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Vulnerability or Walls of Protection?

By January 26, 2025No Comments
This man showed us a core truth about human nature – that we are all vulnerable.  No matter how tough, strong or “above it all” one appears on the surface, underneath everyone is vulnerable. We are touched by everything around us. 

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Every human being is vulnerable

Vulnerability is our fundamental fragility, that capacity that makes us touchable and affected by a myriad of things .

This is one of the most important insights that arise through understanding energy; that every human being is vulnerable. The term ‘vulnerable’ as we’re using it here means touchable – we can be touched; things move us. It recognizes a central truth about the human energy system; that our energy body is fragile and affected by a myriad of things.

This man also demonstrated some of the ways we protect our vulnerability and how some of these are healthy and some not. His actions reflect one of the greatest dilemmas this core vulnerability poses for every human being. 

 

  • How much can we be open?

  • Can we reveal our vulnerability?

  • With whom and when?

  • How do we protect our vulnerability?

  • How much can we let our protections down after they’ve gone up?

The answers to these questions vary greatly by person and situation, but basically, with some notable exceptions, most of us have built protective walls within our energy field to survive. Some of these walls we take down when we feel safe; perhaps with our spouse or kids, a good friend, or maybe alone in nature. But many of these walls have become almost permanent protective layers within our energy body. Only on rare occasions do these walls come down, to then go quickly up again.

Walls are protective layers of energy within the human energy field

Conscious Vulnerability and Conscious Boundaries

Two of the most important skills you can learn through energy work are conscious vulnerability and conscious boundaries. Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched. A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched.

A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

This is important for several reasons:

  1. There are things we want to be touched by. They are like energy food for our being, nurturing and enriching us. These are things like love, care, respect, as well as energies from nature, animals, etc.
  1. There are energies that we don’t want to come in because they are not healthy for us, things like aggression, negativity, judgment and disturbed emotions. We need to be able to “put on an energetic rain coat” at the right moments.
  1. We can’t experience intimacy if we are behind a wall. Two knights in armor can’t get very close. Intimacy occurs when we take off our armor, open and let someone in.
  1. Lastly, to be vulnerable is to be touched by life. A life lived behind walls is a very partial life. A life lived open means you are participating in the richness of That Which Is.

This man showed us a core truth about human nature – that we are all vulnerable.  No matter how tough, strong or “above it all” one appears on the surface, underneath everyone is vulnerable. We are touched by everything around us. 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Every human being is vulnerable

Vulnerability is our fundamental fragility, that capacity that makes us touchable and affected by a myriad of things .

This is one of the most important insights that arise through understanding energy; that every human being is vulnerable. The term ‘vulnerable’ as we’re using it here means touchable – we can be touched; things move us. It recognizes a central truth about the human energy system; that our energy body is fragile and affected by a myriad of things.

This man also demonstrated some of the ways we protect our vulnerability and how some of these are healthy and some not. His actions reflect one of the greatest dilemmas this core vulnerability poses for every human being. 

 

  • How much can we be open?

  • Can we reveal our vulnerability?

  • With whom and when?

  • How do we protect our vulnerability?

  • How much can we let our protections down after they’ve gone up?

The answers to these questions vary greatly by person and situation, but basically, with some notable exceptions, most of us have built protective walls within our energy field to survive. Some of these walls we take down when we feel safe; perhaps with our spouse or kids, a good friend, or maybe alone in nature. But many of these walls have become almost permanent protective layers within our energy body. Only on rare occasions do these walls come down, to then go quickly up again.

Walls are protective layers of energy within the human energy field

Conscious Vulnerability and Conscious Boundaries

Two of the most important skills you can learn through energy work are conscious vulnerability and conscious boundaries. Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched. A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched.

A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

This is important for several reasons:

  1. There are things we want to be touched by. They are like energy food for our being, nurturing and enriching us. These are things like love, care, respect, as well as energies from nature, animals, etc.
  1. There are energies that we don’t want to come in because they are not healthy for us, things like aggression, negativity, judgment and disturbed emotions. We need to be able to “put on an energetic rain coat” at the right moments.
  1. We can’t experience intimacy if we are behind a wall. Two knights in armor can’t get very close. Intimacy occurs when we take off our armor, open and let someone in.
  1. Lastly, to be vulnerable is to be touched by life. A life lived behind walls is a very partial life. A life lived open means you are participating in the richness of That Which Is.

Towards the end of his stay we were surprised when he said he was eager to go back.  “If I stay here any longer I’ll never be able to handle being back there. I’d rather relax only a bit so I can toughen up easily again.” His wife commented, half-jokingly and half-serious, that he can only take a safe and loving space for a short time before it gets too dangerous! 

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What we saw was that both were true. He needed to protect himself being over there by putting on a protective shield. Being here was so good for him to relax those walls, but he felt if he relaxed too much he would be too vulnerable upon arriving back there.

His wife’s comment was astute; letting his walls down and letting himself be touched was both wonderful and overwhelming to him. He could only take it in small doses before the vulnerability became too much and his defenses wanted to reassert themselves. Her comment indicated that even without him being in a war zone, his pattern was to only let his defenses down for a short time before he would find an excuse to put them up again. 

This man showed us a core truth about human nature – that we are all vulnerable.  No matter how tough, strong or “above it all” one appears on the surface, underneath everyone is vulnerable. We are touched by everything around us. 

[/vc_column][/vc_row]

Every human being is vulnerable

Vulnerability is our fundamental fragility, that capacity that makes us touchable and affected by a myriad of things .

This is one of the most important insights that arise through understanding energy; that every human being is vulnerable. The term ‘vulnerable’ as we’re using it here means touchable – we can be touched; things move us. It recognizes a central truth about the human energy system; that our energy body is fragile and affected by a myriad of things.

This man also demonstrated some of the ways we protect our vulnerability and how some of these are healthy and some not. His actions reflect one of the greatest dilemmas this core vulnerability poses for every human being. 

 

  • How much can we be open?

  • Can we reveal our vulnerability?

  • With whom and when?

  • How do we protect our vulnerability?

  • How much can we let our protections down after they’ve gone up?

The answers to these questions vary greatly by person and situation, but basically, with some notable exceptions, most of us have built protective walls within our energy field to survive. Some of these walls we take down when we feel safe; perhaps with our spouse or kids, a good friend, or maybe alone in nature. But many of these walls have become almost permanent protective layers within our energy body. Only on rare occasions do these walls come down, to then go quickly up again.

Walls are protective layers of energy within the human energy field

Conscious Vulnerability and Conscious Boundaries

Two of the most important skills you can learn through energy work are conscious vulnerability and conscious boundaries. Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched. A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched.

A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

This is important for several reasons:

  1. There are things we want to be touched by. They are like energy food for our being, nurturing and enriching us. These are things like love, care, respect, as well as energies from nature, animals, etc.
  1. There are energies that we don’t want to come in because they are not healthy for us, things like aggression, negativity, judgment and disturbed emotions. We need to be able to “put on an energetic rain coat” at the right moments.
  1. We can’t experience intimacy if we are behind a wall. Two knights in armor can’t get very close. Intimacy occurs when we take off our armor, open and let someone in.
  1. Lastly, to be vulnerable is to be touched by life. A life lived behind walls is a very partial life. A life lived open means you are participating in the richness of That Which Is.

An American working as a contractor for the US military in Afghanistan arrived here at our retreat center for a vacation. We were imagining him like a rather tough-looking military guy, but he was a man in his late forties who looked very ordinary, the typical “guy next door”.  

He told us about his work there in Afghanistan and what it was like for him personally. He was friendly but underneath we could feel his tension and a wall of protection. He confirmed this when he said; “I’m always on alert. I can never relax there. I always have the feeling I am in an enemy environment. Even though I am in a walled military compound, supposedly protected and safe, I can never sleep at peace. I sleep with my clothes on, because an attack could come at any moment.”

Being here in a safe and friendly environment, and having a loving time with his wife, he was able to relax. After a few days his face started to change. A metamorphosis happened.  

Towards the end of his stay we were surprised when he said he was eager to go back.  “If I stay here any longer I’ll never be able to handle being back there. I’d rather relax only a bit so I can toughen up easily again.” His wife commented, half-jokingly and half-serious, that he can only take a safe and loving space for a short time before it gets too dangerous! 

[/vc_column_text]

 

 

What we saw was that both were true. He needed to protect himself being over there by putting on a protective shield. Being here was so good for him to relax those walls, but he felt if he relaxed too much he would be too vulnerable upon arriving back there.

His wife’s comment was astute; letting his walls down and letting himself be touched was both wonderful and overwhelming to him. He could only take it in small doses before the vulnerability became too much and his defenses wanted to reassert themselves. Her comment indicated that even without him being in a war zone, his pattern was to only let his defenses down for a short time before he would find an excuse to put them up again. 

This man showed us a core truth about human nature – that we are all vulnerable.  No matter how tough, strong or “above it all” one appears on the surface, underneath everyone is vulnerable. We are touched by everything around us. 

[/vc_column][/vc_row]

Every human being is vulnerable

Vulnerability is our fundamental fragility, that capacity that makes us touchable and affected by a myriad of things .

This is one of the most important insights that arise through understanding energy; that every human being is vulnerable. The term ‘vulnerable’ as we’re using it here means touchable – we can be touched; things move us. It recognizes a central truth about the human energy system; that our energy body is fragile and affected by a myriad of things.

This man also demonstrated some of the ways we protect our vulnerability and how some of these are healthy and some not. His actions reflect one of the greatest dilemmas this core vulnerability poses for every human being. 

 

  • How much can we be open?

  • Can we reveal our vulnerability?

  • With whom and when?

  • How do we protect our vulnerability?

  • How much can we let our protections down after they’ve gone up?

The answers to these questions vary greatly by person and situation, but basically, with some notable exceptions, most of us have built protective walls within our energy field to survive. Some of these walls we take down when we feel safe; perhaps with our spouse or kids, a good friend, or maybe alone in nature. But many of these walls have become almost permanent protective layers within our energy body. Only on rare occasions do these walls come down, to then go quickly up again.

Walls are protective layers of energy within the human energy field

Conscious Vulnerability and Conscious Boundaries

Two of the most important skills you can learn through energy work are conscious vulnerability and conscious boundaries. Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched. A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched.

A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

This is important for several reasons:

  1. There are things we want to be touched by. They are like energy food for our being, nurturing and enriching us. These are things like love, care, respect, as well as energies from nature, animals, etc.
  1. There are energies that we don’t want to come in because they are not healthy for us, things like aggression, negativity, judgment and disturbed emotions. We need to be able to “put on an energetic rain coat” at the right moments.
  1. We can’t experience intimacy if we are behind a wall. Two knights in armor can’t get very close. Intimacy occurs when we take off our armor, open and let someone in.
  1. Lastly, to be vulnerable is to be touched by life. A life lived behind walls is a very partial life. A life lived open means you are participating in the richness of That Which Is.

An American working as a contractor for the US military in Afghanistan arrived here at our retreat center for a vacation. We were imagining him like a rather tough-looking military guy, but he was a man in his late forties who looked very ordinary, the typical “guy next door”.  

He told us about his work there in Afghanistan and what it was like for him personally. He was friendly but underneath we could feel his tension and a wall of protection. He confirmed this when he said; “I’m always on alert. I can never relax there. I always have the feeling I am in an enemy environment. Even though I am in a walled military compound, supposedly protected and safe, I can never sleep at peace. I sleep with my clothes on, because an attack could come at any moment.”

Being here in a safe and friendly environment, and having a loving time with his wife, he was able to relax. After a few days his face started to change. A metamorphosis happened.  

Towards the end of his stay we were surprised when he said he was eager to go back.  “If I stay here any longer I’ll never be able to handle being back there. I’d rather relax only a bit so I can toughen up easily again.” His wife commented, half-jokingly and half-serious, that he can only take a safe and loving space for a short time before it gets too dangerous! 

 

 

What we saw was that both were true. He needed to protect himself being over there by putting on a protective shield. Being here was so good for him to relax those walls, but he felt if he relaxed too much he would be too vulnerable upon arriving back there.

His wife’s comment was astute; letting his walls down and letting himself be touched was both wonderful and overwhelming to him. He could only take it in small doses before the vulnerability became too much and his defenses wanted to reassert themselves. Her comment indicated that even without him being in a war zone, his pattern was to only let his defenses down for a short time before he would find an excuse to put them up again. 

This man showed us a core truth about human nature – that we are all vulnerable.  No matter how tough, strong or “above it all” one appears on the surface, underneath everyone is vulnerable. We are touched by everything around us. 

Every human being is vulnerable

Vulnerability is our fundamental fragility, that capacity that makes us touchable and affected by a myriad of things .

This is one of the most important insights that arise through understanding energy; that every human being is vulnerable. The term ‘vulnerable’ as we’re using it here means touchable – we can be touched; things move us. It recognizes a central truth about the human energy system; that our energy body is fragile and affected by a myriad of things.

This man also demonstrated some of the ways we protect our vulnerability and how some of these are healthy and some not. His actions reflect one of the greatest dilemmas this core vulnerability poses for every human being. 

 

  • How much can we be open?

  • Can we reveal our vulnerability?

  • With whom and when?

  • How do we protect our vulnerability?

  • How much can we let our protections down after they’ve gone up?

The answers to these questions vary greatly by person and situation, but basically, with some notable exceptions, most of us have built protective walls within our energy field to survive. Some of these walls we take down when we feel safe; perhaps with our spouse or kids, a good friend, or maybe alone in nature. But many of these walls have become almost permanent protective layers within our energy body. Only on rare occasions do these walls come down, to then go quickly up again.

Walls are protective layers of energy within the human energy field

Conscious Vulnerability and Conscious Boundaries

Two of the most important skills you can learn through energy work are conscious vulnerability and conscious boundaries. Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched. A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

Conscious vulnerability is the ability to drop our walls and let our selves be touched.

A conscious boundary is the ability to put up a protective wall and not let things come in that shouldn’t.

This is important for several reasons:

  1. There are things we want to be touched by. They are like energy food for our being, nurturing and enriching us. These are things like love, care, respect, as well as energies from nature, animals, etc.
  1. There are energies that we don’t want to come in because they are not healthy for us, things like aggression, negativity, judgment and disturbed emotions. We need to be able to “put on an energetic rain coat” at the right moments.
  1. We can’t experience intimacy if we are behind a wall. Two knights in armor can’t get very close. Intimacy occurs when we take off our armor, open and let someone in.
  1. Lastly, to be vulnerable is to be touched by life. A life lived behind walls is a very partial life. A life lived open means you are participating in the richness of That Which Is.

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