First, I would like to honor the journey that you have walked to release and heal your trauma. I too, have walked a parallel path and continue to dive deep to discover what still may be lingering.

By itself, a label is not bad or good, it can be useful, particularly in the beginning search for understanding as to why these experiences arise within you and less so within others.

How to process and integrate what you know, what you sense, what you perceive.

I too believe these gifts are available to everyone and I hold space for a future time when that is possible. Yet, we live right now, in this time and this culture.

Some people are just more tuned-in, for whatever evolutionary reason. That doesn’t mean we are special or better, just neurodiverse.

So many are waking up to these natural born abilities and often do not have access to the wisdom of indigenous elders for whom there is a clear and established path of training.

It is crucial for empaths who are further along on the healing and integration journey to then help other empaths who are newly awakening.

And since most empaths struggle at first with stepping in to their personal power, I’ve found it very rare to see any of them bragging about how they are special or better. For many of my clients, it’s actually one of the biggest lessons to learn how to focus on you, that making your own needs a priority is not selfish.

Even when you’ve trained for years to manage your energy field, to heal, to honor your gifts — because empaths have a biological nervous system that is wired to be more open to stimuli, we can and often do become overstimulated by our fast-paced world.

I love to see rock concerts in a huge stadium, the collective energy is incredible and the music touches my soul. It’s also true I will feel drained for at least a day afterwards, so I make that choice knowing that I will also choose to rest.

We can do whatever we wish, we just need to care for ourselves before, during and after. This is part of accepting that I was born with a more sensitive nervous system. Perhaps in the future it will become a moot point, however right now as a biological minority, we are still learning how to integrate.

Sometimes, the reality is that our current world, our culture is overstimulating, it is emotionally intense. It’s not necessary to isolate, but instead discern with what, who and how much to interact.

This enables empaths to retain the healing and clearing we’ve already done without re-traumatizing ourselves.

Empaths already instinctively know about being in the Oneness, we can merge in an instant. What we are here to learn is how to express our individuality, how to know where I end and another begins. How to develop a healthy sense of self. How to stop viewing the world as dangerous and utilize our gifts collectively to bring about the future of which you speak.

It is not either/or, it is both/and. We live in this time and therefore must navigate with current knowledge and understanding. We also must prepare the foundation for our future.

Part of what’s happening is the ability for empaths to finally come out into the light. For thousands of years, those with deeper perceptions were literally persecuted, tortured, killed by others who did not understand. Being able to openly call oneself empath or intuitive or psychic represents a multi-generational victory, a collective healing. The underlying shared fear of being public, being seen for who you are and what you can sense is real and present for those who have sense in the way you describe.

Naming and claiming oneself, gathering in communities to share common experiences and finding one’s purpose is at the foundation of the healing work that is happening.

As spiritual beings, we came here to have a human experience. That includes uplifted, joyous experiences and it also includes challenges and sometimes pain. It’s important for us to honor all of our experiences and those of our clients.

It’s all just energy, a message that directs us to the next step in our personal and collective evolution. We don’t need to bypass who we are, it’s okay to be proud that we are gifted in certain ways, as it’s okay for an Olympic athlete to be proud of their physical gifts or an artist to be proud of their creative gifts.

Thank you for doing this work and bringing forth these important questions…