After completing and submitting my book manuscript, I reorganized my entire office, which bled out into the hallway, stairwell and temple space. Art on the walls had to be rearranged. Colors had to be altered. Coziness had to be amped up. Ceremony had to be performed. The flow of energy had to be rerouted.
Ever wonder why, when you go through a massive transition or intense shift, you almost always make some kind of change in your outer world?
You rearrange furniture, release relationships, plant a garden, sort and reorganize, paint the house, hold a garage sale, or in some way shift what is in your environment. There’s a reason for this.
We are dynamic beings, constantly being acted upon by multiple internal and external forces. At any given time our energy field is responding to our thoughts, emotions, other people, circumstances, the degree of wellness or illness we are experiencing, our environment, marketing messages, the weather and much more. Empaths, in particular, are highly affected by these influences.
The effects on our energy field are not restricted to events or people in our immediate vicinity either. Factors that affect our energetic state are not limited by space and time. Whether talking to someone on the phone halfway around the world or recalling a loved one who has passed, space and time are an illusion. Even patterns from past lives transit the space-time barrier and affect us in the present moment.
All of these elements contribute to the unique energetic signature that is your energy field.
Now take this ever-changing energetic state and consider how your external world reflects (or doesn’t reflect) your “inner” state. If everything is energy, then the principles of harmony/disharmony or resonance/dissonance are constantly at play.
Though our personal frequency is being acted upon by many forces at any given time, our vibration is monumentally affected by events that:
- Cause us to release mental patterns or thought processes, behaviors, pain, trauma, old beliefs, grudges or unforgiveness
- Create healing, restoration, retrieval of soul aspects, new understandings, and forgiveness
- Show us a fresh perspective on past events, current life circumstances, decisions we’re trying to make, or the nature of our relationships
- Bring our values and priorities into crystal clear focus
- Help us drop below the level of ego, show us our connection to all living beings, and let us peek behind the veil to see the greater workings of the Universe
When these types of transformation are triggered for us – whether through a 2-day weekend intensive, protracted death of a loved one, a job change, divorce, or spiritual awakening for example – our vibration is permanently affected. Our body-mind-spirit system seeks harmony and resonance as a natural state. So when intense metamorphosis occurs, almost certainly something in our outer world will no longer be in alignment with our new pulse.
Think of it like putting on a colored pair of glasses. Everything in your world is cast in a different hue as you look through this altered vision. As you take in everything newly, you find that some things you love more while others you can clearly no longer tolerate. When our vibration rapidly shifts, what was harmonious and supportive yesterday can be grating and discordant today.
One of the primary ways our body-mind-spirit system restores harmony is through adjustments in our outer world.
I can’t tell you how many times I have come home from a weekend intensive, completed a multi-month initiatory process, traveled to a sacred site or conducted a personal retreat, walked through the front door and exclaimed, “Oh this just won’t do!” I have rearranged rooms, painted, cleared out belongings and reworked my mesa on countless occasions. It almost feels like a compulsion in my body. Whether I had time in my schedule to devote to restructuring my outer world or not, I made time.
I have learned over the years to not resist these impulses. I now think of them as a form of self-care. It is difficult to create, think, focus or be efficient when my system is keyed into the discordant energies in my space. I find my work, my mental and creative processes, and my energies flow much easier when I manage the dissonance. Otherwise, life feels like pushing a boulder up a hill while a thousand fingers are plucking my nervous system.
Energy is dynamic and meant to be in flow. As human energy beings, we are dynamic and meant to be in flow. Change is our friend if we can learn to relate to it as an ally who has our best interest at heart instead of resisting and demonizing it (taking my own medicine here!). The less we resist the natural harmonic stasis that is always being sought by our body-mind-spirit system, the more we can be in the present moment, act with ease and grace, accept with curiosity the events that occur, and flow in love with the experiences of our life.
Author’s Note: Originally published on The Heart of the Healer website, September 2018. This version includes a couple of minor edits.
Rev. Stephanie, I enjoyed reading your beautifully written and insightful article. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’ll be thinking about the knowledge you imparted for a while. It makes sense, and I often find myself clearing out from time to time. After I do, I feel a shift in balance, and I am better able to manage whatever comes my way.
I look forward to reading more of your work.
Thanks so much for your comments Laura. Our inner and outer worlds are reflections of one another for sure. Sometimes we can adjust the outer to induce energy to move if we are stuck on the inner planes; sometimes when we shift on the inner plane, our outer world “must” adjust in some way to follow suit. It is a fascinating topic!
Rev Stephanie, thank you for a inspiring post… I enjoyed reading it and loved your last paragraph.
“Energy is dynamic and meant to be in flow. …… Change is our friend if we can learn to relate to it as an ally who has our best interest at heart instead of resisting and demonizing it.”
Very few of us realize that the secret of high energy is factually a personal choice. We can have more energy when we use our will power in the right way. When we are willing, when we want to do something, we have all the energy in the world for it.
I also feel that to experience the full impact of our energy, we need to have genuine Compassion – firstly towards ourselves and then to others. We must understand that any form of judgment blocks life’s force energy and locks in patterns and beliefs which limit our evolution. We should learn to treat yourselves with gentle care and the love we cultivate for our self will naturally flow out to others.
Thank you and Stay Blessed.
Thank you Jonathan. There are so many things that block the full application of our life force energy, aren’t there? As soon as we identify and transform one, another pops up. It’s like Whack-a-Mole! I agree that loving ourselves and being gentle with ourselves is a big key. I remember the first time I heard the term “be gentle with yourself.” I thought…Wow, yes, that’s awesome! And my next thought was…How the heck do you do that? It has been a journey for sure and one that I am still practicing!
You are blessed….. stay blessed.
When somebody told me that I should love myself ..that was an eye-opener
Very wise words…than’ you..I am learning so much already
First, you had me at the amazing name “Rev. Stephanie Red Feather.” And this is a thoughtful, insight-provoking piece. For example, “Energy is dynamic and meant to be in flow. As human energy beings, we are dynamic and meant to be in flow.” These are powerful truths toward the 21st century lives we want and deserve to live! I call this aspect of self-care “following the energy.” What does our energy want to move toward, to experience, to open, or to close, on any given day, in any given season? Exploring our internal and external environments in this context is a sacred opportunity, part of the process of walking the life path that’s uniquely ours to walk. Thanks so much for sharing, Rev. Stephanie. I look forward to reading more from you.
Thank you so much Teresa. I agree with you about “following the energy.” It is a totally different way to live one’s life (and certainly goes against mainstream Western ideals), but it provides space for so much magic and joy.
Beautiful and respected piece
“Change is our friend if we can learn to relate to it as an ally who has our best interest at heart instead of resisting and demonizing it ”
Change as an ally…a better mindset indeed!
Thank you so much Stephanie!?
Thank you Paula. I have practiced shamanism for many years and it has really provided me with many insights and perspectives. Believe me, it took a lot of resisting and fighting (and getting nowhere) to learn to surrender to change gracefully 🙂 It was not so pretty in the earlier years!
Yes. It’s always there and it’s like you just don’t fit in and can’t understand why…so many years…I’m really just relieved to know what it is in the past couple of years,
…I will learn much from you. Thank you from my heart❤️?