Through our natural gifts, empaths can sense energy and emotion in the environment. These abilities function like a radio antenna picking up sound waves. Empaths are strong receivers.
We’re less aware that these same abilities also work the other way. Strong receivers are also strong senders.
We know how overwhelming it can be when someone ignores our boundaries, drains our energy, or unloads anger at us. Empaths are strong senders, and without realizing it, we may be doing the same thing to others.
This shadow aspect of being an empath is not often acknowledged. Because we know how uncomfortable it can be on the receiving end, it’s also important for us to understand the impact our energy has on others.
Here is one example out of the many common ways that our energy might affect others. It’s a natural part of the human experience to get angry, and sometimes when we’re angry we vent with a friend. In doing so, we may touch into a primal energy and unleash raw bile. This kind of anger is very sharp and even though the person we are upset with isn’t in the room with us, they may energetically feel it and be affected. Our intent may not have been to harm them, but that was the impact. Most of us have felt anger directed at us and know how unsettling it can be. Very powerful anger, even when we’re not in the same room, can harm our body and our energy field. And even though we weren’t mad at the friend we vented to, they might also be left with heavy energy. Most of us know how it feels to be in the same room as anger, even if it’s not specifically directed at us.
Because empaths are strong senders, we want to take responsibility for the impact our energy has on others. A tool called mirroring helps us be more aware. When we notice a dynamic that is energetically uncomfortable or overwhelming for us, we can look in the mirror and ask where our energy might affect someone else in the same way.
If we notice that someone’s energy is too loud for us, we would look at situations where our energy might be loud. If we notice feeling depleted when getting off the phone with a friend, we would look at how we might be unknowingly draining our friends of their energy. If we dislike it when someone tries to energetically manipulate us, we would reflect on where we might be doing something similar. If we notice that someone has pushed our boundaries, we would look at where we might be ignoring the boundaries of others.
Please be kind and gentle with yourself during this process and explore from a place of curiosity rather than shame.
When we are aware of the impact our energy has on others, we can learn more skillful ways to express our emotions and get our needs met.
The greater our ability to focus our power, the more potential we have to do harm energetically. As strong senders, we want to turn our awareness inward and also make sure we’re using our gifts with integrity.
This work is real, and it matters.
November 15, 2021