Such fun I have been having with many client, filling energetic buckets with dense, yucky stuff that is either unneeded, unwanted, or destructive. It's fun to pluck pain and heaviness out of the energy field. It's more fun to fill the bucket with this stuff. It's even more fun to live without this yucky stuff in the energy field! This is a very powerful process of imagery, provided the person doing it thinks it's fun. Working with Energetic Techniques and Tools

I find that several steps are helpful when working with any energetic technique.

1. Identify High Intention. Identify a subject-relevant high intention or use the generic, all-purpose high intention: the highest good for all.

2. Honor the Divine. Honor the divine, by whatever concept or name you use: Spirit, Higher Power, Source, God, angels, higher consciousness. Without Spirit, nothing in the physical world exists.

3. Honor the Human. Honor the human experience on this magnificent earth plane. Without the Physical, Spirit is an amorphous energy.

4. Suspend Criticism. Suspend criticism and negative judgment about yourself or others. Notice such dynamics enough to recognize that they belong in the bucket.

5. Drop the ego. When the ego gets out of hand, a good place to drop it is in the bucket is a good place. The ego, of course, does have an important function for differentiation and survival. However, when you align with the divine, you only pay lip service to "highest good" when the ego tries to control the outcome.

6. Recognize the Tool. Recognize that the bucket is a tool you have created. It can be both a powerful and playful means for neutralizing violence and resentment and other toxicity. Do not give your power away to this or to any other process or tool or idea or person, but remember to use every means available to assist yourself and others.

7. Release and Trust. Release expectations, fears, and rules; trust yourself while using such processes and tools.

8. Express Thanks. Say thank you. Often. Gratitude is a powerful energy which creates more good.

Case Study

John supervises Jane in a small, family-owned business. Jane had felt she was doing a superb job; John found something to criticize in virtually all that she did. The pattern the two of them wanted to break was the passing back and forth of anger and resentment. Each tells the story with different nuances, but a deep listener can certainly hear that their two stories are the same. Here is my synthesis of their individual accounts:

John gets angry and snaps at Jane, Jane feels hurt and resentful and makes snide comments to John which makes him more angry prompting him to find more criticism with Jane to which Jane responds with deeper hurt feelings and resentment followed by striking out at John directly, indirectly, and behind his back which leads John to retaliate with... Oh, well, you get the scenario and you have probably lived the scenario, as well, with different names and reactions. Jane and John were experts at passing toxicity back and forth.

Traditional and Energetic Strategies

In my consulting practice, I advocate working with a myriad of strategies: some conventional, some unconventional. For this type of situation, some of the conventional approaches are: discussion of the issues and needs/desires for changes, commitment to a new way of being together, and letting go of the past. I consider these all valuable. However, since the patterns were well-practiced, with each benefiting enough in some way to keep the conflict alive, John and Jane would be unlikely to sustain changes just by making resolutions. Or, John and Jane might be able to act out new behavior with each other, yet re-create the old patterns with other persons. Changes made in the energy field rather than on the surface with polite words and correct behavior yield transformation.

And, indeed, John and Jane experienced deep transformation. I trained them to envision buckets in the energy field. Sturdy, galvanized buckets. Later, John's bucket turned into a black wrought-iron urn and Jane's turned into a beautiful painted ceramic bowl.

Now, each time either of them has a negative thought about the other, he or she places the toxic energy of the thought in the bucket. With the energy field cleared of negativity, they can talk as two responsible adults who have a shared goal to work for the same company. They continue to have difference, which is no surprise because they are very different individual, but now they have a light-filled process that works for them. They are also now more receptive to making their differences work to benefit both.

With the buckets in place and actively used by both of them, they have found it easier to communicate more honestly, refer less and less to the past, and are beginning to engage in true collaboration. The common expression to "clear the air" applies to Jane and John's situation. In fact, the air of this whole small organization has been cleared relatively quickly.

Buckets to You!

The beauty of the energetic bucket is that it's impersonal, sturdy, fun, cost-effective, and omnipresent. You empower it with the quality of transmuting negativity without polluting anyone. It's required, however, that someone from the human consciousness remember to use it. So, pluck it for the bucket!