Transforming energy drains

It is beautiful to watch those who can unravel formerly unconscious energetic patterns and return to their natural states of calm energy and inner peace.

by Kimberly Kingsley — 

Just about everyone has at least one thing that robs them of inner peace and drains their energy. Often it is more than one thing, but our attention tends to focus on the habit or relationship that is most challenging.

As an energy coach and psychotherapist, I have witnessed numerous transformations. It is beautiful to watch those who can unravel formerly unconscious energetic patterns and return to their natural states of calm energy and inner peace.

Patterns that need transforming are usually easy to identify. They tend to happen over and over, draining you every time. They come in the form of thoughts, behaviors, habits and interactions with others. By definition, they undermine the natural flow of life, leaving inner turmoil, guilt and frustration in their wake.

We are designed to receive, contain and express life energy — as a vessel. When draining patterns twist, block or distort the natural flow of life, feelings of discomfort prevail.

Receiving and containing energy

It is important to take time each day to connect to your spiritual core and allow the energy to bubble up and permeate the cracks and crevices of your mind and body. Each time you connect to your spiritual core, you infuse your body with pure life energy and add a building block to a foundation or identity grounded in spirit. This foundation will give you the courage and strength to withstand the changes that occur daily in your life.

The next step involves containing spiritual energy, which can be as intense as it is invigorating. The ability to contain enough life energy to feel fulfilled requires that your vessel have integrity and is solid and strong, without leaks and drains.

Life-depleting patterns compromise our ability to contain spiritual energy. We often undermine the integrity of our vessel with habitual irrational thoughts, by over-consuming and by engaging in destructive patterns when relating to others. Transforming your part in these patterns restores your energy system to health, so that you can passionately express your essence.

Expressing energy

Once you develop the daily habit of connecting to your spiritual core, and build the integrity and resilience to sufficiently contain that energy, you come to the point of expressing your essence into the world. Life is pro-creation: in favor of extending itself. We all survive and thrive because of this basic principle.

Extending your essence into the world means that you tune in to what sets you aflame, makes your heart sing, gives you genuine passion and allows you to express that gift as only you can. As you extend your essence, you nourish yourself first and then pour light into the world, nourishing it as well. Just as the flowing water from a stream feeds and greens the land on either side, our bodies are fed as we express ourselves.

Transforming energy drains

Awareness is the first step toward change. You may need to reflect upon your life to see where you are losing energy, although chances are you already know. Once you have identified your biggest energy drain (it is important to focus on only one at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed), you can begin the alchemic process of transforming it so that you can fully receive, contain and express life energy.

Step One: Notice the way you participate in the energy drain dynamic — Perhaps you have a habitual thought that always puts you in a tailspin, resulting in stress and exhaustion. An example of this would be, “Life is too hard — I do not have any time for myself.” Notice how the thought is solely responsible for the stress it creates. Once aware, you are empowered to replace the thought with a life-enhancing one. For example, “Every breath I take calms and energizes me.”

Perhaps your pattern is that of overeating or overspending, failing to exercise or falling into binge drinking when your energy is low. All of these have an immediate payoff or we would not do them. Find out what the payoff is for you. Perhaps the self-defeating behavior pulls instant energy into your body, only to later deflate you even further. Or perhaps when you need grounding, you look to food rather than a walk in nature. Whatever the payoff is, find it so that you can meet your need in a healthy way.

Step Two: Tolerate the tension — True transformation cannot occur without the alchemic property of fire. This hot energy feels like tension in the body and causes us to crave certain behaviors or substances to alleviate the discomfort. Not giving into the cravings, but simply sitting in the tension is transformative. There is no way around transformation — one must go through the fire to rid themselves of the energy drains.

Step Three: Enjoy your newfound inner freedom — Whenever we burn through even a small piece of a draining pattern, life energy is able to flow more freely through the body. This is the true meaning of free spirit — not doing whatever we want when we want to — but refining ourselves to the point that spirit can flow through us abundantly and freely.

Kimberly Kingsley is an energy coach and author of The Energy Cure: How to Recharge Your Life 30 Seconds at a Time. www.kimberlykingsley.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 29, Number 1, Feb/Mar 2010.