Each person has at their core a center of spiritual energy that radiates from their body. For most of us, the aura, or that cocoon of energy that surrounds our body, is invisible. But psychics report that they can see the aura and identify a person’s general state by the strength and color of the aura. For our purposes, we will call that combination of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies that make you who you are, the psychic self.

Our aura reflects our combined physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Healthy, well-balanced, content, and spiritually connected people have strong, bright auras, while sick, afflicted, depressed, or spiritually poor people have weak, dark auras. When people interact, their auras sometimes connect. And people with negative auras can actually drain positive people of their spiritual energy.

Our bodies have feedback mechanisms that govern our psychic and spiritual energies and determine the size, strength, and colors of our aura. The idea is simple. When you’re sick, you don’t think as clearly. When you don’t think clearly, your emotions are likely to become unbalanced and you may feel stressed. When you’re feeling stressed, you’re less likely to be able to maintain a spiritual connection to the people and positive energies around you. And the weaker your spiritual energies are, the sicker you will feel physically. You can get caught in a downward feedback spiral where your energies continue to degrade, you feel worse, and your aura grows weaker and darker.

On the other hand, when you feel good physically, when you are strong and healthy, you will be more mentally clear and alert. When you think more clearly, your emotions are more likely to be balanced and positive. And when these energies are positive, you can maintain and enhance your spiritual connection. So you feel better. You can also enter an upward spiral, constantly improving your general condition. Your aura will reflect this upward spiral, growing stronger and brighter as your condition improves.

External forces also affect you. Society teaches you how and what to think about many things, and this can shape your mental and emotional condition. If you exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet, your physical condition will be strong and stable. Economic factors can influence your mental health. If you are under financial stress, it will have the same effect as any other stress and degrade your energies. When you are financially stable and secure, you are less likely to be affected by financial stress. If you strongly disagree with the political decisions and actions your government is taking, you introduce another stress. Therefore, externalities have a role in your feedback mechanisms and can change your energy level.

The people in your life can affect your energies and change the condition of your psychic being. Positive people are likely to make you feel positive. Conversely, negative people are likely to “bring you down” by draining your psychic self of its energy and vitality.

Clearly, under this construction, stress of any kind can be very damaging, making your mental health just as important as your physical health. Wear seat belts to protect your physical health when you are in a car. You lock your house to protect yourself from thieves and intruders. You do what you can to protect yourself from criminals and people who would abuse or use you. So why not protect yourself from negative energies and influences that can drain your psychic energies?

The way to practice psychic self defense is to maintain as healthy a balance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy as possible. You do this by staying physically healthy through exercise and proper eating habits, by staying intellectually active and challenged, by achieving a positive emotional outlook, and by constantly improving your spiritual connections with other people and the world around you.

Introspection is a valuable tool. To begin this healing process, you must review your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to eliminate pessimism, resentment, anger, envy, and discontent. You need to replace those negative energies with positive energies like optimism, compassion, joy, contentment, and peace. At the same time, you should take a good look at your relationships. Where are they negative and destructive? Where are they healthy and positive? Some relationships may need to be abandoned when you realize they are really draining your psychic self and weakening your aura. And you should cultivate those relationships that are positive and healthy, because they can only make you stronger.

Bookstore shelves and Amazon.com are full of self-help books to help you in your cleansing process. The world’s great sacred texts—the Bible, the Qur’an, and the Bagavhad Gita—can help you find your spiritual center and direction. Twelve-step groups, when applicable, can be very helpful in guiding you through this process, as that is exactly what they were designed to do. And there are therapy and support groups available that can give you more information.

Meditation is the most important tool available to you that integrates your basic energies and cleanses you of negative energies. You can also try other “New Age” techniques such as becoming a vegetarian, using crystals and charms, and drinking healing herbal teas. But the point is to work on your psychic self to remove negative thoughts and destructive feelings from your being.

In the end, your own self-discipline and will to excel are your greatest strengths. Making a personal commitment to psychic self-defense requires a program of self-examination and self-improvement. Once on that path, your rewards will be so great that continuing will be automatic and desirable.

When you gain experience in this area, you will literally feel those moments when you are under “psychic attack”, when negative energies and influences are wearing you down. You will know how to protect yourself and how to make yourself stronger.

All of this may sound “out there” and silly. But it is a fact. There is nothing on this page that humanity has not known for thousands of years. Modern societies seem to want to forget these truths, to their own peril.