Energy Activism Overview

Energy Activism is the application of the principles and practices of Incarnational Spirituality in planetary service and world work.  In particular, this is service in working to create wholeness within the subtle energy fields of the earth and in areas of crisis and trouble for humanity.  It is energy hygiene applied at a planetary level, usually in collaboration with spiritual allies within Earth’s Second Ecology of the inner realms and in particular with the Soul of the World itself.

Energy Activism - An Energy Ecology

by David Spangler

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We live in a world filled with energies of all kinds. Some are the electromagnetic forces that light our lights and heat our stoves and bring us voices over the radio and images on our televisions. But there are other energies that surround us as well, of which most of us are probably unaware but which can affect us just as powerfully. These are subtle forces generated by life, consciousness and spirit.

Where do these energies come from?

They can come from natural sources, from the land, from the sea, from the sun and stars. They come from spiritual sources and ultimately from the Sacred. They come from living beings, from microbes and bacteria, from plants like trees and grass, from animals, and from people—from the whole biomass of the earth.

Many of these subtle energies come from the activity of consciousness, the radiation of thoughts and feelings from human beings.

            These are meta-physical energies, and they are as much a part of our surroundings as the physical ones with which we are more familiar.  They flow between people and between us and our environment. They form an energy ecology that can affect our feelings, our thoughts, and our overall well-being and vitality in both positive and negative ways.

            It's an ecology we participate in by creating through our thoughts, our emotions, and our physical activity, often now in major ways as humanity's influence and technological prowess upon the earth has increased. We bear a responsibility for the health and well-being of this subtle ecology and for its impact upon the world. The exercise of this responsibility is energy activism.

Energy Connections
In the physical world, we are separated by distance. What happens to someone on the far side of the earth may seem to have little consequence or affect upon me. We believe our thoughts and feelings are private, locked within our skulls and our skins. But in the energy world, we are all connected in profound and interdependent ways. It's as if we were all standing on a great trampoline. When one person bounces, it makes the whole trampoline move and we all bounce to some degree.  Subtle energies are not limited by distance. Thus when a calamity strikes in some part of the world, our energy bodies all feel the effect of the suffering and fear no matter where we are. We may feel uneasy or restless, anxious or fearful for no reason that we can see.

            We live in turbulent, troubling times. The news is filled with one crisis after another from war and terrorism to economic turmoil to global climate change. Through our technological ability to communicate images, thoughts, and feelings quickly and dramatically, we can share our thoughts and feelings—particularly our fears, anxieties, angers, hatreds and pessimism—around the world with greater intensity, increasing the impact of the subtle energies these thoughts and feelings generate. Such energies are repeated, reinforced, and strengthened by both global media and our subtle energy connections until they accumulate in our world. If they are positive images and energies, they can be an inspiration and upliftment for us all. But if, as they usually are, they are negative in tone and quality, they become a psychic pollution weighing upon all of us. Such subtle pollution, like its physical counterpart, can obstruct the flow and expression of healthy energies and can be a source of further distress. It can poison the mental and emotional environment in which it is found and feed the energies of conflict in the world.

            In addition, there are conditions and places in the world where great evil has been done, where suffering has been perpetuated, where hatred, fear, anger and violence have been cultivated for generations between people. In these places the land itself is soaked in subtle energies of conflict and pain, continuing to influence human affairs until healing and forgiveness can take place.

Energy Activism
Energy activism is a procedure for dealing with this psychic pollution and poison. It is a way of working with your own subtle energies and spiritual resources to create a clear, clean, positive, vibrant and healthy energy environment in places of trouble and difficulty in the world. When this procedure is used to deal with psychic pollution within and around yourself, then it becomes energy hygiene. Energy hygiene is simply energy activism at a personal level.

Not a Substitute
Energy activism is not a substitute for taking action and doing good in wise and compassionate ways in the physical world. Physical activism is necessary because we live in a world where pain and suffering, hunger and disease, oppression and injustice, pollution and environmental degradation have real physical manifestations and consequences.  Energy activism is not instead of but in addition to work and effort to heal the world and ourselves.

            However, because it's invisible to most people, the earth's second ecology of the subtle energy world can go underestimated and ignored.  Yet, when negative, its effects  can hinder and diminish outer efforts at helping in the world and even create or intensify imbalance and negativity in the world. Conversely, when positive, its effects can support and enhance the good efforts of physical activists to relieve suffering and injustice.

            Energy activism is not a substitute but it is an important complement to outer activism. More importantly, in many cases when the cause of suffering and imbalance originates or is perpetuated in the energy realm, it may be the only form of activism that can effectively make a difference.

More than Cleansing or Fixing
Energy activism is much more than just a process of rescuing, fixing, or cleansing.  Energy activism is about creating, vitalizing and expressing wholeness. It's about honoring and nourishing sovereignty, identity, coherency and boundaries on the one hand, and developing and practicing connectedness, engagement, love, and a compassionate participation in life on the other. In its full expression, it's a practice of "walking whole" and living your potential as a generative source of blessing in the world. Energy activism is the expression of an incarnational spirituality. 

Three Rules
 There are three basic rules of good energy activism.
·         Don't Impose
·         Stay Connected
·         Be Inclusive

We each have our own personal energies, our own opinions and ideas about how the world should be and how people should live for their highest good. We resent it when someone else tries to impose his or her way of being, thinking, and doing upon us, particularly if it's very different from our own. When we are in trouble, we may need help, but we resist being thought of as something to be "fixed." We want and need help in a form that honors and respects our own sovereignty, that empowers us to develop our own capacities, that helps us to grow, and enables us as much as possible to find our own solutions to the problems.  We want assistance, but we want empowerment as well. 

This is true in any situation. The energy activist doesn't seek to impose his or her "way" or energies upon a situation but to create openness for the innate spirit, health, and wisdom within people to emerge and express in a manner unique to them and appropriate to the situation.

Dealing with the psychic pollution and negative subtle energies of the world is not something any person can do on his or her own, any more than one person could clear away all the rubble and rescue all the survivors in a town devastated by an earthquake. We need allies. We need to be connected to the larger spirit of wholeness in the earth. We need to be aligned and connected with the Sacred. If we don't have any physical allies to work with, we can seek out allies of a spiritual nature who themselves live and work within the realms of subtle energy. And we need to work with the souls and energies of those whom we seek to help.

Sometimes, a person drawn to energy activism sees himself or herself as a "warrior of Light" going forth to do battle with "forces of darkness." It's easy to frame a situation so that there are "friends" to help and "enemies" to combat. But energy activism is not spiritual combat. It is an act of healing, which is inclusive by its nature. There are no enemies in energy activism, only conditions to be understood, held in love and positive energies, and transformed.

There are many techniques of energy activism and many different ways in which individuals and groups can participate in this endeavor. But at its core, energy activism is a process of creating wholeness. Taking care not to impose, forming connections, staying connected, and being inclusive are all simply ways of doing so.

An Energy Activism Exercise

A Generic Exercise for Healing Negative Elements
Energy activism can take many forms depending on the situation, the people involved, the intent, and so forth. Here is a very simple and generic exercise. It is not directed towards any particular situation, but towards holding, "grounding" and integrating a sphere of blessing that can spread throughout the energy world contributing to healing the negative elements therein.

1.       Imagine the pain, the suffering, the hostility and violence, the anger and hatred, all the negative thoughts and feelings of humanity as a dark and turbulent layer surrounding the world. Don't attune to this or try to enter it in any way, but just picture it as a layer of dark storm clouds covering the earth.

2.       Now imagine a sphere of light, like a globe, surrounding the world.  It's as if a golden sphere of radiance from the sun has crossed space and is now enfolding the earth, including the dark, stormy layer of negativity.

3.       Picture this sphere of golden, healing, invigorating light seeking to blend and dissolve into the earth to bring blessings to all life, but it bounces off the layer of darkness. The storm clouds prevent it from coming through.

4.       Ground yourself by finding your own unique peace and strength.  In whatever way feels comfortable and right to you, attune to the inner light within yourself. Feel this light unfold and expand until it surrounds you as your own sphere of golden light.

5.       Extend a thread of this light downward into the earth, into the spiritual light at the heart of the world, the spirit of the earth, of Gaia. Link with this inner, peaceful, life-giving light of the earth, letting it enhance and increase the radiance of the sphere of light around you.

6.       Now extend a thread of light from the sphere around you upward through the stormy clouds to the golden sphere of light beyond them. Let your light connect to it. You and your light are now a connection between the heart of the world and this sphere of golden radiance and blessing.

7.       Around the world are thousands of people doing just what you're doing, finding ways to bring light to earth to harmonize with the world, heal the darkness and bring blessings to all in loving and compassionate ways. Picture these people on every continent, each encased in his or her own sphere of light, each drawing upon the light within the earth, each connected to the golden sphere around the earth. Imagine a clear light of connection going from your heart to each of them, forming a vast net of human jewels, each sparkling with inner light, each connected to the heart of the world, each connected to the sphere of light above us.

8.       At this point there's nothing you need to do. You simply need to hold the connection between yourself, the earth, the sphere of light, and others around the world sharing your concerns and attunements. You are like the stake anchoring a tent to the ground. Your job is to remain anchored, balanced, part of the earth, part of humanity, connected to the world around you, the people around you, and the life within yourself. Your job is to remain integrated and whole. The golden light of blessing surrounding the world knows what to do. It has the task of acting. You have the task of holding.

9.       As you gracefully and peacefully hold your connections, release this mediation (or meditation?) and go about your daily activities in ordinary ways.  As you hold your connectedness in your heart and remain integrated with the world through your daily life, this golden sphere of light can descend, past the storm clouds, breaking up and healing the seeds of negativity feeding the storm clouds. This light, connected to the earth through your life and the lives of those like you sharing this task of holding, can now draw itself to earth, bringing blessing in its wake, moving through and dispersing the clouds and becoming a healing part of the planet we all share. It knows what to do, and it will do it.

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