Energetic Connections

Imagine for a moment, that you are walking through a store and you happen to bump into someone that you haven’t seen in years. The conversation begins with a few questions about the past and what each of you has done since you last spoke.  You might also discuss mutual friends or anyone that the two of you know in common.  Depending on the strength of your past relationship, this person may warrant a deeper conversation, so you agree to meet at a later date when the two of you can “catch up”.  At this point you might shake hands or hug each other and say your goodbyes.  Yet even after the goodbyes, you notice that your thoughts are still with this person, recalling more past history between the two of you.  Perhaps you notice a warm feeling of gratitude that you have rekindled your relationship or possibly a feeling of sadness that you haven’t been better about keeping up with this person before now.  What you are experiencing are thoughts and feelings associated with the bond you have developed both past and present with this person, or what I like to call, an “energetic connection.”

Our bodies are filled with energy impulses running back and forth through our nervous system.  These energy impulses direct and maintain the functions of our bodies.  Without them, we would be dead.  In fact, every living thing on this planet possesses energy, including plants. So, when two living things interact, there is an exchange of energy between them.  Just like magnets, sometimes these physical energies are drawn together and other times they repel one another.  Because of a previous connection between you and your long lost friend, the energetic exchange that occurred further reinforced your relationship and thus the bond between you was strengthened.  The more frequently an exchange occurs between two people, the more your physical energies become bound together.  That is why we are so close to members of our own families.  Those bonds have been forming since we were born and therefore, they are much stronger than the bonds between friends.  In addition, the more physical the interaction between two people, the stronger the bond becomes.  Thinking back to the exchange between you and your friend, the simple act of shaking hands or from hugging each other creates a chemical bond when the two of you touch.  The fluids, oils and skin cells from one body become mixed with those of the other body creating an energetic crossroads allowing energy to be exchanged.  If you remember from high school chemistry, energy flows better through a liquid than through the air (don’t drop the hairdryer into the bathtub).  As a result of all this science, the simple act of touch between two human beings can spark a profound exchange of energy.

This energy of life that we all possess is known in yoga as Prana, in China it is called Chi. We are filled with it from the moment of conception and surrounded by it everywhere we go.  Recall that in the Star Wars movies, George Lucas called it “The Force”.   We absorb this Prana (Chi, The Force) from the air we breathe, the food we eat and from those we interact with which is why it is essential to eat a good diet, take relaxing breaths to dispel stress and to spend time with loved ones. When we are healthy and relaxed, our bodies are capable of miraculous physical feats and very deep mental intuitions.  You have undoubtedly heard of having a gut feeling about something or someone.  That is because our bodies possess over 100 million brain cells within our digestive tract.  Yes, that’s what I said; we have in essence a second brain in our digestive tract called the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) that connects directly to our brains along the Vagus nerve. The nerve cells of the ENS line the walls of our esophagus, stomach and intestines.  Whenever we encounter someone or a something that requires a judgment on our part, the ENS provides our brain with insight and often times, emotional responses.  Intuition, ESP, and clairvoyance are all rooted in the ENS.  Again, when we interact with another person, our “guts” are sending impulses directly to our “brains” telling us what we like and dislike about this person.  In yoga this area equates to the 2^nd Chakra called Svadhistana or “the abode of the self”.  Chakras are pools of prana or energy within the body.  So, once we have developed a positive attraction to someone, each subsequent encounter further develops the relationship and over the course of time the energetic bond between the two of you remains active even though you may be a great distance apart.  I am sure you have heard stories about how someone has sensed when a relative or close friend has suffered a terrible accident or death.  That is because the energetic connection between them was so strong that the ENS was able to detect a disturbance in their shared energies as a result of the tragedy despite the fact that they may have been hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

So how is this possible and why doesn’t it happen more often?  Because, even though energy can travel very great distances, it can also be easily disturbed along its transmission, thus the message gets lost.  Whales can communicate with sound energy across thousands of miles of ocean.  Humans can see images transmitted from a satellite orbiting a planet in our solar system that is 800 million miles away.  Then why can’t our bodies sense a tragic disturbance in the energy between members of a family more frequently?  The simple answer is environment.  Whale sounds travel through water in a low frequency environment, undisturbed by other sounds.  The transmissions we receive from space travel through a low frequency environment undisturbed by other transmissions.  Yet, we live in busy cities surrounded by thousands of energy signals.  These high frequency environments are filled with radio, television, and cell phone transmissions, in addition to power lines and traffic sounds all disturbing the direct flow of energy between humans.  In our environment, we have to come within a close proximity of one another before our energies can interact.  The sheer volume of energetic noise in our high frequency city environment is also a major contributing factor to why our brains develop more stress.  They are constantly bombarded by energy signals that they have to interpret or ignore.  Why do you think we find it so relaxing to take a walk along the beach or to go on a hike across a mountain trail?  Because those are low frequency environments and our brain doesn’t have to work so hard to filter out all the extraneous energy buzzing through the air.  Also, the low frequency energy of the surrounding trees, plants and other animals has a soothing effect on our nervous system.  Taking a swim in the ocean, in a lake or even a swimming pool has a similar effect.  Water is a low frequency energy medium and because our bodies are made of about 80% water, we find great harmony in it's presence.  Personally, I find that I do some of my best thinking in the shower.  That is a result of the low frequency connection to water mixed with the splashing sounds to create a peaceful environment which allows the brain to function better!

So what does all this mean?  It means that our bodies are extremely sensitive energetic instruments.  Yet we as humans seldom find the time to really listen to what our bodies are telling to us.  When we meet someone, do we really make an effort to sense what we feel in our gut about them, or do we ignore that intuition and act based upon time constraints or other sensory input?  In my yoga classes, I am constantly instructing my students to get out of their heads and into their bodies.  Four of our five senses are located in the head.  The sensory input from our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth has a much shorter path to the brain than sensory input from the gut or from our touch receptors, therefore the brain tends to stay focused on those sources of input in a high frequency environment.  Only when we allow time for the brain to listen to the body, do we overcome the high frequency input and begin to reach deeper within ourselves for a more meaningful connection to our own energy, prana, or chi. Just like trees which are grounded in the soil (very low frequency medium) but bloom into the air so too, humans are grounded by touching the soil, the water and each other so that we might “bloom” as well.  The sensation of touch is something unique and fulfilling on both an energetic and an emotional level.  When two people share energy through touch, they become linked intuitively to one another.  Sometimes those energies are combined making each one stronger.  Other times those energies cancel out healing a discord in both by opening a blocked pathway or meridian.  Either way, touch is a vital human need and one that is so neglected and misunderstood in our over stimulated society.

The next time you run into someone you haven’t seen in years, search deep into your gut and make time for energetic connections to prosper in your life.  A simple hug is so much more than a gesture, it is a bond shared between two people.  Seek out the low frequency environment in your life whether it is a walk along the beach, a hike in the mountains, or holding hands with a loved one.  Cultivate the prana within your body and mind.  Eat food as though it were feeding your soul, breathe air into your lungs as though you were walking beside a rolling stream through a forest meadow, and most importantly, extend your hand in touch to another human being as though you have the power to heal. 

May the Force be with you!

Matthew Corrigan, CMT, RYT

Prana Healthworks 2011