First of all, who or what are we protecting or putting boundaries around?
The idea of protection comes up a lot these days, politically, physically, emotionally, psychically, and spiritually speaking.
Who are we anyway? We are primarily Spirit, using these bodies and minds to learn lessons so that we can evolve spiritually.
You've heard the expression, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are Spiritual beings having a human experience!"
Our Spirit or Sacred Self needs no protection whatsoever, because it cannot be harmed or altered in any way. It is a perfect eternal piece of the Godhead or the Universe, whatever you want to call it. What happens to your emotions, your body, or your brain chemicals will never change the perfection of the Real Sacred You in any way.
However, if we have incarnated in these bodies in order to fully express our Spirit/Sacred Selves, thereby evolving ourselves and the collective (which I believe we have), then we may choose/need to PROTECT THE TEMPORARY PARTS OF OURSELVES, like our bodies, our human feelings, our subtle energy fields, or the purity of our thought patterns.
So here we are, looking at this question of protection and boundaries from two levels at once. Get it? We are "walking between the worlds" of perception here. From the highest frequency or spiritual viewpoint, no one needs any protection, as there is nothing to fear. From this viewpoint we can stand ready to follow our Sacred Selves anywhere, to do anything we feel spiritually led to do, to let go of absolutely anything that may be in the way of our Sacred Path, because we know we will be fine. That's the highest level from which to look at this.
The second level is the human one: the view from that part of us that is very attached to our lives, our bodies, our homes, our human relationships, and our work just the way they are now, and would feel lost if things changed.
Alternatively, our human selves may feel like NOTHING we experience right now is good enough - not the relationships, the work, the body, or the living situation. Either way, whether our human selves are clinging to the present conditions or resisting them and yearning toward a different future, that constitutes a judgement we may need to question.
We may need to look at our lives from the first, Spiritual viewpoint. For example, what if I don't have a love relationship right now and my human self feels incomplete without it? My human judgment is that "this is wrong" or "I am bad" because I don't have a relationship.
But what does my Sacred Self have to say about this? When I take time to listen to it, it may say something like "This is an opportunity to get to know yourself". Or, "Now you can find your strength and love INSIDE you", or even, "FINALLY WE ARE ALONE TOGETHER! Let's be best friends!"
Here's another example: Say I have a job but it is not satisfying to my human self - maybe it is boring or doesn't utilize my skills, so I feel kind of fallow, and not on my Sacred Path. My human side may say "Why is this so hard? Why am I here, bored?" What might the Sacred Self say, if I took the time to ask?
"What is there for you to learn or give here?" or "Exactly what do you want instead?" or "How can you take responsibility for getting what you want, for co-creating it with God(dess)?" or "What jewels are here right now that you are not enjoying?"
So we've talked about two parts of ourselves, the Sacred Self and the Human Self, and the fact that the Sacred Self needs no protection, yet we might choose to protect the Human Self.
One main way to protect the Human Self is to keep reminding it that the Sacred Self is right there, safe and loving, all the time. Human Self needs to be reprogrammed from whatever its illusionary childhood programs were. Examples: "I am alone and unsafe." No one cares about me." "I cannot save myself from this craziness" (That final one was actually true, as a child. You couldn't! But as adults it's no longer true, and we need to update the program for our Human Selves.)
Another example : "I have to save the others, and I have the power to do so." Of course kids need to believe they are powerful over dysfunctional parents or guardians, because at that aage they can't take in the truth that their guardians may not be able to protect and nurture them fully. So this belief in our power to change others is a defense against a devastating emotion of helplessness and survival fear.
That's on the human level. In the present, as adults, when we are hooked up and co-creating with our Sacred Selves, we do have some measure of power to encourage and model change in other humans. But from our Sacred Self place, we will want to respect the choices of others, not manipulate them into something we believe to be for their Highest Good without their consent, possibly depriving them of the lessons they may need to grow spiritually.
So here we are still with the idea of protection of our Human Selves. What components make up our Human Selves and how can we "protect" each one?
Hawaiian Shamanism (Kahuna) thinks of humans as having three parts, which are 1 - the subconscious mind, 2 - the conscious mind, and 3 - the superconscious mind. These are kind of like the Freudian id, ego, and superego, only with more allowance for Spirit.
1 - PROTECTING THE SUBCONSCIOUS:
a - Reprogram it and clear the old faulty programs out of it, because all subconscious beliefs send out transmissions and requests to the Universe, and if, for example, I'm here consciously wanting a certain career, but subconsciously sending out messages of "I'm afraid! I can't do it! Keep it away from me!", the Universe is going to get mixed messages! This reprogramming function is why we in the New Thought community have talked about affirmations and regular meditation and/or prayer for so long.
b - Modulate the experience of the subconscious in everyday life.
A good parent will not let a kid get too stressed out too long or too often. Our conscious selves can act as good parents to our subconscious selves. For example, I never let my subconscious see violent movies because she remembers the horrible mental pictures FOREVER! I have pictures in my head from scary books and TV shows from when I was a little kid, because my parents and I didn't know to regulate my exposure to these kinds of things.
Also, it is in my power to control, partly, the influences that surround me everyday. If I have had some intense client sessions, I can choose not to have a long conversation that day with a temporarily needy friend. I can tell him that we need to talk another day, that I have hit my limit for that day, thereby communicating my boundary. Since he is an adult and I am not his parent, it is not my obligation to be there for him no matter what, just as it is not his job to be there for me no matter what.
On a deeper level, I may have a friend or be involved in a relationship that seems to chronically drain me. I can honestly and respectfully share my experience with this friend, if I am invested in trying to work it through. If for whatever reason he is not in a place to engage in this dialogue and self-reflection with me, I can choose to do one of 3 things: 1 - I can limit my interactions with him to those that feel reciprocal and nurturing to me, if there are any left, or 2 - I can let him go, for now, trusting that the Universe and both our High Selves will keep us connected on a spiritual level, but for now, on a Human Level, I am free to not engage in situations which feel wrong for me, at least now, or 3 - I can pray, contact my Sacred Self, and listen for guidance on this particular day.
c - Protection of the Subconscious from Itself.
Gently disciplining our subconscious NOT TO RUN RIOT on fears, angers, hopelessness or other negativity. Again we can play the good parent role here. If you were a parent of a scared toddler, you wouldn't let her just cry and cry and recycle her fear over and over. You'd hold her, help her evaluate the difference between her fears and what was really happening, and help her calm herself down. We can do this for our subconscious selves too.
We don't have to wallop our subconscious, either physically or emotionally, for feeling afraid or negative, because there's no doubt a real reason those feelings got triggered - so we can offer her compassion and love without allowing her fears to "run the show" of our adult lives.
2 - PROTECTING THE BODIES:
a - The physical body:
We can attend to our health, our diet, our safety, and do what we can to keep the body from physical danger or violence.
b - The etheric bodies:
Visualize anEGG of light, or boundary around your energy field, and program that EGG so that nothing bad gets in or out. I have a command I give myself every day "I give and recieve only love" - so that that EGG membrane is set to be permeable in the sense that it allows the love frequency in and out, but not "non-love" frequencies. Even my own subconscious negativity can't get out to others as easily, and by the same token I am more protected from others' fear or negativity.
c - Emotional body:
Withdraw your projections.
This is mysterious stuff, but it is my belief that when we withdraw our own parental projections on other people, there are fewer "slots" for negativity to influence us. In other words, the more responsibility we take for ourselves the less openings there are for other people or forces to mess with us! When even an unconscious part of ourselves believes we are a victim and have no power over ourselves, that's a place for a fear or an anger or a hopelessness to get in from OUTSIDE.
So we can clear these "victim beliefs" through 1 - becoming aware of them, 2 - feeling whatever leftover emotions are in there (in a safe adult place), and 3 - replacing them with the new grown-up programming we have chosen. This clearing can be greatly assisted by contact with other humans who are connected to spiritual power: a friend, a Circle, a life coach, a healer.
We can also step into our Power (and be the "anti-victim") by doing our imperfect best to decide on our Sacred Life Purpose, and live it out as best we can. This focuses our attention on the forward movement of our lives, and if over time, we develop a different understanding of our Sacred Purpose, we can always change it, and will have no doubt learned from the path we have already walked.
d - Electromagnetic body:
Energetic grounding cord to center of earth, hookup to High Self, Highest of the High, stars, etc. We are circuit completers between Heaven and Earth. We feel best when we are functioning energetically in this way.
3 - PSYCHIC PROTECTION:
Choose the ideas you resonate with or find your own:
a - AFFIRMATIONS:
I give and recieve only love. I am infused with the Spirit of the Highest of the High God, and I command all that is not Love to LEAVE ME NOW AND FOREVER. The power of God is within me; the grace of God surrounds me.
b - PRAYER:
23rd Psalm: The Lord is my Shepherd. OM. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Baruch ata Adonai, eloheinu melech ha alom. Allah. Archangetl Michael Call on WHOEVER your spiritual helpers are, in any way you can.
c - MAGICK:
Banishment Spell - There are pentagram movements and Hebrew words that have been used for eons to banish negative thoughts, thought forms, black magick, ill health, and confused or malevolent entities from our energy fields. One can research this in Dion Fortune's classic book "Psychic Self-Defense".
d - SHAMANIC CLEARING:
Call in the Seven Directions: the powers of the East, South, West, North, the Powers Above(sky), The Powers Below(earth), and the Power Within You. A good shamanic practitioner can teach this.
Ultimately, protection is about where you put your sacred attention. One day, your conscious mind will, through your choices to evolve, be totally in control of where you put your attention. Right now you may not have that level of self-control. But over time, with patience, compassion, self-love, discipline, discernment, and living out your joyful Sacred Purpose (all available for the asking from your Sacred Self) you will!
More and more I am sharing some of my Dreamtime with other like-minded folks. A few nights ago I got a call from an Algonquin medicine man who knows I sing and meditate. He had received instructions from some elders in Canada to assist in reviving an ancient chant for the healing of water, and they had wanted me to participate.