The Control Dramas-A Lesson From “The Celestine Prophecy”

Have you ever heard of the control dramas?

Recently, I decided to sit down and read “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield.  I’ve been thinking about reading this book for years actually, but last week the timing seemed right, so I sat down and got to it.  It’s a real page turner, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in topics of spirituality!

Now, to be clear, this book is a work of fiction, so I cannot claim that anything here is scientifically accurate (then again, is anything really scientifically accurate anyway? That’s a whole other can of worms, perhaps a good idea for a future blog post!).

This book is basically an adventurous tale of a man on a spiritual journey, and the lessons he learns along his trail.  Though it’s a fictionalized and dramatized account of a spiritual awakening, I will say that I felt a number of parallels to my life experiences, and those of other people I’ve spoken with.  One of these parallels was the discussion of what Redfield called “the control dramas.”

In the Celestine Prophecy, one of the insights the protagonist gained during his spiritual awakening was that people often “compete” with each other for energy using these control dramas. As I’ve actually noticed this energy competition before on numerous occasions, I found this insight highly clarifying!

As the Celestine Prophecy explains, we each (as spiritual beings) have the ability to be connected to a source of higher energy.  When we are connected to this source energy, we feel loving and joyful. Though we each have the ability to connect to this energy, however, many of us do not know how to connect with it on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, through our social conditioning, our limiting beliefs, behaviors and expectations about the world and who we are often prevent us from connecting to this higher energy source.  As we grow up, we come to believe we are limited, rather than infinitely powerful. As a result, many of us end up feeling disconnected, stressed, tired, anxious, and depressed.

We need energy from the higher source to feel good, and we crave it, but we just don’t know how to connect with it routinely.

So, as a coping mechanism to this disconnection with source energy, we often unconsciously “compete” with each other to “steal” each other’s energy.  We aren’t well-connected to the stream, so to speak, so we use these dramas to siphon what little “water” the people around us are carrying.

So control dramas allow us to “steal” energy from each other when we are feeling low, giving us a little boost here and there.

How do we do this? Well, essentially, when other people pay attention to us, we get to absorb some of their energy, therefore control dramas are all about getting people to pay attention to you.

In Redfield’s book, the argument is that each of us has a default “control drama” strategy.  Some of us oscillate between several dramas, but usually we have one we rely on the most when we are feeling disconnected.

Here are the control dramas:

1.“The Intimidator”

The Intimidator is an individual who steals energy by force.  In order to get an energy boost, the Intimidator may be very loud, may yell, or may use violence. Ultimately, the Intimidator gets his or her energy by forcing people to pay attention to him or her.

This tactic draws more energy to the intimidator because when we are treated violently or yelled at, we cannot help but focus on the intimidator. All of this fearful focus passes our energy over to the Intimidator. This is the most aggressive of the control dramas.

Naturally, after a hostile interaction with an Intimidator, you will likely walk away feeling defeated and deflated. The Intimidator, however, feels empowered, boosted by the energy he or she has stolen from you.

2. “The Interrogator” 

The Interrogator, like the Intimidator, also has an aggressive approach to stealing energy.  However, the Interrogator does not rely on overt violence or intimidation, but rather uses excessive questioning and judgment in conversations.

When you are around an Interrogator, you will often feel highly criticized. The Interrogator will question your decisions, your motives, and your effectiveness.  This strategy, in turn, keeps you sucked into the interaction, paying attention to the Interrogator.

In these interactions, you will feel the need to constantly explain yourself, and you will feel the need to justify your choices and actions. This extra attention sends your energy over to the Interrogator.

After spending prolonged time with an Interrogator, you will likely feel very drained, and walk away from the conversation feeling beaten down, even though the Interrogator did not use violence against you.

3. “The Aloofs”

This one here is my personal default control drama…

Aloof people do not use a hostile or aggressive approach in their ability to siphon energy from others.  Instead, Aloofs rely on being vague and distant to capture attention and energy.

An Aloof is more likely to keep information from people. This, in turn, causes other people to be interested in them and approach them to “pry” information from them.  It is a highly passive way of getting attention from other people.

“Playing hard to get” is the game of the Aloof. An Aloof will frequently leave you feeling that he or she is playing games with you, and must be chased.

4.  “The Poor Me”

The Poor Me, like the Aloof, relies on a passive approach to gaining energy from others, but in a different way. 

Poor Mes capture our attention by making us feel guilty and responsible for them.  They often complain about their problems and issues in life, but not for the sake of getting solutions. Rather, the Poor Me complains for the sole purpose of gaining our attention.

When dealing with a Poor Me, we often feel like we have to “take care of” the Poor Me or we must help them in some way. We may feel we have to listen to his or her sob story over and over again, and that his or her problem is our fault somehow.  This is how the Poor Me steals energy from others.

Resolving the Control Dramas

The Celestine Prophecy argues that resolving the control dramas can be done in a few ways.

First, and foremost, you have to learn how to connect with source energy on your own if you wish to resolve your control drama.  This way, you get the energy you need without having to “steal it” from others. Observing the beauty of the world and focusing on gratitude are effective methods to help you connect with the source.

(Of course, raising your vibration is all about connecting with source-so here are a few other ideas to help you connect with more regularity!)

Secondly, it helps to become aware of the control dramas, and to be mindful of when you are relying on yours. For example, as an Aloof, I’ve coming to understand that when I’m being closed off, it’s an excellent opportunity for me to practice being more open and authentic with others.

Lastly, when you are dealing with someone who appears to be using their control drama on you, the book suggests that you “call them on it”  (but in a polite and respectful way). 

For example “I wanted to know what you thought about this-why are you being so distant?” to an Aloof. Or perhaps “Why are you asking me so many questions?” to an Interrogator.

I’m still new to this idea, and I haven’t yet tried out this theory on “calling people out” on their control dramas yet, but it sounds like it has merit.  Of course, if you’ve have success with this strategy, I’d love to hear it!

So, I know today’s post is a little different than my average blog post about the Law of Attraction and conscious living, but I really did love this book and just wanted to share these insights, as they resonated so strongly with me when I read them.

I can see how we often compete for energy and attention from each other, and how it can be an “unhealthy” way of getting the energy we need to feel uplifted and joyous.  Of course, it feels good to be empowered, but I for one would prefer to gain my power straight from source, rather than steal it away from someone else.

Ultimately, if we were collectively able to ascend to a higher state, I imagine we would all win, and competition would fade away. 

It’s an interesting idea, at least!

If you have any thoughts on these “control dramas” feel free to comment below and share you perspective with me! Also, if you’ve never read it, consider picking up “The Celestine Prophecy” because it’s a great read for the spiritually conscious.

XO, Andrea

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Image Source: Cameron Gray, ParableVisions. This image was reproduced with permission from the artist.