Throughout the lifelong journey of spiritual self-care, understanding the significance of protecting your energy from societal expectations and energy vampires is absolutely paramount.
Your own energetic harmony and preservation should always be your top priority. You may find the culprit varies from different individuals, social circles, situations, or even your own negative and limiting beliefs. Engaging in energetic hygiene practices such as grounding, meditating, clearing, fortifying, and protecting is essential to maintain a balanced and healthy spiritual state – which can lead to living a beautifully harmonious life. Even just as the characters in Don Miguel Ruiz’s insightful book “The Four Agreements” navigate their quest for personal freedom, we too must safeguard our vitality from that which knowingly or unknowingly drains our life force.
Grounding is an essential step in energetic hygiene and is always recommended as the first step in order to establish a firm connection with the Earth and ourself; rooting us in the safe foundations of presence, enabling us to release any excess energy, and regaining our center and our present focus within the body. Besides working with and wearing grounding crystals such as Tourmaline Garnet or Hematite, my favorite grounding tools are…
- Earthing: Barefoot Walking. Sitting or lying down on the ground or grass.
- Submerging in Nature: Walking, or sitting, relax in fresh air and sunshine surrounded by plants, trees or water. Gardening and connecting with animals.
- Grounding Visualization: Imagine roots or a cord extending from the base of your spine into Earth, all the way through to her core.
- Grounding Yoga Poses: Mountain Pose (Tadasana) or Revolved Lunge Pose (Parivrtta Anjaneyasana).
- Deep Breathing: If there’s no nature around you and you need immediate grounding, splash cold water on your face for a couple minutes if you can, and breathe deeply through your belly. 4 second inhale and hold, 4 second exhale and hold. Do this at least 4 or 5 times then check in with your body to release your tension.
Meditation is a natural next step for my energetic hygiene routine; utilizing the aforementioned grounding practices to hold us in the right space that allows us to delve into our inner sanctuary. I like to sit here for sometimes just a minute, other times 10 or 15, or even follow a longer guided meditation. It depends on where my attention guides me. What is coming up for me to take stock of? What clutter, fear, or limiting belief is ready to be cleansed from my mind, spirit and energy today? This space is where we get to notice and observe. Refrain from attaching to these thoughts or feelings. We are just noticing, but specifically from a place of compassion and non-judgement.
Now that we are grounded, present and centered in the safety of our psychic space (our imagination space), in meditation, clearing our aura and body is next; releasing energetic debris, negative influences, old habits, old expectations, conditionings, limiting beliefs, and so much more. This not only rejuvenates your essence and lightens the weight on your shoulders and chakras, but also allows space for new harmoniously aligned energy to flow in with ease. Some powerful clearing tools that I use are:
- Smudging herbs and incense: Palo santo, cedar, rosemary, frankincense.
- Crystals: Selenite or Kyanite
- Water: Spraying cleansing Florida Water or even walking in the rain. You could ask the water in your shower to clear and cleanse your aura, or take a cleansing spiritual bath with salt, flowers and white candles.
- Sound Clearing/Healing: Bowls, bells, and rattles clear spaces with sound. I love listening to 528 Hz frequency music and finding conscious music artists that I resonate with and alchemizing my energy through music!
Some of my favorite clearing tools are not actually tangible; like
- Having a good cry
- Venting in a journal and burning the page in a fire safe dish
- Or the most simple yet challenging one, actively practicing forgiveness towards yourself and others.
Here is a powerful exercise you can use with the grounding cord tool from above:
- Grounding Cord Visualization Clearing: Imagine roots or a cord extending from the base of your spine into Earth, again, all the way through to her core. Now say out loud, or in your head, “I release any and all energies that do not originate from me or that no longer serve me.” Let them go down the cord back to Mother Earth and give her gratitude for assisting you. Maybe leave her offerings like fresh water, fruit, or flowers.
Fortifying light into ourselves and our energetic boundaries strengthens our resilience against energy vampires, empowering us to maintain our authenticity and sovereignty. Remember that wherever you clear something from your space it must be filled back in with light. Otherwise what was cleared will have an easier chance of being drawn back to where it was removed, like a vacuum. However when something is cleared and leaves that empty vacuum, it can be healed and sealed by calling in the light and fortifying Source energy.
- Visualize a protective shield of golden healing light pouring in & golden roses surrounding you
- Call upon your spiritual guides, guardians, and ancestors to assist in fortifying this light through you.
- Focus on gratitude and harmony as you feel this light fill up you and your space. Let this connect you deeper to your inner strength and wisdom.
- Remain compassionate and surround yourself with positive and aligned people.
Once you feel fully fortified with golden healing light and every space in your body and energy field that was cleared and cleansed has been filled back up with love and source energy, it’s time to add the final touches. Energy Protection practices do just that; they protect and prevent other foreign energies and thoughts from nudging their way back into your energy space. Some simple forms of energy protection would be:
- Wearing protective crystals: Onyx, Obsidian, Shungite, Tourmaline, etc.
- Wearing black clothes and Veiling: Cover the crown of your head in a scarf or hat, especially black/brown.
- Visualize a golden bubble of protection around you.
- Recite protective affirmations or mantras: “I am the sovereign owner of my body and my space” “Nothing can hide from me in my space” “I am safe at all times” “I am divinely guided and protected at all times”.
- Continue setting and HONORING your energetic and spiritual boundaries.
Written by: Mac Hudson