Choosing the Energy We Bring To A Heavy World

Some days it feels impossible not to absorb the heaviness of the world.

You turn on the news or scroll through your phone, and it’s war, violence, division and suffering everywhere. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. Sometimes the problems feel so out of control and complex that we begin to wonder what difference any one of us can possibly make. That feeling of helplessness can quietly turn into hopelessness, if we let it.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and not just because of all of the greed, hatred and delusion ruling the world, but also because I’m raising teenagers. I want my children to become adults who can act with compassion, rather than react with rage, who can see the beauty in the world and not get stuck in hopelessness.

If you’ve ever parented a teenager, you know that it is wonderful (and frustrating), beautiful (and terrifying), energizing (and exhausting) as they learn to navigate their independence, their emotions, their relationships, and the pressures of school and sports and life all at once. My daughter has been feeling that weight lately, and we’ve had a lot of conversations about the idea that she actually has far more influence over her life and the outcomes of situations than she sometimes believes.

Not control over everything, but influence. And one of the biggest things she can influence is the energy and attitude she brings into a situation.

Every thought, every action and every intention carries energy, and the energy we contribute to the world has an impact.

These conversations with my daughter (she might call them arguments) got me thinking about how the world right now seems like a macrocosm of a teenager with an unregulated nervous system. So maybe that's how we need to treat it when we feel helpless in the face of perpetual chaos.

Even when we can’t control circumstances, we can choose the energy we contribute to the world around us. That might sound small, but it’s actually incredibly powerful. There are many simple practices (that even an angsty teenager can do) to help regulate, balance and revive the energy we emanate into the world. These can help shape decisions, actions and outcomes on a larger scale.

Two practices that beautifully embody this idea are Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation and the Reiki World Peace Grids. Both remind us that even when we cannot control global events, or the actions of others, we can still choose the energy we contribute to our own lives, our relationships, our actions and our greater human community.

Practicing Loving-Kindness

A practice originating from Buddhist traditions called Metta meditation, or loving-kindness meditation, is one way to pull the mind away from the negative, anxiety-inducing stories of our daily lives and the madness of the world. It aims to bring compassion to our center of focus and then radiate it out into the world. 

In this practice, we intentionally generate feelings of kindness, compassion and goodwill. We begin by offering these wishes to ourselves, then extend them outward to loved ones, strangers and eventually even people we struggle with.

The phrases are simple, but powerful:

May you be safe.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful.
May you live with ease.

At first, it can feel almost too simple, but these practices slowly shift something inside of us. They soften our reactions. They create space between emotion and response. They remind us that compassion is something we can actively practice.

When enough people cultivate compassion, it begins to ripple outward, impacting something greater than our individual selves.

Sending Peace Into The World

Another way to send the vibration of love and peace into the world, using the healing practice of reiki, is through something called the World Peace Crystal Grids.

These are specially designed crystal grids placed in different locations around the world. Reiki practitioners send healing energy to them with the intention of supporting peace and harmony on Earth. The idea is that the grids hold that energy and help amplify the intention, like a transmitter sending waves of compassion out into the collective field.

Several of these grids have been placed in energetically significant locations around the world, including:

• The Magnetic North Pole

• The South Pole

• Jerusalem in the Old City

• Mount Kurama, Japan, the sacred mountain where Mikao Usui rediscovered Reiki

• Hana, Maui, Hawaii

These locations were intentionally chosen for their spiritual or energetic significance. For example, the grids placed near the Earth’s magnetic poles were chosen because the planet’s magnetic field can help distribute the energy of peace around the globe.

The inscription on the World Peace Grid beautifully captures the intention behind the project:

“May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on Earth.”

What I love most about this project is that it reminds us that healing the world is not something only leaders or governments can do. In fact, it might never happen if we wait for them to initiate change. It is something each of us can participate in, simply by sending intention and compassion.

I love that idea because it reminds us that even when the problems of the world feel enormous, there is still something we can do.  

When We Feel Powerless

Many people avoid practices like these because they wonder if they actually make a difference. When the world feels chaotic, meditation or energy work can seem insignificant compared to the magnitude of global problems, but these practices serve two very important purposes.

First, they change the energy we carry within ourselves. When we cultivate compassion, we become less reactive, less consumed by fear or anger, and more capable of responding with wisdom.

Second, they remind us that we are still participants in the world. Even when we cannot control world events, we can choose what energy we contribute to the collective field. Every intention for peace is a small light added to the world, (even if it’s just a commitment to not engage in mean girl gossip at the lunch table) and many small lights can illuminate even the darkest places.

This light appears in the way we navigate difficult relationships, in how we respond to conflict at school or work, in the energy we bring into our families, and sometimes it shows up in a conversation with a teenager who feels like everything in life is happening to her rather than something she has influence over. 

When I talk with my daughter about this, I try to help her see that while she can’t control every situation, she can control how she shows up.

If she walks into a room expecting conflict, she often finds it. If she walks in with curiosity or openness, the outcome can shift. Of course, the same is true with adults, with coaches, with teachers, with CEOs and world leaders.

How we approach people, situations and challenges shapes what unfolds next.

Your attitude matters.

Your energy matters.

Your response matters.

Transmuting Anger Into Action

Compassion does not mean ignoring injustice or pretending everything is fine. In fact, anger can be an important signal. It tells us something is wrong. It tells us that suffering matters, but when anger is fueled by hatred or despair, it tends to burn us out or deepen division, and anger in isolation can turn into resentment, hopelessness or burnout.

Practices like Reiki and loving-kindness meditation help us hold that anger within compassion. From that place, anger transforms.

For a teenager, it can become motivation to:

• Pass that test

• Perform more confidently in sports

• Be a better friend

• Include others who are left out

These small-scale actions teach us how to transmute our worries, fears and anger into more global actions. When anger becomes awareness and compassion, we can:

• Advocate for peace

• Support humanitarian efforts

• Care for our communities

• Stand up for justice

Instead of feeding the same cycles of negativity we see in the world, we begin contributing something different. That is where real change begins.

We Are Not Powerless

It’s easy to believe that love and compassion are small forces in a world filled with conflict, but history has shown us again and again that the most powerful movements for change have always been rooted in courage, compassion and the refusal to give in to hatred.

Practices like Reiki healing and loving-kindness meditation remind us of something simple but profound:

Even in a troubled world, we still get to choose the energy we bring into it, and every act of compassion (no matter how small) helps tip the balance toward peace and healing. Sometimes that choice is the very thing that changes what happens next.

Practices to Try

Create a World Peace Crystal Grid

Learn more about crystal grids and how to create your own here.  If you’re not attuned to reiki, you can still offer positive intentions of world peace and healing.  Create your grid, and do the following loving-kindness meditation. 

A 5-Minute Loving-Kindness Practice

When the world feels overwhelming, take a few minutes to reset your energy and reconnect with compassion.

1. Take three slow breaths
Sit comfortably. Let your shoulders soften and your jaw relax. Breathe in slowly… and out slowly.

2. Offer kindness to yourself

Silently repeat:

May I be safe.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful.
May I live with ease.

Pause for a breath between each phrase.

3. Think of someone you love

Picture someone who easily brings a smile to your face.

Repeat:

May you be safe.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful.
May you live with ease.

4. Think of someone neutral

Picture a stranger you saw on the street, or in the checkout line.

Repeat:

May you be safe.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful.
May you live with ease.

5. Think of a difficult person

Picture a difficult person in your life or in the news or the White House.

Repeat:

May you be safe.
May you be well.
May you be peaceful.
May you live with ease.

5. Expand your intention outward

Now imagine your community… your country… or the entire Earth.

You might visualize the planet surrounded by light, a white light emanating compassion around the globe.

Repeat:

May all beings be safe.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings live with ease.

Take one final deep breath before returning to your day.

I hope to teach my daughter (when she takes her AirPods out and listens), that even a few minutes of intentional kindness can shift the energy we carry into the world. No act of kindness is too small, and can have a profound impact on our daily lives, rippling to the bigger picture, and shifting the collective consciousness toward peace.