_Z_ said:
The point I am getting at of life energy, which is amber coloured imo, a primordial spirit has none, but after birth as e.g. a human they/we gather them up during life. Thus in my mind it is entirely possible that they can be drained by malicious beings that have no other means to gather. All in all life energies appear to be transferable! Perhaps some beings want to awaken from the darkness of death – perhaps after exhausting their energies – by stealing peoples life force & experience vitality again, i dont know but perhaps these energies lie in the blood!
Interesting ideas, particularly about your opinion that life energy is amber colored. That has always been my own impression as well. When I see auras, I just see gold-colored haze around people/animals, which I always interpreted as life energy. I never get to see colors or anything interesting, just life energy. I mostly ignore it or it gets annoying.
"Real"/human living vampires are an interesting group of folks, and I have plans to do some ethnography at some point with them if I can find willing participants. I found out about these folks a couple of years ago, and it is quite fascinating, both as a social phenomenon and from a spiritual perspective. It is necessary, first, to distinguish them from blood fetishists and other blood drinkers. Real vampires characterize themselves by their
need for blood and/or others' energy, not by blood drinking. Hence, the psychic vampires who can feed off life or other energies. They themselves guess that there is a relationship between life energy and blood.
I think it's worth saying that these folks have never seemed evil or malicious to me. Many are pretty normal folk other than their vampirism- middle-aged moms and dads and professionals. While it is not an uncommon fad amongst teenagers who have watched too much Buffy and Angel, there are enough self-indentifed vampires who have normal lives and jobs to indicate there's something else going on there to me other than simple role-game-playing. Many vampires I've talked with say that they don't even really like blood, but they still feel that they need it. They report symptoms similar to chemical addicts during withdrawal when they go without feeding- weakness, lowered immunity, hunger and thirst, mood swings, etc. Most vampires subscribe to one of two theories about their own condition- (1) a genetic reason- that vampirism is a genetic disease of humans or (2) a spiritual reason- that vampirism is a result of having a non-human vampiric soul, or a karmic burden from some past life, etc. Some embrace it, some hate themselves for it, some just feel sad. Some fit the stereotype/fictionalized image and some don't. Many do report being nocturnal, sensitive to sunlight, etc. but these are within the range of normal human variation.
There are organizations for "real" vampires and "lifestylers"- people who embrace the image, though they aren't vampires themselves. Most of the organizations focus on support through forums, education, and providing a way for vampires and donors to find one another. It's worth saying that most vampires I've talked with have high ethical standards and would not feed (either blood or energy) from anyone but a willing adult donor. They're also generally big on sanitary practices- testing for diseases and such. Psychic vampires often say they can (and do) feed off ambient energies (like that expelled in a large crowd- as in a concert or sports event), but most insist that feeding from life energy should be with a consensual donor (which is one of the reasons that most find feeding from animals unethical). This also helps protect them, because energy work of any sort can bring with it feeling, very strongly, another person's emotions and also, if it goes on for any length of time, a bond of sorts with the person. Some vampires say they can also feed directly on natural energies- such as those released by storms, the ocean, etc.
I seriously doubt there is any conspiracy with blood banks, because most of the real vampires I've talked with have no problem finding a willing donor or a substitute, such as blood pudding. There are clubs and groups that meet in most major cities. They tend to get together just for relaxation and support though, and people generally don't feed in such public settings. Most vampires and donors find feeding to be a rather intimate and private thing, though I don't currently know if such clubs help people hook up. Most of the vampires I've talked with report that their donors are either close friends or significant others, though some find them through organizations listing donors.
Myself, I think it's very likely that all human beings feed off energy a bit. They just don't realize they do it. Most people when they become very sick or injured will feel very weak, and it is not uncommon for those who visit them to feel tired or a bit ill after being with them for a time. Vampires explain that such serious illnesses (and especially those who are dying) become psychic vampires automatically, even though they don't realize what they are doing. Many vampires claim that during their initial "awakening" (the period in which their vampirism started), they too made those around them tired and were essentially feeding off others' energy without realizing it or controlling it. Once they realized what was going on, over time they learned to control and refine their feeding, and/or switched to blood drinking. Many people also react in strange ways in a large crowd- getting hyper is common- and often crowds of folks impact each other's emotions. I think vampires, if they are a real phenomenon, are probably folks that just have a higher energy requirement than most and/or are more aware of it.
