Energy equations
Over a period of time I have been reading various discussions on the net. Some of them were about energy. I mean this thing about healing or connecting with energy at different levels. It is apparent that people seem to mean different things at different times when they use the term energy. One of the points was on good energy and bad energy. There was an opinion that there is only energy. The way I see it there are two aspects to this.
Often when we speak of energy, we are really referring to the aspect of energy expressed as samskaras or impressions of the mind or we could even say habits. The term samskar actually refers to the deeper patterns of our mind that are formed by our repeated actions (deeds or karmas) that may be formed in this lifetime or the past. The other aspect of energy again has two divisions, one is energy as pure energy and the other as confined energy.
We could take the example of the Twin Towers attack in New York. Air planes have been flying for decades but it took a destructive mind to use a peaceful convenience as a deadly bomb. That is a deed that has expressed a samskar and is a perfect example of the negative use of the energy of the mind. The majority of us however have used airplanes constructively for decades.
One can look at energy as without colour but that would probably be only the form of energy at the peak or zenith of creation, that which is usually termed as transcendental or the unlimited. But within creation I would say that all energy has a colour, a definite feel or a quality.
Perhaps we could say in terms of the usage of energy that the use of energy depends on the mind and the attitude of the power holder. One can use electricity for lighting a bulb or running a motor. In that sense electricity is pure energy and one could well compare it to the energy of the mind. One could argue that after all, all energy is the energy of god or atma or a coloration of pure uncoloured energy and so on. But we exist within the folds of the limited world therefore we do not feel the energy of the divine in its absolutely pure form, we have not reached the level where the ordinary person can feel that transcendental, infinite, and unlimited energy.
From the point of view of an ordinary person each interaction has a specific energy. As far as each person’s energy structure is concerned we are quite alike, however within each of us the combination in the quality or may I say, the colour of energy differs. Though intimately related to karma or our deeds it is difficult for anyone to be able to minutely see the deeds of the other except for the few rare siddhas. We may broadly speaking be able to observe the deeds of the person but we cannot look into the detailed workings of anyone’s mind. What most of us can see or feel is only the energy of the other as good or bad. Thus it is the energy that attracts us to someone or repels us. Obviously this is in relation to our own energy combination, and at that a combination that is changing minute to minute, second to second.
However here it is important to say that the change occurs more rapidly if we voluntarily start the process of change. Yet, when we start sharing or using our energy by various means we invite within ourselves many energy changes or shifts. Sometimes these shifts do not mean much to us, at other times they have a very heavy impact. The way I see it, and if I am wrong do correct me, is that one can only use good energy meaning superior or cleaner quality of energy. It is like water, take a glass of clean water, mix it with one of dirty water, one will only get two glasses of impure water, one dirtier than the clean and the other cleaner than the dirty.
Essentially what we have done here is to rapidly change the energy structure of the water and in many situations just as we would our mind though not as perfectly homogenised yet effectively a large change. As a meditator or a healer if one has the capacity to clean one’s mind, then one can clean the less dirty water to become cleaner water. But some problems that arise due to absorbing negative energy may never go away or they may take a long time to go away. This whole issue of sharing energy in my humble opinion is to be approached with great caution. One can sometimes take on such negative energy that it will spoil the quality of your own life.
One can off course try to blast out the impurities of the other, but even there a connection is formed. Even though the incoming negative energy will be lower yet some negative energy will come in for sure. If someone says no dirt comes in, then their system has some dirt that they do not see, as their own minds have lost the subtlety of purer energy or perhaps they never had it in the first place therefore they miss the negative.
Somebody even said something about using negative energy. I wonder how they would do it. Someone fires a bullet at you, what are you going to do? Swallow the bullet. For my part I would consider stopping it with a shield. I go to the extent of telling my students that one must first protect oneself then consider solving others problems. An insult for example, a negative event, one could however from the point of view of motivation treat an insult as an agent of change, to change oneself to be more constructive or could use a criticism constructively. That is however at the level of the karmas and samskaras, not at the level of energy. I should add here that there is no perfect protection or armour that can withhold all forms of negative energies, however there are many specific practices that do protect and cleanse us. Each Armor or practice by itself too has an impact on the mind, not always the desired effect.
If someone directs energy of a similar quality or of better quality as your own, that is the time one can use it. From the point of view of sadhana or spiritual practice, after all, we practice to make ourselves purer. If you wish yourself purity, and then take a roll in the dirt, where does that leave you? Many of our social, work and even personal interactions often leave us energetically drained, that is often especially true for personal relationships. All healing and energy work must be done with extreme precaution, even to the extent of avoidance.
Personally I think each one of us must protect our hard earned spiritual wealth by being very selective with whom we start sharing ourselves. You can call it selfishness, I would call it being intelligent and protecting my hard work. Individual meditation, imparting mantra as well as healing others are all positive uses of this energy. These should be practised with care. Sadhana or spiritual practices for the average person is a means of constantly changing one’s own energy to make it better. Meditation for example works by directly changing the energy of the mind. The intricacies of how meditation works is another long discussion. So basically what I am saying is that we in our Sadhana are continuously striving to add positive energy to our systems. I would rather conserve and protect my energy rather than waste it on various energy loss activities. Over a period of time this accumulated spiritual energy gives the aspirant higher consciousness.
People talk about the chakra blockages but few really understand what that means. Over the years I have seen people speak of colours in the chakras, as well as explaining to others their problems and the connection with chakras, sometimes aura reading, at other times psychic predictions. Though there are some people who can genuinely see them however most of these are games. Some of them are for fun, others get involved to control others, still others have commercial interests. In general, the Yoga tradition discourages the use of all these powers not so much so because they do not exist or cannot be developed, but to the contrary, because an aspirant easily gets involved in these occult powers and loses track of his real aim of becoming fully conscious or that a developing a higher consciousness. I would add here that the term siddhi has different meanings in different places. In the yoga sutras it means occult powers, however the word siddhi means perfection. In mantra yoga the word siddhi means realisation of the power of the mantra. Mantras have numerous objects. Usually mantra practice gives one higher consciousness.
Coming back to chakras it is important to first understand what chakra means. The word chakra can be translated to mean circle but in yoga it means the joining point or the centre or the meeting point of various Nadis. Nadis are channels of the mind. In this city of the mind there are 72000 pathways and wherever they meet is called a chakra. So there are numerous chakras in the mind. As far as blockages go, there would always be some dirt in the system. To expect a totally clear system is a very tall order. It takes years of continuous cleaning or purification to attain any level of purity. Since the mind keeps collecting more trash through our sense contacts, it makes the process even more difficult. According to yoga philosophy we have collected samskars from numerous births. These show up when they get an opportunity. Therefore as soon as you have cleaned a part of the expressed mind another layer of the subconscious mind appears. This makes the process really long and needs a lot of patience.
Tinkering with chakras, and deeper samskars, maybe your own or others- if you are healing can prove to create larger problems than what one has an appetite to deal with. From my experience I would say patience, my friends, patience. It is better to keep a constant level of practice rather than jump into a disturbance in your own or another’s mind-system. One does not know what will come up. And please strive to build up good energy and strive harder to stay away from negative energies till you reach a very high level of consciousness. Then sharing of energies will not make a large negative impact. After reaching a high level of spiritual development after collecting enormous positive energy, since one has a lot to share, sharing then will genuinely create positive change. And yet such sharing will have minimal negative impact.