The Empath Playground, Navigating The Sea Of Sensations

Join us in this illuminating episode of The Empath Playground podcast as we explore the profound experience of being an empath, unravel the mysteries behind why you sense things so intensely, and discover strategies to distinguish your own feelings from those of others.
This transformative journey includes a soothing guided meditation (around 22 minutes in) to help you navigate the intricate landscape of empathy.

Transcript

Welcome to the Empath Playground. I'm your host Heather Brown. Join me on a playful journey of self-discovery, Healing, And transformation. If you're a sensitive soul, A healer, A therapist, Coach, Or teacher, Maybe that friend that everyone leans on, This space is yours to thrive through guided meditations, Energizing exercises, And vibrant discussions. We'll unlock your potential, Delve into energy work, And share strategies to avoid overwhelm. I want you to know that as we embark on this journey together, I am so thrilled that you are here. Your presence and energy are vital ingredients in this journey, And I'm grateful for the opportunity to create this space of healing and growth with you. Together, We can illuminate the path to a more nurturing and radiant world. In this episode, I plan to share with you not only my own discoveries on this path, But also a guided meditation to help you explore your own energy, Emotions, Feelings, Sensations that are dwelling inside of you that may be buried under other things you've taken on from other people. This guided meditation is a practice to start to differentiate between what's going on outside of you from other people, And what's going on within you. The more that you learn to decipher that, The easier it's going to be when you're out there in the world. And in later episodes, I will guide you on how you can actually turn up and turn down, Or even pause this awareness of other people so that you can really know what's going on with you and what you need. If you're just wanting the guided meditation today, I'm going to put it in the show notes at what time that happens in this podcast. So if you don't have time to listen to everything today, Or you want to come back to the guided meditation at a later time, Just check the show notes and it will be in there. Let's begin with talking about your relationship to your sensitivity, Your empathy, Your hyper awareness, Whatever you want to call it. Sometimes you may find it to be a gift, And other times it may feel more like a burden. And I'm hoping that through this podcast, You can get to a space where you do feel like it is a gift, And you learn how to adjust it to a level that feels safe and even valuable. And I recognize that in its raw form, It can feel like a burden. I've worked with many clients who have felt the exact same way when we first began. They often were isolating themselves, Avoiding crowds, Finding stores and Uber rides super overwhelming, And kind of just hanging out by themselves, Which can be helpful. But they were also telling me that they're feeling kind of lonely, And they don't really feel like they belong in this world. And as I worked with my clients, I realized that so many people feel this way. And they often go many years of their life, Not understanding that there is a capability within all of us to adjust the level of empathy and the level of energy that we're taking in. I would love to help everybody feel more integrated in the world in a way that feels good to them. But I think first, We just need to recognize that it might feel like a burden. And although I may be approaching it with some sunshine, It doesn't mean that I don't see that it can be a struggle. And personally, I've been through that struggle as well myself. So I totally get it. And the things that I will be sharing here are the very things that helped me on my own journey and things that I share with my clients that have helped them. If you show up and start doing these practices, It's going to help you as well. My goal is to help you get to a space where your empathy is less of a burden and perhaps not a burden at all. Many people who are sensitive or empathic grew up in unpredictable environments. As children, They may have had caregivers or circumstances that were unpredictable. Often, This could be having a caregiver with an addiction or a narcissistic personality or other mental illness. But not always. It could just be an unpredictable environment for other reasons. It is my belief that becoming a super sensitive empath often grows out of an experience of trying to navigate the unpredictable environment around us. So we lean on our awareness into empathy to better understand what the people around us are feeling, Thinking, And this allowed us to better anticipate what was going to happen next. Because of this, It's created adults who can really tune in to what others are feeling without even trying. But it also creates something else. It creates adults that have dampened their own sensitivity towards what's going on with themselves. Turning inward is going to be our key on this journey to start unlearning and creating a new pattern for how we absorb information from others. First, It's important to recognize everything that this sensitivity has done for you. It has helped you survive. It has helped you better understand what to expect of the people around you when maybe people in your life weren't giving you predictability or clarity. So let's just take a moment now and I invite you to take a deep breath and thank this incredibly powerful sensitivity for helping you survive. Thank you. And now here's the next piece to recognize. Several parts of you are really covered and hidden away. They have lost their priority as you instinctively push them back to prioritize what was going on around you with the people in your life. It's time to reclaim them. It's time to bring them out from under all the cobwebs and junk that's all over them. Dust them off and rediscover their beauty, Wonder, And helpfulness. When I was first discovering all the things that I had unknowingly pushed to the back, Honestly, I didn't even know that I wasn't feeling my own feelings and it was a little tricky to find them at first. I didn't understand just how out of touch with myself I actually was. So if you're not resonating with this not being able to feel your own feelings, Hang on a little bit longer if you are resonating with being empathic and sensitive. At the time of my discovery, I was in the hustle of mothering two young neurodivergent children and I loved being a mom, But it certainly came with its challenges. I was so focused on caring for them that I didn't even notice how unwell I was. There are photos of me like during this stage and I look at them and I just think, Oh that poor lady. I was so thin like unhealthy thin and so disconnected from myself and from how I was doing and just my eyes were not not shining at all. They were just looking very drained, But if you would have asked me at the time, I would have said I was fine and I would have believed it. So eventually I started getting unexplainable hives and I thought, Oh well I'm allergic to something. I tried elimination diets. I tried changing shampoo, Body wash, Detergent. If you name it, I switched it, But the hives did not go away. And what actually helped me come into awareness that something deeper was going on within me was that I was taking my son to a craniosacral therapist for treatment to help his sensory processing disorder. He got on the table, He had a short treatment, And then the therapist looked at me and said, Okay mom it's your turn. And I was like, Oh wait what? I was not expecting that at all. I just thought, You know, My son's gonna get a treatment. But I hopped on the table and actually before I even got on the table he was like, Your adrenals are screaming. And I was like, How does he even know what what's going on? But I got on the table and that treatment began unlocking things inside of me and helping me connect to myself and how I was actually feeling in my body and realizing I was not fine. That was the beginning. Awareness. That was the first step. And the next step was about extending that awareness beyond that treatment room. I began to practice body scan meditations just like the one I'm going to share with you later. And in doing this I became really aware of just my own stuff. I practiced while I was by myself first thing in the morning or at night after the kids had went to bed and I would listen to a guided meditation body scan. And every time that I did I uncovered a little bit more and I began to have more awareness of the things I was holding that actually weren't mine and also pieces that were mine. There were a lot of pieces that I had taken on from childhood, From adolescence, From my marriage, From my children. It was a little overwhelming honestly but it also was a relief to piece out what wasn't mine and give myself permission to not hold it anymore. Not carry it with me. I started to feel lighter. I also started feeling what was mine and I was like oh yeah I guess I do have some work to do on myself as well. Can't blame it on everyone else. I was so focused on helping everybody else. Helping my family. Helping my children. My friends. I just thought I was doing great and really my body was whispering to me. Whispering and whispering you know and I just couldn't hear it because of the piles of other people's stuff that had been absorbed. It was muffled and so to get my attention my body started screaming with the hives and occasionally a panic attack. There was one point where I briefly lost my vision for a few minutes. Like it was screaming and screaming is what will happen if we ignore those whispers and for us it isn't even that we're actually ignoring them. We simply aren't aware of them because it's so noisy from everything else within us. Our body gets louder and starts screaming with symptoms of rashes and unexplained pain, Heart palpitations, Ringing ears, Other random symptoms and we often go to doctors and we're told well there's nothing actually wrong with you. So my hope for you is that if you aren't to the screaming point you won't have to go there and you'll be able to start hearing the whispers and following their lead and the things that can you know start to get better for you. And if you are at that screaming point this will still help you to start hearing more subtleties so that it doesn't have to scream as loud and eventually not at all. There was a moment when I realized that things had started to change for me after I'd been doing the body scan for a while. I wasn't having rashes anymore. I was doing the body scans regularly like almost every day but I couldn't know for sure how well it was going. It felt like things were going better. I was on my way to help my husband. He was running an event that day and they forgot something like I think it was a roll of duct tape or something. So I picked up the item from the store, Ran it over to the event and before I had headed over I did my morning body scan and I was feeling really great, Really calm, Grounded. So I walked into the event with a tape and I was only there for like maybe five minutes and I started feeling nauseous, Like super nauseous. My head started racing. My body started getting tense with anxiety and I was like, Wait a minute, Am I feeling this? Like is this mine? And so I excused myself and I walked outside. I crossed the street. I sat on a bench. I took some breaths and as I sat there the nausea just instantly went away just as quickly as it had arrived. I felt, You know, Stomach was fine. I was able to recognize, Oh that's not my anxiety and started to feel completely better. But recognize that I walked into a room full of people frantically preparing. The doors were getting ready to open for the event and I just automatically on autopilot body took it all on as if it were mine and amplified it. And I share that story because in the past I would have thought I was having anxiety. I would not have recognized that it wasn't mine. I before would often pick up on emotions and feelings and even like physical symptoms of the people around me. One example is that I was very, Very, Very terrible airport traveler. Even though I knew I wasn't afraid of flying or nervous about it and I'd be excited to go on the trip, As soon as I got to the airport, Been there for a little bit, I would become a mess. I'd be forgetting things. I'd be rushing. I'd be acting super controlling and frantic. And once I realized how I was basically picking up on the frantic energy of the travelers around me, I now have practices in place where I can bubble up my energy fields and filter out the other passengers from what I'm taking in. That's something I will share in a future podcast, But I'm a very calm traveler now and I actually enjoy it a lot more. I drive my family less crazy because I'm not running around like a ridiculous person. So it is so worth it in many ways in figuring out what is yours, Because when you really know what is your stuff and what is not your stuff, You really know what you feel like. It's easier in those moments to catch it as it's happening and break that pattern or cycle. So the other piece that I want to mention now that we will go further into in a different episode is that energy field, Your biofield. Chances are that if you're a highly sensitive, Empathic person, Your energy field is probably really huge. And you did that again as that survival, As navigating the world, Figuring out what's going on around you. And you want to know as much information as possible to keep you safe. And even if you don't feel like it anymore that you need to do that, It's probably standard setting on you to have a humongous energy field. So everything that comes through your biofield, That auric field, The people, The objects, The plants, The animals, It's something that in the background, You're unconsciously processing and that can make you really tired. So in a future episode, I'll share how to work with and understand your energy field and start to take some authority over what size it is and what you want to take in and be able to adjust it. So that's going to help you a lot as you move through things. But before we can understand our energy field, We really need to spend some time understanding our body. And that's why we start with the body in the guided meditation in this episode. Then in a future episode, I will share more about the energy field and things you can put into practice and into play in your life for this when it comes to moving through the world without absorbing anything. So as we go into the meditation soon, I just want to share a few things first. The number one thing is that if you've never done a body scan before, And if you're someone who experiences chronic pain in your body, You might find this exercise to be too much at first. So if you find it challenging to get into your body to do the scan, I would like to recommend that you first either just notice your breath and just sit with that breath. Or if the breath is too much, Just start noticing the room around you without moving around, Just sit there and start to just orient yourself into being present in the moment in the room, Just looking at what the objects are or what the colors are in the room. And if you start with those for a few days, Then your central nervous system will start to calm down and eventually you should be able to do the body scan. So just be patient with yourself. If the body scan feels like too much, It doesn't mean you're never going to get there. It just means that that's not where your path is going to begin. Just begin with that present moment awareness, Then the breath, Then the body. That would be my suggestion. So if you are ready to try the body scan, Then stay with me. And as we do the body scan, Keep in mind that we are not looking to fix anything. We aren't trying to make it better. We're not trying to make it go away. We're really just saying like, Hey, What's going on with me in this moment? That's it. We're looking for facts. How are you feeling? Is your neck tight? Is it loose? What does it feel like? That's not the body scan, But that's kind of what we're looking for. So I'll guide you through it in the meditation, But I wanted to say it ahead of time because a lot of people get into like fixing mode, Especially if you are feeling pain. We're just noticing it. We're not trying to change it. The other piece that I want to share, This is not a quick fix overnight kind of thing. It took me over a month of practicing every day before I got into that present moment awareness with the story with the duct tape, You know, Where I was like, Oh, Okay, Yeah, I'm picking this up. So it's not instant, But it's so worth it. And it's a practice that I still do, Although I don't spend as much time as I did when I was first learning. It's often checking in that just takes a few seconds now because I did do it every day for a while. And I also released layers and layers that didn't belong to me. So I know generally how I feel and how I am. And when something comes in that doesn't feel like mine, I recognize that. So this is going to take practice. This is going to be something you can either come back to this meditation to continue practicing or find another body scan meditation that you like. You can guide yourself, But sometimes when you're first starting, It is easier to have someone else guiding you. And there's plenty of body scan meditations out there to choose from. You might feel like you don't have time for it, But I'm going to tell you, You need to just make time for it. Because if you're going to be a sensitive soul on this earth, If you're going to stay healthy, It is going to keep you more present and grounded for the people that you care about for yourself. And it's going to make your life lighter and more joyful, More energetic. So stay with me for this guided meditation. And if you were driving, Please pause this audio and come back to it at a time when you can be seated with your eyes closed. Welcome to your meditation. Our bodies are constantly picking up on information. Our senses taking in smells and sounds, Sights and tastes. As we move through the world, We also experience a range of emotions. All of these things we process and sort in the background of our conscious mind. This meditation is going to be a time when we check in with our bodies, Connecting to the very cells that carry our stories, Connecting to the wisdom that we hold within ourselves. Your body wants to share with you. If you are open, Then I invite you to give your body the opportunity to share today. As you tune in, Know that you may have unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations come up. I encourage you to just observe them as you would a painting that you didn't quite understand without trying to stop or change them. Just be with what comes up and soon enough, We will move on to another sensation, Another part of the body. I invite you to find a relaxed position, Either laying down or sitting comfortably. Begin to close your eyes, Soften your gaze, And let's begin to take some breaths. Slowly breathing air in through your nose and exhaling out through the mouth. Breathing in, Breathing out, Breathing in, Breathing out, Allowing yourself to sink down into whatever you are resting on and continuing to breathe. On your next inhale, Raise your shoulders as high and tight as they will go and then as you exhale, Let them drop and fully unwind. On your next inhale, Gathering any thoughts that are swirling around in your head today and exhaling that out, Coming to just the presence of your breath, Of the air moving in and out. I invite you now to bring your awareness to the top of your head. As you tune in to the sensations on your crown, Notice if you feel any tightness, Any tingling. Just be aware of anything that shows up in your awareness around the top of your head. Now moving down to your forehead, The space of the third eye, Intuition, Inner knowing. Does it feel furrowed or does it feel soft? There is no right way to be. We are simply observing, Just taking an assessment of how you are in this moment. And now continuing bringing your awareness down into the throat. Notice if it is open and soft or tight and full, Maybe somewhere in between. Feel the air moving through your throat as you breathe and just observe what that feels like. Now turning your attention to your shoulders. What sensations are showing up in this area? Remember we aren't trying to change anything. We are just observing how you are in this very moment. And now bringing your awareness into your heart space. Sensing any tightness, Sensing expansion, Whatever it is showing up for you today. Perhaps you can feel your heartbeat or perhaps not. There is no right way to be, Just noticing how you are. Now tuning in to your solar plexus, The belly. So many sensations can exist here. Perhaps you can sense digestion. Just taking time to observe what comes up. Often our emotions may be found here as well. Just paying attention to what your solar plexus is saying today. And now moving your awareness down to the sacral, Into the pelvic area. Just seeing what you notice. And now coming down to the root, The base of your spine. Moving your awareness down to the top of the thighs, The front of the knee, The feet. And feeling the back of your legs now. And then your entire legs, Both legs all at once. And now bringing your awareness back to any part that you feel wants your attention. Any part that maybe was giving you some information you didn't have enough time for. Bringing your awareness there now. And now moving your awareness to your entire body all at once. Noticing what sensations feel large and what may be a little more subtle. And at this time I invite you to ask yourself, Asking your inner wisdom, Are any of these sensations belonging to someone else? Are there any sensations that are not yours that you may have taken on from others? And are there any sensations that are yours, That do belong to you? Gathering that information. And if you aren't sure of these answers, That's okay. I want you to understand that with practice, These answers will become clearer. It will be easier for you to distinguish the difference between what is yours and what is not yours. And at this moment, Putting your inner wisdom in charge, We are going to ask that anything that doesn't belong to you, Anything that isn't beneficial, Be released at this time and be sent into the earth. Taking a deep breath in, Gathering all the things that are not yours, Not your responsibility to hold, And exhaling out, Sending it into the earth. Holding these things in your body does not help other people. Once you feel them, You can always send them out. It is good information, Yes, It can show you where your attention may need to go, But it is not your burden to carry. One more deep inhale, Gathering anything else that's not yours and breathing it out. And now that you are holding perhaps just the things that do belong to you, Just doing another body scan right now in this moment, Bringing your awareness to your whole body and just noticing any sensations showing up right now. This is your baseline for today. And I welcome you to come back to this meditation each day. Over time, You may develop your own body scan, And it may be much quicker than this one, But as you are beginning this awareness, The more you come back to this, The clearer it will become and the easier it will be to navigate in this world of other people's pain that you may be picking up on. It will be easier to navigate knowing what belongs to you. And so, Dear one, I invite you to begin to move your fingers and toes, Begin to awaken your body, Fluttering the eyes, And once you feel ready, Opening them completely. And I wish you a beautiful day. Thank you for joining me.