by Judy Dyer
Healing
Empaths understand the connection that energy and people have, this is referred to as an energy body, and it can become inflicted with illness or pain. When you are trained in energy healing, you learn how you can work with your own or another person’s energy body to induce healing to create a healthy energy body.
Chapter 4: Empaths and Spiritual Hypersensitivity
Empaths often suffer from spiritual based hypersensitivity; the symptoms include:
Your environment causes you to feel overwhelmed
Sounds are too loud, even if made at a normal range
You constantly feel the feelings of others
This type of energetic overwhelm is nothing new; the spiritual community has been dealing with it for many years. As more and more empaths choose to ignore their gift, they are becoming less connected with the universe, which has led to an increase in spiritual based hypersensitivity. Oversensitivity to people’s energy and noise is a common reaction to energy acceleration, as you ascend to higher heights in your spiritual development, you should expect to experience this. When you begin to accelerate in the spiritual realm, you may feel like a radio signal picking up a million signals at once. When there is a shift in spiritual vibration, your sense of intuition and your emphatic channels are open causing a heightened awareness of the thoughts and feelings of those around you. Spiritual hypersensitivity can manifest physically causing third eye dizziness, hypersensitivity to energy, odors, light and noise.
Metaphysics believes that the body is a vehicle for the spirit, the body is not who we are; our person is carried in our spirit. Wayne Dyer states that we are spiritual beings living in a physical world. Everything that happens in the physical first happens in the realm of the spirit; therefore, if there is an imbalance in your spirit it will manifest through your physical body. Metaphysical wellness counselors always address the spiritual aspects of healing before focusing on the physical, and it is spiritual alignment that cures the physical ailments.
How to Cope With Spiritual Hypersensitivity
When the body is overwhelmed physically, emotionally or mentally, the fight or flight syndrome is activated and breathing becomes shallow. When you begin to experience a change in your breathing pattern, you should immediately start practicing conscious breathing. This is where you focus your attention on your breath, which will slow down your nervous system and allow you to relax. Breathe slowly, deeply and in a rhythm at the same time as focusing your mind on being able to relax in the situation that you are in. You should always take a temporary retreat from any stressful situation such as family or work-related conflicts. Excusing yourself to the bathroom is a good way to do this. This will allow you to get away from the negative energy, practice your breathing techniques and renew yourself.
There are also several spiritual healing tools that you can use:
Prayer
Depending on what you believe in, prayer can always bring comfort in an overwhelming situation. One of the most talked about and effective prayers is the H’oponopono prayer. Here is the story behind it.
The Hawaii State Hospital for the criminally insane was a clinic for those who had committed the most heinous of crimes. Criminals who had committed murder, kidnap, rape or other crimes of such magnitude were either sent there because of their mental condition or to determine whether they were sane enough to stand trial. According to one of the nurses who worked there, it was a place with no hope; the atmosphere was so congested with evil and negativity that not even paint wanted to reside in the building and would not stick to the walls. Everything was rotting, decaying, repulsive and terrifying. Not a day would go by without someone being physically attacked.
The doctors and nurses were bound by fear; when an inmate was walking in their direction, even though they were shackled hand and foot, they would walk as close to the walls as possible to keep away from them. However, not even shackles could stop the attacks, and so the inmates were never taken outside unless it was an absolute emergency. Staff were absent the majority of the time and would often take sick leave to escape the depressing and dangerous environment that they were working in.
Every few months, a new doctor was hired because they were unable to handle the inmates, but one day Dr. Stanley Hew Len entered the clinic. The nurses were not at all enthusiastic; they were convinced he would be like the rest and bombard them with his supposed superior strategy that would get the place in order and then leave within a few months when he realized the reality of the situation he had got himself into. They soon discovered that everything about this doctor was different; he wasn’t doing anything significant, but his demeanor didn’t fit the environment. Where everyone else was depressed and angry, he was always naturally relaxed, cheerful and smiling. Every so often, he would ask for the files of the inmates; he rarely saw them personally, but he would sit in his office and look over their files. To the members of staff who were interested in the way he chose to operate, he would tell them about something he referred to as H’oponopono. As the months went by, things started to change in the hospital, the walls were painted and the paint actually remained on the walls, which gave the place some life. The gardens were being pruned, the tennis courts were repaired and prisoners who ordinarily were never allowed to go outside began to play tennis with the staff. They began to allow some of the prisoners to move around without their shackles and the inmates started to take fewer psychotropic medications.
The shift in the atmosphere was astounding; the staff began to come to work, and where there was once a shortage of applicants, there was now a high demand to work at the clinic and they slowly began to release the prisoners. Dr. Hew Len was employed by the clinic for almost four years; by the time he left, there were only a few inmates remaining who were eventually housed in another location because the clinic had to close, as the prisoners no longer required their services.
It appeared that Dr. Hew Len didn’t apply any specific technique or give the prisoners any medication. All he seemed to do was look at their files, but what he did do was heal himself with a traditional Hawaiian spiritual remedy referred to as H’oponopono. In Dr. Len’s own words, “I was healing the part of me that created them.”
While he sat in his office looking at each individual patient file, he would feel pain and empathy towards them. Dr. Len would then use what he was feeling to heal himself, taking on full responsibility for what each patient appeared to be going through. The prisoners were healed because their doctor took on their pain and healed them through himself.
H’oponopono is based on the belief that we create our own environment; there are no external forces responsible for what is taking place within our surroundings. If your boss is evil, you are responsible. If your children are not doing well in school, you are responsible. World wars and poverty are your responsibility. The bottom line is that the world belongs to you and it is your responsibility to take care of it. Taking responsibility doesn’t mean that the problems are your fault, it simply means that you need to heal yourself in order to heal the situation that you find distressing.
Some may agree with this theology, and to others it may appear completely nonsensical; but if you really choose to analyze it, you will find that your perception of the world is your reality. If you think the world is depressive and pointless because you choose to focus on all of the negative that is surrounding you, that’s how you perceive the world. You could change it if you would focus on changing yourself. Two people can live in the same environment but perceive it completely differently simply because of their perception.
So how can you heal yourself with H’oponopono? There are four steps to the concept:
Repent: Say you are sorry for the part that you have played in the things you perceive as evil or problematic that are surrounding you. As an empath you can say that you are sorry for the pain that the people you have met recently are experiencing. Whatever you feel responsible for, say you are sorry for it; feel the remorse and mean it.
/> Ask for Forgiveness: You are probably wondering, “Well, who am I asking?” We all have our different belief systems. The majority of us and especially empaths believe in some kind of higher power and so that is who you ask to forgive you.
Gratitude: Say thank you; there is so much power in gratitude. If you take your focus off the negative, you will find that you have so many things to be thankful for. Say thank you that you woke up this morning. Say thank you that you have eyes to see, a nose to smell, legs to walk on, that your internal organs are all in working order. Find something to say thank you for and say it continuously.
Love: Love is the most powerful force in the universe; saying the words, “I love you” over and over again will bring love into your life. You can say I love you to your cat, your house, your car, the sky, the trees! Whatever you feel love towards, say it.
Water
Water has extraordinary balancing and healing properties during times of hypersensitivity. When consumed with consciousness, it provides inner alignment. You can balance the surrounding energy by putting a drop of water on your third eye area. When you apply water that you have energized, it leads to even more powerful results. You can energize water by praying over it, or putting a word on the bottle with the intention of infusing the words frequency into the bottle. Words such as healing, calmness, and peace work well.
Taking a hot shower works well for aura cleansing and for the restoration of energetic balance. Take a shower and imagine the water washing away negative feelings, impressions and thoughts from others and envision all of the negative energy being sucked down the drain.
Mindfulness
This technique can pull calming energy into the body. Focus on your breath at the same time as looking at something beautiful like a rose, the sun or the sky. You can even focus on the palm of your hands as if this is the first time you have seen them. You can redirect the attention you are paying to your feelings by focusing on something visual.
Essential Oils
Essential oils have a calming effect and can greatly improve the anxiety associated with spiritual hypersensitivity. The American College of Healthcare Sciences conducted a study in 2014, in which 58 hospice patients were given a daily hand massage for one week using a blend of essential oils. The oil blend was made up of lavender, frankincense and bergamot. All patients reported less depression and pain as a result of the essential oil massages. The study concluded that essential oil blend aromatherapy massages were more effective for depression and pain management than massage alone.
The following are some of the best oils for treating anxiety:
Lavender
Lavender oil has a relaxing and calming effect; it restores the nervous system, provides inner peace, better sleep, causes a reduction in restlessness, panic attacks, irritability and general nervous tension. There have been several clinical studies proving that inhaling lavender causes an immediate reduction in anxiety and stress. One study discovered that taking lavender oil capsules orally led to an increase in heart rate variation in comparison to the placebo while watching a film that caused anxiety. The study concluded that lavender had an anxiolytic effect, which means that it has the ability to inhibit anxiety.
Other studies have concluded that lavender has the ability to reduce anxiety in patients having coronary artery bypass surgery and in patients who are afraid of the dentist.
Rose
Rose alleviates depression, anxiety, grieving, shock and panic attacks. The Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal published a study in which a group of women experiencing their first pregnancy inhaled rose oil for 10 minutes at the same time as having a footbath. A second group of women experiencing pregnancy for the first time was also given the footbath but without the rose oil inhalation. The results discovered that a footbath combined with aromatherapy caused a reduction in anxiety in nulliparous (a woman that has not had any children yet) women in the active phase.
Vetiver
Vetiver oil contains reassuring, grounding and tranquil energy. It is often used for patients experiencing trauma and helps with stabilization and self-awareness. It also has a calming effect. Vetiver oil is a nervous system tonic; it reduces hypersensitivity, jitteriness, shock and panic attacks. The Natural Product Research published a study that examined rats with anxiety disorders and found that vetiver oil caused a reduction in anxiety.
Ylang Ylang
Ylang ylang has a calming and uplifting effect; it improves depression and anxiety due to its ability to induce optimism, cheerfulness, and courage. Ylang ylang also soothes fear, nervous palpitations and heart agitation. It is also a sedative that helps with insomnia.
A 2006 study conducted in Korea by Geochang Provincial College found that using a combination of ylang ylang, lavender and bergamot oil for four weeks once a day caused a reduction in blood pressure, hypertension, serum cortisol levels, and psychological stress responses.
Bergamot oil
Bergamot is one of the ingredients in Earl Grey tea and has a distinctive floral aroma and taste. Bergamot oil provides soothing energy that reduces depression, agitation, induces relaxation and helps with insomnia. A study conducted in 2011 discovered that the application of bergamot oil reduced anxiety, depression, blood pressure and pulse rate.
Chamomile
Chamomile oil is known for its calming effect and its ability to produce inner peace, reduce worry, anxiety, over-thinking and irritability. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine conducted an explorative study and found that it contains medicinal anti-depressant properties. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health also found that chamomile capsules have the ability to reduce anxiety related symptoms.
Frankincense
Frankincense oil is great for treating anxiety and depression due to its tranquil energy and calming effects. It also helps you focus, quiet the mind and deepen meditation. A Keimyung University study in Korea found that a combination of lavender, frankincense and bergamot reduced pain and depression in hospice patients suffering from terminal cancer.
How to Use Essential Oils for Hypersensitivity
Essential oils are either ingested, applied topically or used in aromatherapy. Here are some suggestions for their usage:
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a very popular remedy for anxiety because of the human ability to process information through smell; it can trigger a very powerful emotional response. There is a region in the brain called the limbic system that controls memory recall and emotional processing. Inhaling the scent of essential oils stimulates a mental response in the brain's limbic system, which regulates stress and calming responses such as the production of hormones, blood pressure and breathing patterns. You can use the oils in the bath, a hot water vapor, direct inhalation, a humidifier or vaporizer, cologne, perfume, a vent or aromatherapy diffusers.
Oral Application
You can consume the majority of essential oils orally. However, it is essential that the oils you use are safe and pure. The majority of commercialized oils have been blended with synthetics or diluted with other substances making them unsafe for ingesting. The most effective method for consuming essential oils is to combine a drop of oil with a teaspoon of honey or drop the oil into a glass of water. You can also add a couple of drops to the food you are cooking. You can place a couple of drops under your tongue. This is particularly beneficial because the blood capillaries are located under the tongue near the surface of the tissue, which allows the oil to quickly absorb into the bloodstream and travel to the area of the body where it is required. You can also take essential oils in capsule form.
Topical Application
Topical application is the process of placing essential oils on the skin, nails, teeth, hair or mucous membranes of the body. The oils are quickly absorbed by the skin. Due to the strength of the oils, it is essential that you dilute or blend them with a carrier oil such as coconut, avocado, jojoba, or sweet almond oil. You can apply the blended mixture di
rectly to the affected area, around the rims of the ears, the soles of the feet, in the bath, through a warm compress, or through a massage.
To learn more about how to optimize essential oils in your life, refer to the end of the book where I’ve included four high quality essential oil recipes to relieve anxiety.
Chapter 5: Empaths, Insomnia, Exhaustion and Adrenal Fatigue
Due to the emotional responsibilities that empaths carry, they often experience a sudden drop in energy, which leads to chronic fatigue. When an empath does not remain grounded, balanced and consciously aware, they can unconsciously give their energy to others. When an empath spends too much time in the company of negative or depressed people, they take on their energy, and this can lead to emotional exhaustion. This is one of the main reasons they must spend time alone as a way of recharging their internal batteries.
The mind, soul and body are connected; whatever we think and feel has an effect on our physical body. An empath must have regular periods of isolation throughout the day in order to process feelings and emotions. This prevents emotional exhaustion, which then enables them to constantly let go of crushing negative energy. If an empath does not do this, they find it difficult to sleep at night because their minds are unable to process and make sense of the information that took place during the day. This hyperactive mindset causes empaths to become extremely tired. If it is not possible for the empath to find solitude during the day, it is essential that they meditate before they go to bed so that they can release any emotions they have come into contact with throughout the day.
