According to legend the best way of keeping vampires away is to festoon your room with garlic and make sure you always have a crucifix to hand. Of course, it is important to believe in the power of the cross - without that belief it has no power over the undead. It is also said that they cannot enter unless you first invite them in, and then they have the power to enter whenever they wish. A bit like supernatural bailiffs!
Why am I talking here about vampires? Do I really believe in them? My belief or otherwise in the vampires of folklore is not really important, as the subject of this blog is what I refer to as "emotional vampires" or "psychic vampires".
Vampires of folklore and popular fiction drink your blood, making you weak and tired from anaemia. Eventually you become a vampire yourself.
Psychic vampires also drain you, but of your psychic energy rather than your blood, quite often making you tired and chipping away at your resolve to achieve great things - if you let them. And just as is the case with the folklore vampires, if they drain away enough of your psychic energy you can become a psychic vampire yourself.
If you think carefully I am sure you can identify some people in your past, or maybe even some around you now, who seem to drain your energy when you are with them. Maybe you are full of the joys of spring, ready to move onwards and upwards, and then after a long meeting with this person you feel less inclined to action, less positive, perhaps even miserable. Does this ring any bells?
I am not saying these people are evil. Nor am I even saying there is anything occult or pseudo-scientific at work here. Frankly it really doesn't matter why this happens - all that matters is that it does!
So how do you protect yourself against these psychic vampires?
We can take a lesson here from folklore. Do not invite them in! They can only have power over you if you allow them to become a part of your life. This applies to EVERYONE who would turn your optimism into pessimism. Who would ridicule your attempts to move on and to improve yourself. If they are holding you back, then let them loose!
Another lesson from folklore is that whatever you are using to repel these creatures will only work if you have a strong belief in it. Sometimes we cannot avoid negative people, try as we may. Maybe you have to work with them. Maybe they are members of your family. Or maybe part of your "giving back to the universe" is trying to help such people become more positive. Whatever the reason, in order to ward off the psychic depletion you must believe very strongly in your own power, your own goals, your own projects. Do not listen to the ridicule of those who would pull you down to their own level.
Be assertive (not aggressive though!). Believe in yourself. Know that what you are doing and planning to do is right. Associate with others who are optimistic and who can help you and encourage you in working towards your own goals.
Do all this and you need never again fear the influence of the psychic vampires around you. Trust me, they really do exist, but also trust me, they can only harm you if you allow them to do so.
