Human beings live and have their being within cycles. There are cycles of time, such as the seasons, and cycles of birth, death and rebirth. There are cycles of growth and decay, cycles of activity and passivity, and cycles of ingestion and expulsion. Our bodies manifest these cycles in myriad ways, the most profound of which is the respiration cycle of inhalation and exhalation.
Our auras also manifest this respiration cycle on the energetic level, taking in energy from the vibrational sea of oneness in which all beings reside, and also releasing energy back out into this sea of vibration. Just as the chemical elements in our physical bodies are initially derived from nature, and then ultimately returned back to nature, so by the processes of metabolism are the psychic factors in our subtle bodies maintained by a perpetual flow and return.
Esotericists refer to the two states of this energetic respiration cycle by the names sublimation and magnetism.
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Sublimation
Sublimation is a concept popularized by Sigmund Freud involving the transmutation and release of unused, congested, or suppressed psychic energy. We speak of the sublimation of rage, anger, pain, grief, or fear into works of art, or the sublimation of aggression into excellence at sports; we also speak of the sublimation of appetite and desire into awakening or enlightenment.
In sublimation, the raw energy of emotion is preserved, while its expression and direction are transformed. We regularly sublimate emotion when the discharge of the emotion in its raw state would be unproductive or counterproductive. We might very well wish to throw a chair across the room when our proposal is rejected at work, but we are usually better off resisting this temptation.
However, if we suppress the expression of this rage, this energy of this emotion remains within the auric field, and if it is not given an outlet, it can cause great havoc upon the system. When we deprive ourselves of outlets for unused force, the energy becomes congested, leading to physical, emotional, and psychological problems.
If this rage is sublimated, the raw energy of the emotion is distilled from the form of anger and raised to a different plane, where it is given an outlet that is more productive. Catharsis occurs as the rage is discharged upon the soccer field, vented into a private conversation, or channeled into a thoroughly and meticulously re-drafted proposal.
The force that would propel one straight into destruction if it were expended in a dramatic tantrum is a reserve of force that can be utilized for intense concentration, physical strength, or artistic depth if it can be tapped into within a different context. As the energy is sublimated, equilibrium is restored to the energy body, and, at the very least, one can drop the emotion and leave the event behind, instead of carrying it forward in a hidden toxic corner of the aura.
While sublimation has to do with the channel of outlet for unused or congested force, there is also the matter of the channel of intake of energy, without which consciousness would be arid, the heart would be cold, the senses dulled and the body inert.
The complementary process to sublimation— which we may think of as energetic “exhalation”— is magnetism, or the means of energetic inhalation which completes the circuit. When we are magnetized, we become more receptive to the inflow of energy, thereby becoming energized, vitalized, and inspired.
Magnetism is increased when the imagination is emotionally stirred, either spontaneously or intentionally, as one holds oneself in a receptive state of one kind or another. A student becomes magnetized by way of the energy exchanged in a study under a masterful teacher. A leader increases in magnetism when he serves higher principles of order and justice, holding himself in subjugation and receptivity to a law higher than his own will or desire.
In any functioning entity, relationship, or interaction, we may witness the circuit of this energy, as it flows from the highly charged aura to the less highly charged aura, both benefiting by the exchange— the former being relieved of pressure and congestion and the latter being fertilized and invigorated.
We know that whether it be among people, businesses, countries, or even aspects of the self, a one-sided relationship that is either all take and no give or all give, and no take will quickly fail. The same is true of the auric field, which must operate like an alternating current. We must spend some time as positive projectors of force, and we must also spend some time as open receptacles for force.
An increase in magnetism has effects on the aura that are almost physical, and certainly palpable. When the voltage is of an aura is high, meaning that the person is highly magnetized, it can emanate a ray-like beam; we experience this as a charismatic speaker, or someone who is the “life of the party” and “lights up the whole room”.
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If we are for any reason cut off from this free flow of natural force, some aspect of our nature atrophies and dies. When the aura is low in magnetism, the individual may seem like an “energy vampire”, having a subtly absorbing or draining influence upon the environment.
People who neglect the process of magnetism may suffer from a lack of inspiration or vitality in their works, due to a lack of receptivity. We may feel the difference in the room between a performer who is channeling the music of a muse he lives in service to, and the performer who simply wants to hear the sound of his own voice. The former activates a spiritual force within the audience, uplifting and exalting the room into a trance-like state, whereas the latter is stultifying, boring, and irritating.
On the other hand, a life that is energetically congested is, perhaps paradoxically, an empty life. People who are dissatisfied with life, unfulfilled, or compulsively hungry for emotional stimulation need more than anything else an outlet for their unused energy. They need an outlet for sublimation.
In any relationship, and indeed, even in any solitary endeavor, you may ask yourself: do I have an outlet to creatively express or expend my energy? Am I also taking time to sit in receptivity to something outside of myself? How much am I giving and how much am I taking? Is it balanced?
Mary West is a metaphysician, writer, astrologer, and Magician. She teaches her students how to work with astral energy to enhance personal power, growth, productivity, and illumination.
