Holding on to excess energy, whether you dwell on your own and/or what you continually pick up from others, is a guaranteed recipe for feeling stressed out, run-down and even angry or resentful. To put it simply: It’s just not healthy. The human body was made to conduct energy, not trap it in, and this is something that empaths especially need to understand. Being able to feel for others isn’t the same thing as becoming their energetic historian…you can, and should, let it go.
The first thing to realize, once you make the decision to let go, is how to discern the energy that’s yours from what came from others. This way you can retrieve what’s yours (making sure to discard what you no longer need!) and relieve yourself of the excess. Starting is as easy as naming the feeling or sensation you have and asking yourself if it’s yours or not (i.e. Do I have a reason for feeling this way?).
Being able to do this effectively turns your empathy into a psychic ability, making the shift from feeling like a curse to being a blessing, and fine-tunes your radar for navigating the human world. In essence, it allows empaths to become experts in the human experience and opens them up to do more good with their gift.
Once you know what energies to keep, and which to rid yourself of, the next steps are:
• To accept responsibility for them. This isn’t to say you should blame yourself; rather, this should be an empowering exercise. Accept the fact that you are in charge of everything that goes on inside your body and you do the choosing here! The goal is to become conscious of what is going on inside you.
• Figure out why you are holding back. More often than not, there is a deep, underlying reason for holding onto excess energy. Much of the time, this is due to some kind of fear. Are you afraid of being alone with your own thoughts and feelings because it’s easier to focus on others? Does the thought of not ‘tuning in’ to feel out your surroundings make you nervous? Whatever it is, identifying it is the first step to taking control of it, so dig as deep as you need to find it.
• Open yourself up to releasing what holds you back. It isn’t easy to let go of a deeply embedded internal dialogue but it does become easier once you recognize that it is your own creation and you are able to re-create it as often as you need to. A method known as Emotional Freedom Technique (or EFT) is very helpful in reinforcing your new internal dialogue. An EFT meditation specific for Letting Go can be downloaded at authenticempath.com/lettingitgo or via my expert page.
Being empathic doesn’t have to be this overwhelming tide that carries you off with it. Learning to rein it in and take control can transform it into a wonderful gift. With it, you have an amazing tool for helping others and better understanding the world around you.
Mette Muller is an intuitive life coach, specializing in empaths and other sensitives who feel stuck, misunderstood or overwhelmed. After overcoming her own struggle, she designed a development system comprised of her own experience and a three-tiered system involving energy management, mindset & manifesting and developing intuitive abilities. Thus, Best Self Experience was born.
As a certified Soul Realignment practictioner, instructor of Anusara Yoga and having worked with non-profits to assist in social change in many nations, Mette has gathered a wealth of knowledge of various peoples, across many cultures and religions. This knowledge lends itself toward a greater understanding of what individual development comprises of and blends seamlessly into her natural passion for helping others attain true happiness in their lives.