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Penthesilea
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Words
Jul 2nd, 2007 at 7:13pm
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Words.

Words have power. Words can invoke responses totally at odds with what the speaker intended. Words can be a barrier to communication. It seems a lot of people can’t get past the word “vampire” and it’s meaning in both traditional and modern folklore and while there are those perfectly happy with that state of affairs, it can make rational discussion of the subject difficult.

My first encounter with vampires that required life energy rather than blood came back in the 1980’s when I read a series of books by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah (Google “The Sime/Gen Universe” for more information) so when I started to encounter psychic vampires and the terminology associated with them it was comfortable and familiar to me. I have since found that the majority of people do not have that reaction. The problem is, I think, words. Some of the words used in the Vampire community are fairly neutral in the emotion reaction that they inspire. Others are not. So, I’ve been throwing around ways to describe the condition of being a psychic vampire and the actions associated with it in a more “scientific” or “medical” way that hopefully would not inspire a knee-jerk negative response.

Since the accepted definition of a psychic vampire is someone whose demands for life force/prana/chi/”whatever you want to call” it exceeds their ability to generate it within themselves then “energy deficit disorder” would be an accurate substitute for the loaded term “vampirism.”

“Hypoenergetic” would also be appropriate since “hypo” is the accepted scientific/medical prefix for “low”.  Let’s face it. “I’m hypoenergetic.” is less likely to send the timid running for the hills than “I’m a vampire.”

“Feeding” is also a loaded outside the vampire community. “Energy transfer” or simply “transfer” would be an accurate and considerably less emotionally loaded alternate term -- “I need a transfer.” as opposed to “I need to feed.” And I will freely admit to borrowing this term from the above mentioned books. I suspect that I’m not the only one to do this since many of the terms I’ve encountered in the vampire community are the same as those found in the Sime/Gen Universe novels.

Likewise, referring to those who are not hypoenergetic as “prey” does nothing to reassure the timid and gives credence to the claims of the hostile.  The term “donor” is in use in the community and should be encouraged since it is a considerably more neutral a word and it’s use would subtly encourage a respectful attitude toward those who can supply energy to the hypoenergetic. [As an aside, I have been prey. It was a gross violation and I can say that if I had not had experience as a donor my attitude toward psychic vampires would be considerably different and this site would not have the “pro-vampire” stance that it does.]

Then, what to call people like me. I’m a donor, of course. Everyone on the planet who isn’t hypoenergetic is a potential donor but it seems that I am one of those people who generates considerably more energy that I need. I was once told that I was the “opposite of a vampire” so in keeping with the term for a “vampire”, I would say that I was “hyperenergetic” with the definition being someone who produces an excess of life energy.  In the above mentioned novels, a donor who had the inborn ability to produce massive amounts of life energy was called a “Companion” because they alone could met the energy needs of those hypoenergetic individuals (called Simes in the novels) who had special abilities (these Simes were called Channels.) and were normally partners with them. The relationship between Channels and Companions was a mutually beneficial symbiosis that maintained the physical and mental health of both parties. Ideally, that should be the goal, that the energy needs of the hypoenergetic are supplied by donors who feel neither afraid or exploited.

The questions now are can we do that and do we want to?
  
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FuryRising
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Re: Words
Reply #1 - Jul 9th, 2007 at 6:38pm
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That's a good post Penth.

I think people latch on too much to terms, and that's something I tend to forget when I post.  Grin  Use of controversial terms, regardless of how they are meant, tends to get people's backs up quicker than just about anything...and then all reasoning goes out the window and you might as well be beating your head against a brick wall. 

In response to your questions "can we" and "do we want to"... I think that's probably more personal than anything, and you will receive a wide range of responses from those similar to yourself.  There are going to be those who have the excess energy that will never want to share or give that energy to someone in need. Either because they don't understand, don't believe it is needed, think it will hurt, etc.  There are those like yourself who have been a willing donor in the past, and may or may not be willing to do so again.

I think ethics come into play a bit here - there are those who term themselves vampires who will take with or without consent - there are those who prefer to take only with consent.

For those who take without asking... should these who have the higher energy levels learn to protect that energy and keep it close?  Or do you think that they would even notice that they are being taken from/fed from/that an energy exchange is occurring?

For those who do ask... how should you approach the potential donor?  Like you said in your post... how you approach it and word it may make all the difference in the world.
  
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Penthesilea
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Re: Words
Reply #2 - Jul 10th, 2007 at 2:25am
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Words have power. Some words ARE power when you consider their impact on people. I think that before any meaningful progress can be made on the subject of energy exchange between those who have a need for it and those who have it in abundance, the terminology used has to be "neutralized". The terms currently in use have connotations that either send people running for the hills or reaching for the phone to call mental heath service providers to request a pickup. Neither reaction is going to result in any useful dialog. The majority of the vampire community is going to have to agree to a change in terminology if they want to change the negative aspects of their image. And the lifestyle choices of some in the community are going to have to be downplayed if the community as a whole wants to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, when you say "vampire" the first thing that pops into most people's minds is "goth" followed by "out of control roleplayer" and if you even mention "blood" they dive straight into abnormal sexual psychology and you have lost them for good. And the fact that the overwhelming majority has NO clue about energy does not help. Martial artists that are familiar with chi/ki/prana are the exception but even they have only the faintest idea of what is possible. Those who practice tantric yoga have a better idea as far as exchange is concerned but even they are likely to be leery of the necessities of energy transfer since it goes only one way.
I think until the terminology is changed and the vampire community makes a commitment to a serious outreach/education effort that takes into account the effect that their words and lifestyles have on the people that they are trying to reach nothing much will change on a large scale.
  
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FuryRising
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Re: Words
Reply #3 - Jul 11th, 2007 at 5:01pm
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Grin

It's a hot topic, definitely, with people on both sides of the fence.  I guess only time will tell.
  
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Penthesilea
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Re: Words
Reply #4 - Jul 11th, 2007 at 5:09pm
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With those of us wanting a dispassionate, rational discussion of the matter with maybe some actual progress up the well known creek without a boat and beating our heads against the wall. *sigh* I guess we do what we can when we can and hope for the best. There is a site I found last year that I want to take a closer look at. If it pans out, I'll post the link to it. If it turns out to be "more of the same", I won't bother.
  
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