Practice can release energy locked in old conditioning, and it helps to let this energy spread evenly through the whole body. Otherwise it can concentrate, stagnate, tip into imbalance, and feed more reactivity. My experience has been that the breaking up of deeply entrenched reactive patterns happens unpredictably and can take years, decades, or a lifetime. As patterns fall apart, all kinds of experiences can arise: clarity, intensity, agitation, vulnerability, confusion—even feelings of craziness.
This guided meditation from A Trackless Path I has been very helpful to me over the years because it takes us through an energy dispersion practice that can help to balance unruly energy. I’ve found this practice immensely valuable, not just on retreats, but also as part of daily practice when life feels like a rollercoaster or like riding a wild horse. Ken explains this in great detail in When Energy Runs Wild.
I've found that when a part of a deeply conditioned pattern is dissolving or releasing, it doesn't need interpretation. It needs space, patience, and a way for the energy to redistribute itself. As Ken says, "It is best to move in the direction of balance."
Ken: So, let’s just let the mind settle. Body on the cushion. Mind in the body. And relaxation in the mind.
[Bell]
I’m going to take you through an energy dispersion exercise for balancing energy at the end of sitting practice—often helpful in retreat situations or intensive practice situations.
So, let the body settle. Let the breath settle. And let the mind and heart settle. [Pause]
Then let your attention drop to the dantien, the center of your body, four fingers below your navel, a couple of inches in front of your spine, right in the center of your body. And feel energy gathering there.
You may feel that part of your body getting a little heavier. Maybe there’s a slight kinesthetic sensation. Maybe you have your own way of experiencing energy. Just feel energy collecting there, following the general principle of energy follows attention. [Pause]
Let your attention widen. And feel the energy spreading from the dantien throughout lower torso, and abdomen. Up into the upper abdomen and chest. Down into the pelvic region and the legs. Right down the legs to the toes, feet and toes. Now into your arms and down into your hands and right up into your head. Energy spreading gently, smoothly, through the whole body. [Pause]
And then feel the energy coming out of the pores of your skin all over your body, evenly, so that you come to be sitting in a field of energy that extends two or three inches beyond your body. Top and bottom, front, back, both sides, all over. And just sit for a few minutes in that field of energy. [Pause]
Then let it go. And rest for a minute or two. [Pause]
And again, bring your energy to the center of your body. Four fingers below the navel and a couple of inches in front of your spine, and feel energy gathering there again. [Pause]
And again, feel the energy spreading all through your torso and abdomen up into the chest, down into the pelvis, into the arms and legs and up into your head. [Pause]
So energy spreads evenly through your whole body. And feel the energy coming out of the pores of your skin, in front of your body and the back, top of the head, bottom of your legs and feet, arms, so you come to be sitting in a field of energy that extends two or three inches away from your body. [Pause]
Then let it all go and just rest. [Pause]
And once more, feel energy collecting in the dantien. Let it spread through all your body, abdomen, the torso, arms, legs, head. [Pause]
Feel it come out of the pores of your skin. And you’re sitting in a field of energy that extends two or three inches away from your body, evenly all over your whole body. And just rest there. [Pause]
[Three bells]
Now this is a simple dispersion exercise. As I said before, dispersion here doesn’t mean dissipating the energy. It means spreading it uniformly through the whole system so that imbalances are evened out, it doesn’t stagnate anywhere, cause problems. You can use this dispersion exercise after periods of meditation just to balance energy. And it’s particularly useful in retreat settings like this where one’s been practicing a lot. The level of energy has been raised. Sometimes imbalances have set up in the course of the day. But spread this out and it may help one to sleep more easily and peacefully rather than being a bit wired.
This is quite a safe technique. There are no inherent dangers in it that I know of. And if you’re feeling very high states of energy, you can extend it further than two or three inches. You can take it out six inches, or even six feet or more. So you just have this feeling of being in an even field of energy which is commensurate with what you’re feeling. And you’ll know how far to take it out by how you feel. It’s when you just begin to settle and feel in balance that will tell you that that’s the right distance to take it. And again, you’re not removing energy from your body, you’re creating a larger and larger field. So, again I want to emphasize this isn’t about dissipating the energy, but dispersing it so that it can balance out.