Energy Fields: The Personal and the Universal by Keith Sherwood You are an inter-dimensional being, and your physical body houses a series of energy bodies that interact with each other and the environment they interpenetrate. These energy bodies are surrounded by concentrations of energy, or energy fields, called auras, and these energy fields interact with the external environment. The universe is permeated by energy fields that are supported by the universal field of energy and consciousness. Taoists call that field the Tao. Local fields interact not only with the universal field, but also with each other. Each thought, emotion, and action can be viewed as an energy discharge radiating from a localized field, i.e. a person’s energy field. We experience the focal point from which energy radiates into the universal field as the "I" or the ego — what is called the manas or the lower mind in Vedanta. The Power of Thought and Emotion The energy created by a person’s thought and emotion (concentrations of qualified energy), or even the animal magnetism that radiates from a person’s energy field, will affect every person in his or her immediate environment who is sensitive to the particular frequency being broadcast. It can also affect those at a distance if the energy, in the form of thought or emotion, is focused through the ego or "I" to a particular person. The effect that thought and emotions have as they radiate through the universal field can be likened to waves created when a stone is thrown into a still lake. The stone makes an impact at a certain point, and this impact radiates equally in all directions in a series of waves that make an impression on all objects within its medium or field. The impression can continue affecting the objects long after the initial waves dissipate by causing a sympathetic vibration in the energy field of the target, and the effect will remain unchanged until it is diluted by other waves within the medium. The strength of the wave depends on the size of the stone and the force of its impact. In the same way, the impact one person will have on another person is determined by the force of the projection, the quality of the energy projected (density etc.), and the receptivity of the receiver. This process goes a long way in explaining the subtle dynamics of human interaction, the dynamics of trust and distrust, alienation, friendship and animosity. It also explains why people can become suddenly depressed or anxious when they meet new people or enter a new environment, or why they always feel bad, insecure etc., with one person but joyful and confident with another. It further explains why one person can have an almost hypnotic effect on another, or even on large groups. Moreover, it explains why, as individuals, we are often deeply affected, both positively and negatively, by people to whom we have no close ties or common interests. The effect that one person can have on you energetically on the unconscious level is so important to your well-being and health that it is vital to take inventory of the people around you. If the people with whom you surround yourself have blockages that distort their flow of thoughts and emotions, or if they project negative energy to you, even unconsciously — in particular, distorted radiations of pain, anger, and fear — then you can be adversely affected by them. Which Thoughts and Emotions Are Yours Below are some guidelines that will help you to determine whether feelings and thoughts that disturb you are generated from your personal energy field or whether they enter your field from outside. 1. Thought precedes emotion. If you begin to feel something not related to what you are thinking about, it is probably not your feeling; the feeling comes from outside your energy field. 2. Thoughts and feelings out of the context of what you are doing at the moment generally are not your own. 3. Heavy feelings that press on you from the outside are not your feelings; they are being projected to you from an outside source. 4. Feelings and thoughts that hammer at you, even when you want to get rid of them, are not your own; they come from an outside source. 5. Sudden and dramatic emotional changes are caused by entering discordant energy fields. 6. Charges, accusations, badgering, and the perpetual charge, "You are wrong" don’t originate in your personal energy field. 7. Sudden weakness, exhaustion, confusion, and anxiety come from discordant energy fields. 8. Physical experiences — heat, pressures, thrills, etc. — that are out of context with what you are doing are generated by outside energy fields. Atmospheres Not only does energy radiating from other people affect you, but energy in the form of thoughts and emotions can be confined in enclosed spaces and absorbed by physical matter and then later radiate from it. Thoughts and emotions that are confined to enclosed spaces such as homes and workplaces will have a particularly strong effect on people entering the space. Thoughts and emotions generated by an individual or group can remain in an enclosed space, and the atmosphere of a room created in this way can linger long after the people who created the atmosphere are gone or the feelings and thoughts have changed. Depending on the quality of the atmosphere, an individual will be affected positively or negatively by the atmosphere that has been created in this way. This is a further explanation of how moods can change so rapidly when a person simply moves from one room or environment to another. An understanding of how the atmosphere of a room can influence people is important, because to become proficient in the use of energy, you must understand the dynamics of energy in both healthy environments and distorted environments. Where the atmosphere is confined to small rooms, it is usually clearly discernable; such is the case in many old and small chapels, where the devotional feelings of thousands of people have literally charged the emotional and mental atmosphere of the room. We are all subject to the influence of emotional and mental atmospheres, and you should exercise caution before voluntarily submitting yourself to environments that clearly have a negative atmosphere and will have a negative influence on your energy system and general well-being. Discerning Atmospheres The exercise below is designed to help you experience atmospheres more consciously. Once you try the exercise, you may see that you are more sensitive to the mental and emotional atmospheres in a room, and more influenced by them, than you would have imagined. This is a group exercise, and it works best with five or six people. Each person will have one or two turns to experience the combined mental and emotional atmosphere that has been created by a group of people. A small meeting room is best for this exercise, but a small office or living room will suffice. If you are in a group of six people, begin by having each person choose a number from one to six to determine whose turn it is. Number one will be the first person to leave the room. The person who leaves the room will be called the sensitive, and must go to a room where she or he cannot hear the words, or even the voices, of the people who are participating in the exercise. While outside, the sensitive should relax, with eyes closed, and breathe full abdominal breaths deeply through the nose. While each person is outside of the room, the rest of the group will pick a topic that they all have strong feelings and ideas about, and for about five minutes they should engage each other in a lively discussion. Try to get to a dominant feeling like joy, fear, or anger that you all share. For example, you can talk about politics, ecology, friendship, love, death, children, etc. During the discussion, each person should feel free to express his or her feelings and thoughts. Try to stay on one main theme for five minutes; each person should remain consistent so that the atmosphere of the room becomes charged with strong, clearly defined feelings and ideas about the issue you are talking about. After five minutes, one member of the group who has, for this turn, been designated leader should abruptly end the conversation and collect the missing member of the group. Upon entering the room, the sensitive should immediately begin telling the group about the changes she or he feels in the room. On the mental level, the sensitive might experience his or her mind being flooded by the thoughts that still linger in the room. These thoughts can come in verbal form or in pictures. On the emotional level, the sensitive might feel the dominant mood or feeling of the group, or the emotions of the dominant members of the group, or maybe simply a vague atmosphere of excitement, warmth, anxiety, or depression. A particularly receptive sensitive may discern the general topic of conversation and the views of dominant members of the group. His or her physical body will also register changes in the atmosphere. Anxiety will often be experienced as tightness in different parts of the sensitive’s body, which might become excited physically, or even suddenly tired or lethargic. There are literally scores of different sensations that the sensitive’s physical body will register. A person without training will miss many subtle vibrations, since they are experienced on a barely conscious level. However, the dominant expressions of the group can easily be recognized by anyone. The sensitive must simply pay attention to the changes felt physically, emotionally, and mentally when entering the room. After a full disclosure by both the sensitive and the group, you can proceed by sending the next person out and starting over with a new topic of discussion. The old atmosphere will be dissipated once you start discussing your new topic. Keep repeating the exercise until everyone has at least one chance to be the sensitive. Conclusion Everyone, both consciously and unconsciously, can sense the mood or feelings of other people or the atmosphere of a room or physical environment. This ability is developed to one degree or another in all of us. Whether the frequencies of energy encountered in the world are sympathetic with your own energy or discordant, it is important for you to be aware of which frequencies of foreign energy enter your personal energy field. Much of the harmony and disharmony in your life can be accounted for by living in an atmosphere of either harmonious or discordant human energy fields. Keith Sherwood teaches throughout Europe and North America. He is the author of Chakra Therapy and The Art of Spiritual Healing, and the director of the Center of Inner Awareness in Anchorage, Alaska. Visit him at <http://www.wholelove.com/> for a singular spiritual experience.