'Ello again friends,
Here I am back with another informative blog for your reading enjoyment. This week, we're going to chat about the energy of life, some may also refer to this as "Chi" among many other names. Anyway you slice it, it is the very energy that makes up our soul or spirit, and is in everything. Our bodies are made up of chemicals- water, proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals, trace elements. These chemicals are basically all made of energy.
What is energy you ask? it is a word we correlate in all sorts of ways. Whether it be called zest, oomph, life-force, physical energy, mental energy, emotional energy, spiritual energy, kinetic energy, Agni, pneuma, chi... You know, the kind of stuff that makes other things happen. In the last 50 years or so, science has realized that energy is the very thing that also drives the universe, drives every event in the universe and is actually the basic constituent of the universe. And, although it can be measured and quantified, we have no real idea what it actually is. Physics finds that energy is the most fundamental property of the universe- everything can either be created or dissolved into energy, including matter itself. There is a sort of buzz or energy everywhere- the "Zero Point Field".
With all of this being said, there are many ways that you can support your energy- some of these are physical, such as taking salt baths or cold showers. Others are more cerebral, like the use of visualizations. There are some very good basic guidelines for keeping your energy heathy. The two paradigms or philosophies about this that are most familiar are the Vedic (ancient Indian) way, and the Shamanic or Earth-based philosophy.
The Vedic tradition has a useful and simple way of describing the energy that makes up material reality-including our bodies. On one hand, there is the heavy, low, tamasic energy of ignorance; on the other hand, there is light, clear, pure sattvic energy of goodness. And in between is the rajas or passionate energy, which is useful for getting things done, but when out of balance, leads to greed and imprudence. Everything in the physical world can be understood as a mixture of these energies. Activities that are in the mode of goodness include washing everyday, wearing clean clothes, meditating, rising early and going early to bed, eating lightly of sattvic foods- vegetables (apart from garlic and onion), fruits, grains, beans and pulses, nuts, seeds, milk, ghee- and avoiding tamasic foods- meat, fish, eggs, food that is not freshly cooked, and alcohol. intoxicants of all kinds are tamasic, such as laziness, eating the tamasic foods, and living without integrity.
Similarly, Shamanism says that everything is made of energy, and that any problems or imbalance with this energy underlie problems in the physical world. We are made of energy, and if our energy is balanced we do not get ill and things go well. Shamanic healing techniques or every culture have been implemented towards creating energetic balance. This generally involves recognizing our need to be deeply connected to nature. The energy or spirit of plants is called in to assist with this, such as working with herbs.
When we experience trauma of different kinds, we can be put out of balance as well as lose parts of our energy or soul; this is known as soul loss. Soul retrieval is a shamanic healing technique in which the shamanic practitioner, skilled in journeying in non-ordinary reality or the spirit world, travels to find and bring back the lost parts, restoring the person to greater wholeness and integrity.
The opposite of soul loss is having the wrong kind of energy in the wrong place. Energy from the outside work can sometimes absorb into us. Having energy that is not ours and does not belong to is known as intrusion. This includes problems with energy "entities" of various kinds, and can be associated with many kinds of sickness'. In order to restore health and balance, the "entity " or intrusion would need to be eliminated. living without integrity- including any kind of dishonesty or lack of truth in our lives, hurting ourselves or others- can make us vulnerable to soul loss and intrusion. Other issues include ancestral problems to do with one's land or worth the breaking of sacred laws, such as the misuse of sacred plants.
Building a sacred daily practice that you perform everyday will not only help to maintain balance, but also help with maintaining your energy in the long run. I will talk more about this next week in which we discuss some of the health practices you can adopt into your daily routine.