Are you a naturally giving person? Spiritually attuned? A nurturer? Do you have difficulty in crowds because you seem to be tuning into the feelings of others rather than your own?
If so, you may be an empath. Empaths feel everything around them – including the moods of others.
If empaths are around peace and love, their bodies assimilate these and flourish. Negativity, though, often feels assaultive, exhausting. Thus, they’re particularly easy marks for emotional vampires, whose fear or rage can ravage empaths.
– Dr. Judith Orloff www.drjudithorloff.com
So how can you tell you are an empath? And what can you do about it once you have the knowledge? Here is a 30-point list published by themindunleashed.org.
If you have checked yes to at least 3 of the items on the above list, chances are you are an empath. No worries, as it is not the end of the world for you, but a great starting point for the future. Rather than stop the flow of information coming to you, channel it instead. Or in the case of an energy vampire – give the feelings back.
- Get grounded. Plant your feet on the ground and picture roots tying your feet deep into the soil.
- Give yourself time to check in with nature.
- Give yourself some alone time.
- Channel positive energy through you to the people in your path.
- Assign a color system to alert you as to whether the feelings are yours or someone else’s.
Assigning a color system:
I have found that the color code system has been the most helpful for me. My own information is painted purple. While my family comes in as blue. Other people’s stuff comes in as yellow from strangers and green from friends. With this information, I can then make an informed decision as to what I need to do with this energy. I usually, just send it “return to sender”, attached with love and light (or repainted in purple love).
– Trevor Lewis
And a final thought on keeping your empathic energy in the best possible light.
“You are a conduit of Divine Energy. Channel it and send it out to the people in your environment. This is important – if you send your own energy out it will be exhausting for you. It will drain you and weaken you even more to let in their energy when your defenses are down. You are only a conduit for Universal Light. Visualize it coming in through the top of your head, your crown chakra, and out from your heart (and, optionally, all your other chakras) to them. The flow of Divine Energy through you and out to your environment will help to push their energy away from you. In addition, just as a water pipe cannot channel water without getting wet, you will be energized by the flow of Divine Energy through you. … Tell your subconscious that this is what you want to be doing 24/7 and then let go.”
– Thriving as an Empath.pdf