<Belanger, Michelle; http://www.kheperu.org/vampirism/metavamp11.html>
Five Tips for Feeding without Harm
If you are Wiccan *and* a psychic vampire, what do you do? How do you balance your religious ideals of harming no one against your own health and well-being? The followers of a number of religious, spiritual, and personal paths are encouraged to place the well-being of others over the well-being of the Self. Is it possible to adhere to such ethics and still answer one's needs as a psychic vampire?
In the following article, Michelle offers five techniques for feeding that do not directly harm another. Several of the techniques actually help the person who is fed upon.
Psychic vampirism is not a spiritual path unto itself. It is a state of being and can be best approached as a metaphysical condition. Some one who is a true psychic vampire regularly and actively needs to take in outside energy in order to maintain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Partial psychic vampires can supplement their energy with natural, elemental, or even celestial sources. Full-blown psychic vampires are unable to process anything but the vital life energy of others.
Psychic vampirism can occur in a person of any gender, racial background, or belief system. Although it does not always manifest noticeably until after puberty, true psychic vampirism is an in-born condition present from birth onward.
While psychic vampirism doesn't generally care what you believe about your relationship with the world around you, how you choose to express your psychic vampirism often relies very heavily upon your personal spiritual, ideological, and ethical standards.
There is an element among Left Hand Path vampires who eagerly embrace their psychic vampirism, feeling little to no compunction in fulfilling their needs at the expense of others. You especially see this sort of mindset embraced in the writings of the Temple of the Vampire, though I've encountered it among others as well. Yet those who follow a path which places the well-being of others above the well-being of the Self often run into serious difficulties with their inherently vampiric condition.
In traditions like Wicca where the highest precept is "An It Harm None", a psychic vampire has a hard time justifying his or her vampirism. Hindus and Buddhists, who revere ahimsa (literally "no harm"), run into this same difficulty, as do many humanists who, though not distinctly spiritual, feel it is not their place to take away something that rightfully belongs to another.
Just the presence of the word "vampire" in the term psychic vampire tends to give people the impression of someone who is a predator or a parasite. Those who are vampirized are inevitably characterized as "victims". Yet a true psychic vampire has a legitimate need for the energy they feed upon. When they are aware of that need, it is entirely possible for them to express their vampiric nature positively. Consciously directed vampiric feeding can take the form of a reciprocal exchange and, with certain techniques, a psychic vampire may even feed in a manner that is ultimately beneficial to their feeding partner.
This begs the question, however, of how one takes the vital life force of another living being without ultimately causing harm? Below are five suggestions for feeding in a way that offers a positive exchange or does not infringe directly on the well-being of another:
1. Feed ambiently. Ambient energy is that energy which is being constantly given off by all living beings. Humans especially produce large amounts of ambient energy in emotionally-charged situations like concerts, lively worship services, and jam-packed conventions or fairs. Ambient energy is a by-product of the living, and once it is given off by them, it is no longer attached to any single specific person. Such energy is cast adrift in the environment to be caught up in currents and recycled by the cosmos, fed upon by various otherworldly entities, or re-absorbed by psychic vampires and non-vampires alike. If you have serious personal objections to taking the energy from another living being because you feel that they need this energy as much or more than you do, then ambient energy is your safest choice. And if you don't soak up some of the ambient energy in a highly charged environment, it's very likely that someone or something else will.
2. Give a tense person a backrub. We have all been in that situation where there is all this stress and tension thrumming throughout every muscle and nerve. It's not a good idea to carry around this kind of stressed-out energy. It builds up as blockages that manifest in muscle spasms, cramps, and worse. Relaxing baths and grounding techniques release stress by helping remove that pent-up energy from the body, washing it away or sending it into the earth. A psychic vampire can remove this energy as well, filtering out the unhealthy emotional component and assimilating the vital energy that remains. Establishing physical contact with the hands is a very efficient method of taking energy, and with a backrub, you are exchanging a soothing, pleasurable experience for a little of what you need. To insure that you do no harm to your partner, you have to cultivate a good deal of self-control so that you never take any energy other than that which is causing the blockages, muscle tension and stress. And filtering is essential so you don't simply adopt all that stress and blocked energy into yourself.
3. Help someone who is anxious or high-strung to relax. Some people have entirely too much nervous energy for their own good. Perhaps some situation in their lives has their mind racing. Perhaps they chronically are hyperkinetic and can't sit still. Whatever the problem, such people are generating more energy than they can comfortably handle and after a while, it has no place to go. Grounding typically helps such people cope with their over-energetic state, and when they do this, they are literally dumping their excess energy out into the world. If you know such a person and they are amenable to the idea, make their problem your solution and withdraw the excess energy into you. You can make this a particularly soothing experience for them by lightly tracing lines with your fingers on the inside of their wrist and palm while allowing the overflow of energy to seep into you. Or you can lay their head in your lap and gently stroke their temples and brow, again using the physical contact as a focus for transferring the energy from them to you. Your partner will find themselves more relaxed (and probably able to sleep better!) and you will have some of the vital energy you need.
4. Help someone vent negative emotions. A lot of psychic vampires who are unaware of their condition instinctively learn that being a shoulder to cry on makes them feel good. Some unawakened psychic vampires even learn to create highly emotional situations around them expressly to soak up all the emotions directed their way, negative or otherwise. As we saw with ambient energy, highly emotional states cause people to give off a good deal more energy than usual. Especially when the emotion is hurtful and negative, a lot of this also gets built up within a person and needs to be purged. Venting these negative emotions helps get their built-up energy out, and a skilled psychic vampire can assist with this process. Helping a friend release pent-up emotion lets them purge the negativity from their system and allows you to take the energy that comes with it for yourself. The key here is to exercise this capacity only consciously so you don't fall into the trap of creating melodrama around you simply to feed upon the wealth of emotion. Furthermore, while some psychic vampires are more than able to assimilate emotionally-laden energy without much ill-effect, you will probably want to learn how to filter the negativity out so you don't run the risk of experiencing the bad emotions yourself.
5. Engage in Tantric energy play. In all of the person-to-person techniques mentioned above, it is best to act with your partner's full knowledge and consent. However, when it comes to Tantric play, the consent of your partner is essential. There is a reason that Tantric work is used for sex magick. Sexual play always generates a good deal of energy, and this energy is just waiting to be harnessed. Tantric work does not always have to equate strictly to intercourse but can involve any activity directed toward the pleasurable stimulation of your partner. Adding energy work to the physical aspect of intimate play intensifies the experience and heightens all aspects of pleasure. Since you are engaged in close contact with your partner, it is easy to take the resulting energy into yourself, and in fact it will be hard *not* to. A certain level of energy is exchanged between partners in every type of sexual encounter, and for a psychic vampire who is skilled in both energy work and the sensual arts, there will be more than enough compensation to make the experience worthwhile for your partner.
Five Tips for Feeding without Harm
If you are Wiccan *and* a psychic vampire, what do you do? How do you balance your religious ideals of harming no one against your own health and well-being? The followers of a number of religious, spiritual, and personal paths are encouraged to place the well-being of others over the well-being of the Self. Is it possible to adhere to such ethics and still answer one's needs as a psychic vampire?
In the following article, Michelle offers five techniques for feeding that do not directly harm another. Several of the techniques actually help the person who is fed upon.
Psychic vampirism is not a spiritual path unto itself. It is a state of being and can be best approached as a metaphysical condition. Some one who is a true psychic vampire regularly and actively needs to take in outside energy in order to maintain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Partial psychic vampires can supplement their energy with natural, elemental, or even celestial sources. Full-blown psychic vampires are unable to process anything but the vital life energy of others.
Psychic vampirism can occur in a person of any gender, racial background, or belief system. Although it does not always manifest noticeably until after puberty, true psychic vampirism is an in-born condition present from birth onward.
While psychic vampirism doesn't generally care what you believe about your relationship with the world around you, how you choose to express your psychic vampirism often relies very heavily upon your personal spiritual, ideological, and ethical standards.
There is an element among Left Hand Path vampires who eagerly embrace their psychic vampirism, feeling little to no compunction in fulfilling their needs at the expense of others. You especially see this sort of mindset embraced in the writings of the Temple of the Vampire, though I've encountered it among others as well. Yet those who follow a path which places the well-being of others above the well-being of the Self often run into serious difficulties with their inherently vampiric condition.
In traditions like Wicca where the highest precept is "An It Harm None", a psychic vampire has a hard time justifying his or her vampirism. Hindus and Buddhists, who revere ahimsa (literally "no harm"), run into this same difficulty, as do many humanists who, though not distinctly spiritual, feel it is not their place to take away something that rightfully belongs to another.
Just the presence of the word "vampire" in the term psychic vampire tends to give people the impression of someone who is a predator or a parasite. Those who are vampirized are inevitably characterized as "victims". Yet a true psychic vampire has a legitimate need for the energy they feed upon. When they are aware of that need, it is entirely possible for them to express their vampiric nature positively. Consciously directed vampiric feeding can take the form of a reciprocal exchange and, with certain techniques, a psychic vampire may even feed in a manner that is ultimately beneficial to their feeding partner.
This begs the question, however, of how one takes the vital life force of another living being without ultimately causing harm? Below are five suggestions for feeding in a way that offers a positive exchange or does not infringe directly on the well-being of another:
1. Feed ambiently. Ambient energy is that energy which is being constantly given off by all living beings. Humans especially produce large amounts of ambient energy in emotionally-charged situations like concerts, lively worship services, and jam-packed conventions or fairs. Ambient energy is a by-product of the living, and once it is given off by them, it is no longer attached to any single specific person. Such energy is cast adrift in the environment to be caught up in currents and recycled by the cosmos, fed upon by various otherworldly entities, or re-absorbed by psychic vampires and non-vampires alike. If you have serious personal objections to taking the energy from another living being because you feel that they need this energy as much or more than you do, then ambient energy is your safest choice. And if you don't soak up some of the ambient energy in a highly charged environment, it's very likely that someone or something else will.
2. Give a tense person a backrub. We have all been in that situation where there is all this stress and tension thrumming throughout every muscle and nerve. It's not a good idea to carry around this kind of stressed-out energy. It builds up as blockages that manifest in muscle spasms, cramps, and worse. Relaxing baths and grounding techniques release stress by helping remove that pent-up energy from the body, washing it away or sending it into the earth. A psychic vampire can remove this energy as well, filtering out the unhealthy emotional component and assimilating the vital energy that remains. Establishing physical contact with the hands is a very efficient method of taking energy, and with a backrub, you are exchanging a soothing, pleasurable experience for a little of what you need. To insure that you do no harm to your partner, you have to cultivate a good deal of self-control so that you never take any energy other than that which is causing the blockages, muscle tension and stress. And filtering is essential so you don't simply adopt all that stress and blocked energy into yourself.
3. Help someone who is anxious or high-strung to relax. Some people have entirely too much nervous energy for their own good. Perhaps some situation in their lives has their mind racing. Perhaps they chronically are hyperkinetic and can't sit still. Whatever the problem, such people are generating more energy than they can comfortably handle and after a while, it has no place to go. Grounding typically helps such people cope with their over-energetic state, and when they do this, they are literally dumping their excess energy out into the world. If you know such a person and they are amenable to the idea, make their problem your solution and withdraw the excess energy into you. You can make this a particularly soothing experience for them by lightly tracing lines with your fingers on the inside of their wrist and palm while allowing the overflow of energy to seep into you. Or you can lay their head in your lap and gently stroke their temples and brow, again using the physical contact as a focus for transferring the energy from them to you. Your partner will find themselves more relaxed (and probably able to sleep better!) and you will have some of the vital energy you need.
4. Help someone vent negative emotions. A lot of psychic vampires who are unaware of their condition instinctively learn that being a shoulder to cry on makes them feel good. Some unawakened psychic vampires even learn to create highly emotional situations around them expressly to soak up all the emotions directed their way, negative or otherwise. As we saw with ambient energy, highly emotional states cause people to give off a good deal more energy than usual. Especially when the emotion is hurtful and negative, a lot of this also gets built up within a person and needs to be purged. Venting these negative emotions helps get their built-up energy out, and a skilled psychic vampire can assist with this process. Helping a friend release pent-up emotion lets them purge the negativity from their system and allows you to take the energy that comes with it for yourself. The key here is to exercise this capacity only consciously so you don't fall into the trap of creating melodrama around you simply to feed upon the wealth of emotion. Furthermore, while some psychic vampires are more than able to assimilate emotionally-laden energy without much ill-effect, you will probably want to learn how to filter the negativity out so you don't run the risk of experiencing the bad emotions yourself.
5. Engage in Tantric energy play. In all of the person-to-person techniques mentioned above, it is best to act with your partner's full knowledge and consent. However, when it comes to Tantric play, the consent of your partner is essential. There is a reason that Tantric work is used for sex magick. Sexual play always generates a good deal of energy, and this energy is just waiting to be harnessed. Tantric work does not always have to equate strictly to intercourse but can involve any activity directed toward the pleasurable stimulation of your partner. Adding energy work to the physical aspect of intimate play intensifies the experience and heightens all aspects of pleasure. Since you are engaged in close contact with your partner, it is easy to take the resulting energy into yourself, and in fact it will be hard *not* to. A certain level of energy is exchanged between partners in every type of sexual encounter, and for a psychic vampire who is skilled in both energy work and the sensual arts, there will be more than enough compensation to make the experience worthwhile for your partner.