I was in Salt Lake City for the first time this week. I drove through a good portion of central Salt Lake--and some residential and industrial areas, as I am prone to getting lost-- and interacted with about two hundred people at my meeting. To describe Salt Lake City: pristine, friendly, family-oriented, obedient, secure, small town. But beside the impression of the place and its people, I can also get an impression of the place's energy. Have you ever felt like a place had a different "feel" to it than you were used to? I would describe Salt Lake City's energy as bright and innocent on the surface with a darker undercurrent of fear. It was a bit strange.
I live in Denver now, and when I travel back home to Cleveland, I always feel a definite difference in the energy. When I go to Cleveland, everything feels heavier, more tense, more negative in contrast to Denver which feels lighter and less intense. Manhattan feels different from Minneapolis, which feels different from Missoula and Madrid. It's not just geography and culture; it's energy. It's a feeling.
Have you ever felt this, or am I just a nutcase? Assuming you have sensed these differences, you may have noticed that the different energy affected you. Perhaps you went to a new place and felt dragged down by it, or inexplicably peaceful, or totally creeped out. The same happens with people.
What energy do you emanate to those who are with you? When someone is in your presence, what is your environment like? I bet you have known people who you are drawn to because of how joyful or calm you feel near them. I bet you have also known people who litter their space with negativity and bring your mood down. Maybe you have even felt like someone was an energetic black hole and sucked the life out of anyone in a ten foot radius (see the kooky Australian Amanda Gore, who has made thousands of business conference-goers uncomfortable and giggly, speak about energy vampires).
Of course you can still reach nirvana from a devastated rust belt town or feel depressed around Robin Williams (people still like him, right?), but some places and people are more conducive to peace than others. Think of the place where you have felt the most at peace or positive or joyful. Ask yourself how you can recreate that environment within and around you. How can you build a little bubble of space around you where you feel good to be in? Can you tell negative thoughts they are unwelcome? Choose to not give energy to complaining? Protect your space from people who drain you? Can you smile if it makes you feel happy? Can you give a boost to someone else's energy?
If I were to reside in an inner space of peace, I could take it with me anywhere and share it with everyone. I'm working on this because I know that I'll be in this space for every second of the rest of my life. Notice what your space is like and see if you want to clean it up. Create some energetic space that you and others love to hang out in.
This is another reason why you'd enjoy visiting Brazil. The energy! You're not a nutcase. Unless I am, too. :)
Posted by: Amy Stribula | 03/22/2011 at 11:37 AM