Living as a beacon means not allowing anyone or anything to dim your light.
Especially the things we cannot control—such as the global spread of a viral illness like COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
It’s hard to stay calm when people around you are stressed out or even panicked.
With the current collective fear around our health and well-being, it is more important than ever to shine your light brightly.
If you are a sensitive soul, you might be absorbing some of the stress, fear, and confusion around you.
Practice #7 of the 12 Practices for Living at Full Power is a must for you right now: Engage in Radical Self-Care. (You can download the 12 practices and other resources for beacons here.)
What does radical self-care during a time like this one look like, my friend?
How can you stay calm and not take on stress and fear?
Honestly? You can’t. It would be unrealistic to expect yourself to stay calm 100% of the time. The current coronavirus outbreak is real and spreading every day.
What you can do is catch yourself when you’re getting stressed and fearful and instead shift back to sanity and uplift yourself energetically.
Let me shine the light on a few ways to protect your energy in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak or any collective crisis like this one.
1. Welcome and seek out information from trusted, official sources, and limit the rest.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization are responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak, and their websites have the most current information. If you want updates or have questions, visit these sources.
Be careful with the news and social media. While the media is important for spreading informations at a time like this, their job is also to get our attention. Panic sells. So monitor the amount of time you spend every day on news and social media.
2. Make room for your real feelings before you try to shift your energy.
It’s okay to be afraid. You need to make space for your fear in a healthy way. Welcome it, and make friends with it.
During the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that it takes me longer than usual to feel at peace when I meditate. My routine is the same. I sit in my regular chair. I set the alarm. I start giving myself Reiki and meditating, and then my monkey mind goes crazy. (My friend, Hen, calls it having internal fireworks.)
So I do something that might be a little counterintuitive, and I welcome my feelings. Whether it’s fear, anxiety, panic, or confusion I’m feeling, I bring it (and myself) compassion. I acknowledge my emotions by saying, “It’s okay you’re here. I’m here with you.” If you want to understand better why you need to embrace the low point before upshifting, read my blog post, “It’s Not Always Right to Make Yourself Feel Better.”
3. Then upshift. Only when it’s time.
Once you have welcomed the “negative” feelings (which are not really negative but are simply messengers telling you that something is off and needs attention), make an intentional effort to uplift yourself. Ground yourself. Move your body. Lift yourself up with music. Try these 9 ways to upshift.
4. Feed your inner light.
What is it that your soul needs right now to feel connected with your inner light? Light a candle. Take walks. Give yourself Reiki, and if you don’t practice yet, consider learning Reiki. Meditate. Spend time in nature. Make yourself a cup of tea, and drink it with ease. Rest. Laugh.
Sensitive souls tend to isolate when they feel overwhelmed. One of the mistakes every empath makes is over-isolation. Retreating and regrouping can become a comfort zone that you never want to leave. Challenge yourself to connect with others. Call a friend who is sensitive like you, and ask how she’s doing. Meet a local friend for coffee. Engage with your tribe. If you are not part of a tribe, join the Beacons of Change online sisterhood. We would love to be your tribe!
6. Seek spiritual support.
Call it God, Source Energy, Universal Energy, spirit, angels, or anything else. Living at full power means tapping into your personal power and a power greater than yourself at the same time. One form of power is not enough.
I talk to my spiritual power, God, in the morning with a prayer that I make up on the spot. Every evening, I write down 5-7 things I’m grateful for. I also make a manifestation list of things I struggle with, and I turn those things over to my spiritual power.
Beacon, what is the easiest way for you to seek spiritual support?
We are hearing a lot about how to protect ourselves from spreading viral illnesses: Washing our hands frequently. Covering our coughs. Avoiding handshakes. Keeping physical social distance from people. At Beacons of Change, we have come up with a plan of action to prevent viral spread in our in-person classes and workshops, which I am happy to share with you here.
What we don’t hear a lot about is protecting our energy and our mental health in times of collective fear and panic. Please consider this message to be your plan of action for preserving your light and shining it brightly so that you can continue to serve as a beacon to those around you.
I’m always listening, Beacon. Please share in the comments what you’re feeling at this difficult time. And remember, as with all situations “good” and “bad,” this too shall pass.
Thank you for this. I am in Seattle and run a bed abd breakfast, you can imagine the cancellations we are having…this is going to help us get through this scary time.
There is so much uncertainty and worry around right now, that we need to do whatever we can to rise and elevate, Brenda! I am sending light your way to Seattle…
This truly is a great article Michal. I work in retail and totally seeing the amount of panic. In fact, I had to take an extra day off last week for my own mental health. Without naming my company, we have been out of dust masks for 2 weeks. Now, these masks are not designed to protect anyone from a virus and only dust and those type of particles. Woodworkers and painters need these for safety equipment and can’t buy them right now. It is a mess. Like you, I agree with turning off the news. Most don’t realize that the information they are getting isn’t totally accurate and embellished. It is okay to question and not just say well, it was on “the news” so it must be true. Afterall, it’s illegal to run a fake story. What’s interesting, as an empath, I have felt under attack from all this intense energy. I am doing violet flame type meditations to raise my vibration. What I find interesting, it’s more acceptable in society to be a female empath than a male empath. Yeah, that is one battle I face but I do it as well as I can. It’s a huge part of who I am and should be embraced. Thank you again.
Larry: There is so much great awareness in your message. “I had to take an extra day off last week for my own mental health.” – Congratulations on taking care of yourself. We need to take care of US before taking care of others. I agree about female/male empaths. 50% of empaths are actually men. But many people see male empaths as weaker than females. By the way – I love and appreciate men. The only reason why my community is mainly for women because it is my calling to bring women together and tap into the Collective Feminine Power. But we men are taking our Reiki Classes all the time and Reiki is an amazing uplifting tool. If you are interested in hearing more about it, please email us. We teach Reiki through live video classes. We are at [email protected]
Hi,
I am an earth empath and Christian,
It’s hard to stay grounded all day when I go out and all the masks and social distancing. I do several mantras to keep me grounded throughout the day, I say I am grounded in a Jesus or Holy Spirit please lead me. I am able to do this in public when I see the craziness around me. It’s like I’m an oak tree in a storm and I need to calm down. For me I believe Jesus wants us to try to be calm by focusing on him during this storm. It works for me. I need reassurance during this virus and I am comforted by his word. God bless y all Gh
Hey Gh, I love that: “It’s like I’m an oak tree in a storm and I need to calm down.”
It is great that you are intentional about grounding yourself. And it sounds like you are deepening your spirituality during this challenging time. That’s wise! You are safe, you are guided, you are protected. Much love!
Hi,
The grounding really helps!
God bless you and be well.
Gh
I am my local grocery store night manager. I am also an empath. I am overwhelmed with feelings and emotions. When I come home from work I feel drained.( Even though my hrs. per shift have been cut by 2 hrs.) I sit in the bedroom, in the quiet for hours staring into space. But in my head it’s craziness! My thoughts are everywhere! I can’t focus and I’m crying sometimes.
My relationship is suffering from it! My life and wellbeing are suffering from it…. I feel like one big bawling bag of nerves! Please help….
Lisa, you sound like a strong empath. You absorb energy from others and that’s why you feel drained. It makes sense that you need to “retreat” when you come back. You need to learn how to recharge your internal batteries and bounce back quicker, so you can enjoy your relationships and life. That was my story. Until I found Reiki. I think you would really benefit from learning to give Reiki to yourself. Please consider joining a virtual Reiki Class with us. It will change your life. https://www.beaconsofchange.com/reiki-1-online/
Thank you, Michal. Every single point is true. It’s a good reminder of how to accept what is and upshift from those feelings. Such an important daily reminder.