Negative Energy understandably gets its share of bad press. But how exactly does it operate & enter your lives? Here are some insights to help prevent just that.

Negative energy needs no introduction. Psychic or not, spiritual or not- each of us has surely experienced more than our fair share of it. From being dragged down into doubt and despair, feeling sapped and drained, to being limited by the anxiety invoked by it, negative energy is that one adversary we all encounter in our everyday lives. No surprise then that there are not just countless tales of its effects, but whole industries created to help us avoid it. From techniques to talismans, philosophies to rituals- our worlds are almost built around shutting out this one foe. And why not, for who else is guaranteed to upset the party, mess up our perfect life stories than negative energy itself?!

Well, heads up people! Here’s something you should know- by itself, there is no such thing as negative energy!

There, I said it! And yes, you read that right. Energy just is. How it is dispensed with relation to us may make the experience a positive or negative experience, but really, no negative energy is looking to jump you, catch you off guard, or haunt you like an inescapable plague. Those vivid pictures are more the human imagination at play than really you being chased down by a sinister force.

Confused? We can relate; for really, from the very heart of corporate affairs to the everyday ramblings of your in-laws, negative energy is a hot buzz word. How can it not exist at all? And if it doesn’t exist, why do we have negative experiences at all? More importantly, how can we then tackle them? Well, let’s take a look.

1.Everything is a form of energy All that is manifest- from you and me to the world around us, the emotions and thoughts we create and express, the inventions we make and the art we produce- all of it is a form of energy. Whether in material form or not, as a form of energy it holds a certain vibration, a certain frequency. Just like light translates into a spectrum of colours — each with its own frequency & vibration, energy translates into form, emotions and thoughts- each with its own signature vibration. Whether it is the words you speak, or an experience with another person, the house you inhabit or the beliefs you hold- your entire life is composed of forms of energy at different vibrations.

2. Judge the Experience, Not the Energy When these people. places, things, situations, thoughts or feelings have an uplifting experience on us — i.e. they uphold, protect, heal, nurture, help us, etc- we label that experience and the form of energy that comes with it as positive. “She is such a positive person” or “he has such a positive attitude to his work” for instance.

When they have a negative impact on us- i.e. they hurt or upset, obstruct, exhaust us, etc.- we term it a negative experience. Think of that time when someone’s constant complaining gave you a headache and made you feel sapped, or that time when one person’s thinking caused a rift in a group dynamic.

Love and joy are termed positive energies, whereas anxiety, jealousy and arrogance are commonly seen as negative energies. But these are the labels which we associate with them, overlay onto them, and are therefore subjective. For instance, there are times when a single person, situation or thought could cause positive excitement in one person and absolute fear and dread in another!

Therefore, energy by itself is not positive or negative, good or bad. It just is. What could be labelled as positive or negative, good or bad is our experience of it.

3. How Negativity Impacts You Each of us, being an amalgamation of form, feelings, thoughts and situations is a composition of different frequencies. Consequently, each of us has our own unique vibration- much like a unique face or smell. Imagine a lot of different instruments playing together. These instruments could harmonize to create a perfect tune, or just make a lot of noise. When we are balanced we are in tune, and vibrate at this particular frequency- positive experiences uplift this frequency, while negative ones disrupt it by creating imbalance.

Fear, for instance, has a vibration that causes our body to tense up when we experience it. A person in fear, therefore, is in a state of imbalance- where their body is vibrating off-key. As a result, the overall composition is misaligned and if other thoughts and feelings are unable to balance it out, fear becomes the dominant vibration. The person begins to vibrate him/herself a lot like fear does, further impacting their body. It is why fear is unhealthy; it is why negativity is unhealthy.

4. The Epidemic of Negativity Just like you might lose your balance when a disruptive thought or emotion dominates your heart and mind, similarly, you may lose your natural balance and frequency when you are exposed to the negative experiences introduced by another person, place, situation or thing. This experience could be the jealousy or hatred of another person, an unhealthy thought or belief system, an ill-wish or ‘curse’, or just an experience that does not feel right or ‘resonate’ with you.

If you identify with or align with these experiences and allow them to take centre stage, then much like thinking up a negative thought yourself, you incorporate the frequency of this negative experience into your own vibration. Consequently, it may dominate your mental and emotional landscape and the negativity of another person becomes your own.

Alternatively, you may resist these external negative experiences, but in trying to protect yourself think up some negative thoughts of your own- feeling hatred for someone who hurts you, or being resentful of a jealous colleague at work for instance. As a result, your vibration may not incorporate the negativity of another person, but you may well have created your own in response. And so it spreads.

5. How to Beat Negativity or “Negative Energies” Negativity isn’t a virus that you catch with a sneeze or a word, or simply a person or beast that needs to be locked out of your life. Very often the talismans and rituals we use to drive negativity aren’t very effective, for instead of focusing on reinforcing our own vibration through them. our efforts are often driven by our fear of ‘negative energy’.

Negativity is a state of being- your own being. You feel the impacts of it when it incorporates into your own vibration, into your self. The key, therefore, lies in keeping these vibrations at bay- not incorporating them into your vibrations. Energy itself cannot be locked out, and sometimes you cannot eliminate the source of negativity. But what you can do is control how you respond to it. Do not let that negative thought or emotion dominate your life, your heart or your mind.

Make sure you don’t hand over charge by

A. Holding your own and not buying into or aligning with the negative experience,

B. Reminding yourself of something more positive and uplifting, and focus your attention on that instead, and

C. Refusing to allow yourself to shift into a negative mindset — not even when you are trying to protect yourself against negativity.