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Can you *learn* to be an Empath?

January 28th, 2010

Flying birdsThis awesome question came up in the Empath Community forums.  It felt very interesting to me because my background is in psychology and I’ve come across this debate many times, in other areas than being an Empath.

I personally feel that being a functional Empath can be taught to anyone who wants to learn.
I also feel this explains why sociopath can’t possibly learn this but a 6 year old can :)

We all have the biological “equipment” to be Empaths (i.e. our brains can perceive the magnetic waves emitted by other people so that we can “read” them and experience their emotions directly) but it all boils down to being inspired to be an Empath as opposed to being educated to become one.

Although this decision is often unconscious, Empaths are fundamentally willing to experience the depths of human nature in a profound manner. That includes both ends of the emotional spectrum: we can span from utter desperation to indescribable bliss.

In fact, my work as an intuitive counselor is deeply rooted in my willingness to personally experience what my client is going through.  It’s not just some theoretical technique that I learned in school.  It’s a very personal process that allows me to follow someone in their really dark places while remaining completely fearless because I *know* that we can find a way out.  It is that knowledge that keeps me grounded no matter what.  Once I’m “with them”, I can grab their hand and start tracing the shortest route out of there.

This kind of experience is not for everyone, obviously.

I like to think of being an Empath as a type of extreme sport…LOL! Some people are willing to jump out of a flying plane in order to experience the free fall feeling and the exhilaration of floating above the world. Other people prefer knitting. And as long as you do what makes you happy, you’re in the perfect place in your life :)

in love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Professional Intuitive

www.EliseLebeau.com


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“It is our light that most frightens us…”

January 23rd, 2010

flower“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?

[...]

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

[...]

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.


from Return to Love by Marianne Williamson, Harper Collins, 1992.

in love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Professional Intuitive

www.EliseLebeau.com



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An Empath’s spiritual path - Stumble, crash or glide?

December 20th, 2009

Buddha Garden“Has being an Empath led you to a Spiritual Path?” was the questions asked on the Empath Community web site.  What a great question!  As for me, being an Empath didn’t lead me as much as beaten me behind the head with a baseball bat and then ran over me with a truck while also pounding me with a jackhammer until there were pretty much no other options than for me to crawl onto my spiritual path…

Keep in mind that I was an atheist engineer before all this! I didn’t believe in anything and I had no clue what a chakra was. Actually, I probably thought it was some sort of ninja weapon!

My awakening happened while pregnant with my son (when our own energy is practically double because of the child). That major energy shift can trigger an awakening, ready or not ;)

So I mostly “woke up” like this one morning (i.e. Empath, healer and intuitive BOOM!). Not that this stuff wan’t there before but, as a child, I had powerful coping strategy that involved ignoring everything I felt. These strategies went bust in about 5 seconds once I got the full blast turned on all the time.

So after 2 years of excruciating emotional and often physical pain, I decided that had to be a better way to do this…Honestly, this was 7 years ago and I was unable to find ANYTHING on the internet, except for Jad’s Book of Storm which I found completely abstract and most confusing. Oh and a bunch of stuff about Empaths as Dungeon and Dragon characters! And that’s when the free Empath Survival Program was born.

Now after that point, it was wwaaaaayyyyy better! My mind cleared up. I discovered that I was my own person, not just an empty bucket for everyone’s else’s feelings. I found ways to use my Empath skills at work. I created this place (omg, the best thing EVER!). And I started to meet tons of people just like me! That was so healing…words can’t describe it.

And now? Well, I love to meditate with Orin (my fav meditation teacher), I love to use my Empath skills to raise my son so he feels always understood, I love to turn it off when I need to and turn it back on when I need that…The possibilities are endless from here!

It really doesn’t matter how you start walking along your spiritual path.  There is no shame is having some hard beginnings.  What really matters is that you ARE here now and moving right along, hopefully finding everything YOU need to make it a soother journey along the way….
in love,
Elise


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Are your children Empaths? Teach them how to manage their Emotional Intelligence

December 13th, 2009

The boy observes cultivation of a young plant.We are all born with the ability to sense emotions in others. It’s is a basic survival skill for humans and animals. This ability usually subsides in childhood as we learn to focus more on verbal cues than emotional ones.

Empaths, on the other hand, have a heightened sensitivity to other people’s emotions that keeps developing over time. As other kids stop picking up emotional signals, Empath children become totally overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of emotional information that they receive in social settings.

Since most parents do not know if they are Empaths, they don’t recognize the signs in their kids. It also prevents them for effectively teaching their kids how to manage emotional overflow. For a more in depth discussion on resources for adult Empaths, you can read my articles on this topic here.

Emotional Intelligence is defined as “the ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990).  When you teach your children how to manage their Empath skills, you are developing their Emotional Intelligence.


Is your child an Empath?

bigstockphoto_happy_children_476720Children have a different way of handling their Empath abilities. Their range of available response is smaller, so they typically pick very quiet (as a way to calm down the emotional chaos they feel) or acting out (as a way to be louder than the emotional noise).

Keep in mind that children learn how to manage their Empath abilities by watching you handle yours. If you’re an Empath but don’t know how to handle it, get help for yourself first!

These are behaviors I have observed in Empath children who don’t know how to handle their abilities:

  • Gets unusually quiet (often seen as shyness) around crowds but is fine with the immediate family or smaller groups. Your child is trying to feel empowered and centered by withdrawing from the
    world.
  • Gets physically or verbally out of control around people but is mellow at home. Your child is trying to find an outlet to the overwhelming flow of incoming emotions.
  • Resists going to bed or wakes up often. Your child is trying to stay centered while surrounded by the emotional activity of adults.
  • Catches every illness available (cold, flu, ear infections, etc.). Your child is trying to feel empowered in shutting down unwanted emotional activity. Being sick is often the only way a child can use to withdraw from social situations.

Disclaimer: This checklist is not a diagnostic or treatment tool. I am not a doctor or a mental health professional. Some of the characteristics of Empaths can be diagnosed as ADD, agoraphobia or clinical depression. Contact your health care professional if you have any questions, need diagnostic or treatment for a mental health issue.


How can you help your Empath child?

There are three fundamental concepts that need to be addressed in order to effectively manage emotional information.

1. Empowerment: Do you control your Empath skills or do they control you (curse or blessing?)

2. Centeredness: Can you always hear your own internal self above all (raise above the chaos)

3. Flow: Does emotional information come in AND out freely (do you have an outlet?)

In order to help your child, you need tools that address each of these concepts.
This is a technique I developed with my son which does just this. It makes him feel empowered by giving him something to do when he is overwhelmed, allows him to focus on himself and helps him release other people’s emotions as he breathes out.

Empath Anchoring Technique:

When your child gets overwhelmed, she often just needs a point of reference to stay grounded. You can be that anchor.

1. Calm your own emotions. You can’t be a positive anchor if you’re upset or angry.

2. Tell her quietly “Look me in the eyes” (point to your eyes) and put your hand on her chest. Make sure you have eye contact for the next step!

3. Tell her “We’re going to take 5 breaths together and count them”. Let your child breathe however she wants. You’re just accompanying her, counting out loud with each exhalation.

Breathing quiets down emotional noise, re-centers the mind and helps children feel empowered by having something they can do when they feel uncomfortable. Include Empath anchoring it in your night time routine!

By Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.

More resources for empaths at http://www.EliseLebeau.com/empath

Are you living an intuitive life?
Learn how to get clear, concrete and reliable answers from *your* intuition
http://www.EliseLebeau.com/intuitionTraining

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Is it Possible to Use Intuition to Pick Stocks? By Ray Holley

November 21st, 2009

stockThe idea that you can use Intuition to pick stocks in the market may seem quite foreign to stock traders both novice and experienced. After all, Intuition is decision-making without reasoning. Intuition is the opposite of logical justification. You know the market has rules. It follows certain patterns and goes through cycles? It is predictable in some ways, right? With all the reasoning, alleged justification, technical charting, trend analysis, fundamentals review, outside influences, biased reporting, and the contradicting opinions of analysts going on out there, it is a wonder that anyone can ever decide what stock to buy and when to buy it, much less know when to get out.

Trading the market is rarely a fun experience. I was a day trader for eight years. I have heard many words to describe the feelings experienced while trading the market and fun is rarely used. Whether you trade your own account, advise others, or manage investments for others, it is a gut-churning, stressful, brain-testing chain of ups-and-downs both emotionally and financially. You live for that day when you got it right and can brag to your friends and hide from your friends on the many days the market beats you like a Blackjack dealer who pulls 21 against your 20 - taking the wind out of your sails and spirit. Intuition can help take a lot of the stress away.

Over the years I have learned to use Intuition for stock picking and much more. Intuition is the ability to make a decision without reasoning. It has been called the Sixth Sense by many spiritualists and philosophers. Intuition eliminates logical justification. It also has female and male connotations. Women have intuition and use it to demonstrate their superiority over men. Men have it also; they just call it a gut feeling or hunch. It sounds more macho. We have all received a signal to be careful when rounding the next curve, or that you should not get on that airplane. This is Intuition speaking to you.

Intuition is not supernatural - it is natural. Everybody has it and people confuse it with instinct or insight. It is neither. Insight is a by-product of study. If you study the stock market, you develop an insight into it and its behavior. Instinct, on the other hand, is programmed into all life. It is sometimes called animal instinct because we see it illustrated most often in animals. When facing a particular situation, an animal automatically reacts with instinct. Instinct is not Intuition but a sub-conscious program running in the background.

People need to be open to receive Intuition (intuitive communication) and then trust enough in themselves to act on it (intuitive utilization). This is hard to do as it is not a conscious process. Intuition is not necessarily right or wrong…it just is. It has to be acted upon in order to see the outcome. If you receive an intuitive message to slow down at the corner and you do and see someone run a stop sign, then both the information and the timing was correct. If you get an intuitive message that a certain stock is going up and you wait too long and miss the move, then the information was correct, but you failed to act on it in time. So picking stocks using Intuition is a combination of information and timing.

Think back on your best stock plays…the ones that may not have made you the most money, but the ones where the timing was perfect. What information elements went into making the decision? Were there charts, analysis, financial reports, and P/E ratios considered? Did you ask your friends or leave the decision up to someone else like an investment advisor? Chances are, everything that was considered or studied led up to a “logical” decision.

How about bad trade outcomes? People reflect on a bad trade outcome and say, “I had a feeling I went the wrong way on that one!” You had an intuitive communication and you ignored it. Did it happen before you entered the trade or while you were holding the position? Did you second guess yourself or were you too invested in your bad decision to get out? Intuition was trying to help you. It is there for you. All you have to do is recognize it.

Ray Holley and Linda Deir are the Intuitive Medium Team at Channeled Readings, LLC. Specializing in helping individuals, groups, and companies reach their full potential by putting them in direct contact with their own intuition and our higher intelligence source. This source has been coming through Ray and Linda since 1989. A stock trader since 1981, Ray uses his intuition to trade the stock market one hour a day and makes a living at it.

OUR GIFT TO YOU… Visit our site and receive a FREE Audio Prediction located in the top right-hand corner of the page… http://www.ChanneledReadings.com

info@channeledreadings.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Holley
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-it-Possible-to-Use-Intuition-to-Pick-Stocks?&id=2942787

in love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Professional Intuitive

In the dark? I can show you the way out with my intuitive flashlight!
Schedule an inspiring individual session:
http://www.EliseLebeau.com/askElise


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