Remember in the movie Ghostbusters, when Bill Murray's character has a run-in with one of the ghosts in a hotel and ends up laying on the floor, covered in green slime? His response, "I've been slimed!"
For many of us who are wired as empaths and energy sensitives -- even if we're not yet aware that we are -- taking in a variety of energies from around us is just part of an average day. And some of it feels pretty toxic, like we've been slimed.
One one hand, this empathic, energy-sensitive capacity allows us to be naturally adept at knowing what might be going on 'beneath the obvious", and what might needed in a situation.
You might notice people saying things like, "I always feel so much better when I spend time with you" or "This space always makes me feel so much more clear and calm."
On the other hand, the energies that blow in can sometimes feel pretty toxic and can feel poisonous, which means having a repertoire of energy tracking and clearing tools is a must.
Why would we need to track the energies?
At the most basic, we track the energies because being slimed or being in a slimed-space feels pretty awful, and it's distracting, so it makes sense to figure it out and deal with it as artfully and easily as we can.
As we begin noticing particular energies, we can also start piecing together what occurred just before the energy blew in, and grow a better awareness of what people or situations are associated with that particular energy and how it feels or affects our experience.
This isn't so much to judge the person or situation; it's more a case of being able to make conscious choices. Read on.
How can you tell that you've taken in or received someone else's 'garbage energy'?
The most obvious sign is that you feel a sudden shift in your own mood or energy field and level, or you notice a sudden shift in your thoughts that's palpable.
So you go through a handy 'on the fly' checklist to see whether it's your own, and know that there isn't a particular thing that caused it.
For example, let's say you're feeling joyful and positive, and your day's gone pretty well -- maybe even very well.
Then suddenly you start feeling irritable or agitated and notice that you're having a stream of toxic thought-chatter, though nothing has happened that would clearly cause this.
Chances are pretty excellent that it's 'incoming energy' from someone or somewhere else.
Before we become aware that we're energy sensitives, we so often take in the energy -- in effect unconsciously or naturally 'clearing' someone else of unwanted or toxic energy, like handy little environmental vacuum cleaners.
Without realizing that it's actually someone else's energy, we accept it as our own and process or 'channel' it through our actions and words.
Once we realize how the energy projection or transfer works, we can identity what's ours -- what's coming up from within -- and what's not, and make the conscious choice to clear it rather than process or express it.
This is why mindfulness and energy tracking is really not just helpful, but essential.
Why does this happen?
Well, there are no doubt lots of reasons. One of the macro reasons is that we're all connected through a shared energy field, and energy patterns of thought, emotion, mood, etc. travel.
A second reason is that most of us have suppressed emotions that store in our energy fields that get projected out (or unloaded) at the first chance of getting rid of them.
That happens in a couple of ways, but let's say that, in a way, it's like having a garbage truck full of undesired debris that gets dumped. Because we live in a culture where we've forgotten our 'energy intelligence', this 'dumping' is usually unconscious.
And you don't need to be in a person's presence in order to receive their energy-unload. If someone is stewing and brewing and thinking of you -- even if it's not intentionally malicious -- you can feel the energy stream. Why? Once again, because we share an energy field and energy travels quickly.
A third reason is that -- because we've not grown up having our energy intelligence validated and refined -- we're not aware that things like chronic toxic thoughts, malicious gossip, or low-vibration emotions or moods affect not just ourselves but others, particularly the person who's the object of the thought, gossip, mood.
My energy and shamanic teachers were sticklers about this. A good energy or shamanic teacher will begin pointing this dynamic out right away, encouraging you to take responsibility for what's coming up and into your field -- and what's coming from you as well.
How do you clear toxic energies?
You can clear energies from your own energy field and in a particular space, like your home or office.
Just because we can't see certain energies as we can when they're in dense forms like chairs and tables doesn't mean they're not there. We just haven't yet opened the eyes that see them!
In the examples we've been talking about here, where you suddenly become aware that you've taken in dense or toxic energy, you can clear it even if you choose not to track it (and tracking it is really helpful, but not required to clear it).
Common energy clearing tools include clear intention combined with things like smudging with sage or incense, using flower essences or essential oils, spritzing an energy-clearing spray, using sound from a bell or Tibetan bowl or even clapping, and/or doing energy clearing exercises using your imaginal capacities.
To fast-track it, you can also work with someone else to clear energy, and to help you hone and exercise your own clearing abilities.
Why is it necessary to clear these energies?
Aside from the fact that it feels like crap and affects our own clarity, energy, and momentum -- even when someone hasn't consciously intended that?
Energy is connected to thought and feeling, so it affects our own clarity of vision and thought, our sense of wellbeing, and if it hangs around long enough, it can affect our wellness.
So it makes sense to clear the energies whether we track them as coming from within us or from outside of us.
Ultimately, we live in a connected world that's going through a high degree of change and transformation.
There is also a shift in consciousness happening, and many people are experiencing energy or spiritual awakening, making them more sensitive than they have been in the past. For those who've been sensitive, the energies coming in can feel more and more acute.
A well-stocked energy hygiene repertoire (and using it) can make a significant difference in your quality of thought and your quality of life. The more clear you are, the more you can be a positive energy alchemist for others.
And it just feels a whole lot better.
Blessings,
Jamie, aka 'The Energy Whisperer'
Find energy clearing & energy hygiene audios in the Ivy Sea VIP Library, and hone your own energy clearing and management capacities -- and other Feminine Mojo gifts -- with Mojo Tune-Up Sessions or in the Feminine Mojo Mystery School (don't miss the February specials!).
Image Credits: Photo of the Hale-Bopp Comet from Fred Espenak, U.S. NASA-GSFC; Tracking Dog and Rainbow Falls from public domain photos; boiling mud hole from TravelPod.
