There's an ancient secret that most people have never been taught. In the 1600s, a secret order known as the Rosicrucians gathered fragments from separate spiritual traditions across the world and organized them into what became one of the most comprehensive spiritual frameworks ever assembled. And what they discovered was not what most religions teach. Reality is not structured as good versus evil. It's not God versus Satan. There are three forces at work. 2 of those forces pull consciousness towards extremes. One quietly pulls you away from what you truly want through indulgence and excess. Another pulls you into rigidity, control, and material fixation. But there's a third force, and when you learn to align yourself with that force, something shifts. You stop being pulled unconsciously. You stop reacting to life, and you begin creating from a place of clarity and power that most people never access. In this episode, I'm going to break down these three forces, show you how they're influencing your energy every single day, and teach you how to consciously deny the forces that distort you while aligning yourself with the one that connects you to the creative power of the universe itself. Because once you understand the structure, you stop being shaped by it and you start shaping with it.

Welcome to A Changed Mind, a journey into the topics that matter to you most, from the neuroscience and spirituality of mindset and personal growth to groundbreaking strategies for health, wealth, and relationships, to open and honest conversations about pressing global issues such as the environment, censorship, corporate capture, and democracy. Each and every episode reminds us of the certainty of the goodness of the future and provides the teachings, tools, and timeless wisdom inspiring you to create real lasting change in your life and in the world. If you've been desiring a sanctuary for your spirit, a place to go to tune out the distraction, negativity, and doom and gloom, so that you can tap into the deep power, the vibrancy, and the potential you have inside, you're in the right place. Welcome to A Changed Mind.

All right, guys, most people assume their thoughts, their emotions, their reactions are entirely their own. And in reality, energy is constantly being shaped by environments, by systems, the media habits, and of course, your internal conditioning. From the moment you wake up, something is pulling at your attention, your mood, and your nervous system. There are stressful environments, there's overstimulation, there's constant input, there's unresolved emotions. They all act as energetic pressures. All right? Just think about what's going on in the world today, from crazy shifts in the market to inflation, to more recently pandemics, global wars, everything that's coming out right now about intelligence agencies. All of these things influence you. Protecting your energy begins when you realize that there are external forces that are influencing the world and influencing you. Because it's only then that you can begin to protect yourself and deny those forces. Well, in the 1600s, there were a group of researchers, mystics, and spiritual teachers. They were known as the Rosicrucians. They were a secret order. And what that basically meant is they got together and they studied things together and they didn't share their teachings. They created the most comprehensive spiritual framework that has ever existed. They took pieces from the Himalayan traditions, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, from what they called the path of the Holy Cross and Christianity. Egyptian esotericism, Greek Hermeticism, and they discovered that there was actually a spiritual framework that was functioning in all of our lives. And in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a guy who became one of the most famous Rosicrucians by the name of Rudolf Steiner, he started doing public lectures around their philosophy. And it's from these teachings that we've been able to gain a deeper understanding of how reality functions, because according to Steiner, there are multiple dimensions that are overlapping in our reality right now. You may have actually heard of some of these dimensions or realms. He refers to them the etheric realm, the astral realm. Of course, we also have this physical realm here, and he talks about the I or oneness consciousness. And according to Steiner and other spiritual teachers, these dimensions are actually teeming with life. They are like as full as the ocean is with energetic entities. You can think angels, souls, non-physical beings, and in these realms there are major influences at work. There are light forces, there are dark forces, and we're gonna get into that in a moment. But these are the forces that are actually at work every day, influencing our physical reality, influencing our internal reality, our thoughts and our emotions. And so let's talk for a moment about the human being. The human being is unique in that the human being exists here in the material realm. In a material physical reality. We operate in a reality that's governed by physics that has matter. This is the reality that matters to us. We don't really so much care about the etheric or the astral realms because we can't detect them with our 5 senses. But in a moment, I'm going to explain to you why you should care. What's unique about the human being is that while we're here, we have the ability to communicate with and be communicated from these non-physical forces, these other energetic entities that exist in these other astral and etheric realms. Mediums, energy workers, saints, sages, people who have died and come back and talk about what it's like on the other side, they have developed the capacity to communicate with these non-physical entities, these subtle energies. And so the human is a receptive species that is able to exist across dimensionally. This is what makes us unique. Most of reality actually exists in these non-physical realms. There's a lot more in these non-physical realms than what we have here in our physical reality. We are actually human beings, pioneers in the physical space, and this is why the human experiment is so important. I personally believe that we are the first biological species to exist in the known universe. Or in this physical dimension, and we are the early seeds or the pioneers of what will become a universe full of biological life. So when we talk about energy influence and the three types of energetic influences, what do we mean? Well, throughout history, different traditions have tried to describe these energetic influences. The Hindus have thousands of gods that represent these forces, whereas Christianity generally breaks it down into two, like good versus evil. And as we personify these good and evil forces, we describe them as good or God or maybe Christ. And then on the other hand, you have Satan or the devil. And so when people feel good, they're influenced by these Christ-like or Christic forces. When they feel bad or get pulled into darker, unhealthy behaviors, we describe this as satanic or dark forces, but in reality, there are three forces, and understanding this will help make sense of what's going on in the world today. Okay, so I'm going to start with the first force. The first force is the Luciferic force. It's Lucifer. Now, most people think of Lucifer as the devil, and that's incorrect. Lucifer is actually a bright, bright light, an energetic entity that is very bright and very spiritual. So much light that it is ungrounded. So think about Luciferic influences or forces as addiction, compulsive pleasure-seeking, sexual excesses, pornography, drug abuse, constantly needing something new, constant novelty, or the need to be elevated or inspired, to be put on a pedestal in a sense, like to be high all the time. This is spiritual excess. It's represented by extreme individualism. Wanting to have no structure, like really extreme personal independence and responsibility. And over time, though, this tends to destabilize your energy. Your attention fragments, your discipline weakens. The body actually gets left behind because it becomes so used for carnal pleasures. But the issue isn't pleasure or spirituality itself. It's losing grounding. While pursuing them. And so you can think of Lucifer as leaning away from the human being and back towards the pagan, animalistic type of energy or behavior. Now, if all of these things sound familiar, it's because it is. Lucifer manifested politically as represented by the liberal left. So the far-left liberal ideology, and this is not a left versus right conversation, but the far-left liberal ideology is no structure, excess Luciferic energy. That's how Lucifer has manifested within the political system. Then there's the opposite extreme force, and this is represented by Ahriman. Now, most people don't know who Ahriman is. We don't talk about Ahriman a lot, but the mystics said Earth is actually Ahriman's realm. So Ahriman is rigid, structured, over-identified with the material world. So Ahriman shows up as Fixation on productivity, money, systems, efficiency, and control. More recently, our mod is transhumanism. It's this idea of integrating technology with human beings. We don't need the human being anymore. Let's just integrate machinery into the human being. It'll make us more efficient. So this is where you've got the tech bros, the central banks, the military-industrial complex, the forever wars. AI is currently expressed as a tool of Ahriman. We don't even need humans anymore. So human value is purely a problem to solve. Now, on a personal level, when you are over-influenced by Ahriman, it starts to look like emotional suppression versus over-emotionality of Lucifer, chronic overworking versus we don't even really need to work at all, man, let's just party, or treating life purely as a problem to solve. Chronic worry and overwhelm, Aruman. Now, the appeal of Aruman is that it offers security, predictability, and control, but it sucks the life out of things. Over time, it drains vitality. You become emotionally numb, disconnected as a human being from meaning and presence, which really defines what it is to be in the human experience. And so the issue again, isn't structure or some level of ambition. Accomplishment, it's becoming mechanical and rigid in the over-pursuit of these things. Now, the third force isn't an extreme force in either direction. It's the capacity to remain present and grounded while both of the other forces exist. See, we need these other forces to actually know the middle path. So this third force is where impulse doesn't automatically turn into action. There's space. Control doesn't automatically turn into rigidity. There's flexibility. And from the center, you can experience pleasure without losing your grounding and without losing your humanity. And this is the Christic force. This is the Christic consciousness or energy. And this is what Christ referred to as the narrow middle path. Christ encouraged or warned, stray not too far to the left, Lucifer, not too far to the right, Ahriman, but stay the narrow middle course. So this is the Christic middle force. It is the balance of all of the energies that exist, not the denial of them, because Christ was not about overthrowing governments. Christ was not about resisting with force. Christ was about integration. The Christic force is an integrative energy, and so it is the balancing of Lucifer and Ahriman into the middle path. It's the integration of the whole Christic human being. So this is compassion. This is balance. This is nature with technology. Kind of like what I imagine Wakanda would be like, all integrated into one whole regenerative consciousness where no one thing is denied, but no one thing is in excess. And once you understand that these forces exist and that they're always active, then the question naturally becomes, how do I relate to them in my daily life? So when we're talking about protecting your energy, protecting your energy doesn't mean trying to remove these forces or escape from them because you can't. They are a part of the structure of reality and they will continue to operate whether you acknowledge them or not. What makes the difference is not the presence of these influences, but whether these influences are allowed to organize you internally or whether you remain self-directed. So your energy is lost when your internal state is being shaped unconsciously by whatever's pulling at you in the moment. And so when people feel drained or overwhelmed or scattered, it's often not because something took their energy, but because their attention, their emotions, and their nervous system have been pulled out of alignment without them noticing it happening, going too far to the left into Luciferic tendencies or too far to the right into Ahriman. And so protecting your energy means learning to notice when you're being pulled towards excess, towards distraction or indulgence or escape, and also when you're being pulled toward rigidity or over-control or emotional shutdown. In those moments, protection is not about immediately changing the situation. It's about staying present long enough to notice what direction your energy is moving and then choosing not to collapse into that pull automatically. This is why awareness is the key. And this is why protection is not primarily about external boundaries, because you can change environments and still repeat the same patterns if your internal relationship to influence does not improve. So over time, as you start to become more aware of these two poles, and that's why this is so helpful, we're creating a binary understanding of these forces of influence. And as you become more aware, oh, that's Lucifer. Oh, that's Ahriman. You begin to stay more centered in that Christic middle ground while the external environment continues to happen. So your energy stops swinging from one extreme to another, and you start to become more stable, more grounded, more unshakable. And from this place, you're still fully engaged with life, but you're no longer being unconsciously driven by every impulse or pressure or system that you're interacting with. I think about when I'm not managing my energy properly, You know, my phone is sitting next to me as both an Arumeric expression, it's technology, but also Lucifer. It allows me to look at other people who are elevating themselves, scrolling through social media, starting to think about, you know, oh, what's wrong with my life and why am I not further along than where I'm at? That's Lucifer. And it's right there waiting for me. And when I don't balance my energies, that's my tendency. I told my wife the other day, it was crazy. Like I start to notice that like, If I'm not self-regulating, my hand will just lean over and pick up my phone and I'll check it without even intending to do so. You ever experienced this? So we have to learn how to say no to these influences, and awareness is the way to do that. That's why Christ said you have to deny yourself. These energies are all essential. They're all part of us. They're all part of reality, but we have to balance them. We have to deny them when they become too extreme and stay the middle path. Once you start becoming aware that like these two forces are influencing you and how your energy is being pulled, you'll notice that a lot of the times these influences start as thoughts, but they very quickly move to emotions. They move to sensations in the body, a tightness, an urgency, a restlessness, a contraction, or the need to numb out. A lot of times you're not even aware of what you're thinking, but you feel this reaction. And this is because the body and specifically the nervous system is the interface through which this influence enters our experience. Your nervous system is like an antenna that is communicating with these energies in the astral and etheric realms. And so the nervous system is constantly scanning the environment for signals of safety, threat, opportunity, pressure, and it adjusts your internal state accordingly. And when the nervous system is overstimulated or dysregulated, it becomes much easier for external forces to organize your internal state. And when it does, then your reactions happen faster than your awareness can handle. The impulses feel necessary. You're reactive rather than responsive. And so this is how people end up feeling pulled into patterns that they don't consciously choose, not because they lack willpower, but because their nervous system is already activated before the mind even has a chance to intervene. So a lot of the work that I've been doing recently with my coach who specializes in these Rosicrucian philosophies and the understanding of these forces. I mean, she's so good. I learned Spanish just to coach with her. It's about noticing how I'm feeling because these pulls towards excess, they show up in the body as agitation or restlessness or the need for stimulation. And as a recovering addict, man, I know that feeling. The pull toward control often shows up as tension or rigidity or shallow breathing or emotional constriction. And when these sensations go unnoticed, then you just move into these automatic behaviors. So your attention moves, your decisions are made, and your energy is spent without conscious direction. And you start checking your social media, you start worrying about money, you start feeling anxious or depressed or angry. But nervous system regulation changes the relationship. And this is why it's such an important priority in your daily practice. When the nervous system is more stable, the sensations slow down enough to be observed. And so you can watch what's going on inside of you. The emotional charge becomes something that you feel rather than something that you are. And this starts to create something that is essential, which is space between what is happening around you and how you respond to it. And in that space, these influences lose much of their force. So from this perspective, protecting your energy begins with supporting the body's capacity to stay regulated under pressure. Not to eliminate the influences, but to remain oriented while they are present. And as the body becomes more stable, it becomes harder for external systems or environments or impulses to hijack attention and behavior. Sure. It's helpful to remove yourself. Don't watch the news, but you're also going to be living in life and these forces are at work in our reality. And so the idea is to learn how to become grounded because when we're grounded, our energy stays available because it is no longer being spent on constant physiological reaction.. And this is what it means to stand centered and grounded amidst the chaos of the world, because we can't control our external circumstances, but we can choose to not get swept up by them. And so once you understand that influence is constant, that it enters through the body and the nervous system, then the role of daily practices becomes super clear. Like these practices aren't about optimization or self-improvement. It's not about cold plunging. These practices exist to keep your internal system stable enough that influence doesn't automatically take over. So your energy is protected when the body is supported, when the nervous system is regulated, and when your attention is not constantly being pulled into extremes. And this isn't something you achieve once. It's something that you maintain through simple, repeated actions. So number one, there's physical support. The body is an electrical and magnetic system, and when it's depleted or overstimulated, these influences have a much easier time organizing you. But with nutrition, hydration, mineral balance, these things help directly improve how resilient your nervous system is. Sleep and rest are not optional in this context because when the body is exhausted, regulation collapses and reactivity increases. And in that state, even minor pressures can feel overwhelming. There are grounding practices such as spending time in nature or bringing awareness to your body, right? Helping reconnect energy to the physical plane. This counteracts the pull toward disassociation and excess stimulation. And these physical supports don't remove influence, but they reduce its intensity before it turns into emotion or behavior. And then there are specific practices to help you regulate your nervous system. Practices like stillness or breath awareness or meditation. These things train the nervous system to remain calm while your sensations arise. And this is essential because influence often shows up first as bodily sensations. And when you regularly slow the system down, you increase your ability to notice the impulses without reacting to them immediately. So you want to reduce constant stimulation. That's excessive media, screen time, noise, multitasking. When you do that, you're preserving your attentional capacity. And without this, your attention fragments and energy leaks continuously throughout the day. And over time, regulation, as you do this, it starts to create calm. And calm is the ultimate preventative of feeling like something you lose under pressure and starts feeling like your baseline. It's not a thing you go do. It's who you become as you practice it. And then there's the internal work. Daily life constantly presents opportunities to move towards excess or towards control. Lucifer and Ahriman and practices that reinforce moderation help keep you oriented in that Christic center.. And this can look like choosing not to escalate emotionally. Hey, I would normally react here and I didn't react. Great. I chose the center path. Not indulging impulses immediately. Hey, I wanted to grab the sugar, but I held off on it. And not forcing outcomes when tension arises, not pushing through things, but giving things space. That's how you retrain these Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces. It also means allowing discomfort to exist. Without needing to escape it or dominate it. Just being with the uncomfortable energy and letting it metabolize through your nervous system. A lot of energy leaks come from the need to resolve discomfort too quickly. And I know, speaking from experience, you know, I don't like sitting in the unknown. I don't like sitting in the uncertainty. I don't like feeling my emotions. That's why I abused drugs and alcohol for so long. But if you can sit with the discomfort, you deny the influence. Of these extreme forces. And as this becomes habitual, the body and the mind, they learn they don't need to react automatically to every single pull. And so your energy starts to remain contained because it's no longer being spent unconsciously. Then over time, these practices create a different internal baseline. You literally become a different person. And it doesn't mean these influences disappear, but they lose their ability to destabilize you and you remain Engaged with life, but less reactive and less fragmented, kind of a yogi walking amongst the world. So if there's one thing to take away from this, it's that protecting your energy isn't about fighting the world or trying to escape it. Influence is part of being human. These forces are always present and they're not going anywhere. What actually changes your experience is how you interface with those influences. And when you understand what pulls at you. And when you recognize how your body responds, and when you learn to stay regulated instead of reacting, your energy naturally stabilizes and you stop leaking it through impulse or tension or unconscious bad behaviors, and you stay more present inside your own life. This isn't about becoming perfect or insulated. It's about becoming more centered. And the more centered you are, the less anything around you needs to be controlled or resisted.. And so if you feel ready to take more responsibility for your own state, your own direction, and the way your life is unfolding, there are different ways to go deeper depending on where you are. And you'll see in the show notes, whether you're listening on audio or following along on YouTube, and in the description, you'll find a bunch of resources that are going to support you in doing this work. So there are free materials like my Mind Hack ebook. There's also our deeper work, like my Mind Hack course and my Whole Human Framework program for those who want a more structured, immersive approach. And if you want to experience this in person, we also host live events, including my upcoming annual event, the Powerful Living Experience Live, where you can be in the room and feel this work directly. All of that is there if and when it feels aligned for you. So thanks for being here. I loved sharing this episode with you. I love you so much. Remember, stay in this work. Let's do it together. This is not a do-it-yourself project, and I will see you in the next episode. Hey, it's David. One more thing.

If you want to go even deeper on everything we've talked about on today's episode, Don't forget to jump over to www.davidbaird.com.

You can find the link in the show notes and subscribe to our newsletter.A couple of times a week, I'm going to be sending you the latest episodes that we've released along with additional free trainings. You'll get immediate access to my free mind hack ebook and go even deeper into all the tools, the technologies, and the frameworks that have helped tens of thousands of people establish a changed mind.Don't forget to jump on over over to the site, and I will see you in the next episode.