©Arlene R. Taylor PhD    www.arlenetaylor.org

“I’m so glad we decided to meet for breakfast,” Tess said as she and Josh slipped into the booth. “Something really weird happened to us last night, and we want to talk about it!” We ordered, and then Tess continued: “As you know, Josh consults for two major companies, and they both scheduled their annual parties for the same night. Of course we had to put in an appearance at both of them.”

“How did you decide which party to attend first?” I asked out of curiosity.

Tess looked at Josh. He smiled (or was it a grimace?) and shrugged. “I’m more comfortable with the management team at one of the companies, so decided we’d get the difficult one out of the way first.”

As I munched on Lingonberry pancakes, their story unfolded. They expected to divide their time between the two events, but within an hour of arriving at the first party they were feeling jittery and even irritable. “By the time we left I was flat out exhausted,” Tess explained, “so exhausted that I told Josh I wasn’t up to the second one. But he said we had to put in an appearance and we’d just stay for a short time.”

More Lingonberry pancakes. Delicious! They had arrived at the second event, shaken hands with administration, greeted a few of the revelers, and then sat at a table in the corner from which they expected to make a discrete exit after a few more minutes. “But something changed,” Josh said. “In fact it was pretty amazing!” It turned out that within a few minutes not only had their irritation disappeared but also their sense of fatigue. This time it was my turn to smile. I was fairly certain there was a brain-function explanation but wanted to hear more about each party first. Tess summarized the situation this way:

Party #1: Lots of people crowed together in a room that was undersized for the group. Rock music playing so loudly that you could hardly communicate without shouting. Conversation seemed to center around the risk of terrorism and how life was going to hell in a handbasket, in terms of safety and quality, and on the fact that bonuses were smaller, due to a downturn in the housing market. Grouse, grouse, grouse is how Josh put it. “I get enough of that at work,” he said, “and I sure didn’t need more of the same at the annual social! Cheez!”

Party #2: Lots of people, but the room was more than twice as large, so it didn’t feel crowded. Soft seasonal music was playing, and no one had to shout. At this event the conversation centered around what the organization was doing that year to improve life in the surrounding communities. This ranged from gifting the homeless shelter with a tree and presents, to providing food for holiday dinners that would be served to the less fortunate. There was also a display of items that had recently been brought back from Africa by one of the couples, and Josh and Tess had spent an enjoyable hour hearing about their travels and safari experiences. “We stayed almost three hours,” Tess enthused, “and hated to leave because we were having such a good time. Go figure!” It was easy to do.

Think of your body as an electromagnetic field. It both produces and absorbs electromagnetic energy. Em energy for short. It sends and receives. It is also a resonator; it can resonate with almost any type of energy—positive or negative. At the first party it resonated with negative energy—a huge drain, but it resonated with positive energy at the second party, which is an energy booster.

“Explain!” said Josh with his typical male-brain-style brevity.

“Did you know that your heart contains a second brain?” I asked. They shook their heads. “Actually, it has its own independent nervous system with at least as many neurons as are found in various subcortical sections of the brain.” It turns out that the heart’s neurons are identical to neural cells in the brain. They operate with the same type of axonal and dendritic connections, and use the very same types of neurotransmitters. That’s why some have dubbed the heart “your second brain.” It certainly speaks to the old proverb: “As you think in your heart, so you are.”

Not only that, there is a two-way nervous system relay between the brain and the heart. Information about what happens in your brain gets sent to your heart, and vice versa. But here’s the kicker. Neurons in the brain and the heart generate electromagnetic or EM energy. Of the two, the heart is by far the largest generator of Em energy; its magnetic field is thought to be hundreds (if not thousands) if times greater than the brain’s. The heart sends and receives types/frequencies of energy and exchanges energy-information with other brains and hearts.

Josh set down his mug of hot chocolate and held up his hand. “Where does this EM energy go after it is generated?” he asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied. “Studies have shown that the heart’s electromagnetic field extends beyond your body, perhaps up to twelve or fifteen feet. It carries information about your emotional state to people and the environment around you. The field is so powerful that you can take an electrocardiogram reading from as far as three feet away from the body. And, since it is believed that energy is never destroyed, your Em energy may be bouncing around forever somewhere out in the universe.”

“Oh my goodness,” Tess exclaimed. “We were being influenced by the Em energy in the crowded room!”

“Studies have shown that your inner thoughts, feelings, and impressions directly impact your electromagnetic energy,” I said. “When you express those thoughts, feelings, and impressions the energy may be even more impactful.”

“I wonder if we could have positively influenced the first party if we had stayed longer,” Tess mused.

“In a pig’s eye!” Josh retorted promptly. “I’d had all of that I wanted!”

“Perhaps,” I replied, looking at Tess, “but in my experience it’s very difficult for the positive energy of one or two individuals to dissipate the negative energy of several. There are occasions when I choose to visit people who typically exude negative Em energy, but the length of the visit will be relatively short to minimize the drain to my own energy levels.”

“We’ve learned a lot from this experience,” Tess said.

Josh concurred. “Next year,” he said, “we will put in an appearance—but for only few minutes.”

Joss made an excellent point. Em energy carries information about your emotional state and dumps it into the environment around you. That is both exciting and depressing. If your emotional state is appreciative and affirming, you have the potential of positively impacting the environment around you. Of course the reverse is also true. Your negative and critical emotional states have the potential to negatively pollute your environment. Above all, you will be affected by the environments in which you place yourself and the length of time you spend there. You only have only so much energy, and you need to decide how to expend it. You also need to evaluate the potential impact of the environment on your energy level and be consciously selective.

The bill arrived, and we prepared to leave. Josh and Tess were light years ahead of most people on this planet in terms of understanding the impact human beings have on each other and the environment. The brain tends to keep only one thought at a time in the foreground of consciousness, so it is important to take responsibility for the type of thoughts you choose to think. They will impact your electromagnetic energy. It’s as if your thoughts broadcast energy out into the universe—negatively or positively. Negative thoughts impact the environment negatively and project a repelling energy; positive thought impact the environment positively and attract positive experiences.

Take a moment each day and use your brain to center attention toward your heart and appreciate the steady beats that unfailingly circulate blood throughout your brain and body. Emphasize affirming and appreciative thoughts. Not only will this positively impact every cell in your body, it will do the same for your immediate environment. You are more powerful than you might think!