Energy Hygiene (part II)
Hello to my return journeyers. A warm welcome to my semi-constant journeyers. And, a very special welcome to my new journeyers.
I am so glad you’re here.
In part I of this Energy Hygiene series, I introduced the topic of Energy Hygiene for the Self and shared how it begins with awake awareness. I also shared a few ways you can practice awake awareness. You’ll recall, dear journeyer, that in part I, I referenced the experience of meeting with someone and leaving feeling depleted, overwhelmed or as though you have somehow absorbed their emotions and thoughts into your being. This is what is known as energy intrusion.
I know you’re thinking, my return journeyer, “How do I know if I have an energy intrusion?” I wish my answer to this was simple, but, unfortunately, the answer is that it depends. In my Introduction to Shamanic Journeying workshop, I teach about the different clairsenses and their respective gifts. Energy intrusions can be easy to detect and often sit in the body as heavy, dense, unfamiliar, or erratic sensations. Some may perceive energy intrusions visually – a quick glimpse of a dark cloud, shadowing, or altered state of presence behind the eyes.
I have learned to ask myself, “Is this sensation/emotion/thought mine?” But, be careful, my dear journeyer, not to fall into your own blind spots or Shadow here by sidestepping accountability for your own thoughts and feelings. Some energy intrusions are more complex and fall into the category of Suffering Beings. I wrote about Suffering Beings in my blog on Compassionate Depossession earlier in 2024. You can check it out if you want to understand how a Suffering Being has intruded on your energy field feels. What I will say here is that Suffering Beings overshadow the primary Soul that belongs in the physical body.
Some energy intrusions are sent to us, and depending on the sender's intention, they may be just out of our ability to “see” or perceive. In many cultural groups and pagan traditions, individuals would seek the magic of professional cursors to curse individuals or families that had wronged them in some way. I believe that the remnant of this work still exists today. Our words are powerful and what is spoken into the world has an impact. The essence of this exists in gossip and flippantly wishing someone else harm. When we are wounded and operating within our wounded state, the words we utter toward another being can impact them knowingly or unknowingly. “I hope he/she/they get what’s coming to them.” Umph.
Some energy intrusions come in the form of relationship cords. When we enter a relationship with others, professional or personal, we attach or develop a relationship cord. This cord is anchored into one or more places in your energy field. When the relationship is in a vibrant state, energy passes freely and harmoniously. Sometimes, when relationships end (for whatever reason), we forget to consciously unhook the energy cord. Hello, entanglements. If this relationship had a particular imprint or pattern that is not healthful, you may find yourself repeating patterns of dysfunction again and again.
Energy intrusions love to pass through families. There’s so much I could say here, but this may need an entire blog on its own. Energy intrusions – be they thoughtforms, emotions, or limiting beliefs – travel down family lines. You may be carrying emotions that are, in fact, not yours. Trauma lives in the body, and trauma lives through family lines.
Sometimes, when it comes to extracting energy intrusions, we need to enter an altered state of consciousness (journey) or seek the support of a skilled energy healer to bring them to light and release them from our energy field. If you’re not in the position of seeking the help of an energy healer, a good place to start is to journey using the drumming track I have gifted with the intention of asking your guides to show you or help you understand whether you have an intrusion (or maybe two, or three). It is good to seek understanding and clarity before attempting to extract on your own.
Some of you will have invariably found your way here seeking specific techniques, practices, or skills for energy hygiene. I must stress that energy hygiene practices vary across cultural groups. I have recently shifted back along my own personal wheel into the time of the East, in which the accumulation of information is important. Lately, I have been researching and reading about Celtic Practices of Shamanism related to ceremony. I encourage you to dive deeply into your own lineage and practice those techniques that call to you. Some of the practices included here were shared with me at different times by various teachers, such as Kriket or Betsy, or gifted through teachings that I had an opportunity to experience, such as the Cree teaching of smudge by Elder Ricky Makokis. Some of what I have learned has been gifted to me through the practice of Shamanic Journeying. I do believe that the energy hygiene practice(s) that is/are beneficial for you in this moment/season of your life will make itself known to you. Just as much as you choose a practice to try on for size, the practice chooses you.
In the third and final part of this Energy Hygiene blog series, I will share practical tools you can use for your own energy hygiene practices.
As always, thank you for your kind attention.
Until we meet again in this time, this place, this space, happy journeying.
-Heather
