Being Empathic
*Note- although empathic ability can also include feeling physical sensations that others are experiencing, this blog will focus on the emotional aspect.
My own journey into the realm of the Spirit World took a hiatus from the time I realized the other kids didn’t see or hear from their relatives on the other side until the time I blossomed into a teenager. It was around this time that I became aware of my ability to feel the emotions of other people. At first I thought I was just being a drama queen like so many others who go through this time of hormonal rage and high school shenanigans. At some point I realized that when I was with certain other people, I sort of slipped into their energy and became them, so to speak.
Dating, especially, was a slippery slope. When I had a boyfriend I would somehow disappear into his world. Even the friendships I had were emotionally intense. I felt as though being with a person was like ‘trying them on,’ energetically. I was so open that I let their energy overwhelm me and I’d literally lose myself in the process. Hence, being alone felt like a great relief to me, because I was able to return to myself, and could hear my own inner voice once again.
Being empathic means having a heart chakra that is wide open, and this, for me, is the source of intimacy. We’ve all had relationships where we’ve felt particularly vulnerable to our partners, and maybe didn’t understand why. Although this could be for a variety of reasons, it is often an overly-open heart chakra. In my case, I always seemed to be in the ‘receiving’ mode, and not in the ‘sending’ one. I was picking up everything like a sponge, and casting my true inner self to the background. This receiving of information through my heart chakra can be called clairsentience- receiving psychic information by way of feelings (emotions). Because I had no one close to me that could help me understand why this was happening, I had to find my own way of understanding and managing it- mostly through books and listening to my inner voice. Today, the best way for me to stop from getting lost is to observe, acknowledge, be thankful and ground myself. Here are the steps in more detail:
1. Ask yourself, “are these feelings mine or do they belong to someone else?”
2. If the answer to question 1 is ‘they belong to someone else,’ then mentally say, ‘I am receiving the communication and acknowledge this is not mine,’ which breaks the spell and stops the influx of emotion almost immediately.
3. Thank your guides, angels and loved ones for assisting you, by helping you receive the information this way.
4. Consciously ground yourself using a visualization exercise– which is powerful because our minds cannot tell the difference between imagining something and actually doing it. If you are not visual, find or create an exercise that gives you the feeling of being grounded and centered. It doesn’t matter what your method. The important thing is that it works for you.
Life is all about balance. Being in control is an illusion, and perhaps it is the concept of “control” itself that is the real issue. Management is probably a better word to use in this context. Management is not so much about control, but about maintaining an awareness of all the moving parts and reacting in a way that puts us in a position of power, not necessarily complete control. Awareness is the key. We are human and Spirit at the same time. Both are present at the same time. How in the world can we be whole if we ignore one or the other? Your Spirit talks to your human form by way of the clairs- clairsentience (psychic feeling), clairaudience (psychic hearing), and clairvoyance (psychic seeing) If you are not familiar with these terms or which ones apply to you, I suggest John Holland’s audio program, Awakening Your Psychic Strengths. If you would like to be able to use your intuitive gifts every day, this is a must-have. It will help you understand that what we think of as ‘psychic’ abilities are really just the communication system between your two selves.
Just remember, when you find yourself in that state of overwhelm, try not to automatically react, taking the side of the ego without consideration for the Spirit. Take a breath, and ask the emotion “what is your message for me?” You will find that this is a wonderful way to manage your empathy and interact with Spirit. And who knows what other gifts may come if you open this door and learn to trust yourself?
Final thought: When you look at emotions as a form of communication between your human self and your Spirit self, you remove the tendency to feel that you are a victim of your feelings. Keep an open dialogue with yourself. This will empower you, and you WILL get answers!
Confessions of a Spirit Messenger 
Thank you for writing this… I have only recently realized exactly how massive the amount of emotion, feelings, thoughts and even perceptions of many experiences I had thought were my own throughout my life were actually other people’s.
I’d always felt like I could sense how other people were feeling, I just never realized how extensively I had been misinterpreting what was coming from other people and what was from from myself.
I am a few posts in, and I must say, the majority of your words resonate with me on a deeply spiritual level… thank you for sharing, and for giving me the external validation on some personal realizations.
Namaste.
LikeLike