The concept of vital energy is fundamental in understanding energetic anatomy. This energy, called qi in traditional Chinese medicine, prana in yogic tradition, or mana in Polynesian cultures, is considered as the life force that animates all living beings. It circulates in the body through a complex network of energy channels, the meridians, nourishing and maintaining the balance of every cell, organ, and function.
Vital energy is closely linked to the concept of energy fields. Each living being is surrounded by a subtle electromagnetic field, the aura, which is the reflection of its physical, emotional and spiritual health status. This field is constantly interacting with the environment and other living beings, exchanging information and energy. Disruptions in the energy field, caused by trauma, negative emotions, or an unbalanced lifestyle, can lead to blockages in the flow of vital energy and, in the long run, health problems.
The shamans of the Amazon tell us that we all possess a Luminous Energy Field (LEF) that surrounds our physical body and informs our body in the same way that the fields of a magnet organize iron filings on a piece of glass. According to the shamans, the LEF contains an archive of all of our personal and ancestral memories, of all early-life trauma and even of painful wounds from former lifetimes. These records or imprints are stored in full color and intensity of emotion. These imprints are like dormant computer programs that when activated compel us toward behaviors, relationships, accidents, and illnesses that mirror the initial wounding. In other words, our personal history repeats itself. Imprints in the LEF predispose us to follow certain pathways in life. They orchestrate the incidents, experiences, and people we attract to ourselves. Imprints propel us to re-create painful traumas and heartbreaking encounters yet ultimately guide us toward situations wherein we can heal our soul wounds. The LEF contains a template like a blueprint of how we live, how we age, how we heal and how we might die. When we erase the imprints of these stories, patterns and beliefs, we can stop repeating them in our own lives.[1]
Mary (not her real name) reported that she helps people out of a sense of obligation and to be liked and to avoid conflict. This caused Mary to overextend herself and to feel exhausted, angry and resentful. She wanted to be able to help people because she could and wanted to, not to be liked and to avoid conflict. I can hypothesize that Mary is carrying an imprint, a belief in her Luminous Energy Field that she has to help people in order to be liked and not upset them. We agreed to do energy healing around this belief. Here is a condensed version of that healing session.
I tracked which chakras were affected by this pattern and invited Mary to breathe into whatever resistances and blockages were in the way of her releasing the belief that she was obligated to help people in order to be liked and to avoid upsetting them. I invited Mary to breathe into these resistances and exhale, releasing them. I then invited Mary to locate in her body where she was carrying these resistances and blockages. She noted she felt them behind her solar plexus and in her jaw. I invited Mary to breathe into these areas of her body and release these energies while I continued to backwash and assist the chakras to clear. I then invited Mary to breathe into the source of the resistances and blockages that were keeping her trapped, so to speak, in this belief. As she breathed in and out I held the release points and backwashed the chakra. Now that Mary had released any resistance and blockages to releasing this belief I had her breathe into the belief, letting her know that she can now let go of this belief. I continued to backwash and assist the energy centers to release the energy of this belief. I then checked the chakras and found them to be spinning clockwise indicating we had cleared the energies around this belief. I then illuminated all the chakras.
Mary reported that she felt very relaxed. She stated that she felt the energies of the old stories releasing from her body. She reported that her jaw was loose and relaxed and the tension in her neck was gone. She also reported feeling the release from the need to help others out of obligation. She said that she felt “free.” I invited her to hold that feeling of feeling free to be her and to respond to a request to help from that place of freedom, free to say yes from a place of can and desire and also to say no from a place of truth and honesty according to her new map. I invited her to allow an image to come to her that captured this feeling and new map. This is called remapping the energy body. She saw herself in a garden of flowers. I suggested that she find a picture of a garden or field of flowers and cut out a picture of herself and place it in the picture and hang that picture someplace where meaningful to her. I encouraged Mary to recall that feeling of being free and to create a new narrative around helping. Such activities can assist a person in strengthening their new energy map. Some say that it takes up to 72 hours to create a new neuropathway for a new energy map. During that time, it is important to focus on the new map, recall the feelings, step into the new map with intention and surround yourself with the thoughts, beliefs, and images of this new narrative. Once we change our energy, our life changes because we show up with a different map, a different blueprint. In follow-up contacts with Mary, she continued to report increased freedom in choosing to help from an authentic desire to help and not from feeling obligated or to be liked.
By developing sensitivity to vital energy and energy fields, we can learn to perceive the subtle imbalances that may escape a purely physical or psychological approach. This holistic understanding of the human being, both in its visible and invisible dimensions, is at the heart of the shamanic approach to healing.
Below is a guided journey to assist in releasing patterns, stories and limiting beliefs. For this journey you will need a candle and a toothpick or a skewer.
[1] Villoldo, Alberto. Shaman, Healer, Sage, 46
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