emotional responses
The Romantic Challenges Of Being An Empath
I frequently do readings for clients who are discovering their empathic abilities, as well as awakened empaths who are still working on their self-empowerment. The majority of empaths that I have worked with over the years have all been in very high-stress romantic situations that do nothing but magnify what these highly sensitive people are already experiencing. While this is no doubt confusing, frightening and intense for the empath, one must consider the fact that it also greatly impacts their partners.
An empath a highly sensitive person who is very aware of the feelings, moods and motivations of other people and are deeply affected by the energies around them. This is experienced by the empath in many ways, including as physical sensations, moods, and emotions, as well as an inner knowing of what lies beneath the surface of other people’s words and actions. An empath has the ‘psychic radar’ to hone in intuitively on the truth of a person or situation.
Relationships, especially romantic ones, can therefore be a nightmare for empaths, and their partners. While their partner may be saying one thing, the empath ‘knows’ or ‘feels’ something different, and can sense if their partner is being dishonest or deceitful. While this can be useful at times to protect the empath from pursuing relationships with the wrong kind of person, it can also be very damaging and destructive to a potentially happy, healthy relationship with loving partner.
It can be very disconcerting and intimidating for the romantic partner of an empath to feel so constantly questioned, judged and exposed. I get many calls from empaths who are deep in an argument stemming from their partner’s refusal to come clean about what is really going on, or what they are truly feeling. The more the partner protests, the more the empath pushes and prods, leading the partner to shut down, withdraw, or disconnect completely.
Don’t Walk On Eggshells Anymore!
Do you often find yourself around people that make you feel like you have to monitor every single thing you say, for fear you may be hurting their feelings? Do you constantly have to be cautious and guarded around certain people in your life, because they internalize everything you say? It really is like walking on eggshells!
I used to have a friend like that. At first I complied, but then one day I decided to start talking like I would normally talk to my other friends. I wanted to see what effect it would have on this person. Well, it actually helped in the end, as it soon made her see how silly she was being. In fact, she even confessed to how she felt bad for reacting as if the entire world revolved around her and her feelings. It turned out to be a meaningful opportunity for her personal growth.
Also, have you ever known anyone whom you shared some inner most concern or anxiety with, and they act like you are making a mountain out of a molehill? You trusted them by sharing your inner most fear or heartache, and they react like it is nothing or you are just being silly. They may even turn around and act as if what you are saying is just plain wrong, or irrelevant! As a highly sensitive person I have experienced this many times in my life and it’s no fun, trust me. And if you’re like me, you just stop talking to this person all together about anything that may deeply matter to you.
These interpersonal experiences can be frustrating and hurtful, but also very valuable to learn from. As soon as this kind of interaction happens with someone, it is useful to reflect on whom you can really trust and have faith in, and who not. If you become more aware of whom you surround yourself with, more people will come into your life that will truly hear you and really have compassion and a deep understanding of what you’re trying to impart. They will also be willing and able to give great advice and be a great sounding board for you, without being egotistical or simply uncaring!
How To Make Gratitude A Way Of Life
Life has certainly not been easy for me recently. First and foremost, my iPhone, email account, bank account and credit card had all been hacked by some very clever cyber-criminal. Soon after, my brother went into hospital for the second time. I was feeling rather sorry for myself until one day, after visiting my brother in the hospital, I was delayed while driving home. I had to stop at a junction to allow oncoming traffic to pass. A hearse was passing by on the other side of the road.
“God bless the deceased and their loved ones,” I softly prayed.
As the funeral procession moved closer, I noticed that the flower wreath beside the coffin had a ribbon with the words: Beloved Daughter. In a flash, all my own problems seemed to evaporate, as I thought of the bereaved parents of the deceased. Here I was, complaining that I could not access my email account, while other people were grieving the passing of a loved one. Although it was a brief, random experience, it made me take a step back and take an honest look at my life. It caused me to reflect upon the many blessings in my life and, apart from my brother’s current health condition, the ongoing well-being of the rest of my family.
The hearse experience was highly synchronistic and definitely a sign from spirit. The Universe no doubt had an uncanny hand in ochestrating this occurence, as it mimicked an similar experience I had almost 20 years ago! Back then, my son had been born three months prematurely and suffered a minor brain hemorrhage as a result. Statistically, the doctors told me, the odds were fortunately in favor of him surviving such a premature birth. Still, the four months that he was in hospital were probably the most harrowing of my life!
The Wise Approach To Mercury Retrograde
According to astrology, our lives can be in upheaval when Mercury goes Retrograde. Its effects can be felt by anyone, regardless of your zodiac sign.
However, some signs may be more sensitive to its influence than others. This is because Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo, and people with strong placements of these signs in their birth charts may be more likely to experience disruptions in communication, technology, and transportation during a Mercury retrograde.
Although this concept is widely touted in the spiritual and metaphysical communities, I find that many people affected by it do not understand its true meaning and are not well informed on how best to deal with it.
Mercury retrograde is indeed a challenging cosmic influence. It tends to feel like we have just finished one round of it, and the next one is already looming on the horizon.
A common side effect of Mercury Retrograde for many people is unexplained nervous energy or restlessness. You feel anxious and stressed about everything, and you can’t figure out why? Sometimes you feel anxious about things that have never bothered you in the past.
You may also have a hard time concentrating on things. Retrograde energy can throw even the most calm and centered person off balance.
Letting Go Heals Our Silent Pain
Too often we are not aware of the emotional pain in others. We are blissfully ignorant of the invisible pain that they are suffering. This is the secret pain of grief, of tragedy and loss. It is often the silent pain that many of us carry inside, a pain we secretly endure every day.
Our grief and sorrow is something we hide from the world, because we tend to feel ashamed, embarrassed or guilty for not being ‘stronger.’ The fast-paced modern world we live in has little patience with those who need time to mourn and heal. Life goes on, they say.
Those who are grieving must get through their pain as best they can, often without having anyone to talk to or no one wo cares to understand. They must simply put on a happy face and get through the day.
Sometimes people are having a hard time processing a loss or disappointment because they do not want to let go. Why would anyone choose to hold on to the pain, you may ask? Well, there is sometimes a strange comfort found in a state of holding on. When our world feels upside down and the future seems uncertain, we tend to hold on to the familiarity of the past, of the life we once knew.
The energy of such an ongoing state of silent pain soon becomes an imbalance in the throat chakra and blocks our ability to heal. The throat chakra plays a very big part, because it is our energy center of truth, the seat of our power to communicate our free will and talk about our true feelings.
Suppressed mental and emotional pain in time manifests itself in our body in many debilitating ways, such as migraine headaches, stomach aches, physical discomfort and a variety of other symptoms and potential health problems. Only when the pain is addressed and processed, will it go away and will our well-being improve.
Honor Your Past Life Memories
Sometimes we experience unusual memories accompanied by intense emotions, when nothing unusual has happened to trigger it and there is no apparent reason for us to feel this way. These memory flashbacks may be due to past life experiences that had a profound impact on our soul evolution.
Past life memories tend to come out of nowhere. For example, I love traditional parades, but whenever the marching band passes by I always get the shakes and even begin to cry.
I am also deathly afraid of covered bridges, to the point that feel traumatized whenever I must cross one. I also have a claustrophobic phobia to be trapped in confined spaces, or climbing up to a high place and being unable to come down. And last but not least being tickled freaks me out completely!
I believe these fears are all due to energy imprints from traumatic previous life experiences. As constantly evolving souls we all journey through many lifetimes on the path to spiritual transcendence. It’s not simple or easy to shape a fully enlightened spiritual being.
So, why do we sometimes ‘remember’ these former traumas and why do we let it affect our current life? There is always a reason we carry things over from lifetime to lifetime. Some are things we still need to heal or overcome, while others are protective warnings of past life dangers that are meant to shield us from repeating the same mistakes.
In my work as a professional psychic and healer, I have also found that many people carry a fear of what caused their deaths in previous lives.
Sometimes these cellular memories from former incarnations are also beneficial and positive, even amazing. For example, I have heard of people who mysteriously just know how to sew, speak a foreign language, or handle a gun with confidence. Some people are inexplicably gifted to play musical instruments with no training, or paint, or dance. Some are naturally born healers or inventors with no formal education. Their abilities and skills just seem to come naturally.
Conscious Living In A Fear-Based Culture
There are five basic emotions: fear, anger, grief, love and joy; in this order, because this is the order in which most humans experience these emotions.
I am sure you know many people who are fear-based. Perhaps you are fear-based yourself? Fear-based people have allowed our culture to blackmail them into believing that they must live up to certain standards to be acceptable.
For example, many people are dealing with this uncertain economy through the lens of “Oh, we must maintain the status quo, no matter what!”
Try to see this imagined burden for what it is: a mirage, not to mention an energy leak. This mirage stems from the fear that we won’t be able to keep up appearances; in other words not be able to afford the items that our fear-based culture with its lack consciousness and scarcity mentality decrees makes us acceptable to the status quo.
In fact, we could all do just as well with much less, and feel good about ourselves and our efforts; maybe even better because there would be more integrity in our energy, because we would be living in truth!
There are countless other ways our culture perpetuates this hoax. Think about it. I am sure you can think of many more examples. One way to break the chain of this mindless brainwashing is to realize it is really none of our business what others think of us, and vice versa.
Now, think of a squirrel. A squirrel just goes about his business of doing what squirrels do. If he stumbles upon a big, fat, juicy acorn, that is good. But if he doesn’t, he continues to go about his business just the same, and either way life is good, whether his fare is meager, robust or in-between. And, he isn’t concerned about what the other squirrels think about him either way.