In the 21st century, personal protection is not a concept most people think a lot about.
There aren’t as many lions, tigers, and bears to be on the lookout for. However, my experience is that the dangers are out there, they just come in different packages from what our grandparents faced. There are still people who want to steal your energy, power, and possessions/money not caring how they hurt you or your family. There are still Mother Earth events and economic crashes. There are still events that seem to come out of the blue: car crashes, falling boulders, autoimmune diseases, and other “acts of God”.
The first line of defense is within our body.
How do we physically support a healthy immune system through nutrition and exercise? Then there are the emotional and mental aspects of the system that are greatly affected by chronic stress. How are we doing there? There is a lot good information available these days about supporting the immune system and releasing stress, anxiety, and fear. I have found the Sedona Method to be superb (www.sedona.com).
Then there are the outward dangers.
I believe that to create true protection we need connection and support from something bigger, smarter, and more aware than we are. My teacher, Rosalyn Bruyere, always said, “”The biggest aura wins” or in other words, that which carries the most energy wins. Our energy field is strongest when we are fully aware and in all our bodies, but that isn’t enough. Picture standing behind you at all times is a relaxed, all aware martial artist who is also aware of all the non- physical worlds. This is what we need.
Calling on something greater than we are is to call on God/Spirit.
For me, this is a little to amorphous so I choose to call on those manifestations of spirit whose role is protection. These energies/beings have been fed by humans for centuries so have an energy field that is already strong that we can then tap into. In the Judeo-Christian world, this would be Archangel Michael. In sacred geometry, this would be the 4 sided pyramid. Every religious/spiritual tradition has beings that do this or, as with the Tibetan Buddhists, has an understanding of how to work with protection. Many traditions use animal spirits. Who represent protection in your traditions?
Many of us start with childhood experiences from stories or the church/religion that we grew up in.
As an adult when I decided that I needed conscious protection, I went to Tinkerbell. Not the usual choice, but she was mine. Someone introduced me to Michael’s energy and it terrified me. Next I moved to an energy that I called Herman and later realized that it was “her man”. When I began to feel that Herman needed help, I noticed that my birthday was Saint Michael’s Day in the Catholic Church so I decided to try Michael if he would back off and not scare me so which he did. It doesn’t matter who/what you choose, what matters is if connecting with that energy makes you feel safe and more coherent.