I've never been exposed much to the concept of energy/energies, so my understanding is severely limited (and so my opinion on their validity). Since travelling around India I have come into contact with the idea a lot more, however, but have no idea where to start in researching it/them.
I feel like I've heard them referenced in different contexts, making me wonder whether there are multiple concepts which just so happen to share the name energy. For example: the centre in Dharamsala that I spent ten days for my meditation retreat was said to have 'good energy' because of the amount of enlightened individuals and novices that had meditated there in the past; I have read books in which people (often the Dalai Lama) have referred to subtle energies in the body which are instrumental to our health and wellbeing; and I have heard and read things in passing that talk about energies on a more cosmic scale. Are these the same energy or thereabouts? Part of the reason I ask is that the first, to me, seems to be directly related to the mere aesthetic of a place or situation--the vibe--and I've never known whether this 'good energy' is just another way of saying 'yeah, this is a nice place to meditate', or if there is some kind of residual force lying about. The second is sometimes referred to in a far more scientific context, at least in the books I've read, and suggests there is really 'something there'.
So, I was wondering if anyone could give me their best crack at a summary, and/or direct me to some introductory material on the subject. I'd be most interested in something with links to scientific backing or at least theoretical reasoning--for me, I find things like this hard to take from just experiential evidence alone, as I tend to just put it down to psychological influence (i.e. of course you can feel like energy of a place change when you add prayer flags, your mind is reacting to the change in aesthetic).
