Soundtrack: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek “Memories Live”

Everyone has heard of the word “aura”. Most people could give a fairly good explanation of what the word means. However, most people in modern society have never experienced just how real the aura is and we therefore have little clue on how to use it. It’s the equivalent of being born with two perfectly good arms but only using one for your whole life and having no idea of how easier you can make your life by using your other arm.  

An aura is an electromagnetic field that emits from any living thing. It is comprised of many layers, with each aura layer having its own function or role. An aura is not separate from the physical body but is an extension of it with a slightly different composition. I like to think of our aura as being like the human body’s “atmosphere”.  Most of our atmosphere is located close to the earth’s surface where it is most dense. The air of our planet is 79% nitrogen and just under 21% oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of carbon dioxide and other gasses. There are five distinct layers of the earth’s atmosphere. By observing patterns of the wind, temperature, air flow and pressure, it allows for accurate predictions of stormy weather between different zones. People trust the insight from this system of feedback to predict what the temperature will be, what clothes to wear, and what activities to plan. All of this information can be detected through observation of atmospheric changes.

Human auras are similar – the aura layers relay specific feedback between our physical body and its functioning systems, our mental and emotional states of being, and they exchange information with other auras that we interact with. Using the aura as a more direct way to gauge health has been snubbed in the past because auras were not readily seen or were still thought of by many as mythical apparitions. It is time for that to change. Our future as a species and our health and happiness as individuals is dependent on our coming to realize that we are energetic beings and we are connected to everything else around us because we are made of energy. 

Everyone has also heard of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, part of which states that “E=mc(squared)”. He showed the folks of western science back in 1905 that the worlds of matter and energy are not separate, that in fact everything is composed of energy. Matter is just dense energy; and when matter is exploded apart it unleashes huge amounts of hidden energy. This finding revolutionized the world of science. But this information wasn’t new to most of the world.

Ancient people understood that all things are composed of energy. The Chinese called this all-pervading energy “chi”, the Hindus called it “prana”, the Japanese called it “ki”. And these ancient people spent thousands of years studying this energy, how it works, how it feels, and what can be done with it. The aura is sometimes called the “energy body”. The energy body is generally considered to have seven layers with the physical body we can see being the densest of the seven layers. The energy body also encompasses the seven energy centers in the body called chakras as well as the energy pathways within the body called meridians or nadis. There are also seven psychic centers within the brain that correspond to the seven chakras within the body. What might be the most important part of the energy body is the core, known as the pillar or tower or sushumna. A very important type of energy called kundalini travels up this tower which runs from the base of the spine up to the brain. On either side of the tower there are two major energy pathways that the Vedic (Indian) tradition calls ida and pingala. The endocrine gland system is like the interface between the physical body and the energy body; the endocrine system is where they meet and communicate between the two parts.

How do we know any of this stuff to be true? One thing we have to realize is that most people throughout history and even today have had very different lifestyles than what we’re accustomed to in America and in the West. Most people have much more leisure time than we’re accustomed to and therefore more time to ponder the subtleties of life. If you get quiet, and still, you notice things about yourself and about your surroundings that you never pay attention to when you’re just going from one task to the next all day every day.

You might notice that when you are in close proximity to someone you dislike the energy is tense. When you are next to someone you are attracted to you feel a sexual energy. The energy you feel sitting in a jail cell is different than the energy you’d feel at the beach. When some people walk into a room you can feel their energy. When you walk into a party or a club you can “feel” the energy. Some people give you energy; some people take it, and so on. For yogis and monks who spend hours every day meditating and continue this for years and decades, they gain insights far beyond those that I’ve just listed. You can experience this for yourself by playing with your hands. 

Briskly rub your hands together warming them up. As soon as you can feel the heat in your palms (this will take about thirty seconds or so), hold your hands palm to palm, lining up the fingers. Now slowly begin to pull your hands away from each other until you feel a push or a pull sensation (some people feel one, while other people feel the other), it will feel like when you put magnets together in science class. This will occur when your hands are anywhere from two to eight inches apart. The electromagnetism you feel between your hands is your aura or energy body. You can feel the same thing if you place your hands near another person. Have a partner lay on their back, rub your hands together like before, place your hand about a foot over their stomach, and slowly lower your hand until you begin to feel that magnetic push or pull sensation. You are feeling that person’s energy body. There are a ton of things you can do with and for people once you learn to tap into their energy in this way. I’ll get into doing energy work in a subsequent writing. If you try these techniques, please let me know how it works out for you. I’d love to hear your experiences.

Until next time…Peace.