Many of us remember the Beach Boys “Good vibrations” song that was popular around the same time as “Turn, turn, turn.” “I’m picking up good vibrations”—Are you?  Are you creating good vibrations?  Our scripture tells us today, there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That sounds like good vibrations to me — being happy and doing good.

But what is a vibration?  A spiritual vibration is a metaphor for viewing the universe as connected and is based on the idea that all matter in the universe is made up of energy that vibrates. Vibrations occur on a scale from low to high, with lower frequency vibrations produced by negativity, such as anxiety, anger, fear, jealousy, or hatred. Higher frequency vibrations are produced by positivity, such as love, compassion, confidence, gratitude, awe, or inclusivity.

God is the best of the good vibration, connected to all, in and through all, and the source of all things good.

When the  Bible begins with God creating one thing after another, the sun, the moon, the oceans, the land, the fish and birds, God stops at the end and says, “It is good.”  What if we stopped and pronounced something good when we completed it, not to assuage the ego, but to see the good in what we have done, created, thought, or how we behaved.  We have so many choices in our lives every day, and for everything there is a season.  We can choose the positive season if possible or try to find the positive in all situations, at least find some peace in every situation.

Think of something as having a vibration, slower in frequency when it is negative and higher in frequency when it is positive.  How can you go around increasing the frequency of the vibrations in this world.  Use sitting at a stoplight as an example. Can you mind the rules of the road, be respectful to those around you in the car, be listening to something that is life-giving, or be courteous to the drivers and passengers around you?  If you greeted each situation with the focus of making it have a higher frequency, you can include the present circumstances, then you can be someone who radiates energy and goodness.  How can you make right now the best it can be?  That is a question you can ask hundreds of times a day — how can I increase the vibration of this moment?  How can I increase my own vibration?

It can also mean our choosing to remain positive when someone says something that could feel negative.  For instance, if you tell me something bad someone said about me, I could return this with saying something nice (truthful) about the person who is said to have said it.  I am sure you can find something positive about each person in this world.  This does not mean ignoring the truth or not telling the truth.  But it means trying to feel good about others and us.  We don’t have to take things personally, defensively, or vengefully.  We can do as the verses in the Bible we read today and choose to be happy and to do good.

Another idea is to be as joyful, happy or respectfully humorous about a situation as it honestly impacts you.  We are to embrace things as they are completely, not avoid acceptance of something that may have a negative impact on you or the world.  We start by being completely honest with ourselves and the world.  But then we step out in faith and try to see the good, try to help be a healer, try to help the overall tenor of a situation to be higher.  We can be respectfully serious and still be respectfully humorous.  Things that are serious are serious.  But not everything is dramatic and a few things, if ever, are all bad.  Not everything is horrible or negative.  Make time for humor that makes a situation feel less overwhelming and look for the hilarious in this world.  For everything there is a season, and there is a time to laugh.  So, make that time and step out in faith that you can find the humor in a situation or in your day.  Not humor that denigrates, but humor that lifts and elevates the situation to one we feel we can handle.

And sometimes things just are — neither good nor bad, but we ourselves can improve our attitudes and our ways of interacting with the world, nature, and the people in the world.  We can react to it as it is, but then improve it – leave it better than we found it.

Many times, when we can’t find anything good in the moment, we haven’t stopped to count our blessings or been grateful for all the many good things in our lives.  We can seek new ways to be intentionally grateful – such as having a gratitude jar where you write many things down that you are grateful for and then when your frequency is feeling low, take something written out of the jar and say a prayer of thanks.  Think about the goodness of this thing.  Think about what made you put it in the jar in the first place.  At any moment of your life, stop and count five things to be thankful for.  Stop during the day over and over and find five things from the present that are worth feeling grateful about. Then say a prayer of thanksgiving.

Another way of raising your frequency is affirmations.  What can you say about you that is positive?  It’s important to know that we do some things well or at least better than before.  How about when you handle a situation better than you did before.  Can you see the good in you?

Do you have growing edges?  We all do.  But growth takes courage, so you can remind yourself that you can embrace change and that you are brave in this life and can make change.  Then take the steps to get the change your life needs.

What talents do you have? You can affirm those, but you can also take steps to make whatever it is that you are talented in better.  You can make more time for the positive things in your life.  You can take classes or begin to focus on having better health or a happier disposition.  Life can be good, and life can be happy.

Or do what you are passionate about.  What is your happy spot? What is it you are doing when you feel like you are in flow or are fulfilling your purpose in life?  Do that, as much of that as possible.  Make the time and the resources to embrace your passions in this life.

How about forgiveness?  How are you letting go of the bad feelings a memory brings.  Again, I am not saying to forget the bad in this world – definitely learn from it; if possible, grow from it.  But let the past be in the past.  If someone did something to you how you respond is ultimately up to you.  You can choose to let go of the bad feelings.  It might take practice, but don’t give up – this is a change that takes lots of practice to get right, if we ever do.

How do you like to exercise?  Can you make more time for that?  Prioritize the positive in your life.

Do you intentionally seek to be mindful in the moment?  Remember, “there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live,” as our scripture said this morning.  How present can you be?  What do you feel?  Get in touch with it.  Be honest about it.  Slowly move in a positive direction after taking time to be absorbed by the moment.

There is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  How can you be happier?  How can you do better while you are here?

Raising your spiritual energy and vibration requires the consistent practice of mindfulness, forgiveness, meditation, and visualization. It also involves committing to keeping your environment organized, connecting with nature, showing more kindness and compassion, journaling your thoughts and feelings, and more.