THE ENERGY BODY
From most people's perspective, this is strictly a physical world, but it is so much more. All of existence is energetic in nature, including us. Just as we have a physical body, we also have an energetic one. It is a feedback system that receives and transmits energy through interacting with its surrounding environment. The health of our energy field is directly impacted by everything around it, both internal and external.
A healthy energy body flows in a cyclic manner, constantly providing us with life force energy. But when our energy system becomes polluted, the flow becomes disrupted, and our vitality decreases, eventually resulting in mental, emotional and physical imbalances that can impact every area of our lives.
While many things positively influence our energy field, this article will focus on some (not all) of the negative ones and how to mitigate them. Please do your best not to become overwhelmed with this information. Even if, as you go through the list, you realize that each one applies to you, that is completely okay. They certainly did for me, and there are some that I continue to struggle with. The point is not perfection; it is finding a balanced lifestyle that brings you freedom and peace through healing.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Substances
Consciousness-altering substances such as drugs and alcohol weaken the energy field drastically, particularly if we are prone to overindulgence. Even substances that don’t technically alter our consciousness, but we feel guilt or shame around our consumption of them, can impact the energy body. For anyone wishing to improve the health of their field, it is important to be conscious of what and how much of any substance they are ingesting and why. Abstinence may be preferable or necessary for some people.
EMFs
The electromagnetic frequencies emitted by our current electronic technology are not in harmony with the frequencies of our energetic fields and can cause disturbances. This is impossible to avoid in our modern world, but we can reduce exposure and mitigate the effects (research "reduce EMF exposure"). There are also easily accessible ways to restore balance to your energy field, such as time in nature, grounding practices, proximity to flowing water, plants, salt lamps, and certain crystals.
Media
Every creation in this world is imbued with the energy and intention of its creator, and we absorb the energy of everything we consume, including all media sources. Demoralizing news programs, movies full of violence or fear, and persuasive advertisements all have an impact. However, in current times, it is social media that is especially influential due to its highly addictive nature and the massive amounts of content we are exposed to. If we ignore the negative neurological effects and only consider the energetic ones, the impact is still huge. Social media exposes us to vast amounts of unchecked energy from unknown sources at an accelerated rate, meaning we are energetically bombarded every time we scroll on our phones. The type of content we choose to view impacts us enormously. It is unrealistic to say we should avoid media altogether. However, it is important to understand the potential effects and be mindful of what we consume.
Pornography
Porn is a form of media, but due to the prevalence of it in our society and the massively degenerative effect it has, it deserves its own category. Recent studies on the neurological effects of porn are shocking and extremely concerning. Its impact on our brain and energy is immense, resulting in a cascade of detrimental consequences that touch all areas of life.
I have personally struggled with porn addiction in the past. However, if someone had told me I was addicted to porn or that it was negatively impacting my life, I would have scoffed. I didn't think it was an issue or had any damaging effects. Then, I did some research, and what I found honestly scared me. Society currently frames porn consumption as normal and healthy, but the science is clear: it is not. What I learned made me realize that my porn use provided absolutely no benefits to my life while having hugely negative effects on my physical, mental, emotional and energetic health.
There is so much to learn on this topic, and it is imperative we educate ourselves. Check the Resources page to get started. And if you are someone who reads this and thinks, "This isn't for me; my porn use isn't a problem," I challenge you to watch the videos with an open mind and heart and then decide.
Other people’s fields
Every physical interaction we participate in is an energy exchange, including hugs, handshakes, and even just being in close proximity to someone. But it is sex that creates the most powerful exchange, and it continues long after the actual act. Energetic attachments are formed through sexual intimacy, resulting in continued energy exchange for extended periods. And because our sexual (aka creative) energy is our vital life force, how we choose to use it is incredibly important. This is not to say we need to be pious with our sexual energy or avoid exploring our sexuality, just that it is important to be mindful of who we are sharing it with, how, and why.
Energy exchange is not limited to physical interactions. Whenever you think about a person, you are connecting to them energetically. Energy travels through time and space, directed by your focus, whether you're aware of the process or not. And you do not need to know the individual for this to happen; it can be a stranger on the internet, and an energetic exchange will still occur when you consume their content (this is one of the reasons why social media and pornography have such a drastic effect on us). Being aware of who and what we connect to is paramount.
Any interaction we have with any other person's energy body (in person and from a distance, sexual and nonsexual) affects us. How it affects us depends on the health of the energy fields involved. Have you ever connected with someone and felt uplifted, motivated and positive after the encounter? Alternatively, have you ever connected with someone and felt drained, defeated and exhausted? Energetic health is the explanation for this.
It is also important to be aware of the type of energy we are sending to others through our thoughts. What you think and feel for someone is the energy you send them (this also applies to ourselves). Even if you love someone and have good intentions but spend time worrying about them, you are imposing a lack-based frequency onto their energy field. Worry is not righteous or beneficial; it depletes both the sender and receiver. Focusing on pessimistic, negative or hateful thinking is a form of energetic attack (often called evil eye), and yes, we can send it to ourselves through self-deprecating thoughts. What we think has real power and consequence, so choose uplifting, loving and supportive thoughts for yourself, your loved ones, and the world.
The Collective Field
The sum of all the energy on Earth forms a collective field to which we all connect and contribute. It is an energetic ocean of consciousness that surrounds us all, interacting with and influencing everyone's personal field to some extent. What you connect to within the collective field and the impact it has on you, as well as your contribution to it, is determined by the health of your personal field.
INTERNAL INFLUENCES
Wiring
We all take physical form with different energy signatures, so we are all uniquely wired. Personal energy fields can be naturally open, closed, magnetic, reflective, etc. The possibilities are varied, but how you are wired is not a mistake. Specific roles require a specific energy signature. The key is to learn about your personal field and how to maintain it in your unique way. Human Design is a modality that can bring much insight into the type of energy field you possess and how to live in alignment with it. Check the Resources page for free info on Human Design.
Past Wounding and Trauma
We all have trauma, and we are all wounded. When this goes unprocessed, it remains in our energy field, wreaking havoc. This unhealed pain is the source of everything hurtful and hateful in our world today. And while our trauma is not our fault, it is our responsibility to heal. We must do the inner work to transmute our pain, thereby ensuring that we do not walk wounded through this life, passing our unprocessed suffering on to other people.
Physical Health
We know our physical health impacts all areas of our lives, but we are not taught that our physical health is a reflection of our energetic health. Physical imbalance originates from an energetic source. If we take care of our energy body, we will naturally improve our physical health, and vice versa.
Thoughts
I've already touched on this subject, but let's look deeper at the actual process of energy transfer through thoughts. Every thought every person has ever had exists energetically, floating around in the collective energy field (unless it has been transmuted out; another topic for another day). We think our thoughts are our own, but they are usually not original creations; they are energetic thought forms we are pulling in from the collective consciousness. When you do this, you are inviting the energy of that thought into your personal field. The more you think it, the more established it becomes and the more strength it has on both a personal and collective level. Many of us lack understanding of this process and fall into the misconception that every thought we have is our own, is true, and that we have no authority over the mind.
Picture yourself floating around in the ocean that is the collective field. You are enveloped within your own personal bubble (energy field). You come into contact with another bubble, a thought form, and within it is the thought frequency of "I am ugly." When this connection occurs, the energetic frequency transfers to your field, and you think, "I am ugly," to yourself. You are now at a choice point. Choice 1: allow the energy to take residence in your field by claiming it as your own. You agree with it, accept it as truth, and start repeating it to yourself. You feed it with your focus, and that energetic frequency becomes integrated into your field. Choice 2: when you think, "I am ugly," you have awareness, recognize that you do not need to claim this thought, and choose to cease thinking it, ejecting the energy out of your mind and personal field. We are much less susceptible to influence if we are aware of how energy transfer occurs.
Our minds are like computers that can be programmed, both from our own repetitive thoughts and by external influences. Our energetic health determines whether our mental programming is set to a negative or a positive setting. Unfortunately, this setting can be very difficult for some people to change, but improving the health of our energy body is one way to do so. With energetic maintenance, we can remove the negative programming, implement uplifting thinking, and connect to higher vibrational thought forms within the collective field.
Emotions
Emotions are also transferable energy. Many people, especially empaths or sensitives, readily take on emotional energy from others and the collective field. Consequently, they experience emotions that don’t actually belong to them but are often completely unaware of this. Just like thoughts, the emotions you experience are not always your own.
Just as we pull energy from the collective field, we also give to it. Thinking and feeling are acts of creation. Every thought we think and emotion we feel becomes an energetic form, existing within the collective field, just as real as the physical world, only invisible to most. When we educate ourselves on how energy transfer works, we empower ourselves to be much more discerning about what we choose to connect to and create in our day-to-day lives.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
If we could see energy exchange happening with our physical eyes, we would all be living very different lifestyles. We think it isn't real because we can't see it happening, but it is happening, and it has a very considerable and lasting effect. Think of your energy body as a house. You wouldn't leave your front door open, allowing anyone to come and go unchecked. Nor would you reside in your home for a lifetime and never maintain it. You and you alone are responsible for your home, and you and you alone are responsible for your energy body.
Although it seems daunting, energy exchange is not something to be avoided (impossible) or feared. We simply need to be mindful of what and with whom we choose to exchange energy. And while it is intimidating to consider that we can be so easily impacted, the truth is that we each hold the power to resolve this. It is our choice what we are consuming. And while we sometimes don't have a choice in what we are being exposed to, we always have a choice in what we allow to remain. We have full control over the health of our energy field; we just need to learn to maintain it properly.
It can be helpful to hold the perspective that all of these "negative" influences in our world today actually serve a very high purpose: to teach us personal responsibility, awareness, discernment, and how capable of change we are. We are much more powerful than we have been taught to believe. Please do not fall for the lie that one person cannot make a difference. Having personal accountability and taking responsibility for your energetic integrity is the biggest and most impactful change you can make for yourself and the world.
MAINTENANCE
Just as we implement personal hygiene to care for our physical bodies, our energetic bodies also require care. Without proper maintenance, our energy fields become polluted, causing energetic stagnancy, thoughts/emotions/actions that don’t align with our true self, and poor mental, emotional and physical health. However, proper maintenance of the energy body clears out this pollution and allows us to begin living from an authentic space free from negative influence. Here’s how:
Step 1: Conduct Energetic Hygiene
Think of energetic hygiene as cleaning house. It removes old energies from your field that are not serving your highest good. How often you need to do this will depend on the state of your field. If you are struggling, it may be beneficial to do it daily for some time, then decrease the frequency as it feels aligned to do so.
Immersion in salt water, smoke cleansing, certain sound frequencies, and nature can all help purify the energy field. In my personal experience, these methods work best for clearing energy we pick up daily, but meditation and visualization work better for denser, more challenging energies (info on Resources page). Always remember that what resonates and works for each person will vary. Experiment and find a practice that you find enjoyable and effective.
Step 2: Reinforce your Energy Field
Reinforcing your energy field through protection is also important. Some people in the spiritual community suggest that this (as well as energetic hygiene) is a practice that should be avoided because if you believe there is something to be protected from, then you will manifest more things you need to protect yourself from. While this may be appropriate for people who can already maintain a very high energetic frequency, the reality is that most of us cannot. Either way, we are all human and, therefore, susceptible to low periods. Energetic hygiene and protection can be especially helpful in these challenging times, particularly for highly sensitive people. As your field gradually strengthens through proper maintenance, it will become impenetrable to denser energies. The type of energetic maintenance that feels right for you and the frequency with which you need to do it will shift and change over time.
Step 3: Reduce Negative Influences
Healing does not come from energetic hygiene alone. You must make changes in your daily life to reduce negative influences. It is similar to a health regime: you can exercise all you want, but the results will be minimal if you continue to overeat and consume junk food. Typically, our vices (the things we give our power away to and use to numb and distract ourselves) have the most negative influence on us.
Do you scroll endlessly on social media? Do you drink too much? Are you addicted to porn? Are you eating food that makes you feel bad about yourself? Are you numbing yourself with drugs or alcohol? Are you being responsible with your thoughts, actions, and energy? Who and what do you choose to connect to? Are you spending your time with people you respect and admire, or are you exchanging your energy with people who bring negativity and lowness into your life? Are you treating others respectfully and thoughtfully, or are you self-centered and exploitative in your interactions? Do you allow space for your emotions and process your pain, or are you repressing everything you deem uncomfortable and inconvenient? Are you living within the integrity of your value system, or are you partaking in activities that lower your self-respect and worth? Are you prioritizing joy regularly, or are you often downtrodden and exhausted? Are you embodying a belief system that is loving and supportive, or are you self-deprecating and critical?
Reflecting on these types of questions will give you insight into what your most prominent negative influences may be. The intention here is to invite honest self-reflection, not to trigger guilt and shame. However, if you notice that these emotions do arise in you, it is a clear sign that you are not currently living in alignment with your values. That is okay. Awareness is the first step to change. Please do your best to avoid berating yourself for past thoughts, choices or actions. Lasting change comes from a place of self-love, not self-loathing.
Step 4: Process/Release
Energetic hygiene does not magically heal us; it simply brings malignant energy to the surface to be released. When suppressed energy arises, we may feel the emotions and think the thoughts associated with that energy. This can be very triggering, and our immediate response may be to repress it out of fear, which is exactly why we suppressed it in the first place. We are taught (especially men) that emotion and vulnerability are weak, so many of us push our feelings down and never let the emotional energy out. So, it remains in the energetic field, causing density and blocks.
The inconvenient truth is that to release an emotion, we must feel it. Feeling it IS releasing it. Ignoring or reburying what surfaces during/after energetic hygiene will negate the work that has been done. Ultimately, it is your choice whether to release what surfaces or not. If you choose to, you release it permanently from your field and your life; resist, and it will remain. Cry, talk, scream, sing, run, dance, smash things (safely), journal; do whatever you need to to let the emotion OUT.
Alternatively, sometimes, we can do the opposite of repressing our emotions and instead become overly attached to them. This can cause us to form a victim mentality, where we neither suppress nor release our emotions but instead cling to them. You'll know you are caught in the victimhood trap when the dominant emotions you consistently feel for extended periods are resentment, bitterness, powerlessness, blame or self-pity. We can become very comfortable with this mentality because it allows us to avoid taking responsibility for healing, and our sad stories can sometimes become a part of our identity. But when we release victimhood, we free ourselves from our past, our pain, and our oppressors. It can be challenging to find the sweet spot between repression and clinging. We must remember to observe the thought but not believe it, feel the feeling but not become it, and acknowledge the trauma but not relive it. It gets easier over time.
Another possible block to emotional release is getting caught up in mental gymnastics. Instead of just feeling the feeling, we intellectualize or rationalize it, turning it into mental energy. This does not release the energy; it just shifts its location. In the process of energetic transmutation, mental understanding is usually not necessary. If it is an emotion caused by a currently present trigger, it may be beneficial to sit in reflection and consider why we are feeling that way, but when it comes to old, repressed energy, mental understanding is usually futile. Sometimes, the wounding we carry isn't even our own (collective, generational, ancestral trauma), or perhaps it lives in the subconscious part of our mind, so we will never be able to understand it consciously, and attempting to only results in the energy remaining stuck. We must allow our emotional and energetic bodies the space they require to let go without the mind taking over.
In some instances, stagnant/repressed energy can surface without conducting any energetic hygiene at all. This is common in individuals undergoing a spiritual awakening/dark night/ego death experience. An awakening will catalyze an internal energy shift that naturally begins the purging process. Implementing energetic hygiene will be very helpful for anyone moving through this experience.
If you are struggling with persistent problems, addictions, deep trauma, and/or subconscious issues, another modality that can be especially helpful is hypnotherapy. Information on this, as well as energetic maintenance, is provided on the Resources page.
Step 5: Flow and Forgive
As with our physical bodies, when we have not been taking proper care and decide to undergo a cleanse, there may be a period where things feel a bit worse before they feel better. You may experience intense emotions, thoughts, and physical symptoms or illness when you begin this process. These are signs that previously stagnant energy is leaving your field; let it. Also, go slowly. Healing needs to occur in layers. If all our repressed stuff surfaced at once, we wouldn’t be able to handle it. The body and soul know how to heal. The energy that is ready to be released will surface naturally. Do not rush or force the process. Doing so may cause a healing crisis, which can be extremely challenging. It is important to flow with the process rather than try to control it.
As we begin to heal, we become more aware of when we acted from a lower level of consciousness and mistreated ourselves and others. We may feel regret, shame, guilt, bitterness, resentment, rage, or other uncomfortable emotions. This is normal and a part of the process (simply more emotional energy to release). Do your best to avoid judging past actions and experiences. Practice forgiveness, first towards yourself, then towards others, to help you release dense emotions and energetic attachments. Guilt and shame are the two lowest vibrational energies on the Emotional Frequency Chart, and it will not serve you to linger here. Be gentle and loving with yourself. You are healing and evolving, and it will take time.
Disclaimer: I will always advocate for energetic healing, but sometimes that alone
isn’t enough. All aspects of your being require loving attention. If you feel you need physical, mental or emotional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact a specialized professional.
THE RESULTS
Over time, a well-maintained field grows stronger, more resilient, and less impacted by influences. When we maintain our energetic field properly, the things that kept us numbed, distracted, imbalanced, and out of alignment dissipate. You’ll notice that the people, places, mindsets, activities and actions you were once drawn to will no longer fulfill you. While this can feel scary, it is a good sign. Shift is happening, and space is being created, which you can fill with new energy more aligned with you. You will naturally begin to receive the intuitive guidance and inspiration you need to create the change in your life that you are seeking. Remember, it isn’t about being pious or perfect. It is about finding balance and learning to live in a way that supports the best version of you; this is ultimate empowerment and freedom. And not only will you improve your own life, but you will positively affect everyone you come into contact with and uplift the collective field as well. If you want to create change in your life and the world, this is the most effective and efficient way to do it (in my opinion:).
Written by: Lacey
Up Next: Awareness and Discernment (coming soon).
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Disclaimer: The information presented here is based on my personal experience, perception, ideas, and current level of consciousness and should, therefore, be considered theory, not fact. Always use discernment when ingesting content, including this content. If you are struggling, please do not hesitate to get help.
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This content was originally posted in May 2021 as a three-part series. It was edited and reposted on February 20, 2025.