The Reality of Empath Boundaries: Be Mindful of the Energies You Ingest.
Sometimes I feel like a sponge. Ready and willing to hear the thoughts and musings of others, quickly integrating them into my own consciousness.
From the opinions of spiritual mentors, family friends, or an unknown online author, if the communication ignites a spark in my pain body, then sometimes I’m in.
Similarly, if there’s a path to healing, a vision into an aspect of self, or a way to process a current predicament, then I’ll quickly sweep that up too. Inviting the outside ideas inside. Giving them a nice compartment in my body or mind where they can make their home.
This willingness to receive without questioning, or lack of discernment, began to frustrate me recently. I began to question why I’d be so willing to integrate the opinions of others over my own good judgment or intuition.
Ask yourself questions to find your own answer. My reasoning is related to conditioning and all sorts of experiences where I did not develop a strong sense of self or understanding that the answers lie within. With a clearer understanding of why, I have begun moving through the blocks to see how I can step outside the artificial constructs I was living in, into a space where I become the creator of my own reality.
Recently I read an article geared toward empaths and, ironically, one of the authors statements really resonated with me. The author said to be mindful of what you read and what energy you take in through prose. It’s those simple statements that sometimes trigger the greatest aha moments for me. I realized I was a sponge for self-healing articles. Not only their content, but the authors’ energy sometimes.
While I love collecting new information and data on my path, and am curious by nature, a part of my growth and self-care is to place limits and boundaries around what information I take in.
One way I do this is by monitoring my media intake. For me, this simply means gut-checking what works for me and what does not in terms of exposure. In the case of the nightly news, for example, I completely stopped watching that years ago after living in one of San Francisco’s most destitute neighborhoods.
On the daily, I sadly saw and energetically felt a sea of drug abuse, mind and body neglect, homelessness, and soul depletion. After moving, I made a mindful decision to stop watching the nightly news, because it’s in my best interest to limit my exposure to anything toxic.
Similarly, I monitor what I read, and place energetic boundaries around others’ opinions, specifically regarding spirituality and healing because that’s the bulk of my reading.
Before engaging in an article, I’ll often check out the author’s photo to get a general read on his/her energy to see if I trust it. Alternatively, if I begin reading an article, within a few sentences I can pickup where the author is coming from. If it’s too fear-based or I can sense their own stuff, then I simply put it down.
I am coming out of my shell. Where being a sponge once served a purpose, I am now discovering and feeling into my own soul and, thereby, growing my boundaries. This represents real freedom. Self-awareness and boundaries allow me to form my own opinions and theories of why things are the way they are. I can take bits from different spiritual traditions and create a fabric of my own existence.
This is all leverage and freedom for my own spirit to flourish and fly.
There’s an expression Take what you want and leave the rest. This is my current spiritual answer. Without the question marks around discourse, I found myself on a path toward conditioned thinking in one spiritual program, and general disillusionment.
Part of spiritual maturing, for me, is to create my own opinions and boundaries. Setting them up so that I can weed out what doesn’t work for me, and choose what does. This is the power of choice. The power of the awakened being. The power of creating my own reality. Freedom.
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Megan Mulligan is a student of life, Source, creativity, and light. A Kundalini yogi, Osho meditator, video producer, writer, and creator, her intention is to bring peace into the world with words, energy, and goodness, and to raise the vibrations with the frequency of pure love. Find more on her website.
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