Thank you! I love your site and all your insight!

--Angel from the desert

Dear Angel,

As I focused in and did a tea reading for you, the leaves came up in the image of the lightning bolt, and its position was near the handle of the cup. The lightning bolt is a very powerful image. Sometimes it can mean that we have attracted the attention of the "dark side" through various events, habits, or relationships in our life. This can happen through no fault of our own. You know how sometimes you have a close friend who just has tons of tragedy happening to them, addictions, breakups, depression, etc, and you just sort of get absorbed by their negativity? That's one way that this darker energy can seep into your own aura.

Another way that our auric field can become penetrated is by physical illness or personal trauma. Any one of the events you mention in your letter would be enough to cause "cracks" to open up in your energy field, since you've been through a lot of stress. So the succession of one event compounded on another can create real "holes" in the auric field. Think of the aura as an egg or energy envelope that surrounds the whole body. There are several layers to it. The physical layer is your physical body; the emotional layer is your emotional body; the intellectual layer is the mental body; and the spiritual layer is your spiritual body. There is even a time and probability body, which is the energy field through which we experience reality shifts.

Any trauma that we experience tends to have an impact upon all of these bodies, although some will be damaged more than others. The lightning bolt tells me that you really need to focus on self-healing, self-nurturing, and creating peaceful time for yourself away from the madness. This isn't always easy to do, of course, especially if you've got a lot going on. But there are some very simple stress relief techniques that you can practice. Basically, you should focus every day on clearing out your auric field of any negative entities, attachments, cords (umbilical cords of energy that plug you into other people,) thoughtforms, and emotions. You can invoke God/Goddess/Great Spirit to do this and also ask for help from your angels and spiritual guides.

On the physical level, several things will really help. Taking a salt tub with some sea salt and some baking soda in it is excellent. The salt removes negative goop and the baking soda removes harmful electromagnetic energy that people tend to pick up throughout the day, especially if you work all day at a computer or use other electrical machinery. You can also throw in some essential oils, just a few drops worth, because many oils can burn the skin. Frankincense, sandalwood, amber, copal, myrrh, and lavender all carry a very high vibration, as does sage.

Speaking of sage - using real sage leaves to "smudge" or clear out your energy field and your home is an excellent way to clear out ick, too. Just light a few leaves, blow on them gently to get them to spark and to give off smoke, and wave the sage throughout your own energy field and around the rooms of your living space. The smell can be strong, so you probably won't want to burn it for too long. It's a good idea to open windows to let out the negative energy that you want to dissipate (and clear out the strong scent of the sage, too!) Sage leaves can be purchased in many health food stores, some New Age stores, and many Native American stores.

There are many other meditations and exercises that will also help you, and none of them are hard. I recommend picking up a copy of Cynthia Larson's new book, Aura Advantage, because she includes many exercises that will help you to keep your auric field strong and clear. You can read my interview with her in my guest interviews section at: this link. And I will also send you a more detailed self-cleansing "How to" via email that will help you.

The important thing is not to blame yourself or get too caught up in feeling like a victim. Sensitive people with generous, open hearts can often become a "target" of negative people and energies, and once you learn how to take back control of your energy field, you'll realize that you truly are a spiritual warrior of immense strength and power. Those lightning bolts may hit you once in a while, but you'll quickly strike back! Once your energy field is balanced again, you'll be more than prepared for any challenges to come.

Many hugs and happy energies to you!

--Lipstick Mystic