I want to help other people heal their pain, learn to care for themselves using natural methods and just generally be happy and healthy. That's my passion and what I hope to be my life's work. Most of the time I feel more energized after I work with someone. But sometimes, if I'm not careful, my own energy stores get depleted. This tends to happen when I'm working more with family and close friends. I'm learning that this is something that happens to healers so I'm learning how to protect my own energy.
In addition to protecting my energy, I'm also learning how to replenish it. This is something that I think everyone could benefit from. Most people lead fairly busy lives doing lots of things that can drain energy. The easiest way to replenish energy is to get plenty of good sleep and eat well. But most of us don't do as well as we should in either category. And even if we do get enough sleep and eat a healthy diet, we can still feel like our energy is low if we aren't engaging in activities that energize us. As much as I love watching television, and I'll swear to you how much it relaxes me, I know that it does nothing to replenish my energy and may in fact do the exact opposite.
Meditation is a great way to build up energy. But a lot of people - myself included - find it difficult to do. For some of us, it's hard to sit still for long periods of time. Others feel uncomfortable sitting quietly or they don't know what to do and feel bad because they think they're doing it wrong. I'm finding that there are as many styles of meditation as there are human beings who meditate. There is no one right way - there's only a right way for you at any given moment. And what works one day, might not work another day. So I recommend to people that they try meditating different ways and find a few that work for them.
This meditation can be as long or as short as you want it to be (but I think it would take at least five minutes to really go through each step). You just need to have a place to sit comfortably. It doesn't even need to be quiet in the room - you can have music on or you can be sitting in Starbucks. The only requirement is that you be able to concentrate on the meditation. Sometimes it's easier for me to concentrate on the meditation if there is music playing - it distracts my ADD brain just enough that it lets me sit still. But other people will need a totally silent room. Also, this meditation requires visualization. The better you are at visualizing things, the more effective it will be. So really try to picture these things as best you can.
Finally, not only is it ok to have a sense of humor while you're doing this, a sense of humor is required. If this isn't fun or at least pleasant, it won't do much good. If I tell you to picture a golden cord and you'd rather picture a candy cane or an oak tree, then do that. This may feel strange at first. It may feel totally "woo woo" and out there. But give it a try anyway. If you really put yourself into it and have fun with it, I guarantee you will feel more energized when you finish.
Ok, enough introduction - here's the meditation:
- Sit comfortably. If you're sitting in a chair, put your feet flat on the ground. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Keep breathing calmly (but not super deep) throughout.
- Imagine yourself in a clear bubble that extends about three feet all around you. Imagine that the bubble is attached to the center of the Earth with a golden cord. Really try to picture the cord. It is thick and solid and strong.
- Now you're going to start filling the bubble with various colors, starting with crisp, clear white. Imagine that the color comes up the cord and into the bubble. Once the bubble is filled, feel the color infusing into your body. When you feel ready, move on to the next color. The colors are in the order of the rainbow (remember ROY G BIV?). Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. You don't really need both indigo and violet, you can just pick your favorite shade of purple and go with it.
- Pick your favorite shade of each color - the more vibrant the better. It sometimes helps to picture a "thing" to represent the color for you. So for red you can picture rose petals or the very last rays of sunset on the beach or your favorite red dress. I shouldn't be admitting this but for orange I picture a tequila sunrise drink. I love that color orange!
- Take as much or as little time with each color as you feel like. When you're done with indigo/violet, finish with bright golden sunlight energy.
- Imagine a golden sun above you and fill the bubble with as much of that light as you can. Breathe it into your body for as long as you want. When you're ready, get up and get on with your day!
That's it. Easy. You should feel relaxed but energized when you're done. Remember, there is no way to do this wrong. You may need to play around with it a little to make it more effective but that's the fun part.
Let me know if you try this and how it works for you. Also let me know if you're having any kind of trouble with it - maybe I can help!
