Animal And Plant Energies

I do not consider myself an animal person. While I typically like them (and they like me back), they don't seem to hold my interest for long. I do have an ongoing love affair with plants. I enjoy being out in nature, soaking in the green that surrounds me and talking to the trees. I have a fairly green thumb when it comes to gardens and houseplants. I even have a wonderful shamrock on my kitchen counter I talk to frequently. I have never really thought about why I prefer plants to animals until today, when I finally asked the question. Plant energies are much more soothing to me than animals energies.

Many people get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction from loving animals. Animals can provide unconditional love that is often lacking in the world today. That said, sometimes the energy that comes from animals can be little too intense for me. It is at times almost frenetic. It requires more interaction than I often have the energy to provide back. Consequently, I have a tendency to hold myself back from animals.

Plant energies are much less intrusive. I can go outside and interact with them when I choose. Their energies are much lower key and in that way less demanding. The interesting thing about my relationship with plants is that I talk to them, and in certain ways they talk back to me. My shamrock is always sure to remind me when he needs more water. When I am walking in the woods, certain trees come into my awareness more than others. It's as if they are calling out to me to pay attention to them specifically. For me it becomes an almost magical experience.

I'm not here to say that communing with plants is better than communing with animals. Communing with plant energies is just more soothing to me personally. I know a good many people who feel the same way about animals. It's all good! No matter what you are drawn to, understand there is probably a reason for it. Allow it to exist without judgment. It is through honoring the various energies around us that we are able to connect and remember that we are all truly One.

~CSE

 

Taming The Christmas Beast

I have a part time job working retail in a department store. While I enjoy getting out of the house and interacting with people, the energies I encounter at Christmas time can be difficult to handle. While many shoppers understand the need for patience with the holiday crowds, there are others who are in such a hurry they think only of themselves. As an empath, I find grounding myself becomes more time consuming and difficult as I navigate the holiday storms. Here's a little bit of insight on how an empath with a very public job tames the Christmas beast.

Understand the jumble of emotions you will encounter!
Many people get excited at the thought of holidays. In my own personal experience, Christmas is a good time for me as I anticipate gift giving, holiday food, and family time. That said, there are also much more negative emotions that can come into play. Holiday time can be very stressful because of the extra demands placed on peoples' normal routines. Decorating, shopping, food prep, parties and religious or school programs all come together, making the regular stress of work or school more intense. On top of all that, there are those people who cannot afford the sort of Christmas they want as well as those who have recently lost family members. All this adds up to a lot more worry and hassle than most times of the year, and the stress energy will often release as anger, sadness and upset. Understanding you and others have these feelings is the first step in coping with and managing them.

Know there is an energy harvest underway!
Here in the United States, the frenzy has been programmed and planned by the beings who run the planet. Those in power are energy vampires who thrive on harmful and negative energies! The low vibrating energies (anger, sadness, greed) that can accompany the holidays power up the spiritual side of things. The massive urges we feel to buy, Buy, BUY rids us of our hard-earned money and powers up the physical aspects of the world. We do not need to incorporate these feelings into ourselves. Realize these thoughts and feelings do not originate in the heart and consciously choose to keep them from infesting your mind.

Consciously take time for recovery!
When life becomes extra chaotic and tense, it is vital to take the time you need to heal, recover and re-energize. Meditate. Take a warm, relaxing bath. Read or watch a movie just for pleasure. Allow yourself to let go of your holiday to-do list. (Ask yourself if the world is going to fall apart if you fail to make those cookies or don't make it to your work holiday party!) The bottom line is, if your heart tells you it will feel good, do it!!! Your heart knows what you need to do to take care of yourself.

The beast that is Christmas (or any other holiday or event you participate in) can be tamed! Awareness is key as you look to your heart to guide you through the chaos that is the holidays!

~CSE

  

Sensing Spirits

There are many different sorts of energies that surround us at all times. Those who are sensitive can often feel presences of people who are not in a three-dimensional form. People with this gift are commonly called mediums. Most mediums have a heightened awareness of spirits from a very young age. I can sometimes sense the presence of human spirits, but I believe my ability stems more from learning to listen than it does from any special gift I have.

Interestingly enough, I have had several experiences where I sensed a future person. The first time it happened was when I was pregnant with my second son. I actually felt his spirit enter his body in my womb when I was eight weeks pregnant with him. He made his presence known for several reasons, but mainly because I was really not happy to be pregnant with him. Sensing his gentle and loving spirit helped me cope and made me fall in love with him from that moment.

More recently, my granddaughter came to me before we knew her mother was pregnant with her and let me know she was on her way. How it happened was intriguing. I was at work in my retail job folding baby clothes. All of a sudden, I had this really overwhelming desire to buy baby clothes. I kept thinking, "I wish I had someone to buy baby clothes for". As I began to realize how strange this thought was (my youngest son was still in high school), it dawned on me there was a spirit present--the spirit of my future grandchild! Ironically, I went home and talked to my daughter about it because I wanted someone to know before anything happened. At the time, I speculated that maybe my oldest son, who had a very serious live-in girlfriend, might accidentally become a father. Several weeks later, my daughter came to me and said, "Mom, I guess you were right about becoming a grandmother. We just didn't know it was going to be me!"

There have been several occasions where good friends have had loved ones pass on. When these deceased family members discovered I could sense them, they would encourage me to pass along messages indicating they were indeed alive and well and still loving them. Often I get pictures of things these people liked and were important to them to relay to their loved ones.

On a more personal note, I have also spoken to deceased people who were special to me. My maternal grandmother has visited me several times, as have my first set of in-laws, whom I was very close to.

Learning to sense the presence of other spirits is really a matter of listening and being able to distinguish different energies. I believe there are times when people smell something that reminds them of someone who has passed or hear a song that reminds them of the person or gets some other "sign" the person is near. These are indeed strong indications of presence.

There are several things you can do to exercise your ability to sense spirits. First and foremost is to begin to pay special attention to the energies of the people around you. Sit in their presence with your eyes closed (if you can) and try to sense their energy. Are they quick or slow moving? Happy? Content? Angry? Frustrated? Etc. What is the overall sense you get of the person? Once you are aware of that energy when they are in your presence, try to sense their presence when you are apart. Can you still sense it? The more you explore and ask yourself these sorts of questions, the easier it will be for you to distinguish different spirits (both alive and deceased).

All spirits have a distinct energy/frequency. The more you pay attention and become conscious, the easier it will be for you to gain additional insights into the world of spirit.

~CSE