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

JENN GRANNEMAN: “12 Things a Highly Sensitive Person Needs”

If you’re a highly sensitive person like me, you know little things can be too much. Busy environments, violent images in movies, or weekends with little downtime can stress you out. Because you’re so in tune with your environment and other people, life can be pretty exhausting, which makes you withdraw — and non-sensitives don’t understand.

But there’s nothing wrong with you and you’re not alone. High sensitivity is actually fairly common, found in 15 to 20 percent of the population, according to Dr. Elaine N. Aron, author of the book, The Highly Sensitive Person. Both introverts and extroverts can be sensitive, as well as people of all personality types, although high sensitivity is probably more common among INFPs and INFJs.

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Sadly, because many people don’t understand what high sensitivity is, you may have been told to “toughen up” or “just get over it.” You may have always felt different from other people, but you didn’t have a name for what you were.

High sensitivity can make life challenging but not impossible. When I’m in a routine and doing plenty of self-care, I forget about my sensitivity. But a recent trip reminded me of just how frazzled my senses can get. I was rushing from one activity to the next, hanging out in loud, crowded bars and restaurants, and meeting many new people. To top it all off, I wasn’t getting enough sleep or the kind of exercise that makes me feel good, like cardio and yoga. After five days of “vacation,” I was completely fried.

How can we as highly sensitive people cope with our trait? Here are 12 things we need:

1. Time to decompress

Noisy, busy environments — like a crowded mall during the holidays, a concert, or a big party — can wreak havoc on a sensitive person’s highly reactive nervous system. Likewise, packed schedules and high-pressure situations, like a job interview or the first day in a new school, are overstimulating. If you know you’ll be in situation that will frazzle you, plan some time to decompress in a quiet space afterward. It’s best if you can be alone.

2. Meaningful relationships

We get bored or restless in relationships that lack meaningful interaction, according to Aron. This doesn’t mean we’re prone to relationship hopping, rather, we actually work harder to inspire intimacy and interesting conversation. It also means we’re selective about the people we let into our lives to begin with.

Interestingly, many sensitive people are great to be in a relationship with because they not only tune in to what’s good for them but also to what’s good for others. They pay close attention to what their significant other wants. Aron calls this characteristic “mate sensitivity,” which means the ability to rapidly figure out what pleases their partner and act based on that intel. This behavior goes for friends, family members, and co-workers as well.

Basically, it makes us happy to make others happy.

3. People who support us

Sensitive people may cry or become emotional a lot. “Sensitive people can’t help but express what they’re feeling,” Aron told the Huffington Post. “They show their anger, they show their happiness. Appreciating that is really important.”

4. A gentle, healthy way of managing conflict

No matter who you are, fighting with a loved one is miserable. But sensitive people tend to feel extra anxious when conflict arises — and an internal battle takes place. We feel torn between speaking up for what we believe is right and sitting back so we don’t provoke an angry reaction from the other person. Often we subjugate our own needs because we’d rather “go along to get along” than fight.

On the other hand, sensitive people can make great conflict resolvers, because we tend to see the other person’s perspective. We have high levels of empathy and can easily put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.

5. Time to get things done

Sensitive people like a slower pace of life. We like pondering all our options before making a decision and regularly reflecting on our experiences. We hate busy schedules and rushing from one event to the next. One of the hardest parts of my day during the work week is getting moving in the morning and leaving my apartment on time. Saturday mornings, when I don’t have to work, are for going at my own pace. It’s calming and restorative to know I don’t have to be dressed and ready to go anywhere anytime soon.

6. Plenty of sleep

Lack of sleep (less than 7 hours a night, for most people) makes the average person irritable and less productive, but lack of sleep for the sensitive person can make life almost unbearable. Getting enough sleep soothes my ramped-up senses and helps me process my thoughts and emotions. How much sleep I get can literally make or break my next day. Without proper sleep, every little stressor seems ten times worse.

7. Healthy meals spaced regularly throughout the day

When I don’t eat regularly, I get hangry. This is because, according to Aron, extreme hunger can mess up a sensitive person’s mood or concentration. To fend off feelings of crankiness and discombobulation, maintain a steady blood sugar level throughout the day by eating regular healthy meals and snacks.

8. Caffeine-free options

Sensitive people (surprise, surprise) are sensitive to caffeine. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning to get me going, but I don’t have any caffeine past noon. Even a mug of green tea later in the day would leave me tossing and turning at night. Plus, having too much caffeine leaves me feeling jittery and wound up in an uncomfortable way.

If you’re sensitive, consider limiting your coffee, soda, and tea intake. Watch out for sneaky sources of caffeine, like chocolate. Remember, the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine. For example, Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bar has a walloping 31 milligrams of caffeine, almost as much as a can of Coke!

9. A space of our own

If you live with others, make sure you have a quiet place you can retreat to when you need to get away from noise and people. Turn on your favorite music to drown out any unpleasant external noise.

10. Low lighting

If possible, turn off the overhead lights in your home or office and substitute a lamp.

11. Time to adjust to change

Transitions aren’t easy for anybody. (Hey! Who moved my cheese?) But for sensitive people, transitions can be really rough. Even positive changes, like starting a new relationship or moving into a dream home, can be overstimulating and require an extra long period of adjustment. For example, I recently moved into a wonderful new apartment in a city I enjoy, but I literally felt off-kilter for months until I got used to my new situation.

12. Beauty and nature

Like most sensitive people, I’m deeply affected by my surroundings, especially the way they look. Cluttered, chaotic, or just plain ugly environments bother me. I feel calm spending time in nature, my city’s favorite neighborhoods, or my simply decorated apartment (especially when it’s actually clean and tidy!).

When it comes down to it, the key is to embrace your sensitivity rather than work against it. Sensitive people make incredible leaders, partners, and friends. We have high levels of empathy and we’re usually creative and perceptive. Maybe the world could use a little more of what we have.

 

 

 

 

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