A demonstration was often used in an Aikido class I went to. A volunteer was asked to firstly think of times when they were unhappy, low on confidence, upset, or irritated and angry. They then walked past close by the Sensai (instructor) who put his arm out in front of their chest to block their progress, and the volunteer ended up being stopped. The volunteer was then asked to remember happy times, when they felt great and really confident, and when they had achieved a goal. They walked by the Sensai again, who once more put his arm out to try to stop them, but this time, they could keep on walking and brush him off.

Part of the Aikido training was to build up the capacity to stay centred, calm, positive and confident. When this happened the Ki (or chi) energy could keep flowing like a torrent. This was useful in the Aikido class, but it was also useful in daily life, as there are things that happen in life that can knock us off centre, there are things that people can say or do, that can send negative energy our way. Having that ability in the first instance to stay confident and centred is really great. As is the ability to get back quickly to the point of balance having been knocked off our emotional balance.

I remember times when I have felt happy and confident in the past, and from an energy point of view, that has helped my positive energy flow, and then I have surprised myself in what I have achieved, which has made me realise that perhaps at times I have limited myself. I can recall times when I have felt down, and lacking in confidence, and then really, I didn’t do much, and slid into feeling the victim, and being self-pitying, and then going into blame and resentment. All of which are fairly useless things if you want to get on with life and enjoy it, and live the way you really want, as it places the power to be yourself and be happy outside of yourself, which means you can’t change things. When you own it, you can change it.

The aikido, and many other lessons in life have taught me that how we feel is up to us. The power to have positive feelings is not “out there” with someone else, but inside us. With a change of heart, and a change of mind, we can have positive feelings and confidence, and let our positive energy flow. If you like, it helps us connect with our Ki (or Chi), or however else you would like to phrase it.

Simple.

I’m sure there are people who actually believe that. In many situations it is simple to shift your feelings and thoughts. But in other situations something else has to happen. If a child is upset do you tell them that they have everything inside them to change the feeling and thoughts and be happy, and leave it at that? If someone is struggling in water do you shout at them and tell them they have the power to save themselves? If someone is depressed do you say something like they only have to choose happiness or some other facile words? If someone is knocked to the ground in an accident do you say to them they have all they need inside themselves so they can get up?

With upsetting or angry or sad or depressing feelings, or just feeling down, sometimes people need a hand rather than a simplistic answer. Emotions is emotional energy in a person’s aura and chakras. Sometimes there is a lot of it, sometimes the energy is very sticky, sometimes it is attached to a doorway onto a memory that is repeating in a loop as with trauma. Help is required. Comfort, and time needs to be given. With a child, they sometimes need holding and soothing words for the energy to shift and for them to be happy again. A common sense solution from someone with the spiritual capacity to share some love is what is required in this and other situations.

Someone who is down or depressed can greatly have their spirits lifted by someone giving them some support. It could be simple support, like being taken out into Nature, out of the usual environment, or given the chance for physical movement which can help shift the energy.

With past trauma, then continual support might be required, along with healing or therapy to shift the emotional energy, and heal the past trauma and close the door on it.

When feelings are not influenced by past issues, how we feel is affected by what we think. People who think positively, or who deliberately use positive affirmations, will have emotions that match that. Conversely, anyone who thinks negatively will have emotions to match that. So if someone habitually thinks they are a victim, or think that other people (the government, “they”, the media etc) are in control of their lives, or who think something terrible is going to happen, or that the world is an unsafe place, then their emotions will be the output from their thoughts. But people can be in charge of their own minds, and are free to deliberately think the thoughts they want to.

There could be two people in the same room, one with positive thoughts about life, and one with negative thoughts, and as far as they are concerned, life accurately reflects back to them their thoughts, as they focus on what they believe to be true and ignore that which doesn’t match their thoughts, as they simply can’t perceive it. Same planet, but apparently different realities.

Thoughts and feelings do affect health as well as how much life energy people express, and so affect life and what it reflects back to them. Also, on a spiritual level, energy follows thought, which shows up in everyday life.

What do you feel about that?