Have you ever noticed feeling different after someone walks in the room? Do you have challenges going shopping and being around a lot of people? Do you physically feel ill, nauseous, anxious, pain in your body and not know the origin?
You could be empathic.
Being empathic means picking up on other people’s pain, stress and emotions. Conversely, you could also pick up positive energy as well. It just means that you are like an energetic sponge.
This happens because our bodies have electromagnetic fields that are always interacting. People who are nurturing tend to open their fields more easily to others without realizing that they are susceptible to taking on other’s issues. It happens more easily when you are feeling tired, weak or vulnerable. It is also possible that other people can be so overbearing that they become like energy vampires, feeding on the positive energy of a kind person. I bet you are remembering right now someone like that!
This is a very real phenomenon, and it could land you in the doctor’s office looking for solutions to problems that may not be your own.
Being in the massage therapy industry since 1995, I have had my share of experiences that led me to know without a doubt there is something to this “empathy” thing. In 2007 I went to a Reiki Master to heal my heart after the close of my business, and I asked her if it was possible to absorb pain from a client while working on it because it seems that my shoulders would hurt like the knots I just worked out. She verified and explained to me that the energies co-mingle when we get close to each other. That day she taught me how to clear and protect my energy field to prevent this transference from happening again.
A few months later, I had an experience that would further concrete the fact that I was empathic. While enjoying jazz music in Atlantic City with my parents and ex-husband, a well dressed woman who was sitting alone came to our table and spoke with us. She touched my shoulder as she said she was stepping out for a minute and I immediately felt pain in my heart. I knew this pain wasn’t mine and cleared it. I decided to go over and speak with her when she came back because you never know when you are meant to be there for someone in need. Watch the story on my YouTube video now or keep reading...
I asked her if she was from around here. She said, No. California. I asked if she knew what it meant to be empathic. She said, yes. I told her what I felt and that maybe there was a reason I felt that and maybe there was something I could do for her. She said she was visiting her aunt who was sick in the hospital and she was very close to her and that she could really use a hug. So, right there in the middle of the Tropicana casino I hugged a complete stranger and she said to me, “Thank you so much. You really made my day!”
My experience that night taught me that this ability to pick up others’ energies can be a blessing if you learn how to work with it and it doesn’t have to be scary. It was also a wake-up call that I need to protect myself wherever I go, not just while I’m working. I have used this story many times with clients and workshops to illustrate the power of our human energetic connection and how we are not all separate as we may think we are.
Recently, I had a client come in who had severe anxiety. She reported feeling heavy in her chest and like she couldn’t breathe. I taught her these techniques to clear her energy field and she had a huge release! Afterwards she felt more calm and more herself. She told me she had been seeing a therapist for a while to help with the anxiety but this clearing was what really helped her.
We just really do not know what we are carrying around sometimes and I hope that this message can reach those who feel everything intensely so that they can learn how to protect themselves well. I also hope that this message can reach those who don’t know about energies and may be unwell from forces acting on them that they are unaware of.
If you care to learn more about clearing and protecting your energy field, I suggest checking out this video on my youtube channel or making an appointment with me to do an energy check up: clearing, protecting and energy boosting Reiki session.