1. Strengthening and Protecting Your Personal Energy Field

Creating a secure foundation for yourself begins with strengthening and protecting your personal energy field. Every individual has an energetic field around their body through which they continually absorb and radiate energies. This energy field, known as the aura, filters the energies we perceive and is comparable to a battery, with its strength varying from person to person. A robust energy field provides greater protection, making one less vulnerable to external influences and energies. Conversely, a weak energy field tends to deplete more quickly, recharges less rapidly, and is generally less well-protected.

Individuals with an open or unprotected energy field are generally the most vulnerable, as their own energy field easily blends with the environment. An open aura makes one more receptive to energies from the surroundings, with attention primarily directed outward. While this allows for a keen sense of situations and people, drawbacks include absorbing emotions, physical pains, and unwanted negative energies. An open aura may result from repetitive unsafe situations where self-protection is insufficient. If one must constantly be alert to adapt quickly, an open aura can function as a survival mechanism.

The strength of a personal energy field is partly innate and partly dependent on self-worth and self-care. Confidence, trust, self-appreciation, compassion, and self-love play a central role in fortifying and setting boundaries for your aura. Conversely, insecurities and feelings of inferiority can weaken or make your aura more accessible. There are various ways to keep your personal energy field or battery operational and recharge it. This includes activities like meditation, engaging in positive activities, practicing self-compassion, and addressing/healing negative patterns. Additionally, with the right alignment, it is possible to receive energy from the source, the earth, or the universe, which can be used to recharge oneself and others. Natural energetic healing practices operate on this principle. Furthermore, every form of contact involves an energy exchange. Positive energy exchanged during interactions can support the strengthening of your energy field. Ultimately, everyone is responsible for maintaining, recharging, and protecting their own energy field.

Tips and exercises to strengthen your personal energy field:

• Belief in Your Own Power // Be aware of your own energy and strength; trust that you are protected. By having confidence and belief in this, you are always stronger than external influences. You have free will and ultimately decide which energies to allow into your life. Fear gives negative energies more space, and avoiding our fears can unconsciously give them more control. However, by trusting in our own power and believing that we are safe and protected from unwanted energies, these energies can hardly influence us.
  
  
• Strengthening Your Own Power // You can enhance your strength by reminding yourself of your positive qualities, setting lower expectations, healing blockages and traumas, breaking negative thought patterns, and increasing your self-worth and self-love. Through focus, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and intentions, you can attract and radiate positive energy, strengthening your own power. You can influence this through mindfulness exercises, affirmations, meditations, manifestation techniques, or by opting for professional guidance.
  
  
• Self-Care // Taking care of yourself and taking timely rests are crucial to replenish your energy and strengthen your energy field. Both diet, physical exercise, relaxation, and enjoyable activities are important. Relaxation exercises such as mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can significantly enhance well-being. Engaging in activities and hobbies that you enjoy and that don't overwhelm you stimulates positivity and strengthens energy flow.
  
  
• Protective Crystals and Witches' Stones // Various protective stones can be carried to strengthen the aura and protect against unwanted energies. Some well-known stones with strong protective properties that act as shields against negativity include black tourmaline, labradorite, lapis lazuli, obsidian, and tiger's eye. A witch's stone is a naturally perforated stone, and since ancient times, they have been used to create protective amulets. Simply thread a cord through the hole and hang the stone by the front door or wear it as a necklace to protect your personal energy field.
  
  
• Protective Power Bubble / Dome // Visualize yourself in a bubble or dome of light that surrounds you from head to toe. In this bubble, you are safe and protected from external influences. Negative or dark energies will be repelled or dissolve into the light. On the other hand, positive energy (light) can enter to strengthen your power bubble. Regularly visualizing a protective bubble around you is one of the (most well-known) ways to protect yourself. This exercise can be applied at any time to shield yourself, especially when you are not feeling your best. If you feel strong in your energy, I recommend using the "source of light" exercise, as it feels more liberating and relies more on your own power.
  
  
• Source of Light // Center yourself and visualize that you exist as white or golden light, causing all negativity, unwanted (dark) energies, and tensions to dissolve or bounce off. Your own light or strength is pure and becomes stronger and more powerful with each breath. When you feel fully in your power, say, "Lower my barriers and expand." With this, you release the protective mechanisms like walls and masks you have built and fully protect yourself based on your own pure power.
  
  
• Superhero Pose // Research has shown that this tip can indeed have a positive effect on your performance and personal strength. A study at Harvard in 2012 indicates that standing in a power pose for five minutes before an important activity leads to improved performance. Imagine yourself as a superhero with a protective cape or superpowers.
  
  
• Aura Reduction and Densification // Stand firmly with both feet on the ground, close your eyes, and place your hands on your lower abdomen. Breathe a few times into your hands. Visualize your aura as a field extending 30 meters in a circle around you. Give this field a distinctive color. Mentally pull the colored field 10 meters toward your body, then another 10 meters, and finally an arm's length around your body. Feel what this does to you and breathe deeply into your stomach. By increasing the density of your aura, other energies mix in less easily, and your own energy reflects external energies.
  
  
• Seeking Help and Protection // While we can shield ourselves from negative energy, we can also seek help from "the Source" or the universal divine force. This can be done through prayer or simply by asking for help and protection three times in a row from God, angels, guides, Mother Earth, departed loved ones, or the source you believe in and feel safe with. Open your arms and place them with palms up (open) in front of you, express your request for protection three times, and ask if you may experience this energy/power in your hands. Some people may actually feel something in their hands, providing extra confidence and a greater sense of protection.
  
  
• Protective Affirmations and Meditations // The following affirmations can help you better protect your aura. Speak the affirmations aloud or in your mind, and if necessary, add affirmations that you find important. Examples include: "I am powerful and closed off to unwanted energies from outside," "I am master of my own body," "I decide who enters my aura," "I call upon my own strength to protect myself," "I trust myself," "I trust my inner/divine guidance," and "I am light and pure, radiating this outward." There are also various guided meditations available focused on protecting your own energy; you can learn more about this on the meditation page.
  
  
• Protective Mantras or Power Songs // Listen to a protective mantra before leaving your home; it doesn't have to take longer than a few minutes. Alternatively, choose music to listen to or sing along with that increases your strength and positivity. When selecting a song (personal power song), the combination of an uplifting positive lyrics (positive self-suggestion) and a powerful tune/vibe is crucial. Think, for example, of the song "The World's Greatest" by R. Kelly.
  
  
• Protective Symbols and Keys // Many symbols, in the form of jewelry or talismans, can be used for protection. Choose a symbol that gives you strength and a protected feeling. Protective symbols include the pentagram, ankh, tetragrammaton, eye of Horus, all-seeing eye, hand of Fatima, and the rune Algiz. A piece of jewelry or object incorporating (protective) symbolism can also be used as a talisman. Keys are also powerful protective objects. Carry a key on a cord or around your neck. For personal protection, wear it under your clothing and preferably near your heart. It is an ancient way to protect yourself from any form of negative energy that comes your way.
  
  
• Rose Protection // This protection is often used to delineate your own environment. Ensure that you are grounded and pay attention to your breathing. Visualize a rose (choose a color) and imagine large, thick thorns on the stems. Then visualize a circle of roses around you, at least as high as yourself. If you place the roses tightly around you, people can come up to that distance. If you widen the circle, people will keep more distance, and energetically they will not pass through or over it. With this circle around you, you literally and figuratively indicate "up to here and no further." It's not that these people physically can't come to you, but it keeps their energies at a distance.
  
  
• Grounding "enhancing balance and stability" // You can perform this exercise with your eyes open or closed. Stand firmly with both feet shoulder-width apart. Relax your shoulders and arms, letting them hang naturally, while touching your thumbs and pinkies together simultaneously with both hands. During this exercise, your body may naturally start to sway or move; allow this to happen until your body stops and stands securely. Open your eyes, exhale, and relax! It's best to practice this exercise when you feel off balance and want to reestablish a solid footing./
  
  

• Grounding "the tree" // The tree exercise is a method to ground yourself. Grounding is a way to connect yourself with the earth, allowing earth energy to flow through you. Grounding literally and figuratively places you firmly with both feet on the ground, helping you release tensions and recharge with new energy. Focus on the hollows under your feet (connected to your first chakra) and ensure both feet are securely planted on the ground. Visualize roots growing from your feet deep into the earth, similar to a tree. Lift your toes off the ground while stretching both arms and fingers, imagining yourself as a tree basking in the sun. Through the roots, release all tensions (negativity) and absorb new strength and energy from the earth. The sun's rays recharge your energy; feel the warmth and absorb the light, enhancing your strength. Relax completely; feel lighter and experience the connection with the earth, sensing how it supports you. In the future, simply lifting your toes achieves the same result. This physical movement is associated with the exercise to help ground yourself more easily and quickly in the future. Stretching is no longer necessary, allowing you to perform the exercise discreetly and spontaneously.