It’s been a while since the Beach Boys sang about good vibrations, but you can still walk into a cute boutique and find coffee mugs that say “good vibes only,” or hear some podcaster talk about “vibing high.” But what exactly does all of that mean? What are “vibes” and how do you get good ones? 

What Are Vibrations?

First, we have to figure out exactly what “vibrations” are before we can figure out how to have good ones. 

Basically, vibrations are energy. Every living thing on this planet gives off energy that moves at different frequencies. Even you give off vibrations!

How can you give off vibrations without even knowing what they are? Well, they’re an energy that’s created by your thoughts and emotions. You take in the vibrations of the people, things, and places that you’re around while giving off your own special set of vibes.

Ok, Now What About Good Vibes and Bad Vibes?

So you might have heard phrases like good vibes and bad vibes. “This place is creepy, it gives me bad vibes,” or “I’m not positive that I got the job, but the interviewer was giving off good vibes!”

Well, a more specific way to describe good and bad vibrations is by calling them high vibrations and low vibrations. 

When we give off and receive lots of high vibrations, we feel good, we attract success, and we are the best versions of ourselves. But when we have low vibes, we feel slow, uninspired, and insecure. 

Luckily, we can control our own energy. By being deliberate about the people you spend time with, the things you do, the places you are, and the way you take care of yourself, you can cultivate your own good (or bad) vibes.

How Do You Have Vibe High?

If you want to feel confident and in control of your life, bring your actions and goals into alignment, and basically be the best “you” you can be, you have to cultivate high vibrations. 

Our energy is influenced by pretty much everything it comes in contact with–whether it’s inside of you or outside of you. For example, internal things that can affect your vibes are the type of thoughts you have, how intentional you are, and whether you control your thoughts or let them run wild. When it comes to external influences, food, medicine, your environment, and the people you hang out with can all determine whether you’re vibing high or vibing low.

Here’s a few things you can do to help elevate your vibe.

Take Power With Meditation

Do you ever feel like your thoughts are out of control? Do you tend to let your mind run wild with racing thoughts? Do you feel like intrusive thoughts stop you from being the kind of person you want to be?

Well, high vibrations start on the inside. No matter how amazing the people and places you surround yourself with are, it’s not going to do much if you’re not working on your inner self. And the first step for that is taking control of your mental space with meditation.

Here’s how philosopher Alan Watts describes it:

“Meditation is the way in which we come to feel our basic inseparability from the whole universe, and what that requires is that we shut up. That is to say, that we become interiorally silent and cease from the interminable chatter that goes on inside our skulls. Because you see, most of us think compulsively all the time.”

It can be so hard to get our brains to shut up! But once we do, we start to be able to step outside of ourselves a little bit. And that lets us rise above the annoying or challenging things of day to day life. It lets us “level up” in our minds. We get one step closer to being the best version of ourselves.

Even if you’re not trying to raise your vibrations, meditation is a great skill to practice. Researchers have found hard evidence that meditation can lower your stress, ease your anxiety, be better at problem solving, boost your attention span, and even help you get a better night’s rest. Vibes or not, those are pretty good reasons to download a meditation app or see a meditation professional.

Check For Leaks

Remember from science class how energy can never be created or destroyed? Instead, it can be stored or transferred. To have high vibrations, you need to build up your internal energy so you can spend it on the right people, projects, and goals. To do that, you need to make sure there’s no energy leaks anywhere. 

What exactly is an energy leak? It’s a problem, situation, person or thing that takes up some of our energy throughout the day, even if we don’t notice it. That disagreement you had with a co-worker last week that you can’t let go of? That’s an energy leak. The bag of old clothes you’ve been meaning to donate forever that just sits in your closet, stressing you out every time you go in there? Energy leak.

Once you start to be more aware of your thoughts and where you direct your energy, you can find those leaks and plug them up. Message your co-worker and grab coffee, or schedule in some time on Saturday to drop the clothes off at a shelter. Don’t let those silly little things take up your energy and lower your vibes.

You Get What You Give

You know the old saying, “you reap what you sow?” Well, when it comes to vibrations, that’s exactly right. The kind of vibrations you give off tend to be the kind you get in return. That’s because, when it comes to energy, like attracts like. So if you have high vibrations and share them with the people around you, you’re more likely to end up surrounded with good vibes from the people, things, and places in your life. 

So how do you give off good vibes? It’s all about sharing your blessings and abundance with those who need it. And that doesn’t have to mean money. There’s plenty of ways you can put good energy into this world! You cam:

• Volunteer for a cause you care about
• Help a friend or neighbor with a project
• Offer your skills to a local charity
• Mentor someone 
• Be part of a support network 
• Try not to judge people
• Pay it forward at the drive-thru

There’re so many ways, big and small, to give off good energy. Over time, you’ll start to attract those high vibes back to you!