What is Smudging and How Can it Help Empaths?

Posted in Empath's Emotions, Grounding for Empaths, Help for Empaths, Mind, Body and Spirit, Protection for the Empath by Diane Kathrine

You may have heard of ‘smudging’ but are not quite sure what it is or how it can help you as an Empath.

So what is smudging?

Basically, smudging is the practice of burning of herbs and using the smoke to remove negative energy from people, places or objects.

For the Empath, smudging can be a great tool. It is a quick and easy method to help remove negative energies picked up when being out and about in ‘peopled places’ or just to clear one’s energy field.

Smudging has been used for centuries all over the world. Today it is mainly associated with Native North Americans who use it in their healing ceremonies. However, many other countries burn herbs for cleansing:

In India they use incense, in Chinese acupuncture Mugwort is used, in Africa varied herbs are burnt, even the Christian Church burn herbs in their ceremonies. And although many of these actions have become ritualized, their basis stemmed from using smoke to remove negative energy. Continue reading →

27Aug2014

6 Ways to Differentiate Between Planetary Shifts and Emotional Energy

Posted in Ascension Related, Help for Empaths, Mind, Body and Spirit by Diane Kathrine

We live in an ever-changing world.

Energetic changes are happening every day.

Most Empaths come to learn how to navigate the moods and emotions of others, but when there is an energy shift it can throw them right off.

The problem is an Empath may not know how to differentiate between experiencing a ‘shift in the planetary energy’ between experiencing other peoples’ emotional energy.

Rewiring and rebooting are words used within ascension circles as an expression of how we are affected by energy shifts. During these times, I feel those two words could not be more appropriate.

Intense energy shifts can lift us up or bring us crashing down. They often trigger anger, frustration, depression or incredible joy.

Here are 6 ways in which energy shifts may impact you physically and emotionally:

1. Feeling wired followed by crashing fatigue:

Up and down we go. From wanting to sleep for the world one day to feeling electrically wired the next.

Fatigue is commonly experienced by an Empath, but the fizzy-type of energy experienced from energy shifts cannot be mistaken, it pretty much leaves you feeling like you have been charged up with electricity. And although you may feel mentally or physically tired, this buzzing energy can keep you awake at night.

2. Brain fog:

Poor memory recall and a fuzzy head seems to be the norm in recent years; but when there’s a shift do not be surprised if you feel more scatty than normal.

3. Intense emotional ups and downs, very bi-polar in nature, or being hyper-sensitive:

It may seem like I’m stating the obvious here, because for Empaths it is normal to feel strong emotions, yet these emotions/sensations are not like the normal ones we experience. They come out of nowhere and range from anger to blissful happiness.

You may find yourself waking up in a bad mood, with no reason, or little things that would not normally bother you suddenly have you riled. Then you may find yourself feeling happier than you ever have.

We are also getting the backlash of others’ strong emotions. Many people are now being activated or affected, as I have said many times before, it can be very easy to lay claim to another’s emotions and build them into our own life-story.

4. Having zero tolerance for selfish or self-pitying behaviour and drawing a line under past dramas:

You may have previously been able to put up with another’s self-centred ways, but now find yourself quickly backing away from dramas.

You could have come to a point where you will no longer put up with bad behaviour, nor allow others to pull you down. You have decided enough is enough!

This is not by chance. It’s as though we are disconnecting from all the irresolvable dramas and family or friendship feuds that we had in our past, not wanting them to have any part in our future. And there are very good reasons for this:

You have very likely been on this path for many years; and during this time you have dealt with your emotional wounds, whilst others around you looked on or had no idea what you were enduring. In recent times, those others are now going through these changes. It is their turn to process and deal with their emotional wounds.

So, if you find yourself walking away or distancing yourself from family or lifelong friends’ dramas, selfish behaviour or other, it is your internal knowing, stopping you from getting involved.

If you find past issues stirred up, that you had long since forgotten or already dealt with, it is very likely because they have been triggered within a friend or family member, as part of the energetic shifts, and you are picking up on them. This may have further pushed you away.

For Empaths, walking away from those in emotional turmoil is not something that comes naturally. It may seem somewhat cruel or aggressive. But you are not being cruel by not engaging in ‘their stuff’, it is simply not yours to deal with. They have to do it for themselves.

This is very much a DIY process!

5. A change in diet and lifestyle:

Another sign of energy shifts is wanting to change one’s lifestyle. An example of this would be giving up foods, drinks or habits that do not promote all-round health, happiness and wellbeing.

Most Empaths make gradual changes to their lifestyle over the ‘awakening years’, but when there’s been a shift, all the pieces start clicking together. You find a diet or exercise plan that works to heal your body, mind and spirit, and you want to stick with it.

6. Ready to take the leap:

You may also suddenly feel very ready to make big changes: in your career, social life or habitat. You find yourself doing things you have wanted to do, but put off for years.

It’s as though the past self-doubts that previously held us back, no longer have the same hold. But, we also know we’ve got to meet our new life half-way and that means stepping out into the world to bring it forth.

These are just some of the ways you may have experienced the shifts and I’m sure there will be many others too, not listed here.

But one thing is for sure: if we are to truly evolve in life we cannot have the old dramas (people, jobs, lifestyles) dragging us back down.

Energy shifts help us evolve, and although they may be uncomfortable, they help take us to all the right places.

Hope all is well in your world…

Diane

If you have found my work to be helpful please consider donating here

©Diane Kathrine at Empaths Empowered

19May2014

Knowing it’s Time to Let Go of Toxic Friends or Family

Posted in Balancing Empath Emotion, Clearing Negative Energy, Empath Power, Empath's Emotions, Empath's Life Purpose, Grounding for Empaths, Help for Empaths, Mind, Body and Spirit, Protection for the Empath by Diane Kathrine

Most Empaths have at least one person in their life who cause them to experience negative emotions, just by being in their presence. These people, who may be friends or family members, seem to spew acid when they talk: they complain about everything, appreciate nothing and only look out for their own interests.

It is quite normal for an Empath to experience heightened emotions and feel another’s buried pain, and we want to help others out with their problems when we can, but we are not supposed to be someone’s emotional punch bag or toxic dumping ground.

Toxic people can drain your energy within a matter of minutes of being in their presence, and even self-protection techniques may not work to prevent their dark vibes seeping in.

Typical sensations experienced when with toxic people:

Anger or feelings of bitterness: This can last for the duration of being in their presence and up to 10 days after. Depending on their negative traits will depend on what you feel.
Fatigue: Struggling to keep your eyes open, especially if they are venting.
Being out of sorts: A range of strange feelings wash over you, from being spaced out, to nausea.
Negative talk: Finding yourself talking negatively of others, even though it is not a typical trait of yours.
Apathy: Losing all previous zest and optimism.

If you have a toxic person in your life, you may have already tried helping them, by sharing what has helped you in dealing with the rigours of life. Sadly, they did not want to listen and have no intentions of making any changes to themselves, preferring to continue to offload their negative rants on you.

The Empath generally avoids hurting or causing unnecessary pain to others, and it is for this reason many keep in their lives those who cause them unhappiness. Yet, one must always put the emotional health of self first.

If a food or substance made you violently ill, or caused you to feel depressed, you would likely avoid it; the same should be applied to those who cause emotional turmoil.

We have a responsibility to keep our body and mind healthy. If another continually causes stress that we cannot cope with (all stress eventually leads to illness) the only option is to remove them from our life.

I am not talking about having the ego dented by another’s random disrespect. Everyone have people who offend, hurt or make them angry, by their lack of understanding. And we in turn will no doubt, unknowingly, do the same to others. This issue is about those toxic friends, or family members, who repetitively (and often intentionally) bring us down.

The point comes in all toxic friendships when you have to decide if it is causing more harm than good.

Here are some questions to ask that may help you evaluate your friend/relationship and hopefully help you see if it is a healthy one:

Am I taking anything from this friend/relationship?
Does spending time with him/her make me happy?
Do I dread being in his/her presence?
When was the last time I enjoyed being in his/her company?
Do we have any of the same interests?
Is it a one-sided friendship with me fitting in with his/her needs?
Does this relationship affect my emotional health?
Do I feel ill, emotionally drained or have intense negative emotions after being with him/her?
Am I being used as an emotional dumping ground?
Does he/she have a lot of negative thoughts or anger towards me?
Am I learning anything from spending time with him/her?
Is being in this relationship making me grow spiritually, emotionally or other?
Is this relationship beneficial to either of us?
Has he/she become dependent upon me?
What are my real reasons for staying in this relationship?

There are many reasons we encounter toxic people. A common reason being the Mirror of the Empath. Certain encounters act as a mirror and show us weaknesses or issues we need to resolve within ourselves.

Any undesirable behaviour that repeats, in any type of relationship, is something that needs to be investigated. Repetition highlights flaws or issues that need to be worked on and learnt from.

We all learn from the bad situations presented in life. Yet, if the same emotional scenarios keep playing out, no one is gaining, learning or growing from the situation and it is time to cut the cord.

Once you have learned from an experience you don’t need to re-learn it over and over. You may learn from bad experiences, but you don’t need to keep experiencing other people’s negativity to grow.

This is not about being spiteful or uncaring. You can be grateful for all they have shown you in life and send them love. But when it feels time to let them go, it is.

If you want to learn the secrets of being an Empath, find ways to restructure your life and harness your hidden power, this may be of interest to you.

Hope this helps on your Empath Journey.

Until next time…

If you have found my work to be helpful please consider donating here

Also posted on Awakening People

I have attached a link to an article I came across quite randomly whilst writing this post and offers another writer’s perspective on ways to deal with toxic people, and although it is not written with the Empath in mind, it is worth a read.

2Feb2013

Is There More to an Empath Than Just Feeling Others’ Emotions?

Posted in Balancing Empath Emotion, Empath's Emotions, Grounding for Empaths, Help for Empaths, Mind, Mind, Body and Spirit, Protection for the Empath, Tools by Diane Kathrine

The main aspect of being an Empath is feeling and experiencing the emotions of others. For example, an Empath can tell when another is nervous, when one is angry or sad. They may enter shopping centres, or busy peopled places, and feel an array of strange sensations wash over them like a tidal wave. This is due to the gift of being able to feel…

Granted, not all Empaths consider the ability to experience other people’s emotional energy as a gift. In fact, some would say the opposite. But that is often because they have emotional or physical imbalances to work through (which may take some time), and this makes feeling the emotions of others as intrusive and ‘just too much!’

Before they become aware of their birthright, some Empaths may not give much thought to all they experience, energetically, because what they feel happens so naturally. It is not something they force, nor do they have to work at it. They may go through life assuming everyone experiences the same, not realizing that what they ‘feel’ is a unique part of Empath life.

But once the Empath’s eyes are open to their incredible traits and abilities they have, they can’t unsee them. All those ‘feelings’ finally have an explanation.

Other than their ability to sense the emotions of others, most Empaths also have incredible intuition…

Empath intuition comes in many forms, but for most it comes as strong gut sensations, having the ability to read others, or just having a ‘Knowing’ about future outcomes.

Intuition can be developed (see this post for more details), if that’s what one wants, but most Empaths already have very dependable intuition (in the way of gut-feelings) without having to try at it.

Some ignore their gut-feelings for their own reasons: Maybe they want to see the best in others, or perhaps they don’t believe in their intuition as much as they should. But every Empath’s gut-feelings are there to warn, serve and protect them from experiencing anything they don’t need to.

The strong sense of intuition an Empath has is both their guide and their best friend.

They may question their intuition, especially if it does not fit in with what their mind or ego wants, but they would be wise to listen to it.

Strong urges, feelings, premonitions or notions in any shape or form, happen for a reason and it is in one’s best interest to take heed of them.

The reason behind them may not be revealed for days, weeks, months or even years but they will have a purpose that will eventually reveal itself. For more information on tuning into Empath intuition see this post.

Another one of the many traits an Empath has is the ability to feel the energy of the days of the week.

Many love the vibe of a Saturday morning, because it feels calm, peaceful and uplifting, but are not so keen on the energy of Sunday evening, there’s a reason for that too…

Empaths pick up on collective energy.

The start of the weekend, when the majority are off work, can feel deliciously freeing. Late weekend evenings (Sunday evening for example), can carry that heavy vibe, as people prepare to return to jobs they dislike or even dread.

Some Empaths blame their workday feelings on their own job dissatisfaction, not realizing they are picking up on the energy of those around them.

But not only do Empaths have the ability to feel energy, some can also see it.

I remember, from an early age, seeing energy fields (auras), around the animate and inanimate, without even trying.

I loved lying on the grass, on a warm summer’s day, and watching the hazy energy around the trees as they swayed gently in the breeze. I assumed this was something everyone could see/do.

It was only in adulthood, that I discovered not everyone could see energy fields. I realized it was just another trait of being an Empath and Sensitive to energy… There are many more.

An Empath’s traits may strengthen or weaken with passing years, depending on life circumstances. But they have these traits for a reason, and a great part of Empath life is figuring them out and learning how they can guide them towards the life they were born to lead.