It is common to hear people talk about working with good and bad energy within qigong practice or meditation, taking in good, clearing out bad, and so on. Further, people may sometimes talk about objects, places, or even people having good or bad energy. But is the energy referred to truly good, or bad? And is using this terminology the most useful way to refer to the energy we experience?
The nature of energy
Strictly speaking, energy does not have any morality attached to it, energy is just energy. It takes many forms and one of its fundamental characteristics is that it is a kind of constant, neither being created nor destroyed, but simply converting from one form to another. So our interest in judging the quality of energy is not in passing some kind of judgement on the energy itself, but rather in assessing the form the energy is in currently and whether that is beneficial or detrimental to us.
A simple shorthand
As a simple shorthand, referring to energy as good or bad probably won’t cause too many problems, and it is an easy way to refer to the energy you are wanting more of compared to the energy you would like less of – I even use this shorthand way of referring to energy myself sometimes. But if we oversimplify too much, we run the risk of falling into a habit of thinking about one type of energy as always being bad and another type as always being good, and not recognize as easily which particular qualities of the energy are desirable or otherwise in a given situation, or its ability to change forms. Using such a broad classification can also make us less likely to examine the nature of the energy we are dealing with in as much detail as may be useful to us.
Context matters
And what is beneficial and what is detrimental depends very much on the specific situation. Hot energy may be very beneficial in a situation where warming is needed, but highly detrimental when there is already excess activity. Heavy energy may help to ground and consolidate in some contexts, but create sluggishness or blockages in others. Dirt may be undesirable smeared on your otherwise clean shirt, but very desirable in your vegetable garden.
Work with energy, rather than against it
Recognizing that not only are different types of energy desirable in different situations, but that it is possible for a given type of energy to change from one form to another also helps us to work with energy more effectively. Recognizing that a particular type of energy is not necessarily ‘bad’, but is rather just not in the place where it would be most useful, or not in the form that would bring the most benefit, inherently changes our interaction with it. Instead of feeling like we are in ‘conflict’ with this energy, our interaction becomes more about guiding and transforming. We are more able to work ‘with’ the energy to achieve desirable outcomes, instead of feeling like we have to work ‘against’ that same energy. This is ultimately an easier, more efficient, and more harmonious way to interact.
The right level of detail
Of course, we need to work at a level of detail that is effective for us in our qigong practice. There may be contexts where analyzing our energy down to a very precise level of detail is quite useful, particularly in a therapeutic context, but there are also many other situations where trying to focus on too much detail can make it difficult to tune into the energy in a subjective experiential way and work with it effectively within our practice. You may simply not be able to hold your awareness on your energy effectively if you are trying to focus on too many details at once, or details which are too fine. In these situations it can still be useful to use simplifications as ways to categorize energy as you put your focus and intention on it. You may choose to use concepts of good and bad when you do this, particularly if you have in your background awareness that what you mean by good and bad is specific to the context you are working with, and not a general value judgement. But you may also find it useful to use other generalizations that can be equally broad, but not contain the same level of inherent value judgement within them, or that while still being broad may focus at least a little more specifically on the nature of the energy you wish to work with to help you to be more effective in doing so.
Alternative ways to categorize the energy you work with
For example, you could focus on energy that you categorize as beneficial or detrimental, or you could focus on healthy and unhealthy energy. Getting a little more specific, you could focus on freeflowing or stagnant energy, light or dark energy, harmonious or disrupted energy. You may find that using these still general but slightly more specific ways of thinking about your energy helps you to work with it in a more harmonious and productive way, with less internal resistance to change.
Try it in your next qigong practice session
Perhaps this is something you could try in your next qigong practice session when you work to clear out or invite in some energy. Rather than thinking of the energy as simply bad or good, take a moment longer to really sense the qualities of the energy you are working with. See if you can perceive this with a little more detail, and then find a way that you can describe this to yourself to help focus your intention as you clear energy with certain characteristics and invite in energy with other characteristics that may be more beneficial to you.
I would be interested to hear your experience working with your energy in this way, and if you find that how you categorize the energy makes a difference to how easily or effectively you are able to work with the energy. Perhaps you could leave a comment about your experience below ????