Living Energy Blog

Removing Energy Blockages

Blocks to the free flow of energy can be removed through a variety of approaches. Practitioners skilled in massage, energy work or acupuncture can assist you in relieving them. Traditional therapy can play a role in facilitating a release when tools such as hypnosis, imagery, inner child techniques and direct chakra balancing methods are used.
There is a great deal that you can do to identify and release these obstructions and restore balance to the free flow of energy through your being. Obviously the more serious or longstanding the problem, the more likely you will need professional guidance and intervention. However, you can greatly enhance your treatment through understanding, awareness and personal integration of energetic self help tools.

As previously mentioned imagery skills are particularly powerful on a variety of levels. In addition to the advantages already covered, provide the ability to explore energy system, locate disruptions, remove obstacles, release and balance energy.

Meditation, breathwork, active visualization, sound and music are very potent self -healing methods that also can be used to learn how to be in touch with and manage your energy for positive creation.

 Living Energy Works recorded programs all address building strong positive energy and being more skillful in managing your energy for life. For chakra healing specifically Balancing your Chakras and Guided Chakra Meditations both are helpful. The former uses color, imagery and sound to put you in touch with the energy of your chakras and provide a direct means of influencing your energy. The later is more of an emotional approach based on the consciousness/issues centered in each chakra.

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The Dam by Sonia's View

Blockages, deficiencies or excesses can occur in any one of the chakras and stop the smooth flow in and out, or up and down throughout the body. If this situation becomes chronic, eventually an illness results in a related part of the body.

We need a free flow of both receptive (electrical) and expressive (magnetic) energies to maintain balance, remain healthy, and feel neither overwhelmed nor empty.

In addition to the vertical currents of energy already mentioned, there are also horizontal currents that move in and out of each chakra. Disruption of flow at this level creates blocks or distortions in reception and expression of that specific chakra’s purpose/function and in the issues associated with each chakra.

Types of Blockages

Transformation with ease is preferable.

Jams within a chakra can occur when external circumstances make it unsafe to remain open. This situation can also result when there is too much intensity for the energy of a particular chakra to continue to flow freely. Over time a pattern of ‘holding’ takes root.

The way to work with this type of block is to gently work to open it. Generally, the best way to approach any change or personal growth is with gradual, positive forward movement. This approach is more apt to create stable results than trying to shock ourselves into healing!

Work slowly with an attitude of gentle persistent kindness toward yourself.

When we work to open and free up energy within our minds and bodies, old feelings and emotions may arise. This is a natural and vital part of the healing and transition process.

During an active healing process, it is important to routinely use techniques that help to self soothe, gently release intensity and provide an experience of inner safety. During healing these tools play an essential role in building strength and energy. The release of old beliefs and the ‘leftovers’ of unprocessed emotional issues can then happen more easily. 

Methods that involve the use of imagery and metaphor can be of particular help in this process as they not only facilitate developing new strength, but they also assist in establishing new, more desirable qualities. In addition, they contribute to an experience of inner knowing.   Through accessing a different level of skill we arrive at a new sense of inner power and a profound trust of the SELF.

Spasm

Spasms occur in chakras that are usually open. A traumatic or stressful event or situation can trigger a sharp sudden closure. This can reverse on its own over the time but more often than not our conscious attention is needed to help it release and rebalance.

Often when a spasm is the problem, you will experience physical discomfort in the area of the chakra involved. Blocked energy becomes stagnant in that area. If such a situation remains too long, physical symptoms may develop in the adjacent physical organs or organ systems.

 Diminished Flow

This is the most common type of block. Energy flow is diminished rather than completely blocked. The negative energy is distributed over a broad area, so is harder to detect. Fear is a very common cause of this condition.

Next post: remedies for removing chakra blockages and chakra healing

Blocks or problems in our energy system can occur in a number of ways. A simple way to think about energy blocks is as too many protons collected in one place so that the flow of electrons through the channels is impeded.

Using our inner senses to consciously circulate energy can assist in releasing blocks and establish clear open channels so our mind and body can heal. A purposeful, focused, regular practice of energy circulation used early enough may prevent the need for external health interventions. In cases of already manifest illness it can enhance other treatments used and lessen the time required for healing.

It is also of no small consequence that being able to use energetic tools strongly promotes feelings of self empowerment which are always correlated with more successful recovery and healing.

When we remedy ‘blocks’, leakage and inconsistencies within our subtle energies, then more energy is available to experience a fullness of body mind and spirit. The resultant integration provides an experience of wholeness, completion and feelings of joy, bliss and inner peace.

Next post will focus on specific types of blockages that can occur within the chakras.

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In the last post I spoke about how the brain responds to our expectation and that could be a powerful instrument to have in your tool kit for life!

One of the most powerful ways of engaging this process is to consider the question of WHO is doing the choosing….who is holding a particular perception or viewpoint. We are all the product of so many influences and as a result have multiple sub personalities living inside us.

So this is no small question.  One helpful way to unearth what may be coloring your perceptions, and thus your choice-making-apparatus, is to make a list of your beliefs. The beliefs that are problematic here are the ones that keep you from fully experiencing ease, joy, fulfillment; the ones that create stress within yourself and relationships; the ones that keep you bound in fear, anxiety, helplessness or hopelessness. Sometimes it can be most helpful to get in touch with the feeling and then work backwards to what belief about life may be the glue holding it in place. Your beliefs are your story … the drama you live through every day.

Where does one look for faulty beliefs? Well … how do you really feel about Men, Women, Mothers, Fathers, Siblings, Relationships, Love, Self, Others, Prosperity, Success, Abundance, Deserving, Playing, Work, Money, Health, Illness, Body Image, etc.

1. Take out a sheet of paper and write down what you don’t want to keep happening or how you don’t want to keep feeling.  Write for as long as you like.  Then, look at your “story” and underline or highlight the charged words … the words that hold emotion for you.  Write these phrases or words in a vertical column.  Now on the other side of the paper, write the opposites.  For instance, if you are feeling stressed, the opposite might be relaxed.  If something that you want is not happening, the opposite is that it is happening.  If it should be easy, the opposite is that it is easy.  If you are feeling it’s just a dream, the opposite is that it is real.  Next go through and simply repeat each pair of opposite phrases out loud.  See how it feels to bring the issues to consciousness and to look at both sides.  Discover where you are caught in the spin and who you are without your story.

Keep in mind that you may have some wonderfully strong, helpful and supporting beliefs within you that you certainly want to keep. The suggested exercises can also help you see your strengths as well as the weaknesses…what has gone well in your life. Let your consciousness rest on that for a time and build on that strength. All too often we look at only what is off instead of embracing the totality, working with the good to help us in our release of the less graceful material.

In addressing any of these, remember there is a difference between what we WANT to believe we believe AND what we really believe deep down. By sitting quietly with each topic area you may become aware of deeper emotions and issues that signal something that needs to be cleared within you. These are simply the results of not knowing, they are not sources of fodder for self-flagellation or caving into hopelessness! 

2. Another method of uncovering and working to release problem beliefs that cloud perception is chakra work. The chakras provide us with a roadmap of consciousness. As we work to clear and balance our chakras not only does perception clear but all other aspects of our mind-body health also improve.

 3. Meditation is a another great method of uncovering faulty beliefs as well as for creating the space for their release. In addition, meditation practice opens you to another level of mind that is beyond the conditioned mind with all the beliefs and stories.  Meditative methods reduce stress, heighten self awareness, enhance creativity and ultimately deliver us to true freedom –to that portion of the Self that is beyond habituated perceptions.

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Creative Cycle Flow

Understanding the energy of change and how it moves through your energy system provides you with more power to create with grace, ease and empowerment.

The creative cycle is all about our ability to make things happen for ourselves. We create by default every day. If you are not completely happy with what you create by default, you can begin to create your life more consciously. Choose the experiences you would like to have and then put your creative cycle to work on your behalf.

The creative cycle begins at the crown chakra with an idea or an inspiration. Sitting in a quiet meditation is an effective way to begin to focus your creative energy.

Once you have an idea, it begins to take shape within the energy of the brow chakra. You might find yourself gathering data or doing some research.

The throat chakra represents your voice. You make choices here. You can further explore your choices, ask questions and listen to the answers. You can use your voice and will to proceed. Ask yourself: “Is this a choice I want to make?”

Your heart chakra is about unconditional love and wisdom. You may feel an overall intuitive sense for the creative process and your end goal. Ask yourself: “What is my heartfelt sense of this idea?”

Your solar plexus keeps you honest. This level in the creative process brings up issues of self-identity and integrity. You can ask yourself: “Is this in keeping with who I am? Does it fit me?”

You may encounter emotional blocks and/or unconscious beliefs at any stage in this process but they are particularly apparent as you progress to your sacral chakra. At this stage you check in about your passion. You may also wonder about whether or not you even deserve what you are intending to create. Questions of entitlement may also come up. You can use the Living Energy tools and techniques to clear your emotional blocks and unconscious beliefs. Ask yourself: “Do I have passion for this? Do I deserve it?”

Once you reach the root chakra, you should be ready to implement your plan. At this stage you need to plan, gather materials and just do it. Physical energy and issues around grounding may emerge here. Ask yourself: “Do I want to bring this to life? Do I have vitality for it? Will this add to my well-being?”

Being aware of the totality of the creative process, as well as each stage and how to navigate it, will help you live more consciously in tune with what you desire.

Anahata chakra symbolizes the consciousness of love, empathy, selflessness and devotion. On the psychic level, this center of force inspires the human being to love, be compassionate, altruistic, devoted and to accept the things that happen in a divine way. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Imbalances or distortions in our chakras and energy field lead to problems with our thoughts, feelings and actions. How we experience ourselves, life and others is mediated through our energy field first then travels to the nervous system and the rest of our body and mind.

Unbalanced heart energies as experienced in relationships may be best known as codependency. Codependency is a term used to describe a relationship between people where there is an expectation that the other will “make them whole” or provide what was “lost” at an earlier stage of life.  It seems that this could describe our modern day understanding/approach to relationships, but the term co-dependency helps to describe it and begin to develop the awareness necessary to move to a place where our relationships can become life enhancing and nourishing for all.

Instead of looking within at a wounded part of oneself and healing it, codependents search externally for the answer to their pain and healing. This circumvents development of a whole, healthy sense of self and a real ability to function freely in the world. The reasons for codependency vary widely, are typically unconscious, and rooted in deep beliefs and family legacies.  Until recently codependency was a typical pattern of how relationships evolved and unfolded in our western world.

Below our heart chakra are three chakras associated with the lower self or mind. These three chakras are: the root located at the base of the spine; the sacral located above that and below the navel; the solar plexus located between the navel and the tip of the breastbone. Unbalanced energies in these energy centers manifest generally as preoccupations anchored in fear, misdirected passion, power struggles and identity problems. These areas obviously cause us their own concerns but they also can add to the difficulty of having healthy heart energy.

The Heart Chakra
It is in the heart that we have the ability to move beyond the judgment and analysis of the intellect into acceptance, compassion and wisdom.  As we ground our energy and center within our hearts, we transcend or move beyond the ego where our thoughts feed emotions such as fear, anxiety, guilt, shame … all emotions that don’t feel good and deplete our energy system.

When you are in your heart you develop a sense of inner peace, presence and a capacity for deep, unconditional love.  You effortlessly surrender to the vast and expansive inner silence. Judgment is absent.  You might find yourself expressing deep compassion, empathy, care, kindness and forgiveness for yourself and others, without judgment or critique.  Judgment is an attribute of the ego and your mind. It is not of the heart.

 Having a loving heart is a state of being that we develop through awareness, consciousness, focused learning, honest self- evaluation and commitment.

The rewards/benefits of being willing to commit to such growth are:
Emotional peace and freedom
Forgiveness of self and others (unconditionally, all transgressions, are of the mind or ego)
Dissolution of negativity dissolves
Creation of space for nurture of self and others
Openness to extending honest, true love to others 

When addressing any level of growth and development, it helps me to remember that we are always becoming and not arriving…progress not perfection! Persistent kindness with ourselves is always a good idea!

English: "Visualization of the Heart Chakra" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I find it fascinating to see what science is learning and how it correlates with what we have been taught by other disciplines over the ages.

Poets, Mystics and Philosophers speak of our hearts as a place of mystery and understanding beyond what our rational logical mind understands. It is a place where we can enter into the wholeness of our selves. Ancient traditions that have energy as a foundational part of their medicine, developmental awareness and spirituality point to the heart chakra as the center where our consciousness shifts and we can develop the capacity for balance between inner and outer worlds.

The word “chakra” is from Sanskrit and translates to “wheel of light.”  There are seven major chakras in the midline of your body, running from the base of your spine to the top of your head.  They are centers of electromagnetic energy.  Each of the major chakras is associated with a particular function physically, psychologically and spiritually.  They are connected to each other and to your body’s organs through an extensive network of fluid-like energies, referred to as nadis or meridians. These channels run parallel to your central nervous system. Each chakra looks like a swirling vortex.  Energy moves through it like a cyclone or water moving down through a funnel.  By alternately spinning clockwise and counterclockwise, our chakras maintain a dynamic balance between receiving and building energy (clockwise motion) and releasing excess energy (counterclockwise motion).

The heart is identified as the place where we:

• Develop the ability to attune to self and other
• Access deeper awareness of and capacity for spirituality
• Contact the aspect of self beyond enslavement of thought and emotion
• Connect with our deepest nature
• Experience the present moment

Deepak Chopra speaks about the heart as “The Place of openness” where our sense of touch and emotional consciousness are located and where we contain the ability to give and receive unconditional love. He goes further in stating that it is where we can release feelings of isolation, pain, suffering and unworthiness

Spiritual traditions reflect that it is part of our life journey to use our heart’s energy to engage in self-reflection, connect with our Soul, move toward balance and develop healthy self-love and acceptance. When we do so, we bring a healthy flow of heart energy to our lives and are able to share that with others.

The heart chakra provides the possibility of opening into inner space where we can connect with wholeness, learn self-love and acceptance, and embrace the duality of life rather than be caught in the separatism of the ego with its judgments of good and bad, black and white. Positive, balanced qualities of the heart chakra bring us into resonance with love, acceptance, harmony, peace, compassion and devotion. Laughter can flow freely. We can cultivate balance, real intimacy and let go of resentment and jealousy if our heart energies are strong and coherent.

(For a technique that can help strengthen your heart energy see the guided meditation at the end of the previous post.)

Energy: awareness, blocks, depletion and distortion

Human beings are Transformers! We are always influencing, moving, managing and transforming our energy. This is generally an unconscious process.  Because our energy management is typically out of awareness, it we may not be reaping the benefits we’d like or that are possible.

Quantum Physics tells us that there is a constant and even supply of universal energy. It tells us that energy cannot be created or destroyed. So what is an energy crisis?

A personal energy crisis is simply a bottleneck in the flow of energy throughout the bodymind. Somewhere within energy is slowed, stopped or blocked and a logjam is created. Problems then emerge at the site of the logjam and sometimes downstream from this site as well. At the least the restriction results in a depletion of energy; more chronically, blockages, distortions and depletions within the energy system lead to physical and psychological problems.

It is not necessary to become fluent in all the complex circuitry and possibilities for energetic imbalance in order to positively impact your energy supply and flow. What you do need is a greater awareness of how your state of mind, your thoughts and feelings, can help or hinder the condition of your energy.  Through learning a little bit about how to take charge of your mind, you can gain mastery of your energy. Your mind, your thoughts and feelings will then be a resource to build and strengthen the supply and movement of your energy for your benefit rather than leaving the process to chance.

Through understanding your moods, discomforts, aches and pains as reflections of the condition of your energy you can more easily remedy the situation and restore yourself to balance and a higher level of energy rather than sinking even deeper into a downward spiral.

 Our recording Relaxation 101 is an excellent way to begin to dump the accumulated effects of stress, learn to be more aware of and in charge of your energetic state. That awareness and ability to mange your energy means less of it will be scattered, leach away from you or be up for grabs by others in your environment.

For those who desire a more targeted approach for your energy system, Balancing Your Chakras offers a guided meditation that is relaxing, energizing and helps to build your capacity to manage energy. Guided Chakra Meditations is also a wonderful relaxing way to get in touch with and build your energy.

Over the last two weeks we have been posting about the aura, its qualities and responsiveness to external stimuli. This video shows the effect of multiple internal and external actors on the energy system.

English: Aura or etheric human bioenergy field (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is not far fetched to think about our energy system as our primary immunity when we consider that we first interact with subtle energy in our environment through our energy fields. Many people are naturally sensitive to energy, but they don’t understand what it is they are experiencing, or how it occurs.

Unfortunately, many tend to dismiss experiences with energy as “hocus pocus” instead of understanding that there is real science behind them. Just because we may not understand something does not mean it is not real. A very wise and dear friend who is a medical professional and a scientist once said to me, “There are no miracles, only science we do not yet understand.”

Everything with a molecular structure has an energetic “blueprint,” and we can learn to read or “decode” this data. We can also learn to change it. We already register energy unconsciously; by making it a conscious process, we gain the potential to create healthier and more meaningful lives. The first step is to understand the structure and nature of the human aura.

What the Human Aura Looks Like

In healthy individuals, the human aura is egg shaped and three dimensional and surrounds the body in all directions. It extends 8-10 feet in the average person, and varies in strength and vibrancy according to one’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In general, the healthier you are, the further your aura extends.²

Clairvoyants gifted with the ability to see energy describe the human aura as a “multilayered radiant cloud.” The various layers of our aura are actually different frequencies of energy that our eyes perceive as color. Each “frequency band” is related to a different portion of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being.

While it is difficult for most of us to perceive our auras, using special equipment and photography, Western research has begun to document what only clairvoyants had previously been able to describe.

Chakras, Frequency, Science and Clairvoyance
Modern medicine routinely uses measurements of the nervous system, brain, heart and muscles to diagnose and treat illness. However, Dr. Valerie Hunt, a Neurophysiologist at UCLA, has been able to detect an electromagnetic field of energy beyond the electrical field of the aforementioned body systems. This field was measured and found to be smaller in amplitude, but higher in frequency and eight to ten times faster than any other biological electricity. In addition, while the other electrical activities of the body (heartbeat, brainwaves, nerve transmission, and muscle contractions) are intermittent, the energy field was found to be continuous in its movement.  Dr. Hunt conducted a study using standard EMG (electromyography) electrodes attached to energy centers, or “chakra points,” on volunteer subjects. The electrodes were connected to telemetry equipment, which transmitted data to a recording booth where a variety of graphs recorded the energy activity from these points.

As Dr. Hunt recorded this activity, she asked Dr. Rosalyn Bruyere, a well-respected energy teacher and accomplished clairvoyant, to simultaneously report the activity she observed in the subjects’ energy fields – without viewing the graphs. Dr. Hunt found that there is significantly more energy activity at the chakra points than at other places on the body. The frequencies emanating from the chakra points were found to oscillate in bands from 100 to1600 cycles per second (cps). Brain waves generally oscillate between 0-100 cps, muscles oscillate up to 225 cps and the heart oscillates up to 250 cps.

Furthermore, Dr. Hunt found that the color changes Dr. Bruyere observed in the subjects’ fields correlated exactly to the frequency changes her instruments recorded. Upon subsequent studies, Dr. Hunt was able to document that each aura color clairvoyants observe is associated with a particular wave pattern. Each individual studied showed a unique pattern of amplitude and frequency both within a specific energy center, as well as between centers. These differences produced a distinctive field with recurring patterns of colors (vibrations), amounts of energy, and concentration of activity within a particular body area.
Problem areas were also observed within individual fields. Some areas were open and flowed smoothly while others were blocked and stagnant. These are typically the types of issues that energetic modalities seek to remedy in their treatment of the energy field.

While Dr. Hunt’s research lends credibility to the existence and behavior of “bioenergy,” not surprisingly, Eastern medicine and philosophy has been teaching about this phenomenon for centuries! And as many know we do not have to have all the data to benefit from modalities that address the energy system.

If you’re interested in other studies that document the reality and function of the human aura, consider reading Dr. Richard Gerber’s Vibrational Medicine.

My Experience

For many years I studied both modern and ancient texts and attended trainings that focused on energy medicine and psychology. I learned about the quality, function and treatment of the human energy system. Then synchronistically I was introduced to real time aura imaging and was able to purchase the system for myself. Through this system I have been privileged to see what much of what the ancients spoke about and what science is now documenting. Energy is real…we influence it…and we can become better at it through awareness, and learning simple, pleasant skills that not only improve our health but contribute to the overall quality of our lives.

Visit our store to see some of the programs that can help you begin to experience life…better! http://bit.ly/Yg6gzy