This I know, though I’m working to keep this useful for empaths in general.
It is an example. For many, death is often a catalyst for growth and awareness. They move into things that they were unlikely to do before.
There is also a belief that we must feel sad for the departed, otherwise we are a bad or uncaring person. If we do not mourn, or do not go through a certain period of time of grieving, then we may feel guilt over it.
Guilt is often a reason why we hang onto grief. We ask ourselves: how much did we really love this person if we can just move on without any sense of loss or pain. How will others view us if we are seen to ‘not care’? How do we see ourselves if we find that we don’t wish to suffer for the loss of another?
Yet, make no mistake; the departed does not need you to grieve for them. Once they reach the light, they are in bliss, and more often than not, the concerns of this world are left behind.
That does not mean they are forgotten, and when you call on your loved ones, they will come and leave many messages in many ways that they are there. Some even will manifest themselves so they can show the ones left behind that they are just fine, and they will look just beautiful.
They are fine. They are more than fine. They are home.
To those who have lost one dear to them, I promise you that you will see them again. You will be reunited, and if you both so choose, you will live more lives together for as long as you desire.
It’s one thing to know this on an intellectual level, but how do you translate this to the emotional level? How do you bring comfort to those who have lost their loved ones? Saying that they aren’t really gone doesn’t seem to be all that useful.
As I said, it is natural to feel grief for the loss of someone dear. There is also a fear that your life may never be the same, and that you cannot cope without them. They may have been tremendous support, or loved you unconditionally, or they may have been the breadwinner.
Fear is one of those emotions that is intertwined with the sense of loss. Fear for the future, fear that they won’t be able to cope alone or be capable of carrying on looking after family or children.
Death is not about the ones who have passed over, but those who are left behind.
So, how does the empath cope with death?
The key is shifting your understanding and perspective of death. Do not look upon it as something that should not have happened. If it was not meant to occur, then it would not have occurred. This does not mean you suddenly dismiss the pain, nor do you suddenly decide that it is irrelevant. It simply means that you are seeing things in a more holistic manner.
Those who you truly love will never truly leave you. They are there. They are by your side when you call, and they are helping you. You may not always feel them, but they are there.
The shift in understanding and perspective is key to coping with the sense of loss.
Do not harbour feelings of guilt of another’s death.
Do not feel that your own life is ending because someone has departed.
Do not fear that you cannot cope. You will always have what you need to make it through, and indeed thrive.
Life is about the growth and experience of the soul, and such things can be powerful catalysts.
For my own comments, I’ve found that Bach Flower Remedies can be very comforting at a time like this.
I’ve covered this subject before, but there are people, who from time to time, find this article and have told me they’ve found it useful.
I thought I’d post what I’ve previously written here for those who have not read it yet.
This is a channeled conversation with the answers indented in italics.
Tell me about the empath and death.
You mean how the empath views death and how they are affected by it?
Yes.
When we are talking about death, it should be made clear that death is a transition from one state to another. Death does not mean you cease to exist.
What makes death so traumatic is the perception and illusion that those you love ceases to exist. What is left behind is a shell that once was animated by a soul. The body is no longer animated with the essence of that life.
For the empath, this will be traumatic on several levels.
If they were close to the departed soul, they will feel their energies still mixed in with departed one(s), and the shifting and breaking of energies will be extremely traumatic. This is the pain many loved ones feel when they are suddenly and often unexpectedly separated from their partner.
Also, they face a change in reality, which they are not prepared for. Their world is no longer balanced, nor is it making any sense. As much as they wish it to make sense, it won’t, at least not right away.
Another level is the guilt that they often experience when someone departs. Even though there is nothing they could have done, many empaths feel responsible for when someone dies. How could they have stopped it? Should they have seen warning signs or had a feeling that something bad was about to go down?
This is especially true when suicide is involved, or if someone had a fatal accident. The ‘what if’s’, and ‘why didn’t I?’, and ‘if only I had’ thoughts come up and torment the mind and soul.
Then there is the pain of other people. For an empath, this is just as devastating as they are not only coping with their own pain and grief, but also from those around them.
This is also true for those who did not know the deceased. Going to a funeral for an empath can be quite traumatic as they can be bombarded with many feelings of loss and sorrow.
The reason why death is so hard in our current society is because we have it all tossed around, and the perspectives and understanding are often incorrect.
Death, as many know, and many more begin to know, does not exist. Nor do things such as accidents or untimely deaths truly exist.
The soul is never in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is never unaware of what is occurring from its astral levels.
The biggest question people face is ‘why’? Why did they leave me? Why did this have to happen?
That’s a reasonable question. I’m sure many have asked that and seen no rhyme or reason in many deaths. I know I’m left scratching my head about one or two.
That is because you do not know what was intended on a soul level, nor how one’s passing will affect those left behind. There is a much bigger picture involved here. The very act of someone passing can spark events and changes that may not have happened otherwise or even prevent undesirable ones from occurring.
The people who are meant to be in your life, are in your life, and that is not by random chance. Whether they touch a life for a moment or a lifetime will depend on what is needed and agreed to.
Does that make the loss of a loved one any less painful? No, it doesn’t It takes a very high level of connection and psychic awareness for one not to feel that loss, and indeed, see it as an opportunity.
If you look back on the deaths you have had in your life, you’ll see how vital they were to your own growth and your own path.
Next: Part 2 – The why.
Please share this with those who may find it useful.
It’s another day. Another week. Yet another month.
You wake up. Everything feels the same as it did the day before. Nothing has changed.
How long does this go on?
I’m sure most people can relate to this.
Some call it Mondayitis. Others call it fatigue. I call it weariness.
It’s when you’ve done the same thing too many times already, and you can no longer stand it.
Everything is an effort. The day can’t end quickly enough, especially if you’re at work.
You tend to procrastinate, even putting off things that you do want to get done, but find it’s just too much effort.
Even getting up to face the day takes more effort than you want to expend.
Yet, if something changes, you find that you suddenly have energy, and the lethargy disappears.
You could liken it to listening to the same song over and over again. Sooner or later, no matter how much you love that song, you will get sick of it. If you hated it to begin with, then it will be even worse. If a new song is played, then interest is renewed. (Unless you happen to hate it, too!)
In Bach Flower Remedies terms, this is the Hornbeam state of being.
As Empaths, we seem to be particularly vulnerable to being weary. We take on too much. We expend our energy in order to get everything done, and we do it just about every day.
If you also believe in parallel timelines, where you keep on repeating your life in a Groundhog Day type scenario until you’re happy with the outcome, then you will most certainly feel the weariness as you repeat certain things over and over again (which you become aware of when you experience deja-vu, because that what that is. You have indeed done this before. You just don’t remember it.)
I suffer from weariness a lot. There are many times when I feel like I’m marking time, waiting for things to fall into place so I can progress to the next stage of my life.
Hornbeam makes an enormous difference. Every time I take it, it gives me the energy to get things done and face the day with renewed vigour.
Of course, the real challenge with taking it is that you might not have to energy to find and use it.
This is also a useful remedy for people who make you feel weary.
I find that this remedy work well with Olive (exhaustion) and Oak (when you’re push past your limits.)
Please share this with those who may find it useful.
Over the years, I considered writing a book for the Empath. Initially it was going to be Empathy 101, but when I finally looked around some years later, I found that many had already done that.
So, I decided it would probably be a better idea to write a book that was for the beginning and the advanced Empath alike.
One that went into greater details and one that gave techniques to turn the curse into a blessing.
And above all, one that could be accessible to everyone.
Sadly, I’m not given to writing simply and clearly. My words are said to be too ‘fancy’ and I deal with concepts that are every day for me, but completely new for others.
For this, I can only apologize, but it is my style, and I really haven’t worked out a way to resolve it.
So, a couple of years ago, I began work on the Empath Guidebook. So called because it was both a guide book, and I channelled my guide to help write it.
As it goes, it works for me, and I can get a lot more written when I use that technique.
Does it work as a useful book? I’ve not had enough feedback to know one way or the other.
Feedback is something people rarely give.
However, for those who actually read this blog, and want more information on Empaths, this book might well be worth your while.
I have toyed with the idea of using extracts, from time to time, on this blog, but I’ve found there’s still a lot of subject matter to cover, so I’ll just post a link to the actual document.
It is also my desire to discuss that wonderful article by ‘Just Be’ called 30 traits of an Empath with my guide. I have asked permission from the author and been granted it.
I plan to expand the book from time to time, as new ideas and information comes up.
This e-book is free.
If you decide to read it, and find it useful, please pass it onto someone who you feel can benefit from it.
From time to time, I get asked the question on how to open or close your chakras. I know the basics behind it but I’ve never had the fuller understanding or energy to explain it in full.
So, I’m taking the lazy way out and I’ve asked Nattie from Love Light Learn to help out.
Thank you Nattie for agreeing to do a guest post.
Hi to all,
My name is Nattie and Gary has asked me to do a guest blog on closing and controlling your chakras. I would like to thank Gary very much for this opportunity to guest post on such an amazing blog.
Exposed
It doesn’t really matter whether you have become empathic (or developed other abilities) because you have consciously started an awakening or because somehow your brow chakra opened up with out your conscious help. At first we are all a bit the same. Lost. It can be great to discover an ability with-in yourself that is not commonly used. That is until it starts to intrude rudely on your life and leaves you feeling exposed to things you feel are out of your control.
Opened
Your brow, or third eye chakra may open as a defense mechanism because you need it to and this may become permanent, or it may last for as long as you need it and then close by itself. If activated as a child it will usually stay open but if activated for the first time an adult, it will very likely go back to it’s default state and re-close.
Now maybe you opened it on purpose with many of the helpful articles written on the subject of opening. But I must admit, that until recently I was just as guilty of the common problem of leaving the closing and controlling part out. It’s because we don’t know.
Being empathic especially can be a very intrusive ability if you are walking around ‘on’ all the time. Any ability will eventually wear you out if you can’t turn it off. The effects that follow can lead to depression and anxiety. The good news is you can turn them off.
Switching Off
Now when I say turn them off I do mean your chakras but I don’t mean off. Your Chakras are always on even if they work only in a limited capacity. But when you turn them off you are stopping them from receiving outside energies. It is in fact possible to keep them on and just limit what energy is allowed to come through.
We will work on control in a minute. First, closing. If you opened up consciously you will be familiar with the visualizations used to do so. Closing involves visualizing the opposite. Choose an appropriate representation of your chakras e.g. a light or flower are common.
Now opening the flower or turning on the light will turn them on, closing the flower or switching off the light turns them off. I bring my visualizations down to a pinpoint of light to remind me they are always on. Just like with switching on you want to start at the top or bottom and visualize them one at a time turning off.
All or Nothing
It is important that you deal with all your chakras, one at a time. Whilst our connection with others and the source of most of our abilities comes from that third eye chakra, each ability may use other chakras in the process. Channeling also uses the crown chakra (Crown = I understand), I will take an educated guess in saying that the corresponding chakra for empathy will be your Sacral chakra. (Sacral = I feel.) This is is the orange Chakra just below your navel and is also the source of your ‘gut’ feelings.
If just one of your main chakras is blocked or inhibited, the energy flow will be obstructed and the imbalance will result in too much of something and/or not enough of another. You can help to repair them by drawing white light into them from the earth upwards and/or the universe downwards. See what feels right for you.
Colors
Another way to tell what chakras need help and another way to help them is through colors. For years when my brow chakra was shut I was drawn to my favorite color at the time which was indigo. Usually a bright form of dark blue for me. Surrounding yourself with the color of the chakra you would like to heal or open will help. Wear the color and put it around your office and home until you feel your chakra is healed then remove it. Too much will have the opposite effect, opening the chakra and making it hard to shut down, overloading it.
Control
Usually when you are protecting yourself you will surround your self in a bubble of white light. This will help on a larger scale but you can do this to each of your chakras too. Either surround it in a bubble of white light or imagine it is aglow with white light. Then just like you would specify that only positive energy may come through your bubble, you do the same for the chakra. One at a time protect them and specify that only positive energy may enter this chakra as it is protected by light.
Once you have done this you can also direct where you would like to receive your energy from. This is done with thought. You concentrate on the source of the energy you want to receive as in the person or entity. When you are done close them again. The more you do this the better you will become and the more effective it will be. Don’t give up if it is hard or only minimally effective at first.
Visualizations
When you first start to use visualizations, they will be weak and hard to project. The more you do it the easier it will become, the more vivid they will be and the more effective and powerful they will be in the non-physical realm. Any visualizations you use will help to develop this ability and you will find it invaluable in work with energy and the non-physical. Good luck and have fun.
Thanks again
Nattie
Please share this with those who may find it useful.
Just a quick note.
