E = mc. Remember this tenet of quantum physics originated by Albert Einstein? If E equals energy, m equals mass, and c2 is the speed of light squared, this equation suggests that we can understand our bodies in terms of energy and light. Let this insight inform how you carry yourself. I call this “holding your flame.” Yes, your body, that sometimes hard-to-rouse-out-of-bed lump of flesh, is actually living light. And the very essence of light is fire. Therefore, you, my friend, are a living flame. Don’t ever forget it!

The Energy Body

The spinal cord, which is the core of the body, is the fire-rod axis, which conducts your life force. Running through your spine is your spinal fluid, whose essence is pure energy. If this energy were visible, you would see it move as a fluid light current following the donut-like pattern of a torus. Picture the light-energy flowing into you from the head (the crown chakra) while simultaneously flowing from below in the base of your spine (the root chakra). In this way, the current runs up and down the length of the spine until it reaches the opposite pole, then moves outward and around you to recirculate fresh energy.

Everything in the plant and animal kingdoms follows the torus pattern of energetic flow. It is the flow of all living things—from the smallest atom to the largest tree. You can even see this lifeline flowing within a carrot, an apple, or a Brussels sprout! The energy enters from both directions and flows into, through, and around the plant, giving it its life force and fanning its indwelling firelight. Likewise, from the macrocosmic perspective, the Earth, the other planets, and even the solar system follow the torus pattern, sending life through their cosmic pranic tube.

Like the Earth, when your core or inner axis is rightly aligned and moving energy in swift waves, harnessing both the negative and positive poles equally, your being will thrive. This is why physical and energetic blockages (e.g., through unfit foods, environments, relationships, and experiences) are so damaging. Disturbances in the energetic flow manifest in the physical body in the form of compromised energy and illness. Becoming aware of this is the first and best step you can take to revive your inner flame. How do you do this?

Take a moment to try the following exercise.

Exercise: Realign with Your Flame

First, I ask you to envision and sense your body as a living flame whose greatest intensity runs along your vertical axis. Feel its heat running up along your core.

Next, I want you to feel this flame’s power in the chakra centers of your body. Feel the power take hold at the base of your spine at your root, then feel the creative energy in the area halfway between your root and your navel. Then feel the life force energy awaken in that flame at the spot right behind your navel.

Next, feel your heart center surge with the power of this fire; allow the fire to rise into the throat opening so you can express yourself more freely. Feel the heat in your forehead as the flame rises in your brain, between your eyes, and then finally allow it to surge through your crown and upward, where it will connect with the more spiritual dimensions of your energy field. Notice how your posture naturally lifts, opens, and surrenders to the graceful flow of energy.

Instead of merely straightening your posture, note the effortless rise of your body once it embodies the flow of this flame. Notice that it does not cause you to stiffen. Notice how it lifts the middle of your spine and opens your shoulders like wings. Notice how it lifts and draws back your head back ever so slightly, like that of a swan or a giraffe. Hold your flame, feel it rise and emit its powerful energy all around you. Open up to its fullness. This is your natural alignment and your indwelling power.

Remember this as often as you can as you walk to work, shop for groceries, type e-mails, or undertake any other task. Notice how much clearer your communications and how much more centered your emotions are when you hold and embody your flame.

Reclaim Your Power Center

Real power is inner power, and inner power comes from wholeness. Your center is to your body what a nucleus is to a cell: the physical and operational center of your being, or the center of consciousness. Physically, your energy center is about an inch below and behind the belly button. There are several powerful points of consciousness in the body, such as the center of the heart and the center of the brain. When you are aligned with your flame, properly conducting life force energy, these all link up to create a powerful, interconnected center.

Every single person is capable of tapping into and activating this inner power. Once you fully engage it, you’ll be capable of unshakeable strength and confidence, no matter what comes your way. If you want to get the most out of this work, if you want to shape the life of your dreams, you must cultivate a powerful center.

Imagine your power center as a great control tower where all causes and effects of your life are spread out before you like a spider web. From that vantage point, you will recognize with astonishing clarity what is essential to you and what is counterproductive or superfluous; you will be able to observe the outcomes of all the causes you have set into motion, and choose your next steps accordingly. When you are your own pilot—calm, confident, and centered—channeling your own inner fire, you can rise above all the nonsense and navigate smoothly toward wholeness.

When we choose a path of higher living—including alternative choices about our consumption, our social conditioning, and our physical and psychological blockages—we initiate the journey back to wholeness. It all begins with your inner flame, cultivating its power from your center, and feeding its strength with every obstruction you remove and every broken piece of yourself that you put back together. In this way, the journey is ongoing becomes more rewarding over time.

Most people today do just the opposite: instead of cultivating their centers, they focus too much on externalities and burden their bodies with all kinds of obstructions that stifle their energy flow and throw their systems off balance. Their flames suffocate and become weak. They have no core strength—physically or spiritually. Thus, they are at the mercy of passing trends and social pressures that will eventually throw them so off balance that they will topple over. Real power is inner power. Never forget it.

Recharge with Sleep, Rest, and Meditation

There has been much discussion about rest and sleep in cleansing circles. The notion that you won’t need much rest comes from novice detoxers in the early stages of consuming more vital foods and juices. They experience the natural rush of energy from the life force in these substances, and the contrast to their previous levels of energy is remarkable. The burst of energy stimulates much creativity and productivity, sometimes making it hard to sleep. But beginners have initial experiences that dramatically change as they stay the course and their bodies rebalance.

The deepest, most meaningful healing is done when the body is resting and sleeping. Taking care to get lots of sleep (and even take naps or meditation-naps, where you lie down to center yourself and then allow yourself to doze) is essential to your cellular convalescence. You can expect your sleeping patterns to change as much as your body and your perspectives change over the long haul. Some nights you may have intense night sweats as toxins pour out of your body; other nights you may sleep more deeply and longer than you ever have since you were a teenager; and still other nights you will feel high as a kite from the pulsating chi, which may stimulate you to undertake all kinds of creative, productive projects in the midnight hour. Just go with it and observe, always remembering that rest and deep sleep do not betray weakness but support greater strength.

In addition, when you start to expand your consciousness, you may find you need much more sleep and time-outs. Growth is an extremely active process. When you are taking leaps of consciousness and your DNA is literally rewiring it’s programming, you might feel like you need to drop out midday for a deep sleep. This is very typical. If you can afford the time, take it and surrender to your body’s need for rest. It is critical to the process and will enable you to integrate your leaps of consciousness much more harmoniously. You’ll come out of it crisp and clear. Do not judge the need for rest. Just notice the benefits when you allow it.

This concludes our ninth lesson. In next week’s edition of The Rose Program Insider, we will talk about how to exercise freedom of choice in a world of false authorities.