As an empath myself, I am drawn to similar spirits. In my work as Reiki Master Energy Healer and Intuitive Mentor, I find that the majority of my clients and new clients who “find” me are Sensitive Souls. What amazes me is that so many sensitive people have not identified themselves as that and their gift when it is valued and protected, thrives. The world needs glowing qualities of sensitive and empathic people, now more than ever.
Many of the clients I see were criticised by their own parents for “being too sensitive” or “over-sensitive” and many bullied at school, so have dimmed their light. Some have had their sensitivity misdiagnosed as anxiety, depression or as having a spectrum “disorder”. Feelings of anxiety, far from being caused by sensitivity, arise because a person is made to feel anxious about how they feel. When these same people begin to understand and reawaken their gifts, their light becomes visibly brighter. They can shed years of self-doubt and heal wounds going back to childhood. They learn to value their gifts and protect them, creating space for their health and happiness to thrive.
SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE A SENSITIVE SOUL OR EMPATH
A sensitive soul or empath tend to share certain traits. Can you relate?
1. You have a generally heightened experience of life
When you experience joy, wonder or other strong emotions, you feel it vividly. You may even be moved to tears (like me!) by an experience of natural beauty or connection to another soul. You experience energy in life at such a deeply intuitive and sensory level. Your heightened level of awareness may also have a feeling as soon as you enter a room, which can be seemingly inexplicably negative or positive.
2. You attract love and trust into your life
You attract love and trust as you are so openly loving and trustworthy. Your friends thank you for being so genuine and they learn from you. Your energy has a positive effect on your environment and those around you. You may even be a healer, light worker, intuitive or similar in your soul-work, professionally, or generally in your approach to life.
3. You experience deep connection with others
When you make a true, loving connection, it is deep and deeply fulfilling and you may feel that you have known this person before you met them. You are loyal. You are valued. You are very “in tune” and are able to “feel” a person, rather than just seeing or hearing them. You do not just connect to a person by what they are saying, but by their body language, facial expression and tone of voice.
4. Withdrawing for protection
As a result of your loyalty, love, trust, open heart and mind you may have also learned from persistent injury and unwelcome energy to withdraw yourself and place your heart behind a wall.
5. Sometimes life feels too noisy, crowded, busy, or over-stimulating
You may prefer the bigger spaces of nature and find places like shopping centres and restaurants over-stimulating and agitating to your nervous system and can make you feel physically and mentally ill. You may crave and cherish lots of alone time.
6. Nature is very healing to you
It feels less as if you are in the natural world as it does that you are part of it. Your connection to nature is as though you and the natural world are communicating, in an intimate embrace. You may also find you are able to tune into animals and communicate with them.
7. You feel drained from small talk and distressing news
You hate small talk, superficial attachments, rivalry, judgementalism and gossip. Watching or reading distressing news items seem to hurt you while others simply watch them. These things literally bring pain to your body and suffering to your soul. They can drain you.
PROTECTION STRATEGIES FOR SENSITIVE SOULS OR EMPATH
Empaths are gentle people as they feel, see and hear far more than they can ever say. They are heartfelt and hope that the people they trust won’t let them down, though they also sometimes have the gift of seeing ahead and knowing that they will. They know when they are being lied to. They have a strong instinct to help, even if they are feeling unwell or distressed themselves. They have a strong desire to bring light into a dark situation and will go the extra mile and put in huge energetic effort to try and make that happen. They stand up for their beliefs even when they are attacked or at risk of having their public reputation undermined. They love hard. So often they hold the light for those who can no longer see their own.
1. Create and affirm your boundaries
It is essential to have personal boundaries in order to have healthy relationships. Personal Boundaries are important because they set the basic guidelines of how you want to be treated. Balance giving and receiving for protecting your sacred energy for your own health, happiness and meaning. If you need any further reason for looking after your sacred gifts, remember too that other people benefit from your gifts, the world has more shine when you are thriving.
2. Learn from those times when you feel overwhelmed or infiltrated
Keep track of how you are feeling emotionally and physically against the activities, people, thoughts and behaviours that were part of your day. Using this high level of awareness, you will soon begin to see patterns and once you do, can adjust. “I love and approve of myself and have healthy boundaries” is a wonderful affirmation for all sensitives.
4. Find ways to protect your energy
Energy protection is more than white light, sage and crystals. If you identify things that weaken your energy or disturb your nervous system such as shopping centres, being with people who are gossipy and judgemental, hurrying through tasks, watching distressing media, or spending too much time on social media, choose to distance yourself from such people and places and switch off screens which are attacking your sensitivity. What things of exceptional peace and beauty flood back into your life once you do? Once we take action, we feel the very immediate and wonderful response from our bodies and souls as they begin to heal and thrive.
As we bring more things into our worlds that boost our energy field like meaningful, supportive, uplifting connections, activities and places which we love, time alone to regroup instead of saying “yes’ to those things which steal that sacred space of shelter and refreshment, we feel the reward. We feel inside our own healthy, resilient energy bodies again, happy and alive and most of all truly ourselves in balance, shining our light.