Energy Vampires

        Last night, I was with a group talking about all sorts of things and one of the topics was energy vampires. The term itself raises eyebrows but before your mind gets too lost in images of Dracula and Twilight characters, redirect please because we have all come into contact with one of these.

       Energy Vampires are those negative people that enter your life and their very presence in it can literally suck the energy from you and leave you feeling tired and drained after contact with them. For some, it is a family member and others it is simply a friend whom for whatever reason you just can't shake. These people lurk everywhere. At work, school, and other various activities. A great quote was brought up from a Jewel song that says "Do not lend yourself to that which you wish to be free from." The obvious solution to these people in your life is to cut them loose and hope the door hits them on the way out. But as we all know, life is rarely so cut and dry. So then what?

      Protect and block. If by some cruel twist of fate you are forced to deal with the soul sucking negativity of an energy vamp, it is up to you to take control of the situation in order to preserve your own sanity. One way to deflect is to simply tune them out when they start to overwhelm you with their drama. If you are like me and internalize everything however, this is somewhat more difficult. So, what to do. A mental arsenal needs to be built and odd as this may seem, people in the paranormal fields use this as well so as to not absorb negative energy. One method is to use a talismen. Carry an object around in your pocket that you can draw positive strength from. When your boss from hell starts laying into you grab hold of that small object and draw strength from it. My husband carries about a bullet casing from the 21 gun salute at his brothers funeral. Oddly enough, his death is not what is remembered when he touches it, but his brothers strength, fortitude, and the love he had for him. I have a few objects that I can draw strength from but I chose a different method usually.

     A mental talismen, or state of mind, if visualized correctly, can act as a powerful shield against negative energy. My most powerful one is the one I call the Mother Bear. The most powerful love I have ever felt is the love I have for my children and the ones I love. I would break all rules and rationality for it and when threatened, it is a force to be reckoned with. Through many trials and tribulations I have learned to when I am hurt upset by others, it inadvertantly effects the ones I love negatively. That fierce protection instinct is my shield. When the negativity starts coming my way, I have to use this shield because I know that by letting it effect me, it will inevitably impact them and I will be damned if I will allow that.

     I am by no means perfect at doing this and I still let people get to me way more than I should. But by practicing that visualization of invoking a powerful emotion as a tool, I believe I can become better. Many limits of the mind are unknown and untapped. But I believe that this is a useful skill set to have and since the mind is a muscle, it should be utilized in many capacities. In this case, it helps you to be a more positive person with a protected psyche.