February 14, 2019

SIMON SEGAL: “Tired Of Being A Negativity Sponge? What You Need To Know To Reclaim Your Energy And Prevent Energy Infiltration”

Everything has a vibration — smells, sounds, colors, objects, animals, people. We are in a continual energetic cycle of communication with everything around us, and what we let to affect us is what we become.

And as much as we have the power to affect the world around us with our energy, sometimes we seemingly lose that ability because our vibration becomes lowered and weaker than the surrounding sources.

In this lowered state, we become negativity sponges. Everybody is looking for a place to dump their negativity because it’s very hard to deal with. And when you become an energy dumpster… well, I don’t have to say too much about it — you are well aware what happens.

The sad truth is that we often choose to lower our vibration for all the wrong purpose. I’m not talking about going against our innate goodness (that is self-explanatory). I am talking about destroying our shield out of goodness.

Although it’s always important to lower your shield when you want to connect with people, we often go a step too far, compromising our energy, and ending up in a messed up energetic state.

So, here’s how to know what is that one step too far and how you can reclaim your vibration.

1. Avoid connecting with people through negative emotion

It may seem like an unavoidable scenario: your friend feels sad, and you match emotions to connect with them — to make them some kind of consolation-company. This way, we even our vibration with theirs to be on the same wavelength, and we thus lower our vibration.

Some may argue that this is very normal and expected from those who are close to you. I’d argue against it, though. It’s true that misery likes company, but this kind of company will never help anyone out.

If you truly hold that person dear, you should offer them a higher vibration so that they can get out of that lowered state. This way, you not only help them, but you also help yourself by not getting down in the dumps. In the end, how can you help someone out if you start suffering from the same problem as them?

2. Some things are not your responsibility — and they shouldn’t be

We all face challenges that are set there to make us grow. These challenges may often feel negative and almost impossible to handle. However, the worst you can do for them is take their responsibility upon yourself.

We often start feeling as if we are supposed to fix other people’s problems simply because they complained about how difficult they were for them. Other times, when we are asked to help, we decide to take one step further and start doing the things they are supposed to and can do.

However, you shouldn’t forget that we all carry our own baggage and we are responsible for it more than for the baggage of others. Giving help doesn’t mean grabbing their bags and pulling them with our teeth because our hands are already full.

No matter how ready you feel to do this, it doesn’t do the other person any good because they won’t learn anything from that challenge — they won’t grow. The better option is to encourage them to use their knowledge and power and face the challenge because they are readier for it than you can imagine.

Nobody needs a problem-solver. We just sometimes need a little push and some encouragement.

3. Substitute compassion for sympathy

Sympathy is a poison. Many people don’t understand this and find me cold-hearted when I say this, although I know how much love I have for this world. And why is it a poison? Because it leads nowhere but in the worst direction.

Sympathy means that you feel sorry for someone’s struggle, and when you feel sorry for them, it means that you don’t believe they are capable of coping with that challenge. Why would you think that? Our ability to tackle the most difficult of challenges is something we are born with.

So, why underestimate the person by feeling sorry for them? Compassion is a much more evolved approach that lets you understand their struggle, accept their position, and empower them (if you can) to overcome the obstacles.

You need to have more trust in the people you love — you need to trust their ability, that requires a simple spark of love and understanding to come to the surface. Compassion is a force that promotes growth and bonding — sympathy is a force that destroys the person before they were given the chance to fight.

4. Don’t be so sure that you know better

A person’s life is such a complex thing that you cannot possibly imagine everything that makes that complexity. So are life situations, in which everyone has their smart opinion — until they are faced with one too.

I have never asked for a piece of someone else’s mind on things that are happening to me. Do you know why? It takes a lot more than words for me to explain everything that is part of that problem, and I don’t see why this would be anything different from you or the next person.

And no matter how much you know about someone’s problem, they will always know one thing more. Which means, no matter how good your advice is, no matter how better you think you know — your advice will most often be a dead end for them.

Why a dead end? Because they didn’t act the way they would and listened to you. Being true to yourself and to your nature is the most important thing. Every mistake I have made because it was my decision has been better than the seemingly ‘best things’ I’ve done under other people’s instruction.

So, no, you can’t know better. Allow the person to act as they naturally would.

5. Never take sides

Oftentimes people we know get into a quarrel and try to put is in the middle by making us choose sides. They try to achieve dominance in numbers and don’t really care about your opinion, which can be felt clearly.

In most of the scenarios, you simply want to be objective and rational, so as to help your, say, friends, to overcome the communication problem and make up.

However, bias, pressure, and thinking that we know it all make us jump in the middle and become bombarded by two clashing sources of negative energy. In the end, you don’t help in any way and end up feeling drained and guilty that you stepped in, in the first place.

And really, why should you take sides in a problem that isn’t yours? Instead of choosing the sides of the story, you should embrace them and accept that people need to solve their differences without your meddling.

6. Never become a people pleaser (and if you are, start saying NO)

I have yet to learn to say NO to some situations, as all of us empaths have that people-pleasing gene that is screwing us over. But really, putting others in front of you may feel rewarding and selfless, although it’s actually ridiculous and those others usually know it.

If everyone acted this way, we would live in a Utopia, I suppose. The truth, though, is that it’s impossible because we were simply born in our own skin, not that of the others — which means we need to start from ourselves.

Putting others before yourself and giving your energy away like you won it off in a casino is a self-betrayal that people won’t appreciate in you, no matter how much you hope that you’ll be appreciated for it.

A better option is to always ask yourself: ‘Can that person do that themselves?’ ‘Can that person wait?’ ‘Do I have to do something related to my life first?’ Even mothers shouldn’t bend to every of their children’s ideas and wishes, right? Why should you?

7. Mind your own business

It’s our eternal pain to learn what others think of us. Many have started revolving their lives around other people’s thoughts and opinions of them. It’s saddening and sickening, really.

I have the reputation of a ‘cold,’ ‘reserved,’ ‘arrogant,’ and whatnot person because I keep my healthy distance and don’t allow people to gobble up my life force and personality. And you know what? I don’t really care. In fact, I’m glad.

Everybody knows me for who I am, and I have never thought twice before saying the things I mean and standing up for myself because I don’t expect anyone else to do it for me.

I know I have an unlimited source of love for this world — but sometimes naughtiness can’t be rewarded with candy, right? Unless it’s cute, I suppose!

The most important thing is that you can’t define your life on the basis of other people’s opinions and thoughts about you. Those who like to judge you for who you are can freely do it, and you can freely not give an f*, because in the end: THAT’S YOU AND YOU SHOULDN’T CHANGE YOURSELF BECAUSE OF ANYONE’S OPINION.

Reclaim your identity, because if you lose it, nobody will be there to find it and bring it back to you. By reclaiming your identity, you reclaim your energy. Respect yourself and respect everyone around you, but know your boundaries.

~via ConsciousReminder.com

July 29, 2018

BARRIE DAVENPORT: “17 Reasons Why Being An Intuitive Empath Is A Gift”

Do you ever feel like you have a heightened sense of understanding and emotion for other people’s feelings?

Maybe you feel like you are really good at reading people or you simply have an inclination toward being empathic.

If so, you might be an intuitive empath.

Being an intuitive empath means you have a high sensory perception and can actually be impacted by other people’s energies.

You have an innate ability to perceive those around you. But, being an empath is more than just being an especially sensitive person, and it isn’t limited to simply feeling and expressing emotions.

It is often said that empaths are naturally intuitive, and while this is true for some empaths, it is not true for all. But, if someone is intuitive, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have a lot of empathy. Some believe the words are interchangeable, but the two abilities are actually quite different.

Empathy is one’s concern with things other than oneself — the external world. It is the ability to sense the feelings and energy of other people and one’s surroundings.

However, intuition is the internal feelings one has to evaluate and understand a situation. While it still involves absorbing the outside world, the final component is very internal.

When empathy and intuition come together, a very unique ability is born, and those who hold this trait have a special gift.

What is a true empath?

A true empath is one who can feel the pain of other people as their own. They can also feel the joy that other people feel.

Because of this, a true empath often likes to help people in order to make those around them happy and therefore be able to feel that happiness themselves.

Empaths are great listeners who never ignore people and refuse to be fake or put on a facade.

These traits probably sound like they could apply to a lot of good people, but a true empath helps other people to the point of exhaustion and is very sensitive– not only to people’s emotions but also to external factors in the environment, such as light, noise, and motion.

Intuitive Empath Traits

There are many traits that intuitive empaths share. For example, they strongly dislike seeing other people suffer and often avoid watching the news or even sad movies because of this.

After feeling strong negative emotions, intuitive empaths are then likely to feel physical symptoms in addition to their emotional despair, such as a headache and fatigue.

Intuitive empaths have a tendency to remain attached to people who are in need, even if it is not in their own best interest.

This may be a stranger or could be a partner, which puts intuitive empaths at risk for being in toxic relationships.

Some of these traits may sound like negative things, but being an empath is a gift in many ways. Here are 17 reasons why this capacity to understand other people is actually a good thing.

17 Reasons Why Intuitive Empaths Have A Gift

1. Empaths surround themselves with positive things.

When an empath sees something bad, they instinctively turn away so they don’t feel the negativity. Because of this, they try to surround themselves with only positive things.
This leads to empaths having positive friends who are aiming to live a happy and satisfying life.

Happiness is contagious, so one of the most effective ways to find happiness is to surround yourself with those who can create their own happiness and share it with others.

2. Empaths typically have meaningful careers.

Empathic people can often be found working as mentors, life coaches, and teachers. Because of their compassion for nature, they often either do volunteer work for the environment or make a career out of environmental activism.

Due to their acute senses, empaths love to spend countless hours going through nature and enjoying the songs of birds, the sounds of the ocean, and the smell of flowers.

Having a meaningful career or giving back to the community is a fulfilling way to lead a happy life.

3. They bring other people together.

People who are empathic find it deeply uncomfortable to watch other people be mean or hostile towards each other.

Due to their peaceful and easy-going nature, empaths often act as intermediaries to bring harmony between others who are at odds.

They have a gift of being peacemakers and reducing the stress of other people by decreasing any resentment that is being held.

4. They don’t rush into making decisions.

They seek a deep authenticity before making decisions. Empaths find it bothersome to settle with a solution if they feel it may have been influenced in any way.

Because they like to stay true to themselves, they will take the necessary time to come to informed decisions.

This is a gift because having the ability to resist making last-minute decisions helps people avoid having regret in the long run.

5. They can experience the emotions of their loved ones, even if they are not with that person.

It is common when an empath is in a strong relationship with someone to experience sudden surges of emotion or pain to later learn that their loved one was feeling the same emotions or pains at the same time.

Often, empaths describe this feeling as being “blindsided” by emotions when they are not expecting them.

6. They like to stay focused.

While many people may believe that having the ability to multi-task is a strength in life, this is usually not true because none of the tasks are completed at a high-quality level.

In fact, multitasking divides one’s attention into many different things at once, leading to confusion and feelings of being scattered.

Intuitive empaths feel more comfortable and do more effective work when they do their tasks one at a time and in a certain order.
Focusing on one thing at a time and doing it to the best of one’s ability can be an empath’s source of personal energy that can lead to great success.

7. They have a knack for listening to other people’s stories.

One distinctive characteristic of this population is that they offer a trustworthy and treasured sense of companionship to other people.

Other people gravitate to them and feel comfortable confiding with empaths about their own personal struggles. Even strangers may approach an empath and open up to them about their problems.

This is good because empaths know that other people feel relieved when they are done talking about their feelings.

Empaths can then feel this sense of relief themselves because they have helped someone who is having a hard time.

8. Empaths are quick to spot someone who is being deceitful.

People who are empathic can easily spot a lie.

They pick up on even subtle hints of deception, which allows them to be very trusting of those who they choose to be close to because they know the people surrounding them are not deceitful people.

However, this also means that empaths know when someone is hiding something when they say they are “fine”.

Empaths know when these people are actually crying on the inside and putting up a false front.

9. They pick up on non-verbal cues.

One of the greatest gifts that an empath has is the ability to read other people. This allows them to quickly decide if someone they meet will end up being a part of their life for the long-term or not.

In addition to non-verbal cues, empaths can pick up on even slight indications of others’ physical needs and emotions.

This gives them a specific talent for being able to pick up on the needs of those who cannot speak, like animals, babies, and the human body.

10. They are able to see the big picture.

Having a sense of synchronicity allows empathic people to grasp the grand scheme of things because they can recognize the interconnectedness of each individual organism in the world.

Being able to see the big picture allows people to feel a sense of meaning in what they do and work towards a final goal, which ends up being more fulfilling.

11. Empaths have great imaginations.

When an empath finds themselves stuck in a mundane daily routine, they tend to drift off using their great imagination.

If their surroundings are not providing any emotional stimuli, empaths can easily lose interest in what is going on around them and get into their own world of imagination and creativity.

12. They are creative and artistic.

Empaths can convey a message in ways that other people can’t. They are able to use their feelings to project their artistic and creative talents.

This could come out in many forms, such as dancing, painting, writing poetry, or playing music.

Empaths have a special talent for creativity in life with not only art, but also their experiences, situations, and various conditions that arise.

Because empaths think in a unique way, they are able to see certain things that other people can’t quite conceptualize as easily. This thoughtful creativity and ability to process information in a distinct way is a notable capacity.

13. Empaths can see everyone’s point of view.

One of the reasons that empaths are such good friends to other people is because they are willing to listen to and understand everyone’s point of view.

This also makes them be able to be life-long learners as they cross paths with many different types of people.

14. They are natural healers.

Empaths are natural healers and can actually give their healing energy to other people through their senses.

They possess a healing energy that can help those around them and help themselves as well.

15. They have a huge enthusiasm for life.

Because empaths feel everything with such strength, they are prone to feeling greater highs than other people.

Therefore, most empaths are very enthusiastic about life and they are able to experience joy with a greater intensity, which leads them to be more kind, caring, and compassionate towards other people.

16. Empaths are comfortable being alone.

A lot of people who are not empathic feel uncomfortable being alone, but empaths crave time alone and actually need it in order to balance themselves and de-stress.

They value this time to have a chance to recuperate and are able to increase their self-awareness because of this.

17. They are able to contribute to other people’s lives like no one else can.

Because empaths truly care about other people, they are able to touch the lives of those who feel like they have no one to turn to.

This means they can make a huge difference in people’s lives and leave a positive impact on those who are possibly suffering.

Final Thoughts

While being intuitively empathic may seem draining because you are taking on the feelings, burdens, and emotions of other people, it is actually a great gift to have.

It is important to learn how to protect yourself from becoming dragged down by negative energies and find a way to practice self-care to release the negativity.

Empaths understand very clearly that the problems in the world won’t be solved by hate, instead, they need to be addressed with love and understanding.

It is important to people who are empathic to use their energy in a positive way for the world, even if it is through small actions like donating to a food bank or volunteering their time.

Being able to positively impact the world can help anyone feel positive about their empathic and intuitive feelings.

~via LiveBoldAndBloom.com

May 16, 2018

THE OPEN MIND: “Synesthesia — Smelling Colors And Tasting Sounds”

“As music is the color of sound…so is painting the poetry of sight.”

~James McNeil Whistler

Do you taste strawberries when you hear the sound of a guitar? Are you convinced that Fridays are Yellow? When you see the number 7 do you see it in Light blue? Approximately 2%–4% of the population has some form of synesthesia, perhaps you do, too!

What Is Synesthesia?

Synesthesia is a perceptual condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, numbers or shapes with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor.

Synesthesia can involve any of the senses. The most common form, colored letters and numbers, occurs when someone always sees a certain color in response to a certain letter of the alphabet or number. For example, seeing the word “dog” as forest green or the number “9″ as light purple . There are also synesthetes who hear sounds in response to smell, who smell in response to touch, or who feel something in response to sight, some even taste sound. Just about any combination of the senses is possible.

Scientists hypothesize that in synesthetes, neurons and synapses that are “supposed” to be contained within one sensory system cross to another sensory system. It is unclear why this might happen but some researchers believe that these crossed connections are present in everyone at birth, and only later are the connections refined. In some studies, infants respond to sensory stimuli in a way that researchers think may involve synesthetic perceptions. It is hypothesized by these researchers that many children have crossed connections and later lose them. Adult synesthetes may have simply retained these crossed connections.

Some People Really Can Taste The Rainbow

We’ve covered this phenomenon in the past. And I’m a synesthete myself — I see letters and numbers in color, and associate sounds with shapes and textures. But only a very few people — maybe only 1 percent of synesthetes — have sensory crossovers that affect their relationship with food and drink.

Jaime Smith is one of those people. He’s a sommelier by trade, and he has a rare gift: He smells in colors and shapes.

For Smith, who lives in Las Vegas, a white wine like Nosiola has a “beautiful aquamarine, flowy, kind of wavy color to it.” Other smells also elicit three-dimensional textures and colors on what he describes as a “projector” in his mind’s eye.

This “added dimension,” Smith says, enhances his ability to appraise and analyze wines. “I feel that I have an advantage over a lot of people, particularly in a field where you’re judged on how good of a smeller you are,” he says.

Atlanta-based pastry chef Taria Camerino also has synesthesia. But for her, synesthesia is more than just an advantage — it’s a necessity.

Camerino experiences the world through taste. She tastes music, colors, shapes and even people’s emotions. She says she has a hard time remembering what things look or sound like, but she can immediately identify objects based on their synesthetic flavors.

“I don’t know what a box looks like unless it’s in front of me. I don’t know what the color green looks like. But I know what green tastes like,” she says.

“I don’t know what the color green looks like. But I know what green tastes like.”

~Taria Camarino

In addition to working as a pastry chef, Camerino is often asked by clients to make dishes that mimic her synesthetic experiences. She creates “flavor profiles” of things like satisfaction and discontent. She takes inspiration from music to put together nine-course tastings.

“I move through the world this way all the time,” she explains. “If I want someone to understand it, I have to create a dish out of it. I have to make it palatable.”

Diagnosis

Although there is no officially established method of diagnosing synesthesia, some guidelines have been developed by Richard Cytowic, MD, a leading synesthesia researcher. Not everyone agrees on these standards, but they provide a starting point for diagnosis.

Synesthetes do not actively think about their perceptions; they just happen. Rather than experiencing something in the “mind’s eye,” as might happen when you are asked to imagine a color, a synesthete often actually sees a color projected outside of the body.

The perception must be the same every time; for example, if you taste chocolate when you hear Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, you must always taste chocolate when you hear it; also, the perception must be generic — that is, you may see colors or lines or shapes in response to a certain smell, but you would not see something complex such as a room with people and furniture and pictures on the wall.

Often, the secondary synesthetic perception is remembered better than the primary perception; for example, a synesthete who always associates the color purple with the name “Laura” will often remember that a woman’s name is purple rather than actually remembering “Laura.”

A select group of synesthetes can truly “taste the rainbow.”

According to researcher Sean Day, approximately one in 27 people has some form of synesthesia.

A synesthete himself, Sean Day is president of the American Synesthesia Association and has been tracking research on this condition for more than three decades.

Summarizing the state of current research, Day says the brains of synesthetes do appear to be anatomically different (although he cautions that scientists have only studied a few types of synesthesia so far).

In particular, it seems that the neural connections between different sensory parts of the brain are more myelinated in people with synesthesia. Myelin is a fatty sheath that surrounds neurons and enables neural signals to travel more quickly.

“Because the myelination is different, the interaction between certain parts of the brain is different,” explains Day. “This allows parts of the brain that are responsible for different senses to communicate when they normally wouldn’t.”

Hypermyelination could explain why synesthetic experiences seem so real for people like British IT consultant James Wannerton, who is also the president of the UK Synaesthesia Association.

Wannerton has a particularly intrusive form of synesthesia, in which sounds, words and colors all have taste and texture.

“It’s like having an eyedropper of taste sort of dripped on your tongue constantly, just one after another after another,” he explains. “It’s a full mouth feel. It’s exactly like I’m eating something.”

Even Wannerton’s brain gets fooled.

“I wouldn’t know what a hunger pang is because I don’t get hungry,” he says. “My brain is constantly pumping acids into my stomach to dissolve food that isn’t there.”

Synesthesia affects his social life, too. Eating out, for example, is a nightmare:

“Different voices, the ambient atmosphere in the restaurant, it all makes a difference to my experience,” says Wannerton. “You serve me food on a blue plate — it just totally messes up the eating sensation.”

But even though his synesthesia can be quite disruptive at times (it’s “absolutely ludicrous,” he admits), at the end of the day, Wannerton still enjoys it.

And most synesthetes would agree, including sommelier Jaime Smith.

“My synthie thing is the added bonus for me,” he says.

“It’s the joy and sometimes the fun of it all.”

~via The-Open-Mind.com

May 6, 2017

DAILY VIBES: “5 Signs You Are An Extremely Strong Yet Highly Sensitive Person”

When we think of people with great strength of character who are able to come through difficult circumstances often seemingly unfazed, we don’t generally think of those same people being very sensitive as well. It can and does occur though, that some incredibly strong people and personalities are also some of the most sensitive.

The two traits are not mutually exclusive, as society might have us think. Below are 5 signs you just might be one of these rare people yourself.

1. You find yourself overwhelmed at times.

The world is wild and sometimes scary place, and life slows down for no one. You may sometimes feel overcome by the rush and weight of it all, but you never give up. You’re sensitive enough to feel those feelings deeply but strong enough not to be halted by them. You know better than anyone that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

2. You call it like it is.

Your sensitivity allows you to be attuned to the details and hard truths of reality, and whether it’s the behavior of a friend or some small injustice that may go unnoticed by others, you aren’t afraid to bring it to the forefront of attention. You’re in touch with the feelings of others, as most sensitive people are, but you don’t sugarcoat or gloss over things that need to be addressed.

3. You’re only interested in real romantic connections.

You’ve got a lot going on inside of you and you’re not interested in spending 5 dates talking about weather and local sports or favorite bands. You want something honest and real from your partner and you’re not afraid to wait it out a little longer in order to get that. You don’t like to be alone, but you know what your company is worth and you won’t settle for less.

4. You have standards for yourself and others.

You’re sensitive enough to know when something isn’t quite right but you’re also strong enough to know you shouldn’t take that crap lying down. You wouldn’t expect anything from others that you don’t expect from yourself, so when something is unacceptable, it’s important to you to let the proper people know so that the situation can be remedied. Basically you don’t take any bullshit and you don’t allow yourself to dish it out, either.

5. You are an excellent listener.

Your natural sensitivity gives you a unique talent for listening and being compassionate to the troubles of others, while your strength helps to make you a great shoulder to cry on in times of need. Your presence is kind and warm but also firm and reassuring. You’re able to empathize and sit through the pain with a friend, but you’re also there to help them stand back up and keep on moving forward. This is why anyone who gets to call you a friend should consider themselves lucky.

~via DailyVibes.org (courtesy of LifeCoachCode.com)

March 4, 2017

CHRISTINA SARICH: ” 4 Super Powers Of The Highly Empathic”

Many empathic or highly sensitive people feel that their ability to feel so many different emotional energies in their environments is a curse, but with recent research suggesting that empaths are actually highly psychic, you may want to hone your empathic skills instead of hiding them away, or bemoaning their existence. Here are 4 super-powers of empathic people, that you too can develop:

1.) Read People’s Minds

Empaths have a form of psychic ability that is considered a rare gift.

Mind reading isn’t a parlor trick. We all do it to some degree, taking cues from people’s body language, and verbal discourse. A skilled non-verbal decoder can tell if someone is lying, someone is happy or sad (even if they claim to be the opposite), or if they are manipulating others with their speech and gestures. We can all be ‘mentalists’ picking up on inconsistencies in someone’s words and body language, but empaths take it a step further.

Many empaths receive psychic images, statements, hues, or smells intuitively which indicate to them, a reality beyond which most are aware. If you pick up on these energies unwillingly, you could instead focus on them, and see if you can create an even stronger psychic experience, turning your empathic skills into full-blown ESP. Then you can literally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, and know exactly what that would feel like. IMAGINE the possibilities.

How many wrong turns, missteps, or arguments could you avoid? How much success could you experience learning from others’ mistakes? Knowing when someone is lying, or telling the truth? Priceless. Instead of shunning your empathic ability to feel everything — use it to become a true mind reader.

2.) Become Your Own Emotion Superhero

If you have a crazy ability to empathize with others, why not turn this around, and use it to your own benefit? So many people today are completely disconnected from their own emotions. You aren’t. This may seem like a tremendous burden — feeling what they ought to feel, AND feeling what you feel, but if you were able to develop some discernment, and focus on your own emotional growth, this gift can become your greatest super power.

The act of listening to your own feelings and thoughts is self-empathy — it’s compassion in action. It could completely and utterly change how you communicate with people.

For instance, let’s say you are visiting family for the holidays or a long weekend and one of your uncles says, “Don’t you know this president is going to ruin the nation?” Your internal dialogue as an empath might be something like, “Oh my God, he has no clue how every person is affecting this country, and this planet, and the people who are running the show aren’t presidents or politicians, they may not even be on this planet! What an idiot.” This is what your emotional triggers might be around a simple statement that someone from your family makes. But what if you honored those feelings and learned how to communicate them lovingly?

What if instead, you internally stated, “Wow, hearing what my uncle just said alarms me, to the point of even feeling panicked because that statement doesn’t agree with the world I see, or how I believe this Universe is formed, and I’m scared of being at odds with my family member.” Super power indeed.

Empaths can trigger heart-based communication by honoring their emotions.

You could instead say to your Uncle from this emotionally aware place, “Yes, we all ruin the world a little or make it closer to a paradise every day by the thoughts, deeds, and actions we engage in.” This statement might go over his head, or open up a whole different type of dialogue that is more in alignment with who you are.

3.) Transmute the Negative Only You Can Feel

So many people are affected by negative influences which are invisible in the world today. Empaths are acutely aware of this. An empath can even walk into a room where a negative conversation or act just transpired, and though it isn’t currently happening, they can sense the negative energy that lingers.

Flowers can change the energy of an environment.

Instead of being a victim of this sensitivity to energy — look for positive energy first, and TRANSMUTE that negative energy. Practice a quiet five-minute Tonglen meditation. Bring high-energy plants or flowers to a place with low energy, or simply utter encouraging words and thoughts to people around you who were also affected by the negativity. Even better? Find the humor in the situation and share it. Even the most vile circumstance has a funny side to it. Use laughter to literally create intimacy and openness where there was none.

4.) Turn Your Sensitivity Into a Highly Coveted Skill

Do the wrong sheets make you break out in hives? Are certain smells absolutely revolting to you? Do non-organic foods cause you terrible gastrointestinal distress? Do you need quiet in order to sleep, and alone time in order to off-load all the smells, sights, sounds, and emotions you’ve absorbed all day long? Instead of looking at this trait as if it were a burden, use it to your advantage.

Need more beauty and peace as an empath? Create it yourself.

You could become a perfumer, and advise companies on removing chemicals and adding natural scents to their products. You could help others eat divinely prepared food by becoming an organic chef. You could develop quiet spaces like gardens, libraries, or meditation rooms that not only you need, but that others would revel in, without even realizing that they were desperate for your gift. Use those sensitivities to create a peaceful haven in the world, and your empathic skills are no longer a curse, but used to fulfill your life’s purpose.

There are many more ways you can put your empathic super-powers to good use. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section, or when you share this article to social media.

~via TheMindUnleashed.com