Today’s post is from my apprentice Tiffany.
Depression has been with me all my life, and it’s been back this month. Each week I’ve sheltered in place, the weight in my heart has become heavier and heavier.
Last week I remembered an energy healing technique for anxiety. Could I adapt it for depression?
It turned out, I could, and I did. Now every day I use it, I feel lighter, more peaceful, and more open to joy.
Here’s what I did and how it worked.
The technique
Mike taught me a technique for calming: Get into a calm state of mind, read the energy of your brain, and create a visualization specifically for that energy, so you can build that calm energy whenever you need it. For details, see this post.
I wondered, what if I could adapt this to depression?
Adapting the technique for depression
What did I want to feel instead of depressed? I remembered a peaceful, rapturous state I’d reached in therapy. I think of it as my worthy place. That would be my goal.
I meditated on that memory and listened to a song that helps me get there. Slowly, the feelings of peace, relief, warmth, and safety built. When they felt strong, I focused on the energy in my head, and noticed how that chi felt. I created a visualization for how that energy looked, felt, and sounded: A soft, white flame with a moving aura of pink and yellow. It was warm and silent.
I used that visualization to build that energy in my chest. It felt like a pleasant tightening and heat. Then I moved it to my stomach and felt “butterflies” of excitement.
From depressed to uplifted
The real test came the next day, when I felt myself sinking into depression again. I didn’t have time to meditate and listen to my song.
Instead, I used my visualization to build some of that “worthy place” energy in my chest, moved it to my head, and felt a little lighter right away.
Five minutes later, I felt the same warmth, safety, peaceful rapture, and openness to joy I’d felt when meditating yesterday.
That “worthy place” state of mind stayed with me the whole rest of the day, replacing the depression as my default state of mind. If something discouraging happened, I only needed to get quiet and relax into those light, happy feelings of peaceful rapture that were always there. I feel empowered and excited that I found a new way to take care of myself.
What’s next?
The templating technique Mike walked me through for calming is widely applicable. Now that I’ve used it to become calm and to overcome depression, I’m eager to adapt it for a state of alert focus when I feel disconnected and distracted.