Chapter 2.6 Energy Theft

Energy Theft

“…there is only one sin, only one.  And that is theft.  Every other sin is a variation of theft.”

“When you kill a man you steal a life,” Baba said.  “You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father.  When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.  When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness,  Do you see?”

Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini

Have you ever known someone that you would define as draining?  A boss, a work associate, a friend, an annoying salesperson, a child, a parent, or some other relative?  This person doesn’t have to necessarily be someone with problems.  He or she could be someone who has a tendency to talk incessantly … you know, when you have to fight to get a word in edgewise … the masters of one-way conversation.

What about people who are constant complainers. You don’t have to side with them to get dragged down.  These people are the easily- identified energy thieves.

The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield, is a fictional account of the discovery of a lost ancient manuscript in Peru, which contains nine insights of life.  These insights help us to become more aware of how our lives unfold before us, and to understand our place and purpose in this lifetime.

Redfield uses a story to express his personal views of spiritual awakening.  His Fourth Insight discusses how people tend to steal energy from others to build their personal stature, their position.  Although I was aware that to interact with certain people required a lot of my energy, I had never really thought of them as actually stealing my energy.

Earlier, Redfield describes how we each have an energy field around us, an aura, which can be seen with some practice of the earlier Insights.  The aura may be very small when we feel weak, while it becomes larger on good days.  He provides a good visual of auras and energy theft theory during a heated argument between two scientists:

“Immediately, both of their energy fields had seemed to grow more dense and excited somehow, as though from an inner vibration.  As the conversation progressed, their fields began to intermingle.  When one of them made a point, his field would create a movement which seemed to suck at the other’s field with what appeared to be a kind of vacuum maneuver.  But then as the other person made his rebuttal the energy would move back in his direction.  In terms of the dynamics of energy fields, winning the point seemed to mean capturing part of the opponent’s field and pulling it into oneself.”
The Celestine Prophecy James Redfield

Now, isn’t that interesting?  Whether you buy into this novel process or not, it certainly is a great visual to describe why you feel drained after some conversations.  And when it is happening to you in the future, maybe you can throw up a shield (call it emotional detachment), to block the theft.  Try to find a way to defuse the opponent’s energy hunt, to deflate it like the big hot air balloon that it is.

“When we stand up to those who steal light from the world, it strengthens our egos.  Move one step closer to becoming creators.  Deprive evil ones of their energy.  Be stronger, be a warrior.  Be a warrior for what is right.”

Summer with the Leprechauns Tanis Helliwell, Spiritual Writer

Energy theft isn’t always a conscious action.  Most people are not aware that it is what they are doing at all.  The control of energy could be from behaviors, such as authority, competition, even need.  It can be administered through emotions, such as anger, fear, and greed.

“When we control another human being we receive their energy.  We fill up at the other’s expense and the filling up is what motivates us … an unconscious competition that underlies all human conflict in the world.”
The Celestine Prophecy James Redfield

Many times the theft attempt is a need to build a person’s ego, to feed their importance, to recharge their self-esteem by winning, by being smarter  (at least in their minds).  Any kind of competition … sports, sales, Scrabble^TM … is an attempt to grab the energy trophy.  At the end of any competition, the winners bask in the sunlight on the Plateau of Positive +, while the losers feel down and spent, with no reward.  How long one holds on to a defeat, however, defines how much negative outflow takes place. Get over this downer time quick and move on to something new that will replenish your energy.

“After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)  American Statesman/Inventor

The sneaky way to steal energy from someone is to be the victim of others’ actions, of world-induced bad luck, planet misalignment … the poor-me, the one in need.   Being the emotional support for someone, a sponge for his/her problems, can drain you dry.  It’s important to be there for people, but most of us can only do it up to a point.

We can help to skim off a little of the victim’s negative-ness (keep your shield ready), then try to restock their energy low with a couple of small positive viewpoints.  If they grab hold of that positive flow, you can give them more and more to build on.  But if they want to wallow in negativity, their goal is to suck you into their pit.  Nay, you say!  Friends don’t steal from other friends … especially their Energy.

Authority can be a way of stealing energy too, but not always.  Bad authority uses Fear to lead … fear of failure, loss of bonus, loss of position, loss of job, loss of identity.  An employee under bad authority is like a seed trying to push its way to sunlight, only to have a rock, sometimes a very heavy rock, blocking its way.  Find a way around the rock, to bask in the sunlight as a separate entity.

“No man goes before his time…unless the boss leaves early.”
Groucho Marx (1890-1977)   American Comedian

Good authority is when the true leaders emerge.  They use positive energy to start their train in motion.  The more people that hop on, the more positive fuel the train picks up.  Some people get off … perhaps the train is not going to where they want to go.  That’s okay. The positive train still has a leader that determines the route and the speed. Every car is an energy car filled with people pushing in the same direction, doing their part to help the group reach their destination.

Energy theft occurs through the use of negative emotions.  To fuel negativity requires stealing energy from other beings.  Positive emotions such as love, generosity, and kindness have the opposite effect.  These emotional interactions actually give others energy, without reducing the giver’s energy tank.  In fact when done properly, positive emotions will actually fuel the giver also!

So how does this work?  My impression, through the review of various books and their authors’ descriptions, the accessing of positive energy occurs through the connection with the Divine, the Great Creator, the Universal Force, God, Mother Nature, Infinity, The Almighty, the Great Big Positive Force.

“I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.”
Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)   American Architect

Now you have to understand, I have not been attracted to traditional religion nor have I practiced it regularly.  My youth experience with going to church was usually at Easter, once a year.  Yet, I have always felt that there is a force that pushes universal good.  I can’t really define it, but I knew that it is there.

I know that when I treat people wrong, that it’s a bad thing.  I know that when I help people out, it’s a good thing.  I have learned that negativity solves little or nothing, and that positivity generates a good environment.  (By the way, a side note here, positivity was not even a word in my computer’s spell-checker.  Negativity was … is there a conspiracy  by the Darkside to abduct Positivity from the language?!)

“Save them, we must.  They are our last hope.”
Yoda, Star Wars movies by George Lucas

Through my readings, I have learned an important concept.  This positive energy … call it love, intention, support, karma, creativity … this energy has no limits!!  An infinite abundance exists that is revved and waiting for use.  Thinking back, I cannot say that I have ever felt overwhelmed with too much positive energy (well, maybe my first trip to Disneyland.) People do not have to fight over positive energy.  You can have as much as you like.  We can tap it, without guilt, without burning up our allocation.  There is no set amount just for you.  It is an ocean, a sea of goodness, a infinite source.

So, why is it so difficult to more often be positive? Wanting to be more positive is elementary, a first-grade beginning. Saying that I’m going to be more positive is like fighting a bear with a knife. I need better tools to distance myself from negative thoughts and negative emotions.  Negativity has many looks, many attack points, many sneak maneuvers. The more positive energy that I can tap, the better chance I have to stay on my Plateau of Positive +.

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