With all the talk of “oneness” that goes on in many spiritual circles, it can be all too easy to forget about the importance of things like healthy boundaries and personal space. Oneness is a great concept — unfortunately when you incorporate this idea into your belief system without putting it in proper context, you can run into problems. When you affirm our universal oneness without simultaneously affirming your own personal sovereignty, and identity as a unique individual within that oneness, this is interpreted by your subconscious to mean something along the lines of “I have no personal boundaries; anyone and anything that wants to enter my space is free to do so at will.” This can be a real problem for those who are very empathic or otherwise sensitive to energy, because they can end up overwhelmed by a constant flood of everyone else’s energy and emotions, whether positive, negative and everything in between. In more severe cases, a failure to define one’s boundaries can act as an open invitation for negative interference, as well as some pretty shady human characters looking for just such an opening. I was recently discussing this issue with someone who had begun approaching negative entities with love, and “accepting them as part of himself” — and promptly encountered a virtual flood of negative entity activity in his life. Case in point. After nearly choking on my coffee, I was able to explain why this is not a good idea, no matter how well meaning.

The relationship between the cells and the body works as a handy metaphor for a healthy balance between oneness and individuality. The body has its own identity, but at the same time, it’s made up of trillions of individual lifeforms. Without all those cells, which perform very diverse functions, “you” wouldn’t exist — not on this plane anyway! Each cell is a valuable part of the greater body, but no one cell can say “I am the whole body,” or “I am also every other cell.” Additionally, every cell has its own membrane which acts as its personal boundary, and it is very discriminatory about what it will let in and out of that space. It’s a good thing too, because if those cells let down all their defenses and were unconditionally accepting about what got into their space, no matter how toxic, the body wouldn’t last very long. If all cells decided to give up their membranes entirely, the body would cease to exist a lot sooner.

Yet this is the rough equivalent to many peoples’ approach to life and spirituality — relinquishing all boundaries and trying to identify with every part of the Whole. I had an eye-opening early experience with relinquishing my concept of personal space that vividly reiterates what I’m saying here: after I dropped my personal bubble as an experiment, the world began treating me as if “I” didn’t exist! I only kept that going for about ten minutes, but to be in that state all the time would actually be disempowering, because it saddles your individual identity with the energy, emotions and actions of other selves — which is a lot more than it was designed to manage — while giving implicit permission for your own resources to be freely taken away or manipulated by anyone so inclined. The point of self-mastery is to separate “me” from “not me” and then learn to successfully manage the energy, emotions, thoughts, words, actions and personal space that are yours. Achieve harmony with the Whole, not by relinquishing your individual role within the greater body, but by becoming a master of what goes on within your own personal boundaries, and to which influences you will and will not permit access.

In my next post I’ll share one of the most effective techniques I’ve yet come across for defining healthy boundaries at the energetic level. This was among the most important developments in my own spiritual practice, as well defined energetic boundaries are a major key to attracting the influences that are aligned with your highest good, and keeping toxic influences at a safe distance.

–Palehorse

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1. Is Personal Responsibility Absolute?
2. Enlightenment, Salvation and the Rejection of Power (Part 3)
3. In Defense of the Ego
4. Three Rules Governing Soul Fragmentation (Part 2)
5. 10 Reasons I’m Not A Lightworker

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