Do you have an aura? (and what is it, anyway?) by Norma Gentile

reprinted from November 1999 PhenomeNEWS Magazine

I have always seen auras. They look like a cloud surrounding the physical body. They often appear to me as multi-colored, swirling masses of textured energy. As a child I wondered why people were all these different colors. Finally as an adult I know that there is no simple reason!

Even furniture is surrounded by an aura of energy. And of course animals and plants and trees all have auras. Have you ever noticed that at sunset you can see the energy aura of trees sitting up above them? It looks a bit like hazy clouds. Of course, living in Michigan it might well be clouds! The difference is that the energy of trees extends along the horizon only as far as the trees extend.

The fact that inanimate objects have auras has always fascinated me. I now understand that I am seeing a basic energy grid which helps hold the object's shape, plus the personal energy of the owner around the object.

This personal energy is what many psychics read when they touch an object and focus in on the person to whom it belongs.

In the human aura I see a similar grid holding the physical body together and additional layers that define our emotional, mental and even spiritual well-being. Oftentimes the imperfections of one layer of this energy aura will trigger similar imperfections in a neighboring layer.

One explanation for this is that information comes to us through each layer of the aura, much like sound moves through air. So a distortion in one layer will alter the information and this alteration is then carried through into the other layers.

In theory, if the distortion is corrected at the layer in which it originated, then our energy passes clearly onto the other layers, telling them to adapt to the corrected pattern. Hence the process of healing with energy or sound or visualization need only impact the originating point of the pattern.

Of course we are much more complicated than this simple theory. While we may say that we want to feel better, be happier and have a stronger connection with spirit, there is often an underlying network of sabotaging beliefs.

For example, if you felt better physically you might find yourself taking on more work, rather than continuing to learn how to meditate. In this instance your physical distress may be a way to nudge yourself toward a more fulfilling spiritual connection.

While there may seem to be general rules, each person uses their aura in unique ways. More and more I am seeing people who can shift and change their auras at will. And they aren't enlightened masters or new age healers! Most of them don't understand what they are doing, but they know it works.

While co-teaching a workshop last year I learned how to get another person's attention by gently placing a thought in their aura. As my friend was teaching, long past the start of the lunch break, I motioned to the clock. He was oblivious, totally consumed in his lecture. Unable to gracefully interrupt, I decided to try telepathy. I formed a simply phrase, "lunch now," in my own mind. I visualized it written out and let my body experience the feeling of hunger as I held the words in my mind's eye.

Then I looked at my friend, still engrossed in his teaching and imagined the written words and the sensation of hunger wrapped up as a gift. Very gently I placed this gift in his sixth chakra, just in front of his eyes. Within moments he paused, shifted his focus to his own body and announced that it was time to break for lunch.

I don't repeat this story as a way of breaking off committee meetings or long-winded speakers, but as an example of how sensitive we are to energies, including the thoughts of others, entering our auras. I later shared with my friend what I had done and he acknowledged that by having the idea of breaking for lunch presented to him telepathically, he had noticed that it was an appropriate action to take.

We are indeed marvelous creatures, with each of our physical bodies surrounded and supported by our own unique energy aura. Whether we are conscious of this energy field around us or not, I believe it is a vital part of who we are and how we interact with others.