Under the Influence

I've been thinking a lot lately about how other people's energies and intentions can affect one's own personality and actions. John Friedlander and Gloria Hemshe state that energies other than one's own, no matter how strong or well-meaning, are detrimental. Our own spirit is obscured, and unnecessary emotions such as guilt or hesitation are much more likely to happen. The method suggested for ridding oneself of unwanted energy is simple enough, however: Friedlander and Hemshe suggest going into a meditative state, picturing the person whose energy your returning, and just focus on their energy going out of you into them, and your own trapped energy coming back.

I haven't practiced the technique much yet, so I can't personally vouch for it, but I'm going to try it with one person for a few days and see if anything feels different. But whether you believe that visualizing something as abstract as energy is a load of bull shit or not, it is an interesting concept to think about. How much can one person possibly impact another without being consciously aware about it?

The best personal example I can think of would be my mom. There are times when I can almost feel her nagging at me for some random thing or another when she's not around. Sometimes it does seem like there's some kind of foreign force trying to implement its own ideas on me.

There are also times when I can feel myself almost mentally forcing my own desires on people around me. If a person I'm close with pisses me off or does something I think doesn't make sense, it's like I'm overflowing with the desire to change what they're doing and make them understand everything from my point of view. I have difficulty getting past my own perspective, and even if I don't say a word, I'm willing change in my mind. There's no concrete evidence that these feelings subconsciously alter the person's future actions, but I think that it is a possibility.

For now, I'm trying to be aware of when I could be potentially letting my own thoughts or energy interfere with another. Every individual has their own thought processes, beliefs, and emotions that make up the essence of who they are. Screwing around with someone on that level isn't spiritually healthy for either person. I don't entirely comprehend the whole concept, but it's an idea I want to play around with for a while and see what I can accomplish.