How much of this is mine?

So there I was, minding my own business, not thinking about anything, walking down a shopping mall to do a completely neutral errand.

I began to feel anxious. Knot in the stomach. Constricted chest and throat. That sick-anxious feeling. I immediately thought of something to be anxious about, but even while I was doing that, another part of my mind thought, “That’s not something that usually bothers me.”

I realized that I actually felt anxious first, and then thought of reasons for anxiety.

A few days later, I mentioned this experience to one of my mentors. She said, “Ask, ‘How much of this is mine?’ and see what happens.”

I asked myself, “How much of this is mine?” Instantly, “Thirty per cent” popped into my mind.  

“What does that mean?” I asked. 

“Only thirty per cent of the anxiety was yours,” she said.

“What?”

Picking up others’ energy

My mentor explained. People who are sensitive may pick up on other people’s emotions or mental distress. They begin to feel what others are feeling. They may not realize that their feelings do not always originate from inside them.

She also said that if we are prone to a certain kind of emotion or feeling, we are more likely to pick up on that if it’s in the environment. In my case, fear and anxiety were familiar. Someone else might be especially susceptible to picking up the energy of anger or sadness or confusion if those are familiar experiences. 

My mentor said the universe is very efficient. If it sees an opportunity for clearing some kind of negative energy, it uses the means at hand.

I said, “You mean the universe is using me to clean up energetic garbage?”

She said, “This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t agreed to it. You live in the dimension of free choice. You create your own reality – all of it.” (Sometimes she was no fun at all.)

Then she said, “You can re-negotiate your agreement any time. You are an equal consenting partner. The universe always honours your choices.”

“Okay,” I said. “From this point on, I want to be really good at picking up happiness, joy and delight.”

Ask the question

Since then, I’ve learned that when I am experiencing any kind of discomfort, it is useful to ask, “How much of this is mine?”

Since I began asking, “How much of this is mine?” the answer is usually in the range of 5% to 20%. Okay, I confess. Once it was 95%. Not a pretty picture.

Even after doing this for several years, I often forget to ask. But when I do ask, if much of the energy is not mine, I ask the universe to allow me to assist in energy clearing in a way that is comfortable for me and enables me to do the things I want to do.  

Sometimes I ask to be released from the task of clearing energy at this time. The universe always honours my choices.

You can clear or release any kind of energy 

Right now, around the world, the energy of fear is rampant. Also, variations of the energy of anger / frustration / impatience / blame seem to be in plentiful supply.

Many of us who have some interest in our spiritual path are sensitive and intuitive. Sensitive people are more likely than others to be affected by the emotional and mental energy around them – and they may not know it. It feels like our own emotion. We really do experience the physical symptoms of fear or anger or sadness.

Our energy, emotions and thought processes are big factors in our quality of life. When we are feeling out of sync, it is useful to ask, “How much of this is mine?”

·      If much of the energy we are experiencing is ours, we can ask for guidance and support to move through it or release it.

·      If much of what we are feeling is not ours, we can ask to clear this energy in a comfortable way that allows us to do the things we want to do.

·      As always, when we clear any kind of negative energy, we should specify what kind of energy we would like to experience instead.

The universe always honors our choices – whether or not that’s obvious to us!

Put it into practice

The next time you are feeling anxious, sad, angry or just out of sorts, ask, “How much of this is mine?” and see if a number pops into your mind.

·      If the answer is a small number, that indicates that most of the uncomfortable energy is not yours. Ask if you can clear the energy in a manner that is comfortable for you and allows you to do the things you would like to do.

Or, you can simply ask to release all of this energy from your energy field in the easiest, quickest and most comfortable way possible and that it go somewhere that it can do good. Specify what kind of energy you would like to experience instead.

·      If the answer is a larger number, that suggests much of the uncomfortable energy is in fact coming from within you. Ask if there is some service this feeling is trying to offer you, or some message it would like you to understand.

You may find it helpful to have a coach or guide or trusted friend to help you with this process. If nobody is around, you might use journaling or a “dialogue with parts of yourself” technique to receive whatever service or message is available to you.  

( I can help guide you through that process. If you’d like to arrange a private session with me, you can book an appointment at https://calendly.com/bonnie-hutchinson/inner-wisdom)

Once you understand more about the source of the uncomfortable energy, ask that it be released to go somewhere it can do good. Specify what kind of energy you would like to experience instead (for example, the energy of joy, confidence, calm, love…).

Go Global

Imagine that you are out in space, looking back at the earth. Pick a spot where you sense there are clouds or pockets of dark or heavy energy that could be affecting the people who live there. It could be the energy of fear or confusion or anger or sadness. It doesn’t matter what name you give it. It’s just generic “heaviness” that weighs people down and clouds their thoughts and emotions.

Imagine that you have the ability to send little whirlwinds of white cleansing energy, whisking away the dark and heavy energy and sending it to someplace where it can do good. Then replace the heavy energy with whatever kind of energy is most appropriate at this time. (You don’t even need to know what kind of energy that is, in order to state your intention that the replacing energy is whatever is most appropriate for the highest good at this time.)

One more practice: energetic protection

Sometimes, even if you do not usually take on energies that are not yours, you may find yourself in a situation that is highly charged, where there is much fear or anger or sadness or confusion. If you know you’re going into a situation like that, imagine that you have “energetic protection.”

For example, you can imagine that you are in a pillar of white light, or a bubble of whatever is the perfect kind of energy for you to be safe and even flourish. You will be fully present, able to see and hear what is happening, and you will be protected from any unhelpfuI energy.

I had a friend once who, when she was heading into a situation where there was likely to be dark energy, would imagine that she was wearing a swirly wizard’s cloak. No dark energy could affect her. She actually looked forward to occasions when she’d energetically put on her wizard’s cloak.

That’s a snippet – and I’ll say more about energetic protection in future articles.

Reflection questions

When have you been affected by the energies around you?

How have you been able to handle that
so you were no longer affected?