Subtle Energy

Subtle energy is always there but often overlooked. We need to be present to experience it otherwise it can pass us by. We can get distracted by the obvious and the sensational, which then blocks our appreciation of the subtle, the finer tuning.

To write this article I needed to be in the garden, where it is easier to sense what is subtle and what is energy. To feel the breeze, hear the rustlings and see the flutterings of leaves. To be part of the great ocean of movement that feeds every sense door. Co-mingling with plants, trees, and the power of the elements. In the natural environment there is a heightened awareness of the contact between the inner and outer worlds. Nature is a great teacher.

'The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
Don't go back to sleep
You must ask for what you really want
Don't go back to sleep
People are going back and forth across the door sill where the two worlds touch
The door is round and open
Don't go back to sleep'

Rumi, 13th C

To truly experienced the subtle, it is useful to be aware of the gross. At any moment, we can lose communication, with ourselves and our surroundings. What blocks the subtle energy from flowing? Breathing is a key factor; it is continually disturbed by anticipation, expectation, clinging and in many other ways. If the breathing is present through every pore, and in every cell, then the subtle will pervade. Our cells are in constant communication; so are we with each other and the world around us - nothing is hidden.

The word subtle derives from the Latin - sub, under, and tela, web - under the web. The word energy derives from the Greek energeia, from en, in, and ergon, work. A web with energy is like a kaleidoscope, with its infinitely changing colours and patterns. Everything is moving, even within stillness.

'Within this fathom-long body,…I show the coming into being and the passing away of the universe. '

The Buddha