choose what works best for you.
Method 2—Smudging
Smudging means lighting a natural material that smokes, like sage, sweet grass, palo santo, or something similar. Smudging is a great technique for clearing a room, sacred object, your office, or entire home.
Method 3—Dry Brushing
This is a handy method when you’re in public or not near your cleansing tools. You can simply run your hands over your body, breathing intentionally, and then flick or shake your hands to release what you have cleared off. You can also use your hand to scoop out your heart (or any other place where dense energies have collected) or to pull energy off you, much like pulling burs off a dog’s coat. Some people like to imagine the ends of their fingers as paintbrushes and run their hands around the edge of their auric field (like a bubble), brushing, cleansing, clearing, and tending to the edges.
Method 4—Affirmations and Intention Setting
Affirmations are a way to consciously release any unwanted energies from your field and call in a higher, more supportive frequency through a repeated phrase. When I use affirmations, my breath always accompanies them, much like an automatic response. An affirmation I say regularly after I get in bed is “I release everything that is not mine,” and I repeat it three times, while breathing deeply. Then I imagine my guides surrounding me on all sides brushing my aura with wings to clear anything I’ve picked up.
Similar to affirmations, intentions set a conscious field, a reminder of what you aspire to. While this may seem obvious, it’s easy to hit the ground running as soon as you get up in the morning and forget to take a moment to pause, pray, offer gratitude, or set intentions. When I’m working to adopt a new habit, behavior, or mind-set, I will often write my intentions down and read them every morning so they stay present in my consciousness.
Set your intention every day to not take on other people’s energies, emotions, or problems, but be sure to phrase it in the positive. For example, “My energy container is solid and has structural integrity” or “I choose whom I let into my energy field” or “I am my own sovereign being.”
You can use them like you do affirmations, creating an intention that you repeat throughout the day. If you write it down, put it where you will see it. One of my favorite places is to stick it on my bathroom mirror.
Method 5—Epsom Salt Baths
Epsom salts are known for absorbing or drawing out toxins from the body as well as sedating the nervous system, reducing swelling, and relaxing muscles. Bump up the clearing and soothing factor by adding your choice of essential oils, tea leaves, or dried flowers to your bath. If you’re not much of a bath person, you can put Epsom salts in the tub when you shower and plug up the drain so the tub fills with water. Though the salts are only making contact with your feet and lower legs, you can consciously intend for your system to release through your feet into the salty water.
Water itself is incredibly healing, so just getting in a bathtub (or river, lake, ocean, or pool) and engaging with water consciously can do wonders, Epsom salts or not.
Method 6—Crystals and Stones
While this is a more passive method, I love the support that the mineral kingdom provides. You can carry crystals in your pocket, wear them as jewelry, or place them in your home, office, car, desk, et cetera.
The important thing is to remember that these stones are acting in your service, so be sure to clear them regularly. You can clear crystals and stones in a variety of ways, such as placing them in the sun or full moon, burying them in the ground, placing them in salt, smudging them, or running water over them (be sure to check that the composition of the stone remains stable in water). If you want to work with a specific energy or stone but don’t know which one to choose, there are tons of references out there that will provide you with the properties and benefits of a variety of crystals.
Method 7—Essential Oils
The plant kingdom, just like the mineral kingdom, loves to be of service. You can put oils derived from plants directly on your body, in a diffuser, or in your bathwater, or you can ingest them (depending on the type and purity), cook with them, and more. Just like crystals and stones, they raise the vibration of your environment, addressing specific maladies and helping you clear your energy field.
Method 8—Prayer and Incantations
Some people use daily invocations that include anything from prayer to spoken mantras to intentions. All of these are similar tools, with the most important commonality being that they are used with consciousness.
Incantations, mantras, or repeated phrases—often uttered in foreign languages (Sanskrit or Quechua, for example)—can be powerful tools for clearing your energy field, setting up a protective boundary, asking for guidance during boundary-challenging circumstances, and anything else that supports you in keeping yourself clear and separate from others. My prayers often include calling in my spiritual team, animal-helper spirits, or higher self to assist me.
©2019 by Stephanie Red Feather. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpted with permission from The Evolutionary Empath.
Publisher: Bear and Co, a divn of Inner Traditions Intl
BearandCompanyBooks.com and InnerTraditions.com.
Article Source
The Evolutionary Empath: A Practical Guide for Heart-Centered Consciousness
by Rev. Stephanie Red Feather
With this hands-on guide, Stephanie Red Feather provides empaths the tools they need to empower themselves and embrace their essential role in the next step of humanity’s evolution and ascension into the frequency of heart-centered consciousness. (Also available as a Kindle edition.)
Related Books
About the Author
Rev. Stephanie Red Feather, Ph.D., is the founder and director of Blue Star Temple. An ordained shamanic minister, she holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and master’s and doctorate degrees in shamanic studies from Venus Rising University. She is also a mesa carrier in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Peru, having studied with Don Oscar Miro-Quesada and his lineage since 2005. Find out more about Stephanie at www.bluestartemple.org.
