“The walls we build around us to keep
sadness out also keeps out the joy.”
Jim Rohn
There is a very real truth that has been co-opted by problem-solving consciousness. By co-opted I mean misinterpreted and changed to the point of being almost unrecognizable.
The truth is that everything – thoughts, feelings, objects – vibrate at magnetic frequencies, drawing in things that are similar to them and repelling things that are different.
The misinterpretation is that there are high vibrations that feel good, and will bring you what you want in life, and low vibrations that feel bad and will bring you things you don’t want.
I intend to write a book one day on how manifestation actually works in order to fully unpack this myth, but to put it simply, “low”, vibrationally speaking, is another word for “dense”. The Earth operates at a very dense vibration, meaning anything that seeks to create physical change is by necessity also a dense or “low” vibration.
While it is true high vibrations can create physical changes on Earth, in order for them to work you have to let go of the desire for anything to change, and that can be prohibitively difficult in some situations.
It’s much easier (and honest) to acknowledge the “low” vibration of your motivation, and not to try and gussy it up with high minded language. “I want this situation to change so I feel better” is almost always the real story behind phrases such as, “I release all negativity from my sphere”, “for the well-being of all”, and “in honor of the highest good”. And there is nothing wrong with that.
We’re creatures of Earth. Earth is an incredible, miraculous mystery that has to operate at a low vibration in order to exist. Calling low vibrations “negative” is like calling the roots of a tree bad because they need to receive, and the fruit of a tree good because it effortlessly gives.
This is a nuanced teaching. It’s true higher vibrations tend to feel better, but not always. They can feel really bad sometimes too, like eating vegetables as a kid. Low vibrations can also feel good, like eating candy.
I’ve found it far more useful to remove emotions from the idea of vibration entirely. The highest vibrations – flow, acceptance, forgiveness – operate in an emotional neutral zone. One might say they feel good, but really they feel like the absence of stress.
Operating at a high vibration is not about improving one’s life, because as soon as it becomes about that it stops being a high vibration. Yet the desire to improve life remains, so therefore there is a beneficial role lower vibrations can play.
Here are low vibration tools everyone uses with great success. They are part of our wiring, and very hard not to engage to some degree:
- Manipulation – doing or saying things with the goal of getting what you want
- Doing things – “doing” is defined here as different than “action”, it’s the difference between working and playing
- Trying hard – when you’re at a high vibration you don’t have to “try”, therefore any level of effort involves a lower vibration
- Feeling bad – feeling bad can inspire the willingness to create change, “hitting bottom” is one of the most potent catalysts for transformation in existence
Here’s the (real) secret: Vibration is linked tangentially to emotion, there is not a direct line between them. The higher a vibration you operate at – meaning, the less you care about how you feel and the more you care about taking responsible actions – the better you will feel as an effect, the way you feel better after exercising.
If you focus on feeling happy as a way to improve your life, you will operate at a low vibration and potentially give yourself an ulcer from repressing “negative” emotions. Also, there’s a whole other level of guilt/shame that starts to happen when things don’t go your way.
If you can embrace your low vibration tendencies as equal to those of a high vibration – even if they don’t feel as good and thereby don’t satisfy a basic (low vibration) desire – then you step outside of the “good/bad” mentality and into something much more meaningful.
There is more to say, far too much for one article, which is why I will be teaching a class on the full nature of manifestation at the end of the month. Anyone interested in taking these lessons deeper is invited to attend.
PS. I learned everything I know about manifestation through my training of internal martial arts over the last 7 years. The way I learned it is less fun but very effective, and delivers everything “The Law of Attraction” promises.
Thank you for this post. America is becoming too obsessed with high vibrations and only smiles and good vibes only and so on. We’re forgetting that a real and full life has ebbs and flows to it. No emotion is constant. I believe we have all these emotions because we need to feel them and express them. That allows no emotion to be too powerful and overwhelming in our lives imo.
…where’s that book girly?
This is the only article that popped up that defined vibration , in my opinion accurately, the rest of the search results associated low vibrational with being a bad thing. I really appreciate your article. I searched ” is low vibration a bad thing”.
I think you’re way off base on the premise that we will “feel better” by eliminating emotion. Love is the most powerful energy known. The statement that everything that is has a vibration part I’m on board with. But our emotions or energy or senses don’t directly influence our vibration.
I think you may have misinterpreted my article. I’m not saying eliminate emotions, I’m saying allow them all. Also, acceptance is the highest vibration we can experience on Earth, and it can be considered how we feel love from and for others, but I wouldn’t classify it as an emotion per se, same with the other vibrations.
Awesome realistic explanation. Thanks 👍🏾