By "projected energies" I mean the energies that we send out into the world. Granted, when seeing ourselves as masses of energy the distinctions between our internal and our external selves might be slightly arbitrary but, most of us are aware of our internal/external "boundaries" and we consider and treat ourselves and others with this "clarity". So... if the chakra system is a way of describing our internal workings, auras are one way of describing our external makeup.

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Our "aura" is the energy halo that surrounds our commonly-known-as "physical body". Auras can be qualified and characterised by their strength, their clarity, their colour, their uniformity, their "thickness", their activity and any of the other "energy" qualifiers we might think of. Some people knowingly see them but most of us feel them despite this perhaps being, in the large majority, unwittingly. And, always, our aura is a reflection/extension of "us". In my view, they are what we -- consciously or not -- project into the world. In my view, they are necessarily dynamic (meaning constantly shifting states). In my view, they are worthy of focus and care.

Auras can be seen as "whole" or they can be 'broken down' into layers. The edges between layers are palpable (I have yet to meet someone who can't feel them) and the layer thicknesses vary over time and around our body.

Closest to our physical selves is a layer that reflects/extends our physical selves. It is a layer most of us hold quite close and is, on average, about an inch or so away from our skin. We are very sensitive, very attuned to this layer.

The next layer outwards is our emotional body. The thickness of this layer varies greatly between individuals, between the sexes and amongst cultures. (For western women it is, perhaps on average, 4 to 5 inches away from our skin. For western men, on average, between 2 and 3 inches.) Most of us work -- almost always -- to mask/hide our emotions but we all (including professional actors while acting) have a "valve", a place where we let our emotions show. This valve, this place is usually felt/seen as a "bump" (with a larger or smaller, outward or inward, funnel opening) in our aura.

After the emotional layer comes the layer that is our projected intellect. This layer also differs and varies greatly between individuals given our ways of being, our interests, our activity levels and/but it is the edge of this layer that defines what many of us know as "our physical space and comfort" zone. We, rarely go beyond this "edge" when we interact "in general". Most of us get slightly fidgety when someone moves into it "uninvited". And, when we find ourselves working closely with someone, we usually meld at/in this layer. It is this layer, the outer edge of this layer, that we have learned to present to the world. It is the layer of ourselves that we use to shield our emotional and physical selves. Our "intimacy" starts here.

The layer that is the furthest out from our physical selves is our spiritual one. This layer can extend oh-so-far out and has the least "best defined" edge. We invite most people into this layer. We move at least "this" far away from someone when we are unsure of intentions, when something doesn't feel right. It is our most active barometer and antenna and signaling "station". This is our "generosity" and our "innocence" and most of us are both of these things (despite the sometimes whirlwind of stuff going on closer "in" :o)

Auras, the layers of the aura are not consistently "thick" from head to toe nor are they the same at the front, back or at our sides. We can and do pull layers (or areas of layers) "close" and we can and do expand them outwards. Sometimes there are "leaks", "bubbles", or "holes". Sometimes some layers are almost non-existent. And we, others, react/respond to these.

Like chakras, when we are "at our best", all layers of our aura are clear, active, whole and flowing. No layer is more important than any other. When we are balanced (and when we feel "safe"), there are no sharp edges between the layers. When we "flow" in the world, "all of us" -- the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual -- is equally present and responding, always in line with our intentions.

Everyone has these layers. And beyond simple "presence", there are notions of "transparency". People who very actively work with their own energy can actually choose what it is they wish to show, project and let be felt. They really can choose to be completely transparent energetically. And this works on the "receiving" side too... they can choose what it is they wish to see and feel from others.

Beyond this, we all have a natural way of living our projected energy. My son is someone who will let his energy fill up any "empty" space available and my daughter will hold herself close until she feels comfortable expanding outwards. Notably both of these ways are as they are and/but the combination of these two ways in particular can be tricky if neither is aware of what is going on. By this I mean that my daughter, or someone like her, can find her/himself "short of room to expand into" and my son, or someone like him, can find him/herself frustrated when no one else "shows up" to join him.

Given that our external selves are, well, "out there" (and hence are dependent on our surround) our state often relates to our sense of "safety" (and compatability) in any and all of the physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual realms. Notably it is this, this "safety" (and our chances of being in compatible situations), that is most affected by our conscious presence. Our awareness, our acting in our awareness of what energy (ours and our surround) is doing changes everything. This is where we give over power. It is where we take power back. It is where we go beyond "power" and simply "are" together. And, getting to that place is oh so very rare. The best most of us can do is to look after how we are in our own energy while continuing to work to be in places where we can be in a way that pleases us.

Our projected energies are indeed the space we take up and they reflect our -- conscious or not -- ways of how/why we take it up. Well, how neat is that? And if we could choose this (which we can), if we could look after this (which we can), why wouldn't we?

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Again, the concepts of cleansing etc. apply to auras. We can apply healing energies to auras. We can "read" them and shift them by working with them. We can choose what it is that we want to project and, in turn, receive through them. The following sections (will :o) discuss aspects of this in more detail...

• care of
• reading
• balancing
• projecting (or not)

We do -- all of us and each of us -- react and respond to people's energy fields, their auras, both consciously and unwittingly. Many of us know about pheromones. All of us "know" them. It's all part of the same "stuff".

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