part0019

As you read through this last chapter in the book, you should now understand who you are and how you can redirect your empathic nature so that it brings positive feelings into your life. You should feel as if you are an unstoppable force, armed with empath abilities that allow you to be more in tune with the world around you than most. You have a fair background of knowledge now, however, this chapter will expand on what you know a little more. There may be things that you do in life that you do not know affect your empathic nature. Follow these additional tips to help you nurture your abilities and find peace with yourself.

Empaths are not all the same. In fact, there are probably hundreds of labels for the different types of empath. One type of distinction that you should be aware of is the difference between introverted and extraverted empaths. Up to this point, this book has focused mainly on helping empaths ground themselves and nurture their gifts. Something to keep in mind, however, is that empaths sometimes need stimulation to find that perfect balance between boredom and chaos.

The reason this information is important is because introverted empaths tend to be more sensitive to dopamine that extraverted empaths. All empaths need time to recharge their dopamine stores (this is the pleasure hormone of the brain). For introverts, it is best to trigger this pleasure response by spending time alone, doing activities like meditating, reading, coloring, or doing puzzles. Unlike extraverts who do not have this sensitivity, they do not need exciting external stimulation to thrive. Extraverts, on the other hand, often find themselves in need of excitement to recharge. They may crave going to a concert or party to recharge for a couple hours.

Sometimes, it is not the person or the place that can trigger over-stimulation. Highly-sensitive people do not always struggle with emotional triggers. Sometimes, over-stimulation of other senses is a problem too. Strong odors and colors, loud noises, bright lights, and similar things can quickly overwhelm a sensitive nervous system. Always be aware of these things when you enter a room and avoid them. For example, stay away from the flashing lights on stage and do not sit by the garbage can in a restaurant.

Something that is common when empaths are children, adolescents, and even adults is over-medicating. Empaths are highly sensitive to many external things and medication is one of them. In most cases, a lower amount of a typical dose works as well as the average amount. If you are taking medications, especially psychiatric medications, talk to a trusted doctor about adjusting your dose accordingly. By balancing your medication, you will help balance your empathic abilities.

It is not uncommon for empaths to be skeptical about their gift, until they have searched for every possible explanation and had to accept it as the truth. If you believe in your empathic abilities, then believing in the flow of energy is not too far off. Ancient Chinese and Indian texts support this and practices like chakra stone therapy and acupuncture have been around for centuries. The goal of either of these practices is to regulate the flow of energy through your body. At the end of the session, all the negative energies will have been removed from your body and mind. You will also feel a higher sense of self-awareness and alignment within yourself.

When you are first learning to block out the negative emotions of others, it can be helpful to visualize a bubble around you. Start by visualizing all the negative energy removing itself from your body and mind. As it floats away, ground yourself and focus on your self-awareness. Project this self-awareness outward until it grows into a large bubble. Continue to visualize this bubble as you go throughout the day. It will protect you from all the negative energies that surround you.

According to the laws of science, molecules are attracted to other molecules that are the same. This is why water is attracted to itself. This attraction is caused by the vibrations of energy. Every living thing has its own vibrational energy. It would seem, therefore, that you could attract positive things by putting positive molecules into the world.

Self-affirmations work for two reasons. First, they attract positive things toward you. When you say them with conviction, you create those things in the world. The second reason is because you begin to believe them. When you can convince your mind to believe in something, it starts to live as if that thing is true. Then, as people around you see this as being the truth, it comes to be in their world as well.

For example, imagine that you are struggling with confidence. Every morning, you look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am confident. I am strong. I am intelligent. I make positive decisions. I have great ideas. People want to be around me. I connect with people.” Look yourself in the eye and say these things five times, each time with your voice becoming stronger. Feel the confidence radiate from within you, fulfilling all those things that you said.

As your mind believes those affirmations, you will start to act confident. When you see the coworker you have been crushing on, your mind will tell you to say ‘hello’ to them because you are a confident person. When you meet an important client that day, you will shake their hand strongly, exerting your confidence. You will tell your coworker to do his own work, because you are confident enough to do so. As you continue to act confident, the people around you will start to see you as confident. This creates a personality change that can completely re-shape your world.

By using this same self-affirmation technique, you can cope with your empathic abilities. Put a list of all the affirmations that are important to you. You can make these affirmations anything, from increasing your self-confidence and speaking up for yourself to learning how to better deal with the emotions around you. Tell yourself that you are capable of blocking emotions from other people and that you can focus at work. Continue to affirm these things until you believe them totally and they become the reality of your everyday life.

One of the techniques that Native Americans have been using for many years is smudging. This is intended to cleanse an area of certain energies and has even been used to repel spirits. To do this, dried sage leaves are tied together and burned. Other herbs are also sometimes used. A major part of a smudge ceremony is stating your intentions. If you are trying to cleanse a room of energy, focus that on the entire time. You can also cleanse yourself (or even an object), as long as you are clear about the reason you are performing the ceremony.

Empaths feel everything on a much stronger level than others. This includes negative emotions that you hold within yourself. When you hold a grudge against someone, you are not harming them. There is a good chance they are continuing with their life, not even thinking about the wrong that they may have done to you. By holding onto that grudge, you are poisoning yourself. You are forcing yourself to feel that negative emotion, for no reason other than to try and spite that person.

Forgiveness is an important virtue for an empath to have. Learn to forgive others who have wronged you. Imagine that your purse was stolen, but everything in it was replaceable. Do not be mad about what was lost, because that is wasted energy. Instead, forgive the person that stole your purse. Usually, people who steal are desperate for some reason.

You must also remember to forgive ourselves. As empaths, we tend to hold higher standards for ourselves than for others. We always think that we should have helped more or that we should have given more. Sometimes, we are ashamed of our actions when we react to someone else’s emotions. Our child may have been angry and by feeling that emotion, we were angry with our spouse. Instead of criticizing yourself, learn from the mistake and then give yourself forgiveness. The only person that you are harming when you hold onto grudges is yourself.

Another way to cleanse with sage is to take a bath. When you bathe, the sage permeates your skin. As it is absorbed into you, it will give you a great cleansing experience. To take a sage bath, buy sage essential oils and add 5-10 drops to your water. You could also add lavender or other grounding and healing oils as well. Ideally, you should take a bath at bedtime so that you can feel cleansed of negative energies all night. It will give you an incredible night’s sleep and leave you feeling cleansed and rejuvenated the next day.

Try imagining your inner self as a spark of light. This may look like the glow of a candle or a small spark. When you are feeling overwhelmed, turn your focus inward to that center of being. Focus solely on that and block out the world around you. As you visualize, start to reflect on yourself and how you are truly feeling in the moment. Imagine that spark pushing all else away until you feel calm, focused, and ready to return to the world around you.

The root chakra is the most important for empaths because it helps with grounding. To balance your root chakra, sit on your buttocks, either on a cushion or the ground. Elongate your spine and bring your legs together so they cross in front of you, placing the ankle of the left leg on the right thigh and the ankle of the right leg on the left thigh. Then, focus on your deep breathing.

Once you have fallen into relaxation, visualize grounding the root chakra with the roots of a tree. As you feel yourself connect to the earth, start to visualize your root chakra. The root chakra is red. Imagine a clear, beautiful red energy filling your chakra. Once it has been filled with the red color, imagine that it is spinning clockwise. Continue to imagine it spinning, getting faster until it fills completely with red energy.

You can also connect with and balance your root chakra using certain gemstones. In addition to those that have already been mentioned for grounding, garnet, bloodstone, black tourmaline, ruby, and obsidian can strengthen the root chakra.

Catharsis is when you let yourself feel emotions when they are at their highest intensity. Something that you should remember is that emotions are a part of the human experience. Sometimes it is best to let yourself experience these emotions. However, it is important that you do not get completely absorbed in this. Let yourself cry when you are sad, laugh when you are happy, and scream when you are angry. Do this for just a minute or two and then re-center yourself. Even though this is a show of emotion, it is a healthy outlet for that energy.

It is not uncommon for empaths to have trouble processing their own emotions. They are often so involved with the chaos from emotions going on around them that they cannot even begin to separate out what they are feeling vs. what everyone around them is feeling. This is one of the reasons it is so important to learn to block out what others are feeling.

When you do experience your own feelings, do not block them out as you would unwanted emotions from others. Instead, embrace them. Reflect on why you feel the way that you do. Then, process the situation and allow yourself to experience your emotions.

Usually, if you eat garbage then you feel like garbage. Even non-empaths feel sluggish, bloated, and generally unwell when they eat unhealthy foods. As an empath, it is very important that you nurture your body. Instead of grabbing foods that are quick and easy, learn to prepare wholesome foods. Choose nutrient-dense foods like whole grains, produce items, lean meats, healthy dairy products, and healthy fats. When you nourish your body, you will find that you store energy more efficiently. This gives you more stamina to prevent emotional and physical draining.

Keep in mind though, that everything is good in moderation. Do not deprive yourself from treats because you are trying to eat healthy. After all, the occasional deep-fried food, ice cream, or chocolate may not be good for the body, but it is good for the soul.