Feeling other people's pain

If you've never read the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, I highly recommend it. Terry Pratchett has a way with words like no other. I was reminded today of an element in the book that is just a minor part, but has so much meaning when you think about it. In the book, Trillian finds a 'point of view' gun and uses it to hit the President of the Galaxy with her thoughts. He immediately felt what she was feeling, and was able to understand why she was acting the way she was. I'm struck by how poignant this instrument is. Imagine being able to point and shoot at someone and they immediately understand your feelings on a deep, deep level. How much miscommunication and pain do we as humans go through trying to get someone else to understand us? 

    Today during meditation I learned that being an empath and medium is a lot like having access to a reverse point of view gun. I was asked to do a reading for a friend of a friend. Not really knowing this person, I agreed and asked my spirit guides for some information. Among the pieces of info I received, I was hit with this overwhelming sense of heartache. I know from conversations with my friend that the person I was asked to read for has had their fair share of grief in their life, though I don't really know the circumstances surrounding the cause. The grief I felt was deep and heavy. My spirit guides were showing me exactly how this person feels. I felt a deep ache in my chest, I immediately began to weep. I personally have never experienced grief so deep in my life, but even though I had no reference, I knew exactly what it was I was feeling. 

    As an empath, I have a lot of experience absorbing others' emotions. But that is sort of like wearing a new skin or a new piece of clothing. You can feel it on the outside, but you know it's not yours and you can take it off at any time. I briefly felt this deep when I walked into a large, dark entity in one of my visits to Forest Haven. During today's meditation, I was feeling the grief, pain, and anguish as if it were my own. When I recovered, I asked my spirit guides if there was anything else I should see. I was told that I had enough for today. I think this experience is like training wheels for me since I'm so new at all of this. My guides are showing me my potential, but aren't overwhelming me with too much too fast. 

    I am so grateful that my gifts allow me access to other people's feelings in this way. It gives me a deep awareness of the humanity of us all. Imagine how much better off we would be as a race of beings if we all had the capability of accessing others' emotions and feelings. I'm convinced that so much of what we're experiencing right now as a society can be directly attributed to a lack of empathy. 

When the spirit hits close to home

Oh this one hit me hard. Last evening I was watching TV when I was contacted by a person who had a deeply personal resonance in my life. I was contacted by a friend and mentor, who had passed away earlier this year. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease, and was robbed of her life's mission. I met her when I was an intern at NASA Goddard, and she hired me full time to work in planetary education in 2004. It was her foresight for the future of NASA education and what we could do as an educational community that made us so successful in the early 'aughts in reaching a diverse set of audiences. She gave us such a feeling of a sense of community, and how using a new and emerging tools like social media could ensure that the great work of the NASA mission would reach as wide an audience as possible. She taught me so much about thinking outside the box, the value of giving outsiders a voice, and being open to the possibilities that life had to offer. I can't count on my fingers and toes the life lessons she taught me.  

    Since my spiritual awakening, I've often wondered why I hadn't heard from her. But yesterday's interaction proved to me what I've experienced over and over again. These spirits come to me at a time when they feel like it, and for a specific purpose. My mentor and friend came to me this evening with a specific message for her spouse. The shock of her coming to me, which admittedly took a bit to overcome, was shadowed by the fact that her message needed to be delivered. She sat with me while I in real time processed my grief of her passing, and my apology for never acknowledging the pain it caused before then. I had already received and written down her message, but I give her credit that she stayed with me while I worked through my feelings. By the time I had settled myself enough to process what was said and was ready to receive additional messages for others in her life, she was gone. Just like that. As quickly as she popped in, she popped back out again. That is so very much like her. Always the pragmatist and not one for beating around the bush. I hope I hear from her again, but even if I don't, I'm thankful she chose me to deliver her message.