No matter where you or aren’t on the political spectrum, there is a lot of tension in the collective unconsciousness both approaching the election and likely afterward as well. (And with the holidays fast approaching, the energies are only going to get worse!) I’ve heard from empaths and Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) on “both sides” who are carrying their own fears as well as that of others. They’re scared, anxious, and worried about the direction the United States has been/is headed. While their respective concerns may not have all been the same, the energies they’re carrying are too similar to ignore any longer.
These energies are often anger, division, fear, and less acceptance of (or even desire to see) the point of view of others. Sadly this 'living in a bubble' can lead to loneliness and therefore less opportunities for learning and connection.
One of the many drawbacks of isolation is having fewer mirrors to aid our spiritual growth. We must learn to step into the fire and not get burned rather than trying to avoid it. (Of course if “the fire” is abusive, we need to exit the situation ASAP!) Likewise we need to learn to better communicate with other people for the country’s spiritual growth. The individual and collective soul wants to experience all facets of life, and most attempts at peace via isolation doesn't allow for expansion or improving communication and understanding among all humans. And for empaths and HSPs, we're picking up on the vibes of the collective anyway so isolating — or moving to Antarctica — isn't going to be very helpful!
The destructive energies of anger, division, fear, and less acceptance of others affects our ability—and even desire—to make a difference in a tangible way or to listen lovingly. Fear ignites the ego and stokes the need to be right rather than the need to be compassionate.
In a country of over 320 million people, there are always going to be disagreements. No one side or person will always get their way all of the time. Compromise, compassion and negotiate are not dirty words; they’re necessary tools to heal ourselves and the divide.
When stressed, many of us look to non-physical allies for guidance. The irony that many of the people I work with can communicate with non-physical beings but have difficulty communicating with their own relatives hasn’t escaped me. But I get it. Non-physical beings don’t need anything from you. They’re already energetically whole and don’t try to change our minds. There’s no judgment. So it’s easier to hang out with Melchizedek from the 13th dimension than it is to be with Uncle Fred at Thanksgiving. But our own fear or those fears that are empathically absorbed capture our attention so intently that we can no longer clearly hear the incoming transmissions from non-physical beings accurately — much less physical people in our presence — because intense emotion adds a personal filter to the message. We need to address the fear on the level of its creation to heal it and the social divide.
DISTRACTIONS
Our egos like to distract us from doing our work. It convinces us to blame and focus on the other person(s) first. If that doesn’t work (it doesn’t) the ego then convinces us to do even more. We think we can affect others, or even the world on a grand scale, but if that’s not in your soul’s contract, it's not going to happen. Better to work with the direction your soul wants than to focus on external people and situations that can only lead to a sense of overwhelm and frustration. Certainly there are many who are called to do more work on a more grand scale, but if it’s done from over-responsibility it’s going to be a very difficult endeavor. On the converse, if it’s done from a true calling, the steps will be shown to you if you do your inner work deeply enough to see and hear the clues that are always being sent your way. You’ll be connected with others who are open to your ideas and the path will be illuminated.
Trying to heal others or even the planet via a sense of over-responsibility is what made many of us “walking sponges” for energies of other people. Many of us learned over-responsibility at a very early age and haven’t healed that wound well enough to prioritize what can be addressed now and how to do so. If you can’t be in the presence of someone offering a different POV than you without tensing up, your ability to love unconditionally may not be as strong as you hoped. We have to better purify ourselves to better send love to those in need and to better understand all humans at this time.
Sometimes intuited messages will tell you to focus on yourself. Other messages may tell you to march, or donate, or post on social media or start a movement. Ideally we work within the realms of what we actually CAN do that won't deplete us to the point of not being able to do anything. And ideally we work with intuited guidance. But remember that if we’re inundated with fears — our own or that of others — our personal filters will distort or even block those messages from getting to you.
Now for the good news. What’s in the collective unconsciousness is an aggregate of what’s in each person’s mind. Therefore, as we heal our own selves and lovingly connect with those nearest to us (if they’re willing!), the effects of healing spread outward and eventually can pierce the fear of the collective.
WORKING WITH FEAR
If we’re not in the present and embodied, we can confuse the two types of fears (intrinsic and absorbed) and end up using the wrong tools to heal these destructive energies.
If it’s our own fear, we need to integrate it rather than talk ourselves out of it or rely on the more superficial “cancel-clear modalities.” While either can be effective, deeper healing is best achieved via the emotional body—which is often very difficult to do on our own. You can't outwit your own ego and emotions don't understand logic. Cancel-clear modalities — while sometimes effective in the short term — don’t always let us embody the lessons at the core level to truly open to a more loving way of being as much as integration. Integration is more beneficial in the long term because fear does have its place. Without fear we’d let ourselves get run over by a bus: “That’s okay, I’ll just come back in another lifetime!” may be accurate, but not conducive to the now. Without the capacity for fear, we can never understand, sympathize or heal those who are trapped in its grasp.
We don’t need to let fear run our lives. Fear can be a part of us; it doesn’t have to define us. Working with the shadow self via integration allows us to use the fear, rather than be used by it. Integration is about fully accepting all parts of self. We are everything, not just love and light. The more we integrate the shadow self leading to a sense of wholeness, the more conscious our decisions and actions will be, and the more we can be and spread love.
What we own cannot own us.
ABSORBED FEARS
If the fears have been empathically absorbed from another person(s) or collective unconsciousness, integration won't be effective. Neither will repression, talking it out, or denial. I've found it best to return any and all energies that aren't ours to manage back to their original source. This is a potentially complex process that wouldn't serve best to describe in a short blog meant only to provoke thought and inquiry, and ideally to inspire action. The tools to Return to Sender (RtS) are outlined in my book, Empathipedia: Healing for Empaths and Highly Sensitive Persons. RtS as described in Empathipedia has been a remarkable gift for thousands of people when the more traditional, "Give it to the Universe" or "cord-cutting" or "Feel the fear and do it anyway" has failed.
TANGIBLE SUGGESTIONS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW:
1. Slow Down
Just like you can’t absorb quality nutrition if you’re stressed and eating on the run, fear can make you feel rushed and eventually overwhelmed and unhealthy. Rushing will put your focus on the outcome rather than being in the present moment. Challenge yourself to slow down several times throughout the day. This will be very helpful for connecting with others and for accessing higher guidance.
2. Grounding
Make a conscious effort to feel your connection to the Earth. Visualize expanding your energy body downward with your feet touching miles of thick, solid mass. And also try grounding upward, meaning to allow your energy body to reach toward the heavens while still visualizing your energy touching the earth. This two way "stretch" can represent and manifest an expansion of personal power and the ability to use any chakra at any time for the best possible outcome.
3. Be Humble
Let's get over our illusions of grandeur and allow the Universe to show us how and when to best use our gifts to heal ourselves, and if it’s in our calling, to help others. If we fall a few times, learn what you need to learn from that experience and get back up again. The most successful people failed many times before they succeeded. Learn to listen more than boast, inquire more than try to convince, and connect emotionally from the heart rather than the mind.
4. Realistic Growth
Growth is not about never having a negative thought again or never getting upset with your candidates for office. They are reflections of what is true within all of us. Let them light the way toward who you wish to be and also who/how you do not wish to be. When you have a negative thought, catch and observe. Befriend all thoughts because fighting thought only gives them more energy. Judging the thoughts or judgment is an invitation to more self criticism. Judgments are going to happen. Fear will always be there. The desire to isolate, too. Laugh when you catch these thoughts and judgments and say, "That's not the real me thinking; that's the silly me" or "That's just a part of me, not my entirety" and invite the next higher thought to arise. Repeat as necessary. Even if that means all day long!
5. Seek Connection
If you’re unable to determine if the fear you are feeling is yours or that of others, if you’re unable to integrate or return the fears to where they belong, or if you’d like guidance to better hear the messages your soul is trying to send you, reach out to a trusted friend or practitioner. Whether with myself or another, it’s important to stay humble in these challenging times and ask for help. Remember, if the Universe wanted us to go at it alone, we’d have been given seven billion planets; one person on each. A trusted friend or practitioner can help you be of benefit to the world rather than contribute more worry and fear to the collective unconscious. Connecting with others can minimize your fears and also catalyze personal and spiritual growth, and isn't that what we're all trying to do anyway? Do this so that you can live your best life and be an inspiration for others. And good luck in the election and afterward, and have an amazing holiday season — whether you’re hanging out with Melchizedek or with your crazy Uncle Fred.