How to Raise Your Vibrational Energy

Part 1 of 3: In this 3 part series, I'll share practices to reduce stress, improve your connection with others, and get more enjoyment from your life.

Have you ever noticed that on some days, everything seems to fall in place? Your joy is contagious, and you're attracting good things to you like a magnet. In contrast, when you are anxious or stressed, almost everything appears to be a threat. This makes it challenging to engage with others and thoughtfully respond to events. You may start to realize that your experience of the world mirrors your emotions or your vibrational energy.

Feelings like joy, optimism, and pleasure have a high vibration, whereas emotions such as insecurity, grief, and fear have a low vibration. Esther and Jerry Hicks (aka Abraham-Hicks), spiritual teachers and authors, explain that we attract things at the same level as the energy we release. Their theory is called The Law of Attraction.  When we're feeling stressed or anxious, our energy drops, causing various parts of our life to misfire, as well as adversely affect our health and relationships.  

 According to the American Psychological Association's 2019 Stress in America survey:

• More than three-quarters of adults report physical or emotional symptoms of stress, such as headache, feeling tired, or changes in sleeping habits.
• Nearly half of adults say they have laid awake at night because of stress in the prior month.

 If this reflects our current emotional state, we can infer that more than 75% of us are operating at a low vibrational energy. This means we’re likely not feeling energized and inspired, our relationships may be suffering, and we’re not attracting good things our way.

 Before you start to panic, remember that feeling stress is normal. This feature had evolved to keep us alive so our species would survive into the next generation. It’s worked so far.

 First, a little about why we feel stress

Our bodies are biologically programmed to react when we feel stressed or threatened. The feelings we experience when triggered, such as a racing heart, shallow breath, and hyper-arousal, are part of our fight/flight/freeze mechanism. While this may have been helpful thousands of years ago, it is less useful now. It is unlikely that a saber-tooth tiger is lurking behind the water cooler, and we would all be better off if traffic, an annoying email, or something our partners said didn't trigger these feelings. 

Moreover, when our fight/flight/freeze mechanism is triggered too often, it can cause a weakened immune system, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and an increase in heart attacks. It can even speed up aging. Though stress is a normal part of our human experience, it doesn't feel good. And it can be debilitating both physically and emotionally. However, there are practices centered on self-awareness, connection, and gratitude that will help you to reduce and manage stress. Additionally, these techniques will raise your vibrational energy, improving the quality of both your life and the people who spend time with you.

Today, we're going to talk about self-awareness

You want to be self-aware so that at any given moment, you know what emotions you are experiencing, and you can thoughtfully choose how to respond. When you’re not self-aware, your feelings will dictate your actions. That often doesn’t end well for you or the people involved.

For example, let's say you received an email. As you start to read it, you feel your jaw clench, and your heart speeds up. The person who sent it doesn't know his or her facts. Before you can even finish reading the email, you're already hitting "reply," letting this person know why they are incorrect. In the process, maybe you cc'd "all" unintentionally, may you've missed the point entirely, or may upon further consideration, you realize this person was correct. However, there wasn't enough time between stimulus and response for you to get the clarity you needed to appropriately respond. Moreover, your stress-level just went up about five notches.

In moments when we are triggered, we go on autopilot. We become reactive and quickly respond based on learned behaviors and false judgments. We want to stop acting on autopilot and act from a place of awareness instead.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor Frankl

 Meditation helps us to observe our thoughts without identifying with them. Instead of being anxious, you can experience anxiety. You can accept your feelings with equanimity rather than wallowing in them. When we have a regular meditation practice, we begin to see that we don't have that much control over what we think or feel. However, with practice, rather than react to each passing thought, we learn to pause and consciously choose how to respond. We can also choose to put our focus on a more positive thought. We become self-aware.

Practice: 5 Minute Awareness of Breath Meditation

Start by closing your eyes. You can begin to focus on your breath. Notice the inhales and the exhales. Pay attention to one part of your body while you breathe. It could be your chest rising or the feeling of the air entering through your nostrils. It might help if, on each inhale, you silently label the breath "inhale" and on each exhale label the breath "exhale." If your mind starts to wander, which of course, it will, don't engage with the thoughts, kindly and nonjudgmentally observe them and bring the focus back to the breath. The practice is not about getting a perfectly clear mind; it's about observation and remembering to bring your attention back to your breath.  

We can’t control our thoughts and feelings as they arise, but we can control how we respond to them. Once you've begun a daily meditation practice, you'll find that it is easier to recognize when you are triggered. You'll create the space between stimulus and response. The never-ending stream of thoughts that enter your consciousness will have less power. 

The energy we put out into the world really is the energy we receive back. It makes sense to be conscious of the emotions you are experiencing and work to elevate them when they are low. Just like we don’t want to spread germs to others when we are sick, we don’t want to spread bad vibes either. Take accountability for your energy and the impact it has on your life and the people with whom you spend time. When we do this individually, it has a collective effect that raises the vibration of the world.  

Tomorrow, I'll share practices that will help you improve your connection with others.

Interested in learning more? I am excited to offer a FREE 7-Day Livestream Meditation Challenge to help you reduce stress, cultivate compassion to improve connection with others, and enjoy the present moment. Sign-up here.