Sunday, October 21, 2012

10/22/12—Turning Energy Off and On

Today's Draw: Madrone of Coils from the Ironwing Tarot. To what extent do the energies of those around you affect you? Have you ever taken stock of how much your energies affect others? Do you know turn your empathic abilities on and off as needed?


The Ironwing is one of those decks you can't translate to traditional RWS suits or meanings. She is a court card. And she is water on water, which means she's all about the emotions and relating. The sea turtle speaks of her ability to swim any ocean and dive to any depth. Her shell reflects the swirling lights of the night sky. She can connect to and feel everything. 

Most of us know that as the description of an empath. I'm guessing many who read this blog are empaths...people who can sense and feel the pain and joy of others. I sometimes have have difficulty in crowds because I feel overwhelmed by "input". While not something I've ever worked on or developed, I feel like I can embody another person and "read" them from the inside out. This is something I very rarely do, though, because I think it's intrusive and just really not something I'm interested in. 

A couple of months ago I went to a conference and a woman pulled me aside and said, "did you know you're a projective empath?" I had never heard the term before, but it's a person who projects their emotions outward so that others can feel them. Well, in that case, yes I did know...haha. I just thought I was "dramatic". But what it really is is someone who can both send and receive effectively. 

I've often said that people love to be around me when I'm happy, but not when I'm sad. In fact, I've attracted a number of people in the past who were "fair weather friends"...friends who like to be around when my energy can lift theirs, but who disappear when I'm the one who can use the boost. These are people who are always set on "receive" and don't have the control over their inner antennae to flip the switch to "low" or "off" so they can be there for others. Ultimately they just offer half of themselves to others and hope it's enough. For a long time it was enough for me, but the more this side of me develops, the more I need energy to flow both ways. 

Likewise, I've also come across people who are closed all the time...whose switch is perpetually at "low" or "off". And the interesting thing about those people is that they're usually closed around some shade of sadness. So these are people you know who rarely smile, complain a lot and have low emotional energy, despite how much physical energy they may have. A lot of times when we're depressed we close our receptors in order to protect ourselves, but these are people who are always closed. And, if not depressed, they're energetically dim/dull most of the time. 

While you might call them under-feelers, I'm an over-feeler. But the spectrum between the two isn't as wide as you might think. It's really all about what you project, what you receive and how well you're able to limit the two things. 

I think I've gotten good at "receiving" the energies of others in a measured, conscious and controlled way. So it's easier for me to be in crowds than it used to be. I bounce back quickly from being around someone who's down in the dumps. And I can use the "gift" for focused purposes. Sure, sometimes my door isn't solidly closed or consciously open, but I'm so much better at absorbing anything and everything floating around out there than I used to be. 

I don't think I have as much control over "sending", however, and this is something I've been thinking about ever since that woman said that to me. Although I knew my emotions affected others more than "normal", I had never thought of it in quite that way before. There were times in the past where I was sad and tried to cover it up...unsuccessfully. So it's not like I haven't tried. And I haven't quite hit on too many situations where I would want to turn it off or tone it down yet. So I don't yet have the command and maturity over the toggle switch that I have on receiving. 

There is a responsibility that comes with these empathic abilities, I think. There's a moral obligation to use them for good and not to use them to manipulate others or intrude on their privacy. And there's a personal responsibility to be aware of them and learn to use them so that you're not open all the time, not projecting all the time and not closed all the time...so you can effect a balanced flow of energy to those around you. 

You may have not even been aware of your abilities or the way they affect others until this post. I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing until that woman told me about the projective empath thing. Like any other "type" I suppose it has its positive and negative attributes. Now being more aware of what it's all about, I can learn how to toggle in a way that serves me and those around me best. Where are you in all of this?


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