Perceiving your Luminous Energy Field
As we discussed in the previous blog post, there is an energy field that surrounds each and everything. The medicine men and women of the Andes call it the “poq’po” which means bubble in Quechua, while we at Pampamesayok Shaman School call it the Luminous Energy Field, or L.E.F.. All things: humans, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, etc. have their own L.E.F. As everything is part of the Kausay Pacha, everything is a part of the living energy, and has its own unique and individualized signature.
While your L.E.F. expands and dissolves into the boundless energy of the Universe, it is made of several layers, and there is a skin around the energetic expression that is uniquely YOU. When you feel insecure or overwhelmed, or when you simply feel like guarding your private space, the skin of the L.E.F. is thicker, more like a barrier, and closer to your physical body. When you are feeling safe, happy, and nurtured - with a loved one, or in a beautiful place in nature - the skin of the L.E.F. is thinner, more dissolved and connected to the energy around you, and extends farther out.
Note that energy follows intention. This means that, even if you aren’t perceiving the energy that you are working with, the act of intending to work with it pulls the energy in the direction of your intention. It is like a kind of sincere imagining, where you aren’t just casually imagining something, but you are sincerely putting the force of your intention and belief behind it. With this sincere intention, belief, and openness to new experiences, you may discover amazing new abilities.
In order to learn to perceive your poq’po, or energy field, I recommend you go to a quiet, peaceful place where you can relax and concentrate. Often a place in nature can be very supportive, if the weather permits. If you have a meditation practice, this works beautifully to quiet the talkative mind and tune into your senses. If not, practice several deep abdominal breaths. As you inhale, intend to bring in a wave of peace and tranquility into your being and as you exhale, intend for all your thoughts, worries and tension to be released with the outbreath.
Once you are feeling quiet, calm, and tuned into the present moment, you are ready to begin. As the skin of the L.E.F. is powerfully connected to the navel chakra - like the umbilical chord was connected to the wall of the mother’s womb - we will begin there. Put the palm of your dominant hand on your navel chakra, or as they say in the Andes, your q’osqo ñawi. This is usually about a thumb’s width below the actual belly button. Imagine you are dropping your consciousness down from your head into your navel area. Feel an energy there - maybe a warmth, maybe a tingling in your hand. Congratulations! You are learning to perceive energy!
Once you have tapped into the energy of your q’osqo ñawi, your navel chakra, let’s play with it a bit. The energy centers of your body form the shape of a cone, with the open end extending out beyond your physical skin, into your L.E.F. Like your L.E.F., these cones can open and expand, or close and contract. With your intention, let the movement of your hand compress the cone of the ñawi down into your belly. Tune into how that feels - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Now with the same hand, gently pull the cone back open. Remember, energy follows intention, so you can trust the process. There is no failure, only curiosity. Tune into how that feels different - physically, emotionally, spiritually. Play with contracting and expanding the cone of energy at your navel for a while until you are more and more able to perceive its energy.
Now that you have explored the feel of your navel chakra, you are ready to explore the skin of your L.E.F. There is no right or wrong here - just allow your intuition to guide you. You can guide your navel chakra to expand with your intention, and feel that cone of energy with your dominant hand. Or you can reach the hand out slowly from your body outward. However you choose to explore, I invite you to see if you are able to feel something with the palm of your dominant hand. So you will be turning your hand outward as you guide it slowly away from your physical body. The palms of your hands have energy centers, too! This is why this is an excellent place for perception. Extend your palm slowly out until you feel some sort of energy barrier. Push beyond it and note the difference you feel between the inside of your personal L.E.F. and the outside of your personal sense of boundary.
Keep playing with this exploration in different ways, with a sense of gentle curiosity. Be patient with yourself. You may want to try it every day for a week or so before you actually learn to perceive it. Trust it will come - you may be feeling it already but not allowing yourself to believe it! After all, we, like the animals, were born with this ability. We only lost it when we allowed our minds to complicate our lives.
Once you have worked with your own L.E.F. for a while, you can practice with another person or pet. With your eyes closed, slowly reach out the palm of your dominant hand toward your companion, and see if you can feel when you have entered their personal bubble of energy. They will most likely feel you are, and your pets certainly will! Feeling someone entering into your personal space can be exciting, like when a lover comes up to kiss you, or intrusive, like when a drunkard puts his face right up to yours. If you’re practicing with a buddy, you can take turns extending your hand into the other person’s space, and feeling your companion extending his or her hand into YOUR space.
This basic energy perception practice is the precursor to practicing healing energy medicine. As you develop and refine this ability, you will begin to be able to perceive where the energy flows, or glows, and where it is blocked, or shadowed. Some perceive visually, but others only feel energy. Know that developing the ability to feel it is just as powerful, if not more, than seeing it. And once you can perceive the flow of energy, you will be able to work with it using the healing practices we teach in our school in powerful ways.