Energy: Empaths

 

In part one of this small series on energy, we discussed what energy is and how to raise or lower our vibrations.  In this second post, we will discuss what being an empath means.

So, what is an empath?  When someone is an empath, that means that they can feel the energy or vibrations of other people and things around them as if it were their own.  Empaths have to learn and practice to recognize what is their own energy and what is actually the energy of someone else around them. 

Man do I wish I had known this when I was younger!  This would have saved me so much misery!  Not to mention hospital bills.  I have gone to the ER several times with chest pain or anxiety, except I don't actually have chest pain or anxiety.  I am fine and have no physical symptoms.  And once I would arrive in the ER, my symptoms would be gone.  

They would do the whole work up and I would be sent home with no answers.   I would leave confused and feeling silly, not to mention concerned about my health.  Now I know, that when I am feeling those things, they aren't mine.  I immediately start looking around me for whose they might be.  I have called my coworkers out many times for having chest pain, headaches, or anxiety.  Not call them out in a bad way, but maybe hand them some tylenol, give them a hug, or convince them to go to the ED.  They may look at me like I'm crazy, but I'm always right.  

I actually started getting on my colleague Madge's nerves after a while.  Ha! We sat next to each other, literally elbow to elbow.  I would inevitably have to quietly and nonchalantly say something like "Madge, are you having chest pains again?"  See, Madge didn't like the attention on her and she liked to be in denial that there was anything ever wrong. She NEVER wanted to go get checked out.  At first she was amazed that I could do this, but eventually she would snap in her Jamaican accent, "I told you to stay out of my energy!" LMAO  I would just laugh and get back to work.  But, she knew that I knew.

Riding in cars and elevators is the toughest for me because there is nowhere to escape.  You are just stuck there and you can feel who is anxious, angry, sad, content.  I think anxiety is the worst for me to be around because it sits like this ball of anxious energy right over my heart and can be quite uncomfortable.

The key is to get so familiar with your own energy that you can recognize when it is an energy different than your own. An energy that wouldn't make sense for you to have right then.  This is sometimes hard and takes practice.  

The only way to really do this is to spend a lot of time alone.  If you are or know an empath, you will know that they like to spend a lot of time in solitude.  People used to give me a lot of grief because I like to be at home by myself most of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I like hanging out with people, but usually only with 1 or 2 people at a time and it depends on the environment.  And my battery runs out quickly because my energy sponge gets saturated and I need to go home and get back to myself.  

There are things that empaths can do, such as shielding themselves from other people's energy.  Here is a quick meditation that can help shield you.  

Sit quietly and close your eyes.  Focus on your breathing. Breathe in for 5 seconds, then slowly breathe out for five seconds.  Do this over and over.  Then slowly begin to imagine a shimmering white light flowing down from Heaven.  This is God's protective white light and it is going to make a cocoon around you.  Imagine it flowing down like wet paint and slowly oozing in a protective bubble around you.  The bubble is a few feet above you and a few feet all around you.  Nothing negative can penetrate this bubble.  Only positive, healing, loving light can enter your bubble.  All other energy is deflected and returned to its source.  

As you move throughout your day, if you notice that you're having trouble maintaining that shield, repeat the process.  Personally, I have trouble maintaining it for very long.  I don't know if it's because I need more practice or if it's because I feel everything so strongly.  Either way, I have to repeat it often through my day.  If there is something or someone particularly strong bothering me, I will pray and ask God to sever the cord between myself and anything that is sending me negativity or draining my vitality.  Instantly, I can feel that energy stop.  

What is important to remember as an empath is this:

• You cannot control the energy you are around all of the time, but you can choose to shield yourself when around negativity.
• When you can choose who you are around, choose wisely.  Because what you are around, you will feel and (even if only temporarily) become.
• Ask for the cord to be severed between you and any negativity when it gets to be a lot to handle
• Remember to trust your gut!  You will know immediately if someone is a good person or a troubled person.  If they aren't being truthful.  What kind of a mood they're in, etc.  Energy doesn't lie.  Believe the energy.
• Meditate.  It will raise your own vibrations and keep you in a content, loving, positive place.
• Sometimes you can use this gift to not only be a thermometer, but a thermostat.  If you are feeling someone's grief, anxiety, sadness, etc. you can reach out a loving hand and affect their energy with your own.  It works both ways. 

xoxo v.