One of the most interesting conversations I ever had was with a professional dancer who had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at a young age. She described how frightened and out of control she felt...until she discovered dancing. Then, her mind's obsession with ascribing patterns to things, and her body's compulsion to move in prescribed patterns, had an outlet, and while she still noticed symptoms occasionally, she finally felt comfortable in her own skin. Additionally, while she regularly practiced dancing to a degree that some might consider obsessive, she soon became quite happy in her life and successful in her chosen profession.

The main reason why this was so intriguing to me was because I quickly recognized a similar pattern in my own past. For many years my mood was a roller coaster of highs and lows. I generally felt dis-empowered and I alternated between anxiety and depression more often than not. In retrospect, I realize that it felt sort of like I was driving a car but I couldn't see out the windshield.

Although I had been reading about and practicing magic and metaphysics for some time, a big turning point for me was when I cleared a bunch of clutter out of my apartment and suddenly felt so much lighter and more joyful. It was then that I experienced firsthand the connection between the seen and the unseen realms. I realized that the so-called "mundane" world and the so-called "magical" world were not separate, but two sides of the same coin.

Once that occurred, it wasn't long before I looked at everything from both perspectives (energetic and physical) simultaneously, and constantly worked with the principle that seen and unseen realms are not only inextricably linked, but that they constantly interact with and affect each other. I began to put this principle into practice through things like space clearing and daily visualization rituals to clear my chakras and protect my energetic field (like the one below). I also went to feng shui school and began practicing feng shui and energy work professionally. During this time, my life momentum turned around and I began to feel more consistently happy, joyful, safe, and empowered.

So, after considering the dancer who had danced her way out of the most painful aspects of OCD, as well as my own personal healing experience, I started thinking: I wonder if what we call "mental disorders" could sometimes actually be latent talents? In other words, what if talents are like electric wiring, and until they are located, grounded, and properly directed, their power flies around our lives dangerously, creating unpleasant and challenging conditions in their wake?

Thinking back to a number of people I have known or encountered who suffered from things like anxiety and depression, or even more serious conditions like schizophrenia, this hypothesis began to make even more sense to me as I saw a pattern of especially creative, gifted, and intuitive people whose spiritual talents may have remained largely unfocused because they were devalued or overlooked.

As a result of all this philosophizing, I have concluded that for sensitive and spiritually gifted folks like us—and I can't believe you would have continued reading this article for this long if you weren't sensitive and spiritually gifted—consciously managing our considerable supply of spiritual energy is a must if we are going to feel happy, joyful, and empowered on a regular basis. Since it keep our energy clear and flowing in an ideal way while helping us manifest positive conditions in every area of our lives, I sometimes call it "good magical hygiene."

In The Good Energy Book, in addition to good magical hygiene practices, I provide a whole system of personal and environmental energy management for people like us, so that we can retain all the desirable aspects of our spiritual sensitivity while setting healthy boundaries and deciding what types of energy we do and do not want in our mind, body, spirit, personal energy field, and home environment. Additionally, the practices included in The Good Energy Book can help us focus and direct our significant spiritual power toward healing ourselves, healing others, consciously releasing the conditions we don't desire, and consciously manifesting the conditions we do desire—not just during rituals, but all the time, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

The following meditation is an example of one of these practices. In fact, it is perhaps the most vital aspect of my spiritual practice when it comes to staying positive and directing my spiritual/magical energy in constructive and life-affirming ways. It gets all the compulsories covered and keeps my energy as clear and focused as possible throughout the day, so I do it (or something like it) almost every day. You might want to commit to doing it every day for a week or two, and then, once you experience its benefits firsthand, ease yourself gently into the habit.

Please note that as you begin to practice this meditation, you might find that variations on the theme work better for you—if this happens, then definitely go with them.

Somewhere where you will not be disturbed, sit comfortably with your spine straight. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and relax. When you feel relaxed and centered, feel your weight upon whatever you are sitting on. Consciously connect with the comforting and supportive earth beneath you. Then, visualize/imagine/feel that you are growing roots of light. Send these roots down into the earth. See them going down and down, past layers of rock, water, and dirt. See them looping and spiraling as they continue to reach down further and further, toward the center of the earth. Eventually, when it feels right, visualize/imagine/feel these roots entering the core of the earth. See this core as a blindingly bright, golden-white sphere of concentrated, magnetic light. This light gently yet powerfully tugs you down, anchoring your body even more securely in the earth via your roots.

Now, see this golden, magnetic light traveling up your roots toward your body. Drink it upwards at a good pace. Now, see it enter your root chakra, the area at the base of your spine where your body connects with the earth. As the light reaches your root chakra (which is a horizontally spinning wheel of ruby red light), your chakra spins faster and gets brighter, any and all stagnant energy or debris spinning off and immediately dissolving. See this light continue upward until it reaches the vertically spinning wheel of orange light halfway between your bellybutton and your sex organ. This chakra—the sacral chakra—also spins faster and gets brighter as it is immediately cleansed of all energetic debris. Visualize this cleansing action continue with each chakra progressively, in this order:

Solar Plexus: Yellow, vertically spinning, halfway between your sternum and bellybutton

Heart: Green, vertically spinning, in the center of your sternum

Throat: Blue, vertically spinning, in the center of your neck

Third Eye: Indigo, vertically spinning, in the center of your forehead just above your eyebrows

Crown: Violet or white, horizontally spinning, at the very top of your head like a small hat

Now, see a column of light continue upward, past the top of your head, as if you are growing a tree trunk of light. See this light move up and up, until it exits the earth's atmosphere and connects with the cosmic realm of pure light, where it branches out like a tree soaking up the sun. See this cosmic light as blindingly bright white light with rainbow shimmers or sparkles, and drink this light in. See it moving down your trunk, back toward your body at whatever pace feels right. Then, see it enter the crown of your head and fill your head completely with this light. See/feel it continue to move down to your neck, shoulders, heart, arms, hands, belly, organs, legs, and feet. Visualize/imagine/feel this cosmic light merging with the earth light within you, and feel at once grounded in the earth and inspired by the heavens.

Next, visualize a glowing vacuum tube of light moving through and around your energy field, removing any and all lingering heaviness, stagnant energy, fear, guilt, and negative attachments. When this feels complete, see yourself bathed in a sphere of very bright, glowing white light and then a sphere of glowing indigo/violet light. Charge this indigo light with the intention that inside of it, only love remains, and through it, only love may enter.

Finish by setting intentions and consciously directing your spiritual energy toward creating the conditions you desire. For example, you might like to invoke divine help for protecting your home, vehicle, and loved ones, and visualize the successes you'd like to experience throughout your day. You might also like to take some time to feel the feelings and see the pictures associated with the things you'd like to manifest in your life: your dream car, job, or relationship. Or you can get creative: if you'd like to manifest more prosperity for example, you might visualize a fountain of sparkly gold coins moving throughout your entire energy field. Or, if you'd like to call in more romance in your marriage, you might send a waterfall of rose petals through the roof of your bedroom.

As you can imagine, getting in the habit of performing a meditation like this before you begin your day can really lend itself to a beautiful and successful life. It not only clears you, grounds you, and connects you with the realm of all possibility, it also gets your energy moving in the right direction with regards to your mood and general life conditions. And, once you do get in the habit, it doesn't have to take much time at all. Even five minutes can do the trick.