Protection
Everything in both the physical world and Otherworld/Spiritual world is made up of energy. The energy fields of our physical bodies expand further than our actual body, which I am sure you may have become aware of if someone stands too close to you in a crowd!
Energies can be positive, negative or neutral. An example of feeling negative energy would be if you enter a room and two people in it have just had a really bad argument. Even if you weren’t present for the argument you no doubt can feel the ‘difficult atmosphere’ and that ‘something is wrong’. You may be able to pick up the energy of anger and even the energy of other people’s embarrassment. Equally one very happy person entering a room, full of joy, can cheer everyone else up with their positive energy.
The more we work with energy the more sensitive we become to it and sometimes at first it can even be quite difficult to separate other people’s energies from our own e.g. do we feel depressed or does someone else?
Equally there are energies in the Otherworld/Spiritual World. How you interpret them depends on your personal beliefs. How you deal with negative energies in the Otherworld depends on your personal beliefs, practices and experience. As with Grounding experienced Shaman and other experienced practitioners may not use a Protection Exercise before entering the Otherworld. That is because they have their own way of viewing, working or dealing with the difficult in the Otherworld through experience. If you have no or little experience it is far better to protect than leave yourself open to attack or mischief no matter where or who it comes from.
If you do feel uneasy during a Journey or Meditation and feel you may be ‘under attack’ the easiest and best thing to do is return to the physical world and ground then protect. You don’t need to be terrified that this will happen but do treat visiting the Otherworld or Spiritual World with the same respect you would treat visiting any unknown area of the physical world. Don’t go walking down any dark alleys until you know you have the experience to do so. Equally don’t welcome all and sundry and don’t invite anyone ‘in’ until you know them, any more than you would invite a complete stranger into your house and leave them with your children.
In the Otherworld intent can and does affect reality. So if you are in a bad mood that is possibly not the best time for a visit. If your intent is good and you visit with respect you have very little reason to worry.
Energies are similar in both the physical and Otherworld. On that basis I consider it a very bad idea to reflect negative energy back at anyone or anything. If you feel you are having negative energy sent to you, protect yourself, acknowledge how that makes you feel, and if you want to reflect anything back send back positive energy. For example, if someone in the physical world is rude and angry with you, acknowledge that makes you feel angry also. You don’t deserve this. Then allow yourself to consider why they are doing this. They may be having a terrible time and be at their ‘wits end’ with stress. They may have anger problems in which case they have a troubled life. In either case you can protect yourself from being a victim of their anger and reflect back positive energy into the world wishing them a happier life.
There are many methods of protection. Here a few exercises – pick on the one that is best suited to you and what you want to use it for.
Basic Protection Exercise A – useful for Journeying/Meditation
Imagine you need a new coat and you can have anything you want. It doesn’t have to be practical for the physical world at all. It doesn’t matter what anyone else would think of it.
First decide on its form – coat or cloak. You may find it useful to make it full length to the floor and include a hood.
Choose a colour. If you are new to Journeying don’t chose black* but otherwise pick any colour you are attracted to.
Design your coat/cloak.
What style is it? Full? Fitted?
What material is it made of?
How does it fasten?
Is it plain? Patterned? Decorated?
Visualise putting it on. Do it up.
When you need protection simply imagine grabbing your coat/cloak and putting it on before you Journey as you would grab your coat/jacket before you go out the front door to protect yourself against the cold.
*Why not black? Because for many people black absorbs light and this exercise is aimed at absolute beginners for who it is better to stick with a colour that has no potential to be linked with any negative connotations at all.
Basic Protection Exercise B – useful for Journeying, Meditation and the Physical World.
Visualise yourself surrounded by a big bubble or egg shape of light
The base of the light is on the ground and the light goes around you and your aura enclosing you completely protected within it.
This exercise can be used to protect more than yourself – simply expand the bubble outwards from yourself to encompass others or visualise those you want within it.
You can also experiment with a variety of surfaces. For example a mirror or mesh surface which allows in positive energy but catches negative energy and reflects it back out changed to positive energy.
Universal Love Exercise – Useful for the Physical World and very useful if you feel any discomfort in the Otherworld/Spiritual world.
Think of someone you love. This can be a parent, child, partner or husband, friend, or animal friend.
Some people at difficult times in their life may say ‘I have no-one’. If no-one comes to mind straight away think of someone who once did you a good turn, a good friend you had, a person you loved. This may make you feel sad so try to concentrate on the good times, how good the love felt then, how love continues regardless of the pain this physical world can sometimes bring us.
Feel the love as a positive force of energy flowing between you and this person.
Visualise the love as a light glowing brighter.
Feel the protective force in that love. How you feel protective of the other person. How they would protect you. What you would give for the other person. What they would give for you.
Think of another person you love. Or a person who has touched your life with love.
Expand your original field of love to include this person.
Feel how much stronger the positive force of love is. How much brighter the light burns.
Expand your field of love yet again to another person or another animal.
And another …..
Consider people or animals you could include. You do not have to know them. The helpful shop assistant? The elderly woman down the road who lives alone?
And another ….
Now expand your field of love to nature.
Think of an area of the country you particularly love ……….. a beach, a wood
Expand your field of love to include this area of Earth.
And another …
Now feel all the love and protection that surrounds you, that you are enclosed in and a part of.
Note - Sometimes you may do this and feel yourself crying. Sometimes you may feel really joyful. Congratulations – you have touched Universal Love/Spirit (or whatever your faith calls it).
Tip You may feel that will take ages. However once you have practiced it you can add really quickly and it expands really quickly - it can become almost automatic. Even if you don't get all the way through it the first time the protection still works.