I recently gave a talk about PPE for the Empath: Protection, Projection and Empowerment. Afterward, I answered some Empath Skills questions. Here is some of the Q&A.

What are some characteristics of an Empath?

Every Empath is different, so this list is limited to some key characteristics. Empaths are often psychic. They feel others’ pain, joy, emotion, stress, etc. Many empaths react poorly to some people, especially if the person tends to be negative. Empaths get overwhelmed by crowds, close work quarters, loud noise, and strong smells. Personally, I have real issues with loud noises and crowds. Most empaths are mature, have big hearts, crave nature and love to spend time with animals.

You teach about checking your energy so you know when your energy has been affected by others. Do you check in with your energy all the time?

Not anymore, unless I have lost my mindfulness. Yet when you are first starting to realize the impact or working on protecting and projecting, it is really helpful to check your energy frequently.

Do you ever get to the point where you realize you’re getting overwhelmed with another person’s energy before it’s too late?

Yes, but…. Even after being a teacher of Empath Skills, I find that sometimes I get overwhelmed and THEN realize what is going on. The key is to be aware of what your energy is like and be mindful enough to realize when your energy has gotten askew.

Is Grounding just important for empaths?

No, grounding is especially important for people who are stressed and people who are working on their psychic development.

Are there different ways to ground?

As many ways as there are people, really. My favorite to teach is to drop roots down into the earth and call up “mother earth” energy from the earth into my body.

When teaching Empaths to develop mindfulness, you teach about having a reminder or “bell” to check in with your energy, what “Bells” have you found most useful, especially when you are running late?

Doors – you have to go through or under them. 😀 It can be like a stop sign if you set your intention that way!

Are there other mindfulness exercises for Empaths?

Any focus meditation is a mindfulness exercise, like paying full attention to washing the dishes or a part of your body or staring at a flame.

You said you don’t want to stay detached even though you teach detaching by pulling your aura in, can you speak more about that?

When we are detached from our bodies, it is helpful for regrouping, yet your body, especially your aura, is your energy source and so when you disconnect you get tired and there is no way to ground. Plus being in people’s energy can be really rewarding! It isn’t all bad!

Why does an Empathic feeling or emotion come over me when I am by myself? Like when I am driving down the road by myself?

Spaces can hold vibration especially if something happened there that people think about a lot. Take Gettysburg Pa. Not only are you picking up on the “ghosts” if you believe in that sort of thing, you also pick up on the “thought forms” created by so many generations thinking about what happened there! So, if you are driving past a place that had a bad accident, you may be driving through the “thought form” created by people driving by and being sad at the memory of the accident that happened in the past.

Can you talk more about Thought forms?

I couldn’t tell you off the cuff where it is exactly, but Cayce tells us that God created through thought. He may not have said it using the term “thought forms,” but he said that the Creator mentally created and then spirit-filled that creation to create an etheric being or creation. These etheric creations can be seen as a Thoughtform. Literally, a thought that takes form. We create thought forms when we constantly think about something. It doesn’t have to be a negative thing, yet we tend to focus more obsessively on negative things. Personally, I believe a lot of what someone may perceive as a negative entity around them is really a thought form.

If you come across someone whose energy is toxic, you recommend to just leave and go someplace else. Isn’t that a bit rude? How do we balance our empathy and social norms?

I think self-care has to come first yet so you can be better for others in the long run. If you realize someone or some situation has a toxic vibration, you can either shift your vibration high enough so the toxic one doesn’t affect you or get out of that toxicity. Yet, you don’t have to be rude. For example, if Sally meets Amaryth at the bookstore and finds Amaryth’s energy toxic, Sally doesn’t have to judge Amaryth as bad, Sally can decide Amatryth’s vibe isn’t good for Sally. Sally can send Amaryth love and politely move on. There is usually a polite way to exit either temporarily or completely, even if it is a loved one. Sometimes leaving may be the only choice when protecting yourself. You have to move on, but you don’t judge the other person or situation as bad. You see it is just not in alignment with your energy and yet you still lovingly move on.