I was recently asked by a client what she should do to protect herself from negative energies. She’d found out from neighbors that drug addicts had lived in her house before she moved in. The thought of the previous occupants unsettled her and she was finding it difficult to sleep. She’d come to the conclusion that her sleep issues were caused by lingering bad energies.

Her question belongs to a family of similar ones like, how to avoid the negative energies of co-workers and family members or how to avoid the negative energies in the atmosphere.

As I pondered my response I decided to tell my client a story, a true one.

From Cuba to Florida

In August 2012 Diana Nyad made a bid at swimming the 103 miles between Havana and the Florida Keys. Not an exceptional distance when it comes to endurance swims but extraordinary because the waters between the launch and landing spots are infested with sharks. Nyad was the first person to attempt the crossing without the protection of a shark cage.

A Force Field

What Nyad did have was the science of electromagnetism. A member of her back up team dangled a device in the water where she swam creating an electromagnetic field which translated as a gentle “no thank you” to passing sharks.

It worked. No shark attempted to bite. A real advantage to Nyad, not just for the fact of preserving her life, but for the ease of movement the electromagnetic field allowed her. Sharks, it turns out, are not much deterred by cages. They regard the swimming human as fair game and will nose dive the cage attempting to gate crash, an experience which sends human adrenalin running high causing stress to the swimmer. Nyad was spared this unnecessary drain on her energy and was able to swim freely.

Jellyfish

What did get close however were jelly fish, in particular a Flower Hat Jellyfish. Pretty name, nasty sting. So nasty that within a few hours of her destination Nyad was forced to give up her record breaking attempt too exhausted by physical pain caused by the jelly fish venom.

It wasn’t that Nyad and her team hadn’t known about the prevalence of the jelly fish. They were fully aware of the possible threat and Nyad wore a custom made protective swim suit designed to be a physical barrier to stings. It just didn’t work. It was impossible to cover her mouth as the jelly fish found out.

Spinning pink

When I asked my client what she did when she felt disturbed by the thought that there were negative energies in her home, she told me she imagined spinning a barrier of pink energy around her to protect her from any harmful effect.

The problem with barriers

My client had the right idea. She wanted to feel safe, she wanted to feel empowered and she wanted to enjoy being in her home. She was also aware that energy can flow in ways which are conducive to wellbeing. So far so good.

The problem was that she thought to fix the issue she needed to create a protective barrier around herself. This may sound like a sensible thing but I’m going to invite you into the idea that this is where her problem lay.

In all of my adventures of working with so called negative people and negative energies, in prisons, psychiatric units and haunted houses (yep), I’ve never found it helpful to armor myself with a protective energy barrier. Why? Because in my experience there is no such thing as negative energy.

I’m not saying that negative influences don’t exist. There are people, human activities and subtle energies that act in non-beneficial ways. However, all forms of life, in essence, are pure Light.

What you resist persists

When we try to create a protective barrier to separate us from what we label as a negative person, situation or ‘bad spirit’ we create a ‘me and them’ dynamic which feeds the idea that that this person, situation or thing has power over us. But this is not true because the light or energy that we and all forms of life is, is Love. Healing, intelligent, divine, peacemaking Love.

The best protection is your Heart

I suggested to my client that the best way to feel safe was to let go the idea that there were negative energies in her home and instead feel into the love in her heart. A few days later after a bit of guidance to keep on track she was sleeping soundly.

Intuitively, deep down, we all know that we are not separate from each other. Deep down we know we’re made of the same energy. When we let go judging and holding others responsible for the way we feel we move into heart centered presence which brings our intuitive understanding to life to guide us into peace and understanding.

The next time you notice you’re putting up a barrier see if you can befriend your experience. This doesn’t mean patting sharks. It means drawing on the power of your heart to guide you from the inside and strengthen your sphere of loving presence to generate peace.