All of us spent a period of about nine months in our mother’s womb before entering this world. For that time, it was through the medium of the womb that we related to our world. The fetus in utero can hear voices, music and other sounds that reach them through the watery surround of the womb. But it’s not only the outside world that is connected to the fetus. The placenta in the womb is the connecting medium for the nourishment that comes to the fetus from the mother.

We are born out of the surround of the womb into the world. For the rest of our life, there is a different kind of surround through which we will interact with the world and through which we will connect with what nourishes us. It is an energetic surround—not a physical, mostly liquid surround any longer. It is an energy field that we are creating all through our life, and we are creating it through everything that we do.

Just as we experience life through the medium of our mother’s womb as a fetus in utero, we experience life through the medium of the energetic field surrounding us after being born. Exactly the same principle is at work. Parents—and later teachers, mentors and counselors—assist in building that energetic surround. Ultimately, it is you, the being at the center of the energetic field, whose experience is being determined by the nature of that field; and therefore it is you who must take responsibility for its creation, and, if necessary, its regeneration.

According to the nature of that energy field, so will the experience of life be. The world, and all the people in it, looks as it does because you are looking through that energy field.

Our energy field is subject to fluctuation. It is a field that is created over time, but it is also subject to changes day-to-day and moment-to-moment, based on the cycles of our life, the attitudes that we’re carrying, the people and events with whom we are interacting and, most importantly, the nature of what is expressing through us—so that we know that one day the world looks one way and the next day we wake up and somehow it looks different, based on what is happening in our energy field. But it is not only our connection to the world that is different, depending on the nature of this field of energy. Our connection to what is nourishing us from within—what is energizing us and is seeking to come through us—is established by that same field of energy. That connection for us, as an adult, provides a function that parallels the function of the placenta for the fetus.

For a fetus, if the function of the womb and the placenta is not optimal, the health of the fetus suffers. The fetus relies on the womb and the placenta for life. The same principle is at work for you and for me. The degree to which we experience life more abundantly, the degree to which we have energy to move and to create, to be a blessing in our world, and to be of service, is dependent on the nature of the energetic womb that surrounds us and which is our connection to the source of our own nourishment.

Sometimes people find themselves running on empty in one way or another, running out of fuel, running out of inspiration, out of energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas. They run out of options and life becomes a grind. That can simply be part of a cycle in the rhythm of life, but it may be that it’s time for the person to get very intentional, very deliberate about generating the substance that connects them to the source of nourishment within that powers their life.

In utero, that nourishment is coming through the mother. But for us as mature human beings, we must seek another source of nutrition, inspiration and energy. As human beings we have the opportunity to be inspired and moved by the same power that moves all of the cosmos and the same intelligence that moves in all of the cosmos. It moves as it does through the galaxies and through atoms, and through all of nature, but for us as a human organism it is designed to move through consciousness—through thinking and feeling. Then what is happening in our thinking and feeling influences our physical body. It is radiating to our world so that we can be of service at many levels. We can be of service to other people practically. We can also be of service energetically. Our very presence can be upliftment and inspiration to another person.

For many people on a spiritual path, life is about doing all the right things, all the good things. “Oh, we will be good; we will do all the things we’re supposed to do. We’ll be dead inside, and stiff, but we’re doing the right things.” Real spirituality includes doing the juicy things, the things that create juice, the things that open us up and bring life to us and through us.

Personally, I enjoy hiking in the mountains. For me, there is something that happens when I hike that does not happen any other way. There is communion with the sky and with the rocks and the trees and the rivers and streams. It is life-giving.

Hiking is not for everyone. So for you, the activities that generate your personal energetic field may be listening to music, meditation or painting watercolors. For some people, it is an activity as seemingly mundane as dusting. Do you think dusting could open you up to cosmic love and cosmic wisdom? For some people it does.

However you do it, it is your personal responsibility to care for the energetic womb that surrounds you. And if you don’t, no one else can do it for you. It is your responsibility to let it be as full and rich as it can be. There are so many people who are busy doing this and trying that, and some things are working and they get excited, and other things are not working so well. And in it all, they may not pay attention to what is happening in their personal energetic field. They don’t notice that it is running down. Perhaps there is an endless loop of downward-spiraling thinking that is causing anxiety. Or perhaps their emotions are so fixated on the external circumstances that they never have a chance to feel uplifted. They don’t notice that the things that bring them true joy are not happening in their life—they’re not finding those things that bring regeneration.

Whether you are a man or a woman, this is about the feminine principle at work in your life. For you to be whole, happy and fulfilled, there has to be an alive body of energy surrounding you—an energetic womb. That body of energy has to be rich and full, and capable of resonating at the highest frequency possible. This is the body of energy through which you experience all of life. Your connection with the source of life depends on this energetic body. What are your next steps to let it generate to its fullest?