Universal Energy is, to many people, an abstract and intangible thing so subtle that many cannot perceive it. Some would even deny its existence as mere concoction by “esoteric types”. I met Alfred Difesa – who has often appeared on television and is well-known for his expertise about the subtle energies and natural vibrations – and asked him to explain how our lives and health are affected by our energetic environment.

What first sparked your interest in dowsing, Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra?

At an early age I felt a desire to seek the truth. I was asking questions: “What is that?”, “Why do we feel separated from each other?” and “Why so many religions?” I asked priests who often answered vaguely, putting it all down to mystery. Still I wanted to become a priest and studied Latin, until I realised that I could not find the answers in the Church. I believe God is one and the same for all religions, so I looked around.

I joined the School of Practical Philosophy in 1969-1970. In 1971 I went to study in London, performing social work with a Jesuit priest. It dealt with sociology, trade unionism and working with students from under-developed countries. By a rebellious streak, wanting to experience the other side of the coin, I simultaneously joined a communist group.

It was during this time that I was initiated in meditation at the School of Meditation in London, which was my greatest experience. Since then I studied the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of non-duality from India at the School of Economic Sciences in London, of which I am still a member. They specialise in Raja Yoga.

In later years, while in London, I met an engineer from Denmark who taught me dowsing for water and energies. I learnt dowsing for healing with Eric Dowsett from Australia. From then my interest in energies and healing increased and I expanded into Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra.

I studied Xen Dao Feng Shui in England over a period of a year, and then the Black Hat Sect variation of Professor Lin Yung for one month in China. A couple of years later I studied Vastu Shastra in France and Holland with an Indian architect who I met through the internet.

All these practices are somehow related in that they all deal with the energy-flow in buildings, living spaces and work-places. How is each technique unique?

Everything is coming from the Upanisads (Vedic scriptures from India). The Buddhists took the knowledge to China and developed it into what is now known as Feng Shui. Feng means wind and Shui means water – because energy pervades everything as high as the wind and as deep as the water. We are connected with each other and with creation.

Feng Shui follows a system whereby the front door of your house is like the mouth of your body, the rooms are the lungs, the bathroom is the intestines and the kitchen is the heart – we get all the nourishment from there. The Absolute creates… and everything keeps getting recreated.

Vastu Shastra is the original Indian Veda regarding architecture and harmonious design. It perceives our existence from subtle to gross body: from soul to mind to body to house, which is seen as the third skin. The house is a reflection of your body. Sound (in the form of mantras) is used for cleansing.

Dowsing is a way of getting in touch with energy vibrations and locating hidden things such as water or metals by the use of intuition. Often a “prosthesis” is used to assist focus and the ability to read their body signals better, those of 80 per cent of the population who have the ability to dowse if taught how to!

Which kinds of disturbances cause the energy to stagnate or reduce its smooth flowing?

Electro-magnetic pollution from mobiles and other devices and anything with high electricity voltage or radiation cause disturbances. Underground-water or the presence of water also causes disturbance, hence the necessity of dowsing. Clutter is generally the main cause for stagnation.

The land also holds record of the past, so if the place was an old cemetery or a disaster had happened there, the energy still lingers unless the space is cleared. Artifacts hold a blueprint of the places where they were made, and masks of the people who wore them. Antique furniture also carries a lot of energy, and since one does not usually know its history, there is a slight risk as it is not always good.

What remedies can be applied practically?

I work on clearing spaces by dowsing and sounding. I go into a room, open my mouth and sound “Aaa” and listen. By virtue of that I can get in touch with the vibration in the room. Through the power of awareness I can pick up the disturbances in the room, and healing can take place. Consciousness is light. When light comes, darkness is automatically dispelled. I have learnt how to clear energies by transformation of frequency and vibration. There are some cures in Feng Shui like the use of wind-chimes and crystals.

By the law of attraction, we attract the house which we deserve. If we want to change our lives we can always find a way back, like the story of the prodigal son. If you change yourself automatically you change the circumstance.

Do you find Maltese people are generally sceptical or receptive to these Eastern or Oriental philosophies? What would you say to a sceptic?

Maltese people are generally opening up to the Universal Intelligence of the East and West, but there are those who don’t. We are full of programmes, belief systems, conditioning. If we can remove them we will find there is no difference: love in the West and love in the East is still just love. We are all made in the image of God. God is energy too so we are all receptive to energies and some are simply more receptive than others; it happens in all traditions.

Sometimes I make a visit to a home because the wife has invited me but the husband is sceptical. He might say, “This is junk!” to which I reply, “Say more to me, I want to hear more of these words. They make me look deeper for the truth. I respect what you say; you have a right to think the way you do… But you should also respect your wife: she has a right to agree with me!”

Your dealing with energy flow is not limited to the inanimate but also to the living, so to speak, in terms of facilitating the energy-flow within the human body by the system of Reiki. Can you please elucidate?

I have worked with different forms of energy traditions from India, the Orient and South America. I have studied Reiki, Universal Energy, Sound Healing, Tantra and Shamanism. I have only recently returned from a trip in Peru where I was instructed by a Shaman.

Reiki, specifically, is a Japanese tradition whereby life-force energy is channelled through a hands-on approach to the receiver. It is a technique for healing body, mind and spirit.

The human body is the main “house” of our spirit, but we often fail to realise how “cluttered” and “polluted” this encasement is. How much would you reckon that diet, habits and stress affect every aspect of our lives?

Diet is one of the biggest problems. Soil is depleted so food now does not carry the same nutrients and energy as 50 years ago. Today we are surrounded by fumes and pollution. We need to be careful what we eat because we are what we eat. We also need to learn how to eat: be focused and taste the food. Unfortunately much of our food is not organic so we suffer the effect of pesticides. We should eat natural food, so processed food such as sugar and flour should be avoided. Intoxicants are a direct pollution of our system.

I have not eaten any meat for 40 years. If I eat meat I am taking on the energy of the animal, including its desires and temperament. I am also taking on the shock and trauma of its death. This is very subtle, of course, but it is a reality.

Holistic health is often described as the harmonious well-being of the three main aspects of our person, that is, body, mind and spirit. What kind of attention should we give to each to ensure we achieve this?

Mind is a reflection of spirit. Body is a reflection of mind. The mind is the invisible body and the body is the visible mind. There is need for perfect harmony and synchronicity. A problem in the body has its cause in the spirit. Therefore we should work on the source of the problem. It is useless to treat the symptoms but not uproot the cause. We start by changing the way we think. We must perceive that if we are made in the image of God then we must not lack anything because God does not lack anything.

I organise several motivational workshops so people may realise their own abundance. I want to help people realise they have the power to improve their lives. I can also give them the opportunity to take their future in their own hands, in more ways than one, including having financial independence.

Would you like to tell me more about Phillip Day and what topics will be discussed during his upcoming visit?

I heard about Phillip Day several years ago. He is a health researcher and author of several books about the subject. This year I saw him at Gilford Holiday Inn in England, giving a talk which I found amazing and inspiring. It touched on what we have just spoken with regards to the relationship between diet and disease, and the relationship between body, mind and spirit. Thus I invited him and he will be giving a talk on Thursday at the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort in St Julian’s at 7.30pm.