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Shining a lantern on the hidden parasites. What is sucking your energy?

Although I've written extensively on "mind parasites," what's stealing your energy is usually not mysterious. The parasites in your life are probably all too familiar. Addictions are the most common parasites, followed by people who want your energy/attention more than authentic relationship.

Everything in your life involves energetic transactions. You are giving and receiving energy continually. To shine a light on the parasites in your life, track where your time, attention, life energy, sexual chi, and money are going. Where are you expending those without a symbiotic, synergistic, and fulfilling return? Of course, some transactions are appropriately self-sacrificing for moral reasons — especially when you are morally obliged to take care of others who genuinely cannot take care of themselves. But there are other endeavors, habits, relationships, and activities where we squander time, attention, life energy, sexual chi, and money without any positive return for anyone.

Shine the parasite lantern into the darkest recesses of your life and find out what or whom your parasites are. In any magical tradition, to name a thing is to have power over it. Once you can name all your parasites, figure out how to withdraw energy from them.

Usually, it's better not to battle with parasites directly because that's just another way to feed them energy. According to the I Ching, the best way to defeat evil is to make energetic progress toward the good. If you Engage in positive, life-affirming activities with all your time, energy, and attention, there will be little left over for parasites.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Shine your parasite lantern into the hungry shadows.