Energy is everything. It is the driver of the cosmos, the engine of creation, the building block of matter as we know it, and the determining factor in deciding which quantum reality we find ourselves in at any given moment. It is the do-er that makes magick work, the stepladder of awareness, and the essence of the consciousness inherent in all things. Anything involving action at a distance, "vibrations," or alternative healing modalities is based in the ability to sense and direct energy. Every shaman who interacts with Helping Spirits, every witch at her spellbook, every seer who rides the vectors of potential in order to divine the future are all involved in the perception, harnessing, transmutation, and direction of energy. Every ritual we perform, whether under a full moon in a circle of standing stones or beneath a golden crucifix at All Saints Church, is a means to raise, focus, and direct the unseen energies of the universe. While there are a myriad of methods and disciplines to accomplish this task, we must constantly be aware that the manipulation of energy is the holy grail of spiritual practice. It is the thing we seek and the unspoken goal in all we do.

So why can't we just wave our hands and turn that plastic bottle of flat distilled water into a golden goblet full of sparkling wine? Well, technically, we can. The trick, aside from understanding the alchemy involved in such a transmutation, is in having enough energy at our disposal to make it happen.

There are two components to manifesting personal energy on such a grand scale. The first lies in gathering or gleaning enough energy and controlling it well enough to create the desired reality. All formal spiritual or occult disciplines demonstrate that the universe is an energetic creation that can be "programmed" using personal intent and the appropriate application of energy. The second, and the one with greater personal implication, involves the maintenance of our own energy bodies. This maintenance employs means for keeping us energetically clean and free from energy leakages and blockages. This second component is called Energy Hygiene, and is the first thing we must master if we desire to influence the world around us or realize glowing health.

Physics teaches us that energy is neither created nor destroyed. It is merely freed, gathered, altered, and/or directed. In a closed system, energy is dynamic. This means that it is in motion in its natural state. This is true for our personal energy as well. If our physical bodies become still, i.e. no heartbeat, no circulation, we physically expire. The same is true with the energy body. No dynamic energy body in motion, no life.

Energy in our energy bodies can be looked at just as we perceive blood in our physical bodies. As long as it keeps moving, it keeps us healthy. It replenishes every cell in our being. If it stops moving into certain areas, those areas become weak and can even die. If we are cut or shot, blood drains away. If we can't staunch that flow, we lose consciousness, become sick and can die as our bodily systems shut down. Similarly, if there are rips and tears in our energy boundary, our energy can drain away causing fatigue, illness, and even death. If our skin is broken, foreign elements can enter the bloodstream causing infection. Without a strong energy boundary, unhealthy energy and negative intrusions can affect our outlook, health, and vitality.

Whereas problems with our blood arise from physical concerns, problems with our personal energy arise from energetic and emotional sources. Energy blockages, leakages, and maintenance of our energy boundary are three of the areas we need to direct our attention if we want to conserve and enhance our personal energy.

Energy blockages are obstructions in the energy body that block the free flow of personal life force energy. Should the natural flow of energy become walled off, dammed or tied up in knots, we will find ourselves experiencing energy flow blockages. Blockages can arise from a variety of causes, but the two most common are trauma and behavioral/psychological programming. If an individual has suffered abuse, an accident, or any other physical trauma, energy flow can be impinged or obstructed in the area where the trauma occurred or at the level of the chakra related to the nature of the trauma. This is why it is so common for victims of sexual abuse to experience difficulty with their hips and reproductive organs even though there is no persistent physical problem exigent to the abuse itself. These folks suffer a host of second chakra issues and may even get stuck at the level of second chakra development, unable to bring their energy and consciousness up to the chakras of higher vibration. Similarly, if we have a behavior or a patterned response (a program) that causes us to be close-minded, reactive, or engaged in habitual behavior, we can end up with an energy blockage in that case as well. Any habit represents a block that attracts and traps the free flow of energy as it courses through our bodies. Substance abuse, patterned behavior such as compulsiveness and consistent negative reactions to non-threatening stimuli indicate blockages in the energy flow. If you ever refer to the fact that someone you know can really "push your buttons," that's a clue that the "button" those people like to push is a blockage that exists within your energy field. Also, if you find yourself indifferent, insensitive, or dissociative to significant stimuli, it is likely you have a blockage of some kind. A clue to this is if you ever use the phrase "don't go there" in reference to personal issues or topics, a blockage is likely present. People commonly experience grief related blockages, saying they "haven't been able to cry" or "can't get over the loss."

The causes of energy blockages are many and can be complex, but the solution is simple and the same no matter the cause—get the energy moving.

The following is an exercise from Energy For Life to address the amelioration and release of energy blockages.

Rainbow Waterfall Exercise
Close your eyes, take in a deep breath, and relax. Allow your imagination to take you on a tropical vacation. See, feel, sense, and experience yourself standing or sitting in a warm, calm, shallow pool of crystal clear water in a beautiful tropical paradise. Exquisite gardens surround you. To your left, and right, steep mountainsides climb toward the sky, covered in thick, lush, green vegetation. The air carries a hint of moisture, and the faint perfumed fragrance of orchids lingers around you.

From the top of the mountain a warm gentle waterfall, sparkling with droplets of rainbow prisms, cascades down onto, around and into your body. The soft colorful waterfall penetrates into your energy field and body, washing away any energy blockages or congestion as it flows down through you, and into the pool. With each inhalation, tangibly feel, and fully sense the energy of the rainbow waterfall flow in through the top of your head, and glide down through your face, back of your head, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, upper back, torso, stomach, lower back, legs, knees, ankles, and move out through the bottom of your feet into the pristine pool. The unwanted energy that caused the blockages and congestion washes out of your body and energy field into the clear pool, and flows away down a small trickling stream. Breathe deeply, relax, and feel the warm soothing energy of the waterfall cleanse and heal you. Take in another deep breath, and feel, sense and experience the energizing colors.

On your next inhalation tangibly feel, and fully sense the energy of the rainbow waterfall flowing in through the top of your head, gliding down through the inside of your body, sliding over the outside of your body and flowing down through your energy field, into the pristine pool. Breathe deeply, relax, and feel the warm soothing energy cleanse and energize you. Continue standing or sitting in the energy flow of the rainbow waterfall for as long as you have time. When you are finished, take a deep breath and open your eyes, feeling cleansed and energy-filled. Stay open and connected for as long as you can and remain aware of the different sensations you are having.

Eliminating loss of energy from energy leakages is another important way to increase the energy at your disposal. One of the main sources of energy loss is a weak and leaky energetic boundary. An energetic boundary is a semi-permeable boundary around your body formed by the layers and chakras of your energy field that looks like a luminous egg. Loss of energy, fatigue, confusion, and illness are top on the list of physical and mental maladies when our energy field is leaking. Stress, tension and constant demands and busy-ness wear away at your energy boundary. Strong connections to anyone, particularly family and friends can also be the cause of energy leakage. This happens because we are more open with these people and let them slip inside our boundaries.Everyone has felt drained at one time or another due to interaction with another person. That feeling is a strong indication that energy leakage is occurring in regards to that individual, especially if the "drained" feeling persists for more than a few hours. Any behavior that makes us dwell on another person usually results in leakage, or is indicative of it. Possessiveness, jealousy, and attachment leech away enormous amounts of energy. Another common source of energy leakage is worry. Worry drains away so much energy that in some cases it has been known to completely disable the person who engages in it. If you find yourself constantly thinking about a particular person, finding them popping into your mind at inappropriate or annoying times, this could indicate a link to this person that is draining energy away from you.One way to minimize leakage is to cut the energetic cords that link us to other people. This cord cutting does not sever the relationship, it just puts it back on a healthy footing. Generally these cords exist because we have established strong emotional ties to these people, but can occasionally arise because these individuals have tapped into our energy and are draining it away on purpose. The only way to stop these energy "vampires" from stealing our energy is to cut them off. The following exercise from Energy For Life will aid you in cutting energetic cords that are causing energy to be drawn or leaked from your energy body by another person.

Energy Cord Cutting and Healing Exercise
Relax, and take in a deep breath. Close your eyes and visualize an empty screen. Place yourself on the left and the other person on the right separated by the symbol of infinity (looks like a sideways 8). Allow this picture to fully form in your mind. Begin to see or feel any energetic cords that stretch between the two of you across the symbol. Take as much time as you need to really experience the cords. When you are ready, imagine a pair of golden scissors and cut these energetic cords. Feel and see that they are cut solidly. You may be guided to do additional steps such as cauterize the cords or lower a solid wall between the two of you. See, sense and feel the completeness of the cord cutting and tell yourself that "it is done." This exercise does not end your relationship with the other person, but brings it into balance by cutting the codependent, dependent and karmic ties. This allows both of you to be independent and your relationship free and healthy. Allow yourself a few moments to be aware of anything that you are experiencing. When you are ready, use all of your senses to see, sense and feel your own nurturing personal energies gathering around the chakra areas associated with the places where you cut the cords. Feel the power of your own energy lovingly wrap around these areas and sink deep into your chakras and body. Relax and allow the energy to heal you. Take your time and really feel the healing as it happens. The deeper you take the healing the more permanent and healthy your cord cutting experience will be, so relax and allow the healing to deepen within you for as long as you have time.

The third way to increase the energy you have for personal use is to establish and maintain strong, clean boundaries for your energy body. Once you have achieved a healthy flow of energy by eliminating blockages and stopped the draining of your energy by repairing leakages, the key is to monitor and fortify your energy boundary. One way to do this is to visualize the combined rainbow energy from each of your chakras making the exterior of your luminous egg impenetrable to intrusions and negative influences. Equally important is to keep any of this negative energy from attaching itself to the outside of your energy body or luminous egg.

Everyone at one time or another has been in a room or a building that had "bad vibes." Negative energy left over from the inhabitants of the place or even uncleared energy from long ago can feel creepy, heavy, depressing, irritating, or "evil." Often at these times, the feeling persists long after you have left the place. This feeling is an indicator that you may have an entity or a piece of energetic flotsam or jetsam Velcro-ed to the outside of your energetic boundary. Left attached, this energetic hitchhiker could drain your energy, and depending on its strength and nature, could work its way inside your luminous egg setting the stage for fatigue, illness, and all kinds of problems. This is why it is always advisable, whether you notice an energy drain or any of the above symptoms, to brush yourself off energetically whenever you visit an unfamiliar person, place, or source of negative energy. In this way, the exterior of your energy boundary remains free of negative influences, attachments, and any other psychic debris common in our world.

The following exercise from Energy For Life shows you how to brush off and maintain your energy body's outer layer.

Energy Sweeping Exercise
Take in a deep breath and relax for a moment. When you are ready begin making sweeping motions with your hands over the surface of your body, brushing away any unwanted or accumulated energetic debris from your auric field. You can touch your body as you brush or brush just above your body. Brush up and down and all around you. Brush over your hair and skin and clothes. Don't forget the top of your head and the bottom of your feet. If you are feeling stress and tension in your upper body take extra time around your shoulders, neck and head. Try this now for as long as you have time and experiment with how it feels. If you are aware and able to feel your energy, it might feel tingly or like a gentle combing. You may also get a sensation similar to when you get an energetic chill down your spine, goose bumps or when your hair raises. These are ways that you already sense energy. Sometimes this feels familiar and nurturing, like a cat bathing itself. It may also feel foreign or heavy if there is a lot of energy to move or this is a new experience for you. Even though this appears to be an external energy moving exercise, energy will also move deep within your body.

These simple exercises are particularly useful in keeping personal energy intact and healthy. Our attention and our energy are constantly being forced into the world and away from us. To counteract this, we need to consciously direct our awareness back into our internal world to check the state of our energy and facilitate its movement and containment. By taking a few moments each day to monitor and maintain our personal energy, we can keep ourselves healthy, vital, and energetically robust. It is important to remember that our personal will, also called our intent, is the "musculature" of the energy body. As you perform these energy exercises, pointedly set your intent, being as specific as possible as to what you are doing, why you are doing it, and your expected outcome. The proper use of intent will make it so.For more information on how to maintain a healthy energy body as well as how to draw in additional energy from the universe and many, many more useful energy exercises, pick up a copy of Energy For Life. It contains everything you need to know about energy, techniques for connecting with life force, Spirit and source energies, and how to conserve and collect enough personal energy to accomplish your goals. As a bonus, it comes with an audio CD filled with guided visualizations, exercises, and meditations that will help you claim abundant Energy For Life!