what i'm about to write is something that's very profound, or at least it was to me when i first discovered it. although i learned about the concept from a book of fiction, i believe there is much truth in it. they say "the truth will set you free," and i believe this has the potential to do just that. it comes from a book called "the celestine prophecy" by james redfield, in which there are several insights that humans need to understand before the human race can attain a higher level of consciousness. this is a summation of some of those insights, which I believe to be very insightful, despite the book's fictitious presentation.
ingesting food is the primary method of gaining physical energy, but this only helps the body and brain to function on a mechanical level. in order to feed the mind, soul and spirit one must obtain a different kind of energy not found in foods. eventually humans will see the universe as comprised of one dynamic energy -- an energy that can sustain us and respond to our expectations -- but we have been disconnected from the larger source of this energy. we have cut ourselves off, and having done so feel weak, insecure and lacking. in the face of this deficit, humans have always sought to increase our personal energy in the only manner we've known: by seeking to psychologically steal it from others, an unconscious competition that underlies all human conflict in the world.
when one person engages another in conversation, one of two things can happen: that person can come away feeling stronger or weaker. we prepare ourselves to say whatever we must in order to prevail in the conversation. each of us seeks to find some way to control and thus remain on top in the encounter. if we are successful, if our viewpoint prevails, then rather than feel weak we receive a psychological boost. when we control another human being we receive their energy. we fill up at the other's expense and the filling up is what motivates us. most people are in a constant hunt for someone else's energy. but humans must learn to gain energy from the universal source, not other humans.
to be open to this universal energy (as opposed to energy stolen from others) you have to connect, to use your sense of appreciation. when you successfully appreciate something, you allow the love that underlies all to enter you. when you appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of things you receive energy. when you get to a level where you feel love, then you can send the energy back just by willing it so. even though an alternative source of energy exists, we really can't stay connected with it until we come to grips with the particular method that we, as individuals, use in stealing others' energy and stop doing it. because whenever we fall back into this habit, we get disconnected from the universal source.
this habit of stealing energy is something we repeat over and over again, and is always unconscious at first. the key to letting it go is to bring it fully into consciousness. this is done by seeing that our particular style of controlling others is one we learned in childhood to get attention, to get the energy moving our way. this style, whatever it may be, is called our unconscious control drama. our parents and siblings operated in a drama themselves, trying to pull energy out of us as children. we had to have a strategy to win energy back. each person must reinterpret their family experience from a spiritual point of view, and discover who they really are. once we do this, we can go past these control dramas and see what is really happening. there are four main control dramas, two aggressive and two passive:
interrogator (aggressive):
sets up a drama of asking questions and probing into another person's world with the specific purpose of finding something wrong. once they do, they criticize this aspect of the other's life. if his strategy succeeds, the person being criticized is pulled into the drama. they find themselves becoming self-conscious around the interrogator and paying attention to what the interrogator is doing and thinking about, so as not to do something wrong that the interrogator would notice. this psychic deference gives the interrogator the energy he desires. interrogators pull you off your own path and drain your energy because you judge yourself by what they might be thinking.
intimidator (aggressive):
someone who threatens you, either verbally or physically. you are forced, for fear of something bad happening to you, to pay attention to them and so to give them energy. this is the most aggressive kind of drama.
poor me (passive):
someone who tells you all the horrible things that are already happening to them, implying perhaps that you are responsible, and that, if you refuse to help, these horrible things are going to continue. someone who makes you feel guilty when you're in their presence, even though you know there is no reason to feel that way. everything they say and do puts you in a place where you have to defend against the idea the you're not doing enough for them.
aloof (passive):
in order to get energy coming their way, they withdraw and look mysterious and secretive. they hope that you will be pulled into their drama and try to figure out what's going on with them. when you do, they remain vague, forcing you to struggle, dig and try to discern their true feelings, giving them your full attention, thus sending your energy to them. the longer they can keep you interested and mystified, the more energy they receive.
people use more than one drama in different circumstances, but most of us have one dominant control drama that we tend to repeat, depending on which one worked well on the members of our early family. a person goes to whatever extreme necessary to get attention energy in their family. and it turns out that more times than not an individual's control drama will be the inverse of their parent's drama.
free will versus predetermination... is there any middle ground?