" Soak It Up ... "

Turn On The Light Inside Your Eyes

It Gets Me Inspired Every Time ...

Up With The World, So Much I Could Cry

I Let The Hard Times Pass Me By

A Feet On The Ground I Gave Up My Wings

I Look at You, And You Make Me Sing ...

I’m Standing On The Edge Of

A Cliff I've Never Known Before

I Wanna Dive Into The Water

Soak It Up, Soak It Up, Up, Up

…Thoughts,… On My Lies

Doing Beyond That’S From My Previous Life

I Know It’S Gonna Be A Beautiful Day

Because my ... Was Made That Way

~ Nelly Furtado ~ Soak It Up ~

***

Do you ever feel like an emotional sponge?  You know someone who takes on other people’s energies without maybe even realizing it ... my answers, yes and yes.

You see I am a “empath”, someone who “possess the ability to feel the unspoken emotions of other people without conscious intent”.

Oddly enough, I have been proud of being one ... someone who has a sixth sense when it comes to emotions, someone who thinks they understand motivations that drive behaviours.  A keen sense of intuition, an inner compass if you will.  Just knowing or feeling without actually putting into words what is occurring.

I know this has allowed for colorful life experiences in my life.  But it also has a flip side ... as an empath, I have soaked in energies, full of negative emotions such as fear, anger, helplessness, despair and frustrations ... which zero in on hot-button issues that are unresolved in myself.  And the absorption of these have resulted in the physical manifestation of symptoms.  

Everyone projects, but what we choose to absorb is what matters ...

Learning to set physical and emotional boundaries can help you establish a sense of self-defined control and vitality ... 

How?

Start with identifying if you are susceptible.  Ask if the feeling is your own or someone else’s.  If someone else’s, distance yourself from the source and see if you feel relief.  If it yours, confront what is causing it.  Try centering yourself and concentrating on your breath.  Visualize negativity as dark cloud lifting from your body, and hope as white light entering. 

Easier said than done ... of course, but I am doing what I can with where I am at this time ... I am learning to continue practicing these and developing strategies to cope, feel safer and still allow my sensitivities to blossom in a world where it is needed now more than ever.