People's moods really do affect us - why?
I just want to make an analogy here. For simplicity's sake, let's put people on a scale
++ highly positive, energetic individual, hard to upset
+ optimistic, easy going person
0 fairly neutral life
- pessimistic, discontent, insecure
-- highly toxic individual, out to cause trouble
As the picture points out well the stronger your aura grows, the harder it is for things to get at you. On the flip side, those who have not done their self work can feel undermined by such a + presence. Due to their own unresolved issues, they may end up projecting the things they don't like onto said person. "They're too loud" "too full of themselves" can be a cover up for jealousy. Those who are particularly -- will feel threatened by a ++ so instead of wishing to rise to their level, they would rather go out of their way to drag them down. Whether they succeed or not will depend on the +'s endurance, but for someone who just happens to be in a good mood, this attack could easily ruin their day. Our aim as people is to get to a ++ state that makes us untouchable by petty things. Address your problems, have a cry if you need to, but essentially, once you rise to a ++ level, bad days are incredibly easy to get over. You will bounce back to your natural state in no time at all and be content once more.
However, this is just an overview. If this is interesting, you could go a step further and actually measure people's states of consciousness as a numerical value. A system of doing so has been devised already by Dr David Hawkins. It measures your state of being on a scale of 1-1000, with the help of muscle kinesiology. But that's a whole new subject in itself. To those of you who want to properly dive into this subject, I'd highly recommend his book Power vs Force, or there are also some informative videos where other people explain how this scale works. The results are as shown:
What's particularly impressive is that these numbers aren't just pinched out of the blue. All emotional states vibrate at different frequencies, with some naturally higher than others. You'll notice that guilt, despair and the like are at the lowest end, because these are what drain your life energy. We aren't so different from a phone in one sense, beings that we too have a battery life and need more than just food and sleep to replenish it. Has there ever been a time when you felt so bored, all you wanted to do was go to bed, but after a visit from a lively friend suddenly all that tiredness vanished? This is an example of vibes at work (by the end of this article, you will have no doubts whatsoever that Vibehood was named for this exact reason). That friend was able to pass on a little of their energy onto you, without having lost any for themselves. The result is that you've both dragged each other up, which in my own opinion is what we all need to be doing for each other.
Just the same as we need physical fuel, our soul needs food too. Good sources come from a job you love, a sense of purpose, connecting with other positive people, family, friends, excitement, intimacy, a good workout and plenty of things to laugh about. Without a steady source of at least a few of these factors, it's sad to say that an estimated 78% of the population fall below the 200 marker point. The level of Courage is a big turning point, because it's what stands between a positive mindset and a negative one. It plays an important role because it's at courage that you finally learn to admit you're not a perfect person, that it's not the whole world against you, the innocent one. This may sound obvious, but you'd be surprized at just how many refuse to look that truth in the face. So that is why when they do, yes, it does require a fair amount of courage. One thing that you will just have to come to terms with is that this world will always offer you challenges (or problems, depending on your perspective), without fail. But it is how you react to them that really determines what your level of consciousness is. Those who live with a mindset below 200 will see it as an attack, or at the worse end, a reason to take their life. To make the shift into Neutrality and Willingness is not an easy task, and I mean to have that satisfaction with life on an everyday basis, not just when you have a stroke of luck. That's why it's not so common to meet people who are genuinely easy-going and not hiding any nastiness below the surface. But what's rarer still is to find someone who has moved beyond simply enjoying their day-to-day tasks, and has really made an effort to make their worldview higher still. By this, I mean the type of person who seems to literally radiate Love or Peace. Many will be drawn to them because there's just something about their presence that feels safe, unconditionally accepting. Have you ever met someone like this?
The reason this is so rare to find is because chances are, such people have gone through enormous amounts of self-work and/or suffering to achieve this level. It's something you're more likely to find with monks than your average city kid. Sound far-fetched? If you want, I can describe from my own experience what some of these upper level states actually feel like. There've been periods of my life where things have been working out so well, I am grateful for literally every passing day, each new blessing, each new opportunity that rolls up effortlessly. The longest was Summer 2021. That was 3 months of almost solid joy, gratitude and speaking too fast because I was just that bubbly. I aim to make the next joyful periods longer, of course, and the negative ones less frequent and intense, but that really wasn't a bad start. The thing to remember is that like attracts like. Sometimes, all it takes is to overcome one small hurdle to realize that all the good progress was just waiting to come crashing in behind it. You could call it a period of flow. Once the positive cycle gets set into motion, it only gains momentum. In that one Summer, I restarted my favourite hobby, found a cool new job, then an even cooler one, set up my website (akinisa.com) went to my first rave, met my first partner and had more adventures than all my previous teenage life. It's a shame this cycle couldn't last forever, but hey, we all have our work to do. Hopefully, by the end of it, we can all be like those monks riding a perfectly endless wave of bliss. Let's call that the end goal. No need to hurry the process.
Here's an activity for you to try
This is the warm up, as it shouldn't take more than one day to complete. Once you've looked at the video and understood what's what, think of 1-2 examples from your life (more recent is better) where you've experienced each emotional state quite strongly. Or something memorable, something that's stuck in your mind. Take time to remember the details, what happened, how you felt, reacted, how your views or general life might have changed afterwards, if you learnt anything. Be as specific as possible. Don't worry if you can't think of an occasion for each one - especially on the upper and lower ends of the scale. It might just mean those levels are still ahead for you.
Again, just a quick one, more for fun than anything else. Try colour coding the emotions listed above, plus as many others as you can think of. It doesn't have to mean anything, just whatever feels right and pleases your eye.
Moving on, we're going to use a calendar to put the colours into practice. First two parts may be enough for you, that's fine, but if you want to do the exercise properly, you need to commit to a bit of thinking at the end of every day. No exceptions, thank you. The minimum time scale is a month, the max is, well, however long you want to do it for. All you have to do is, before going to bed, look through your day honestly and critically. How was this day for me and what was the main, overriding emotion I had? Was I chilled or did I let things get to me? Was I mainly excited, angry, or plain tired? You're going to use the colour code to mark down what this day meant to you. If you feel you want to keep a bit of a diary too, go for it. The point is to do this day in, day out. Towards the end of the month what you'll see is a clear pattern of what your mind's 'climate' is like, which is crucial to know if you want to get it higher. Even if you're up and down on an emotional rollercoaster, that's still a pattern! Your goal might be to even it out, right?! Also, what's good about having a scale is that you can actually work with it. It's not really enough to say 'I'm a happy person,' or 'I'm a sad person.' If you want to feel better and work on any problems, it's great to see where you're at exactly and what the next stage up is!
Last part is up to you. You've seen what you're like, recognized it, and should by now noticed any issues in life that need particular attention. Use what you've done so far to make a plan of action, with the question: what's holding me back from stepping up the ladder of consciousness? With that in mind, all the best stepping forward. (PS. Asking for help is not a weakness. We need it all, at times.)