Soul Kadee

How do you constructively deal with intuitive empathy? What practical methods can you employ to avoid becoming overamped or depleted? I’m going to present some strategies I use. Try them. See which appeal. One is not more preferable than another. Most important is if your choice works.

Walk away.

Let’s say you’re chatting with a man you’ve just met at a conference and your energy starts bottoming out. Here’s how to tell if you’re being zapped: Don’t hesitate to politely excuse yourself; move at least twenty feet from him (outside the range of his energy field). If you receive immediate relief, there’s your answer. Most people are oblivious to how their energy impacts others.

Even energy vampires — people who feed off your energy to compensate for a lack of their own — aren’t generally intending to sap you yet still they do. Obnoxious or meek, vampires come in all forms. Watch out for them. For years, reluctant to hurt anyone’s feelings, I needlessly endured these types of situations and suffered.

How many of us are so loathe to appear rude that a raving maniac can be right in our face, and still we don’t budge for fear of offending? Whenever possible — if your well-being feels at risk with an individual or group — give yourself permission to make a tactful and swift exit. In a spot, physically removing yourself is a sure quick solution.

Shield yourself.

A handy form of protection many people use, including healers with trying patients, involves visualizing an envelope of white light (or any color you feel imparts power) around your entire body. Think of it as a shield that blocks out negativity or physical discomfort but allows what’s positive to filter in.

For instance, your sister is on the rampage. She’s about to blow up; you don’t want her anger to shatter you. Now–take a deep breath, center yourself, engage your shield. Literally picture it forming a fail-safe barrier around you which deactivates anger. It simply can’t get to you. Shielding is a deliberately defensive technique aimed at guarding your feelings, not repressing them. It works by establishing a perimeter of protection around you that functionally doesn’t permit harm in.

Practice vulnerability.

One tenet of my spiritual practice is to remain as vulnerable as I can to everything; not to shield, the antithesis of defense. Some people prefer my strategy, some don’t. Use it if it succeeds for you. Here’s the premise (not madness) behind this: if we solidify our bond to our inner self, we’ll become centered enough not to need to defend at all. Thus, the best protection turns out to be no protection — a stance that initially alarmed me. It didn’t seem possible I could do hands-on energy work with someone who had cancer or depression, for example, without absorbing their symptoms myself. But it was.

What could be more liberating than to find I could hold my own and still remain open! Too often we’re taught to equate vulnerability with weakness. Not so. I like being vulnerable and also strong. This disarms people. To me, the appeal of such an approach is that it’s a non-fear-based way of living in the world. It requires that, increasingly, you harmonize with whatever you confront, let it flow through you, then recenter again, stabilized by your own resilience. Pace yourself. A vulnerable posture will feel safer the stronger you get. It is a choice and a life-long practice.

Meditate.

To cement your inner bond and hold your center in any situation, I recommend a daily practice of meditation where you focus on the spirit within. Doing so gets you into the habit of connecting with yourself. Start with a few minutes, then gradually increase the duration.

The technique is simple: follow your breath and explore the silence. It is not void or empty; that’s the mystery. As thoughts come, and they will, continue to refocus on your breath. Every inhalation. Every exhalation. The spaces between thoughts are where your spirit waits to be discovered. There is something real in there worth finding.

My spirit feels like a core of head-to-toe warmth vertically aligned though the center of my body. Imbued in the warmth itself is an intelligence and intuitive responsiveness to my rhythms and questions. It speaks only truth, which resonates like a chiming in every cell. Silently become acquainted with your spirit. You can return to it to reinforce who you really are–not just the self you present to the world, but that part of you that is timeless. Make room to pursue it.

© Copyright Judith Orloff, M.D.  All Rights Reserved.

Judith Orloff, M.D., an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and intuition expert, is author of the new book Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Harmony Books, 2009) Her other bestsellers are     Positive Energy, Intuitive Healing, and Second Sight. Dr. Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition and energy medicine. She passionately believes that the future of medicine involves integrating all this wisdom to achieve emotional freedom and total wellness.

FREE MINI VIDEO CLASSES ON YOUTUBE FOR YOU!
Please check out “Dr. Orloff’s Living Room Series” to find out more about the special method Dr. Orloff recommends to remember your dreams and other topics to build the power within. Stop by www.youtube.com/judithorloffmd anytime.

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Written by Jafree Ozwald and Margot Zaher
www.EnlightenedBeings.com

You don’t have to search very far to find your greatest teacher. He or she is already in your life now. Your teacher comes to visit you when you least expect it and shows up in the form of a “trigger”.

The trigger we are referring to is that which bothers you the most about your loved ones, colleagues, family and friends. It’s that special thing that they say, do, react to, or constantly repeat which no matter what you do, always drives you bananas!

Perhaps they act superior, judgmental, ignore you, are selfish, or just chewing their gum with their mouth open. Whatever it is that sets off that atomic reaction of upset inside you is here to teach you how to become so big and full of Universal presence that you transcend it.

Each time you get triggered, you’re being asked to grow beyond your normal limiting beliefs and discover a deeper cavern of peace at the very core of your being.

“When you welcome your emotions as teachers, every emotion brings good news, even the ones that are painful.” ~ Gary Zukav & Linda Francis

If your mind is open, you can see that anyone and anything can be your teacher. A teacher is whatever points you back inside yourself, so that you may stop living on the periphery of your mind and its thoughts. Discovering how to approach a teacher-trigger is one of the most empowering and life transforming gifts you can give yourself.

You see, all the beliefs, ideas and judgments that cause you to get angry, sad or simply freak out are doorways to the Divine. Each upsetting thought is only keeping you from experiencing each moment as sacred because you are not truly welcoming it and open to letting in the expansive lesson it has to teach you.

Everything is pointing you back inside to seeing your Divine Nature because the Divine Source is within everything! How could it be otherwise? The mind may think the opposite, yet the truth is that the Universe ultimately wants you to experience yourself as outrageous love, radical inner peace and inspired creativity!

By allowing yourself to really feel your triggered feelings you can honestly explore that exquisite divine energy that within and beneath this now moment. The day you devote your life to revealing this powerful truth, you will start looking forward to the next time that special someone triggers you.

“We create a whirlwind in our lives so that when we sit back and chill our life feels that much better.” ~Sri Eric Lee

By honoring and acknowledging these people who trigger you as teachers, their presence no longer offends you. The second you see them your heart opens and you can enjoy the precious teaching that is coming your way.

Instead of projecting or blaming these people for being a certain way, ask yourself “How is this really ALL about me?” In this asking you will find so much richness, gratitude and self-realization that you will discover the divine depth of who you truly are.

It is only through deep self-inquiry that you penetrate the illusions and judgments of the mind and can open yourself up to the infinite being you actually are. Only through owning that your judgments are always projections of something you aren’t at peace with inside yourself will this perceived “negative” quality in them magically disappear!

By bowing down to honor your triggering teachers you regain the power to sit back and observe any ridiculous reaction you may have pounded them with, instead of being enslaved by it.

“When sadness comes, just sit by the side and look at it and say, “I am the watcher, I am not sadness,” and see the difference. Immediately you have cut the very root of sadness. It is no more nourished. It will die of starvation. We feed these emotions by being identified with them.” ~ Osho

It’s good to know that your triggers are often very sneaky slippery teachers. They will come in all forms and sizes, and can be difficult to see. You can spend months, years, or even decades letting a trigger run your life instead of realizing that it is the most holy of teachers showing you the way back home to yourself.

The easiest way to notice that a trigger-teacher has graced you with its presence is to pay close attention to what happens in your body. Anytime your body becomes tense, contracted, and shut down, you have encountered an opportunity to learn a powerful freeing life lesson.

So please, for the goodness of creating more peace on this planet, the next time you get triggered, sit down, close your eyes and look inside. Look for the deeper spiritual part of you that is already FREE from this horrific bodily contraction. If you do this, the next time that trigger arises it will be a tad less painful and contain a ton more spiritual awareness.

Here are 3 powerful techniques that will help you turn your triggers into teachers:

1. When triggered, bring all of your awareness to your breath. Breathing supports you in re-centering. By focusing on your breath you can remain distant enough to truly observe those deeper memories and negative feelings that are creating the trigger. The deeper and slower you can breathe, the more present you’ll become to this divine being underneath it all.

By watching the air move in and out of your body you are 100 times less likely to get trapped in your head making up some unhappy story about yourself and them. When you are tuning into your breath you are more capable of experiencing that which never dies (your soul) and transcend this old unconscious habit of negative re-programming.

2. In your mind, bow down and kiss the feet of the person who triggers you. If you really want to become 100% “trigger-free” actually physically kiss the feet of the person the moment they trigger you. Doing this there is no way you can continue with your old judgment and reaction.

If your ego cannot bare to stoop down to this level, simply do it within your mind. Imaging you are kissing their feet tells your ego that they truly are your teacher and blessed guru. Then every message that they speak afterwards you will actually be able to hear the Divine teaching pouring through them.

3. Thank the person who triggers you. You can do this as well in your mind, yet it’s 10 times more effective out loud. Each time someone makes you angry tell them, “Thank you”.

You are not thanking them for that mean thing they did or said, you’re giving them appreciation for pointing you inside to see where YOU still need to grow. Whenever you send gratitude you stop buying into that enticing story that makes you a victim in your life, and you slowly unravel the illusion of your trigger and stop your ego from believing it to be true.

Through gratitude you will see that deep deep down on a soul level, you signed up for this person to awaken you in this lifetime. You will remember that they have always been a friend on your side, here to wake you up out of your suffering. With appreciation, nobody can have power over you. Through honest gratitude, you are finally able to become the master of your mind and your life!

It’s good to remember that you are this pure consciousness that can never be disturbed by someone else’s thoughts, behaviors, or actions. You my friend can EASILY remember that you are this divine eternal presence everyday!

Each trigger you receive only serves as a wake up call leading you back to realizing the vast Divine consciousness is who you truly are. So what a blessing to be triggered! What an opportunity to radically reveal the Divine light within you, and inside all of your loved ones. Enjoy!!

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Many Enlightening Triggers are Headed Your Way!
Margot Zaher and Jafree Ozwald.
www.EnlightenedBeings.com

Popularity: 24% [?]

Whether you are in a relationship that has just begun or one that began decades ago, if you are not satisfied with the behaviors you are shown, simply change your response to those behaviors, and a reaction will result.

Your partner’s reaction will have to change to reflect the changes in your attitudes, your guidelines and boundaries.

All you can change is you.

All you can control and manipulate

is your own choice.

You can react to what you are shown,

or you can leave the source of discomfort in your life.

For as you change, as you grow, your reactions do as well. You break the cycle of dysfunction within a relationship when you choose to respond in a new, more highly evolved fashion.

When you love another, your communication of self-love is what allows the love to flow between you. Not a wall, not a game, not a punishment, not lashing out, not carrying on hysterically, but only love of self communicates what you see, feel, or observe to be beyond the boundary of what you will tolerate. When you whine, beg, plead, cry, yell, scream, throw, hit, or lash out, your actions do not deserve the respect you ultimately are entitled to.

But when you openly and calmly share anything that displeases you, anything that causes you to feel unvalued or unappreciated, then you have genuine communication. Then you have friendship, understanding, respect for each other’s feelings, and the integrity to preserve the good you have found. Build a new bridge of understanding over the turbulent waters of confusion and pain. Allow past hurts and pains to flow out of your system and out of the dynamic of your relationship by sharing truth honestly, deeply, and purely When you both do that, truth and understanding will replace chaos and pain.

Melting the walls that stand between you

Much of the discord couples experience comes from fear of exposing their true feelings – their love, fears, doubts, insecurities – their true selves. So they hide their truth behind ego, pride, defense mechanisms, stories, lies, and games instead of communicating authentically.

When you do this, it robs you of your own solid foundation, your feelings of strong self-worth, self-respect, and high self-esteem. When you are too afraid to expose the real you, then you play the games that destroy a genuine healthy relationship or romantic friendship. But as you heal and realize there is nothing so terrible to hide, you then begin to feel more secure to share your truth. As you do this, you reinforce your self-worth and, at the same time, you reinforce the relationship’s foundation with truth.

When two people love, they have a common ground from which to build a new foundation based on trust, mutual respect, and mutual understanding. Yet, there must be compromise. One cannot yield all the time. Satisfaction of needs, wants, requests, and desires must be reciprocal.

Think about the word “relationship.” Relate your concerns and feelings on the ship of your making, so you may travel together on a sea of understanding.

If you begin a relationship with a pre-set agenda, you will find that you are not being your real self. You act the way you think the other wants you to act. You toss aside many of your goals, interests, dreams, and aspirations because you think that doing so will allow you to “get” this man or this woman.

And in that process you steal the foundation of your truth, of your core, from your very self, and you prevent the other from knowing your inner beauty.

Like so many people, you may try to be perfect at the beginning of a relationship. You try to look your best, act your best, feel your best. But you leave out the most important ingredient: the real you, which is the best you. Like so many people, you think that if you showed the real you, your potential partner would surely run, leaving skid marks on the way.

What is so wrong or terrible with the real you?

Perfection is not exciting. It is boring.

If you always try to be perfect, you create discomfort with the other person and actually prevent the growth of true friendship and intimacy.

Where are her moods? Doesn’t he ever get angry? Does she always look so perfect? Doesn’t he ever have a bad day? Why can’t she show me she gets mad? Doesn’t he have any real feelings? Is she always so intellectual? Does he really have a heart? Where is it? How can I show my real self if he or she doesn’t do it too?

You see, when you both present your real and genuine selves to each other, you lay a solid foundation from which you can develop an honest and meaningful friendship or romance with one another.

You may know that many times people will test others to see what they will put up with, what they will tolerate. Testers want to find out how much they can get away with. They also want to know whether the testees have enough respect and regard for themselves to put the testers in their place if they cross the line.

Sometimes the one you date

wants to see that you have guts,

that you are not a spineless wimp,

that you do have self-respect,

that you will only tolerate being treated

with common decency and respect.

So, show it!

If others say something to you that strikes a Chord within, and you don’t like the feelings you are getting as a result of their words or actions, you must speak up and say so. Now.

You can say it gently and graciously,

but make sure that it is said.

By speaking up, you honor and preserve your self-esteem, your personal dignity. Others then know how you feel as a result of what they did or said, and they know what you are requesting of them; it then becomes their choice as to whether they will honor your personal boundaries.

Each person is entitled to all of his or her own beliefs, opinions, preferences, joys, and individuality.

You do not own others; they are not your property. You share your time or your life together. As you learned in nursery school, sharing is giving; it is not taking, and it is not demanding that another does it all your way.

© Copyright by Barbara Rose, All Rights Reserved. Excerpt from Individual Power: Reclaiming Your Core, Your Truth and Your Life. Published by The Rose Group (2003) ISBN: 097414570X

Barbara Rose, Ph.D. is the best selling author of nine books including If God Hears Me, I Want an Answer!, Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE, and Know Yourself. She is an internationally recognized expert in personal transformation, relationships, consciousness and spiritual awakening, and a pioneering force in incorporating Higher Self Communication, the nondenominational study and integration of humanity’s God Nature into modern personal growth and spiritual evolution. Dr. Rose is known for providing life changing answers, quick practical coaching and deep spiritual wisdom to people worldwide as the Founder and Director of IHSC, Institute of Higher Self Communication. Her highly acclaimed books, public speaking events, spiritual intensives, teleseminars, webcasts, and internationally published articles have transformed the lives of thousands across the globe. Dr. Rose works in cooperation with some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time, to uplift the spiritual consciousness of humanity.

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Popularity: 25% [?]

The first time I learned that I could choose to be happy was in a book by Richard Carlson called Shortcut through Therapy: Ten Principles of Growth-Oriented, Contented Living, that I read few years ago at a crucial point in my life. At that point, I thought, no way it can be THAT simple.

But, I’ve learned since then, that the simplest answer is usually the right one. And the reason we’re not happy is because we tend to complicate our lives far too much. Or that we put conditions on our state of being. As in, “I’ll only be happy if such-and-such happens.”

It took reading that book twice to drive the message home. That happiness really IS a choice. And that I can choose to be happy NO MATTER WHAT. That simple realisation changed my life. I hope it will help you too…

Happiness lies in the passions we pursue and in the pressures we decline. It is in knowing how to work and when to play. It is in the treasured objects we keep nearby and in the ordinary moments we elevate into small celebrations. It is in the note we write to a friend and the kindness we show a stranger. It is in the colors we love and the music that transports us. It may be as simple as sunlight on your face; as sudden as a shared smile; as sensuous as a single flower on your desk, candles on your nightstand, or cookies hot from the oven. Happiness is what you make it, where you make it.

- Alexandra Stoddard, Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life

Popularity: 25% [?]

We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.
- Virginia Satir

Even before I picked up a copy of Nathaniel Branden’s excellent tome, “Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Tranformation,” I had come to realise that the reason I’ve been unsatisfied with many aspects of my life, is because I’ve been measuring my personal and professional success by a set of standards I no longer adhere to.

Integrity is one of the pillars of self-esteem, says Branden, and not living in integrity - in accordance with the standards we set for ourselves - is one of the causes of low self-esteem.

Being unable to relate to the standards that my family and society had ingrained in me a long time ago (the “good Catholic girl” standards, as I call them), I felt that I was not living in integrity, with what I truly believed was right for me.

I’ve always been a free spirit, a hippie-at-heart, tree-hugger, environmentalist, Luddite (pick your label). But in my struggle for survival, acceptance and approval, I lost sight of what was most important to me.

I complied with my family’s expectations, and society’s standards, when I chose to marry the man I loved. Had I lived in a different era, or been brought up in a more progressive society, I believe I’d have been just as happy having a child outside of marriage.

For many couples, even those who marry for love, that piece of paper just becomes an excuse to have unrealistic expectations of each other, give up their individual dreams, and destroy the love and happiness they once shared.

While coping with my responsibilities as a mother, wife and provider, I lost sight of my personal ideals and began to follow the standards set by others. Finding my faith helped me realise that I needed to set new standards for myself.

The Buddhist doctrines of impermanence and non-attachment helped me realise that I don’t need the confines of a traditional relationship in order to be happy. I cherish my freedom and independence too much to ever give it up again for domesticity (the “old ball-and-chain”).

Dating without expectation leaves me free to be authentic and live in the moment, so I can enjoy and experience a person for what he is, without being attached to the outcome of an interaction.

I’m also happier and more creative since I stopped measuring my professional success by the standards of the internet community. For me, success is not as much about making money (although that is essential) as about living my passion, while touching the lives of others in positive ways.

Now that I’ve come to realise I no longer have to measure my life by another’s standards, that I can choose for myself the standards that resonate with my own personal beliefs, I feel like I’ve found new wings and am free of expectations from myself and others.

For me, living in integrity is no more about living in accordance with the morals and standards set by my family and culture. It’s about marching to the beat of my own drum. About setting new standards for my life that empower me, resonate with my personal truths, and allow me to live my life in accordance with the beliefs that are right for me.

Popularity: 46% [?]

In the last few months I’ve been doing a lot of energy work, and made a number of breakthroughs in the meditation course I did with Leo.

But there were some emotions I hadn’t been willing to deal with, and I felt tied to the past with cords of residual anger, resentment and unforgiveness. I knew that, as long as I harboured these feelings, I would find it hard to make the progress I needed to make.

Meditation wasn’t helping release my emotions, and I knew that it was going to take nothing less than a paradigm change to change the way I felt about my past. A few days ago, I got my breakthrough, felt that change happen, and my entire resonance shifted to a much happier vibration.

What spurred this change was recalling a belief I have long harboured, about what new age teachers like Caroline Myss, call Sacred Contracts.

A Sacred Contract is an ancient notion that our souls enter into a kind of contract before birth, that we agree to have various human experiences, and even to encounter certain people in order to learn lessons. As Caroline Myss explains in this interview,

We make contracts before we incarnate. We make contracts that are directed toward our personal empowerment, toward the expansion of our hearts, and toward the expansion of our contribution to the group soul of humanity.

The contracts and negotiations your soul has made, form the texture of your life. You make arrangements for certain commitments, for opportunities to meet certain people, to be certain places, but what you do and how you are when you get there, that’s where choice comes in.

If you know the contracts you made before you were born, you will find it easier to discern your life’s purpose.

When you begin to see your life from this perspective, you realise that YOU CHOSE all the experiences you have had in this life, and all the people you have met are your “soul supporters” who agreed to play a role to help your personality and soul grow and expand in this lifetime.

So how does this understanding help you live a happier life? By helping us realise that everything is happening as it should, based on your thinking and the choices you make, as the article here notes. For me, the key to releasing the past was GRATITUDE.

When you look at your life without gratitude, you can’t appreciate how everything is trying to come together to get you to the next place. Realize every life has something special to offer and your real job is to figure that out.

We all have contracts to meet certain people in our lives. If you allow yourself to see how that person has helped you grow, you can learn about yourself and find the reason you were meant to know that person in the first place.

Seen in that light, there is really nothing you can feel but GRATITUDE, for all the experiences - good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, loving and abusive - that you have gone through. And, in the instant that all your feelings of anger, resentment and unforgiveness are TRANSFORMED to Gratitude, you become FREE from the effects of the past.

Although I’ve always believed in Sacred Contracts, I had never really assimilated it into my life in this manner, perhaps because, on some level, my ego didn’t want to let go of wanting to be right. But, wanting to be right gives away my power, prevents me from taking responsibility for my life, and makes me a victim. And that’s not how I want to define myself EVER!

Wanting to be right creates anger and resentment, the very emotions that keep us bound in the past, and prevent us from healing. Harbouring resentment and refusing to forgive others is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die. Resentment, harboured over a long time, causes cancer, writes Louise Hay, in You Can Heal Your Body.

It was very empowering to realise that everything I have experienced is based on Sacred Contracts that I chose for myself, because it made me realise how futile it was to hold on my anger and resentment towards the people who hurt me. Especially when I know now, that they are my soul supporters - the ones I made a contract with to help me grow in this lifetime.

And now, when I look back at everything I have experienced in my life, I know that some of my most painful experiences were the most life-changing ones - the ones that helped me grow and learn to love and accept myself for who I am. The person I am today is because I went through each and every one of those experiences.

I know I’ve truly released my past when I can finally look back on EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in it with gratitude, and say, “Thanks for the memories.”

More about Sacred Contracts:

Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential

Myss espouses the ancient notion that our souls enter into a kind of contract before birth that we agree to have various human experiences and even to encounter certain people in order to learn lessons. The author includes a technique for arriving at 12 archetypes that rule different areas of our life from career to sex to our highest aspirations.

Secrets about Life Every Woman Should Know : Ten Principles for Total Emotional and Spiritual Fulfillment

I finished reading this book by Barbara de Angelis a while ago and I recommend that every woman read it. De Angelis incudes in the beginning of the book, a chapter on Sacred Contracts, which I think is very apt, because it helps us see our entire life through a very empowering perspective.

Popularity: 48% [?]

I’m a big believer in energy medicine, and have been using meditation and reiki for the last year, to heal myself in mind, body and spirit. In my desire to treat my body as my temple, I eliminated, from my diet, foods that I believed were not good for me. I programmed my mind so strongly against junk food, that my body now rejects it.

In the last year, I lost over 25 pounds of extra flab. Meditation, inner work, and a healthier diet helped a great deal. But the main reason I lost that load rather easily (with little or no exercise) was because I decided that the weight no longer served me.

We women don’t realise how much of our weight gain is emotional. And I don’t mean only because of overeating (although that does affect many women), because I’m a rather poor eater.

People tend to put on weight when they’re stressed, depressed or ill. With women especially, low self-esteem tends to lead to a vicious cycle where we put on weight, stop caring about the way we look, which causes us to put on even more weight.

Fact is, when you’re stressed out, perhaps suffering from low self-esteem, or have a lot of negativity in your life, your body goes into starvation-mode and tends to store weight. For sensitive people, fat actually acts as a buffer against negative energy.

Intuitive healer, Judith Orloff, M.D, explains the energetic premise of obesity, in her book, “Positive Energy: Ten Extraordinary Prescriptions for Transforming Fatigue, Stress, and Fear Into Vibrance, Strength, and Love“.

One big reason that many diets fail is that traditional weight loss programs don’t factor in how we process subtle energy, what Chinese medicine terms life force or chi. Subtle energy penetrates and surrounds the body.

Sensitive people who I call intuitive empaths unknowingly overeat in response to being overwhelmed by negative vibes. Empaths not only can sense energy around them, they absorb it into their bodies.

Here’s the energetic premise of obesity: When empaths are thin, they have less padding and are more vulnerable to soaking up negative vibes. For instance, early twentieth-century faith healers were renowned for being grossly obese to avoid absorbing their patient’s symptoms — a common trap I’ve seen modern-day healers also unconsciously fall into; food is a convenient grounding device.

Similarly, many of my patients pack on pounds to protect against overwhelming vibes, massive or minute. Energy is at the root of an empath’s hunger. Whether your sensitivity to negative vibes is minimal or intense, for a diet to succeed, it’s important to develop alternative coping strategies other than overeating.

Although I don’t eat to ground myself, my body still tended to store fat when I was stressed out or depressed. Once I learned how to use meditation to ground myself, the fat fell away easily.

Find Your “Why” And The “How” Will Follow

I come from a family that encouraged music, rather than athletics. Except for the occasional stint in the gym, I never took physical fitness seriously. Over the years, I tried a few ignorant and misguided attempts at working out. One of those ended in collapse from over training, so I was very wary of starting any new workout program.

Besides, I loved my curves and had no desire to look like a skinny supermodel. But, accepting your body is one thing. Denying your poor health is another. The emotional and health challenges of the last few years had taken their toll on my body, and I found it difficult to build chi, beyond a point, for the purpose of healing.

Building chi energy requires muscle strength and excellent blood circulation. As a healer and lightworker, my less-than-adequate fitness levels were an obstacle to my spiritual growth. Also, as a woman over 35, I knew that I would soon start losing lean muscle and bone mass, if I didn’t take steps to preserve it. To boost my healing abilities, and preserve my quality of life, I simply had to get serious about my fitness goals.

I read that the best way to build strength is with weights or resistance training. So, I began my education in fitness and strength training with Jon Benson’s Fit Over 40, an inspiring ebook that features a number of amazing role models who overcame disability, age, and other serious health challenges, to achieve levels of fitness most of us can only dream of.

Especially awe-inspiring was the story of a 77-year old grandmother, who also happens to be a champion bodybuilder!

Bodybuilding And The Law of Attraction

Personally, I have no intention of participating in bodybuilding contests, but I did realise, that bodybuilders are actually some of the best role models for manifesting abundance.

Not only are they highly focused and motivated, they are also familiar with many techniques (including creative visualisation), taught by spiritual gurus and Law of Attraction teachers, to achieve their dream bodies. My favourite fitness gurus are Tom Venuto, Jon Benson and Will Brink.

I learned a lot about manifestation from Jon’s Fit Over 40 book, where he describes very creative ways to use visualisation to manifest goals. Jon talks about the need to get rid of limiting beliefs, and heal the spirit before we can heal our bodies. He recently started the M-Power Inner Circle to help people achieve the life of their dreams.

I don’t believe we can consider physical fitness in isolation from financial, emotional or spiritual fitness. A healthy mind, healthy body, healthy finances, and a healthy spirit are like spokes in the wheel of abundance. If either one of these spokes is weak, the wheel is in danger of collapsing.

Why Vijay Mallya Is NOT The “Richard Branson Of India”

Like Jon, I believe that a person who is deficient in even one of these areas is not truly a success and is not expressing her full potential. That’s why it irritates me to hear Indians comparing Dr. Vijay Mallya with Sir Richard Branson. Sure, Dr. Mallya, has the wealth, the flamboyance and the lifestyle. But you only have to take one look at him to see that, physically, the man is a wreck.

I believe overall fitness levels are a good indicator of a person’s emotional set-point. You know something is not quite right, when a person who can afford to employ the world’s best fitness professionals, doesn’t care enough to take care of his own body.

For me, Dr. Mallya is simply not a patch on the athletic Sir Branson. I have nothing against Dr. Mallya personally, but a role model for success, he is not!

You are only given one body. Take care of your body and it will take care of you. A month ago, I didn’t even know what a Rep was. Today I work out in the gym thrice a week, and on other days practice T’ai Chi and Pilates. If I can’t work out for a day or so, I really miss the endorphins. Believe me, they can be pretty addictive.

Resources: Free bodybuilding and weight loss ebooks

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Since I started on my path of personal and spiritual growth over a year ago, my life has changed in so many ways. I’ve been transformed physically, emotionally and spiritually. I learned new ways of thinking, feeling and being that I never had access to earlier.

As I started treating my body as my temple, I became more sensitive to the messages it sent me about what I ate and how I exercised. I lost the desire to eat many of the foods I used to enjoy. I found myself unable to tolerate junk food €œ which meant no more KFC or McDonalds - and became intolerant to anything cooked with too much spice or oil.

I eliminated coffee, red meat and alcohol from my diet. I still enjoy my tea and the occasional need to indulge my sweet tooth, but my diet now largely consists of fruit, cereals and eggs.

As I responded to my body’s needs, it reciprocated by losing all the pounds I’d piled on after pregnancy, and I regained my health and energy levels. On an emotional level, I dealt with insecurities, fear, grief, anger, and worked through many issues that were holding me back.

A lot of physical issues, like weight gain and skin conditions, resolved themselves once I got rid of my emotional baggage. It just proved to me how deeply connected our emotions are to physical dis-ease, a fact which Louise Hay explains so well in her book, Heal Your Body.

On a spiritual level, I learned to raise my vibration, to heal myself, and others. As I began to listen to messages from my inner self, my insights and intuition improved. I learned mindfulness, self-love and self-acceptance. Loneliness ceased to be an issue when I learned to cultivate a strong connection with myself, and the Divine.

At the risk of being labelled eccentric, I no longer think it selfish or unnatural when I prefer my own company - or that of a few good friends - over the mindless socialising that others seem to enjoy. I prefer solitary, mind-enhancing pursuits, like reading a good book or watching a movie or meditating, to hanging out in noisy places, like pubs or discos.

I feel calmer and more at peace with myself today. I’m learning now to align with my higher self, and respond from love, rather than fear and ego. I don’t expect life to be smooth, but know my new perspective will help me handle anything it throws at me with grace and optimism.

Despite it’s considerable benefits, the path of growth was often scary, and not always smooth and painless. In order to grow, we have to let go of things, and people, that have comforted and given us security all our lives.

We have to step out of our comfort zones, face our fears, take risks, try new things and follow our heart, even when those closest to us are unable to support or believe in us. To reach where I am today, I had to let go of a lot of things that no longer served me €œ old beliefs, values, lifestyles and relationships.

Discomfort with old ways of being, is part of the process of spiritual growth, explains Faith Lynella in her ebook, Aspirin for the Spiritual Hangover. She writes

Each leap up the vibration scale brings access to that level’s priorities and worldview. When your vibration rate increases, it’s harder to relate to the frequency you left behind - its people, interests, and beliefs. You have less and less in common with them.

As people vibrate at a higher level, they attract different people and circumstances to them. Those relationships out of alignment fall away. The basis for relationships will be defined by each person’s energy levels.

I found that sometimes old habits fell away easily and relationships ended painlessly. At other times, it was much harder and I had to make a conscious effort to let go. Often, my fears took me two steps forward and one step back. But I came to realise that, in order to gain something new, you have to let go of the old. That’s the way the universe works.

The key to surviving my spiritual hangover was learning new skills and attitudes, like acceptance of the process, and learning to let go of control and resistance. Surrender doesn’t come easy to a control freak like me, and I resisted change many times €œ with painful consequences.

It’s not all gloomy, however, because as you raise your vibration and let go of things that no longer serve you, you also begin to attract into your life people and circumstances that support the New You.

And, like a caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly, once you’ve reached a higher plane of existence, there’s no way you’ll ever be able to go back to where you came from.

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It’s been a little over a year since I discovered healing with energy medicine and I thought it was about time I devoted a new blog to this topic.

I will now be posting all new information on energy healing and auras on the new Energy Medicine blog. Check out the articles I posted there today:

• Aura Photography: Healing Your Energy Body
• Are You An Energy Vampire?

Popularity: 12% [?]

I promised my friend and healer, Leo, that I’d write up a testimonial for him on how his 10-day meditation workshop has transformed me and helped me heal. So here it is.

The Meditation Workshop That Changed My Life

I consider myself a living, breathing testimonial to the life-changing benefits of meditation.

Two years ago, my world fell apart when I lost my husband and partner of 18 years to a sudden heart attack. At the age of 35, I was widowed, and rudderless. I lost my focus, my business was suffering, and I found myself unable to open up or trust myself enough to get into a healthy relationship.

Over a year ago, I was introduced to meditation and spirituality by my friend and healer, Leonard Velloz of Holistic Studio, and have been practicing regular meditations to calm my mind and get in touch with my inner feelings.

About two months ago, having decided to take my life firmly in my hands and clear the blocks that were preventing me from gaining focus and achieving my goals, I decided to take Leo’s 10-day meditation course, which included two aura scans, to assess my progress before and after the course.

Leo was very clear that unless I was totally committed to making the effort I needed to change my patterns, he would not even consider working with me. As I’ve often written on this blog, I’m well aware of the fact that all change must come from within.

No person can force another to change, and all therapists and healers only aid and facilitate change in oneself. That is why commitment is crucial for any inner work to be effective.

Before beginning the work, the image of the aura scan showed that my lower chakras were very imbalanced. The before image of my aura scan clearly shows a band of red encircling the heart chakra, signifying anger, rejection and lack of self-forgiveness and self-love, that had manifested in health issues, including an auto-immune condition. The lower chakras were also imbalanced, resulting in self-esteem and security issues.

Over the next ten days, Leo took me through a series of meditations that involved grounding, and clearing the blocks in my chakras. He helped me identify childhood issues that I had not dealt with, and guided me through the psychological and spiritual work required to clear them from my emotional body.

It took a great deal of commitment on my part, especially when dealing with painful issues concerning my family and loved ones, but I give myself credit for putting in the hard work and clearing most of my emotional baggage. As the after aura scan shows, my lower chakras are much more balanced, with more grounding, and opening up of the heart chakra.

I know that healing some issues of the heart will take more time, but after the course, I’ve become very calm, peaceful and contented. This change was clearly seen in the colour of my aura, which went from Indigo (deep inner feelings, inner knowing, intuitive, sensitive) to Blue (communicative, loving, loyal, sensitive, helpful).

According to the site here,

Indigo colored auras usually indicate an advanced soul and part of their soul purpose will be as a healer or teacher. The Indigo generation is known as the “Warrior” generation. They will challenge all old and out-of-date systems that no longer nourish the soul and allow the spirit free expression. The Indigo generation is here to bring in the new age of peace. They will break down the old systems with their warrior spirit, their wisdom and their intuitive, creative ways.

You can read up more on common characteristics of Indigo souls here. I easily relate to most of these characteristics, especially the description of the Indigo warrior spirit, fighting as always, for peace, justice and environmental causes. Empathy for the suffering of others, anger at injustice and stupidity, strong intuitive ability, interest in spirituality, and a loathing for “the system” and superficial people, are all Indigo characteristics I relate to.

People with blue auras are described in the manner below, and in greater depth here (which contains much of the information in the Aura scan report that Leo gave me).

Depth of feeling, devotion, loyalty, trust, desire to communicate. Puts great importance on personal relationships. Empathetic. May be a dreamer or have artistic ability. Possibly tend to put the needs of others before their own and may have the ability to meditate, and live in the moment. Blue may be emotionally sensitive, intuitive, inwardly focused, may enjoy solitude, non-competitive activities, be receptive and desire unity, peace, love and affection in relationships with others. They need a calm and tranquil environment. You’ll find many blue artists, poets, writers, musicians, philosophers, serious students, spiritual seekers, and people looking for truth, justice and beauty in everything.

What really amazed me about Leo’s meditation course was that it didn’t require years of painful, long drawn-out therapy for me to clear issues that existed even from my childhood. Just ten days of powerful, guided meditations have put me firmly on the track to recovery.

Leo was so pleased by my progress, that we decided I was ready to take on more initiations and advance my spiritual growth further. I continue to meditate regularly and grow emotionally and spiritually. Although I do experience moments of stress, I am much more self-aware and mindful of my reactions, and can deal with stress in a much healthier way than I used to.

I’ve also become a better mom, and am more patient, calm and consistent with my daughter. We recently went on vacation in Goa, spent time together, bonding beautifully and enjoying each other’s company.

I feel more balanced and centred, and am no longer as reactive or emotionally volatile as I used to be. I know I have healthier self-esteem, and a great deal of self-love. I’ve always been an introvert, but today, thanks to Leo’s help, I am more appreciative of my strengths, and am learning to trust my intuition to help me make better choices.

I practice affirmations and positive self-talk, and no longer criticise myself the way I used to. I’ve also learned to respect and value myself, honour my feelings, assert myself more, and refuse to settle for less than I deserve, whether in my relationships, or in my business.

I am no longer in a great rush to achieve, but am learning to open up and surrender to Divine Will and a higher guidance. I’ve finally found my life purpose in empowering other women like me, with the skills to overcome life’s obstacles.

In fact, Leo’s course helped me become so focused and confident, that I managed to achieve my goal of starting a series of workshops with the goal to empower women, through my online magazine, Naaree.com.

With Leo’s continuing help, I now intend to learn how to set stronger boundaries, and make better choices in relationships and in life.

Leo may be contacted for meditations and other holistic services at Holistic Studio.

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