The fangs are out. Between Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries, our culture has been hypnotized by those compelling eyes, and we've bared our necks for the taking.

Responsibility

Ever since Anne Rice interviewed a vampire and discovered that these preternatural beings had feelings, guilt and emotions, our cultural consciousness has been enthralled. In each new book, film, or series, there is a blood-drinker pushing away from their natural instinct to suck the life force out of humans. As Twilight's Edward so succinctly put it, they’ve gone “vegetarian.”

I believe our obsession with vampires - and their cravings - mirrors our cultural tendency to maintain our own life force by sucking it out of others. It brings up questions of willpower, conscience, and energetic sustainability.

Energetic Vampires

Energetic vampires exist. We have all known them: the friend or loved one that needs so much attention and special care that, by the end of a telephone call or visit, you’re exhausted. Of course you are! They’ve literally been sucking the life out of you.

All energy vampires are not evil. Some are disconnected from their own spirits, and all they know is that it feels uplifting to be around you, call you, and discuss their lives with you all the time. They don't know what they're doing, and don't realize that they can feel just as fulfilled by plugging into themselves. Others, however, instinctively take power from others through bullying. These vampires do not feel strong and energized until they have forced you to hand your power over to them.

As bullies and their victims - as well as the hundreds of millions of people being medicated for depression - become more of a central focus in our culture, we are beginning to ask ourselves, “how do we work this power struggle so that all are respected, and we all get what we need?”

The truth is that we can only truly give to ourselves. Though others can make us feel better about ourselves temporarily by paying us a compliment or special attention, they cannot do so 24/7. We must all learn how to refill our energetic tanks on our own if we want something sustainable.

How to refill your own tank

Grounding meditations - whether sounding a resonant “Ohm,” or visualizing your spinal column connecting as a cord to the center of the earth - will allow you to feel connected and centered in your body. Really. Done daily or as needed throughout the day, this practice can help us feel supported and energized. And, if we know how to grab a more abundant energy supply for ourselves whenever we want it, there's far less of a need to take it from someone else. Grounding ourselves helps us become part of the Team Cullen vegetarian revolution.

I have a daily ritual of grounding myself, which begins by allowing the Earth's energy to funnel up into my body and fuel me. I then place my attention on the top of my head, my Crown Chakra (7^th chakra; connection with the divine) and send a cord up that connects with Source. I allow that God and angelic energy to filter down through me, mixing with the Earth energy for a balanced, Chi-nourished me.

Being ever-mindful

Does this mean I never seek others to fill me up? That I never force my will on my kids or co-workers because I’m so enlightened? Sadly, no, it does not. Just as Stephan in The Vampire Diaries must face his craving and addiction to humans as the source of his food, so we all fall off the wagon, dust off our spirits, and try to remember there is a Source much greater than our fellow humans, from which all sustenance flows.

Does any of this ring true with you? Can you think of the energetic vampires in your life? Are you draining the life force of another without even knowing it? What might you do to replenish your own energy?

Eagerly awaiting the Eclipse,