What is the Aura? And why should I care?

I think it’s safe to say that most people in our world at this point have heard someone at some point talk about the Aura. “You have a beautiful Aura!” or “What color do you think her aura is?” or my personal favorite that I just came across: “You’re aura is dusty. Sage that sh…” well, you get the point. But what is an Aura? What does it do? Why is it important? And how do I know it’s not just some new age hippy nonsense?

Let’s start with some basics. The Aura as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is “a feeling or particular quality that is very noticeable and seems to surround a person.” Merriam-Webster goes a little more in depth to define it as “a distinctive atmosphere surrounding a given source; an energy field that is held to emanate from a living being; a luminous radiation.” In metaphysics we define the Aura as an energetic structure connected to the physical body. There is a lot more that we can go into about it: the seven different layers and what they correspond to, the Working Aura and its size and function, where the Auric energy originates, and much more. Those deeper teachings aren’t really relevant for most people, though, and would make this post far longer than anyone wants it to be, myself included.

The most practical way to think of your Aura is like your energetic skin. Two of the main functions of your skin are to keep the outside out of your body and your insides in. Walking around with an open, untreated wound is just asking for an infection. Likewise, if your skin is unhealthy, too thin, and easily cracked or broken, then you’re more prone to cuts, scrapes, and bruises. It’s the same with the Aura. When it’s damaged or full of holes then all kinds of negative energy can get in and affect you mentally, emotionally, and even physically. It also means that the container in which we build our own personal energy can’t hold it, leaving us feeling drain, tired and unmotivated. It’s like pouring water into a bucket with holes. It just never gets full no matter how much you pour into it.

Who cares though? Auras aren’t real and this is all a bunch of unproven nonsense, right? Not necessarily. Kirlian photography claims to be able to take photographs of peoples’ Auras. Even our own hearts emit an electromagnetic field that extends 3 feet out from the body and can be measured with modern medical equipment. So is it really that crazy to think there might be a more subtle energy field that is also present that we just haven’t found a way to measure yet? Most importantly though, we have all had personal experience with other people’s auras. Think about it. Someone walks into a room, or comes up to or behind you, and you’re immediately able to tell they’re in a bad mood, or upset or putting off some other kind of negative energy. The Working Aura extends about 9 feet from the body, and the full Aura is much larger than that. So we can literally feel another persons energy just by being near them. Some people feel great to be around, while some others don’t feel good at all, and much of these sensations are coming from us being in or near and sensing their Aura.

So feel it out for yourself and start becoming aware of what you feel from other people around you. You’ll probably be able tell quite a bit about the people near you and the mood they’re in, just by sensing their energy. Then start working to make sure that your own Aura is strong, healthy and full of Light or good energy. The stronger your Aura, and the more Light you’re able to hold, the more people with negative energy won’t want to be around you, and the more you’ll find yourself surrounded by others with more positive energy that will!