Energy. Everything is made of it.

We are energetic beings, and this world we live in is alive, vibrating, with a pulse of energy that we can trace back to the beginning of all beginnings.

Energy, or Prana, can be found in each breath, each connection we make; in the churning of the mind, in the ocean’s waves. Energy connects us.

Our interactions have energy, and leave an energetic residue or connection long after they interaction has completed. One way to look at these interactions is as energetic cords. Barbara Brennan has gone into this in detail in her work, but in essence the idea is that all of our experiences create energetic connection.

Some cords dissolve on their own when they no longer serve us, but some stay connected to us in unhealthy ways, draining our mental and emotional energy.

If we are in a space where we are ready to welcome the new into our lives, I often recommend that this is where we should begin, with the examination and release of the old cords that no longer benefit us. I liken this to collecting all parts of ourselves back in: we’re gathering jewels of who we are back into the seat of the heart.

A wonderful way to discover your energetic cords is in meditation. Once you get into a quiet space, try to visualize all of the energetic cords coming from your body, and where they might lead. What do they look like? Are they tangled around you? Can you find any that really seem to be pulling all your energy away?

If so, these are the places to investigate further. If you find that you cannot release a cord that seems to be draining you, perhaps there is other work to be done there before it is ready to be released. You can create a ceremony to release old cords: sage yourself, sit in meditation and visualize what is draining you. Honor the old connection. Ask it what it has to show you, teach you? Bless the work it has done for you on this path you walk, but then offer it up to be released.

I like to keep the idea in the back of my mind that all my interactions create these connections, and that it is my choice what I give my energy to. How can you choose to use your energy differently?