Get Yourself to a Better Neighborhood

You need more energy so you can perceive and make better choices

This is David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness. I think this chart is the best illustration of “energetic neighborhoods” ever created. My teacher always says, “there is nothing wrong with you, you just need to get to a better neighborhood.” The classic line in real estate is that the only thing that matters is location, location, and location. You can say the same thing about every problem in life. This is because every challenge in life is actually an energy challenge. What is your energy location? More importantly, how can we move from a bad location to a good one?

The default position of our society is that if you are experiencing a personal problem like say, depression, low self esteem, or anxiety (or fill in the blank), that there is something inherently wrong with you. The standard responses to these kinds of issues are external fixes: therapy, drugs, and addictions of all kinds. The yogic paradigm is completely opposite from this. The basic idea is that to overcome whatever problem you are facing you need more energy so you can perceive and then make better choices. When you are in a low energy state, you are in a bad neighborhood, energy wise. When we are suffering, our world gets smaller and we only see our immediate point of view. We are vulnerable to bad influences and bad decisions of all kinds. We all know what this feels like. The yogic paradigm says this: we can do better.

One of the biggest victories we can have is to accept wherever we are right now and then turn it around. It is perfectly understandable for anyone to be suffering greatly for a million reasons, especially right now on earth. Despite material wealth or poverty, we all have our challenges to face and overcome.

Another thing the yogic paradigm emphasizes is speed. So you get in to a bad spot? Ok, how fast can you turn around and get out of it? The good news is that you can change your own mind real quick. This is because the real You, the power of your Soul, is actually always in charge. Once you accept this and act from this power, everything changes.

Ok so we need to get to a better energetic neighborhood, and quickly! How do we do that? First of all, you are ahead of the game because you are now asking the right question. It is not, “what is wrong with me?”. It is, “ok, this is whats going on. how can I do better?”

It is so simple, we already know the answers. I’ll go over some of the most basic ones and then get in to more involved strategies below.

1. Breath

The air around us contains a life force called prana. You can think of it like invisible gold. Get that prana in to your body and you will be rich beyond your imagination. When you pay attention to the breath, you access more of the energy contained within the breath. Someone telling you to “take some deep breaths” is a cliche. However, it works, especially if you keep going. I recommend taking 3, 11 or 31 minutes to really experience your breath. Just slow it down. Way down. Feel the inhale. Feel the exhale. Let the belly and chest move with the breath. Set a timer and just try being there with your mind and your breath. Accept.

2. Gratitude

The yogic mental posture is gratitude for every phenomena of life. In this way, we can access the positive polarity of every situation. It is simple, but if it’s not your default mind stream it will take practice. Start with one thing a day to be grateful for and increase from there. Write it down.

3. Mantra

Mantra is like energetic food in the form of sound that deeply nourishes the psyche and spirit. I’ve been writing about this. Read about mantra here first and then here.

4. Environment

Some times you actually need to get yourself to a better physical environment. If you can’t pick up and move locations, try making the space you control the absolute most high vibe, beautiful version of itself. This often times means cleaning, decluttering and organizing. Don’t underestimate how powerful this mundane approach is to shifting the energy of a place and your own mind.

5. People

That saying about how you are an average of the five people you spend the most time with is true. This is because each person is more than their physical body - they are walking auras with “desktops full of thoughts”. Each person has (approx) 9 feet of space around them that is vibrating their thoughts, memories and feelings. When you are interacting with that energy, it will rub off on you, especially if they have more energy than you. So be mindful of this. A lot of times when you are going through a level up, the people you choose to spend your time with with either level up with you or fade out from your inner circle. This is ok and some times completely necessary. Everyone has their own journey and things they are here to learn. It is our job to know what is appropriate for us to be involved with, or not.

6. Help Someone Else

This is one of the quickest ways to move out of our own problematic space. Help someone that you can help. This can be as simple as giving a smile or a dollar. Every selfless action done without need for recognition or reward is a great blessing on your head. Yogis call this seva which means “selfless service”. It is one of the hidden doorways to spiritual progress. There is always someone more in need than ourselves. Do not abandon your own needs. Just try helping someone else if you can.

---

These suggestions are so simple and basic but hopefully they are good reminders for you. When we are going through a rough time the mind can deceive us. We think that the bad feelings and circumstances are the new normal, that we deserve it and things will never change. I hope I have convinced you this is completely false. You just need to get yourself to a better energy location! I’m rooting for you and your upward spiral.

This is a piece called Waking Up I made a few years ago. I like to think of the souls journey through life as experiencing ever unfolding horizons. We always have a choice to keep learning or hit the snooze button and go back to sleep! We learn either way but one way is fast and the other is slow. You decide!

To see and shop my art on yoga mats, clothing and art prints, please visit my website jamilastarwater.com

Thank you for being here, reading and sharing my work. I appreciate you so much.

Please subscribe to be the first to know when my book, A Yogis Guide to Energy Protection, gets released !