How Empaths Can Create a Meaningful and Fulfilled Life
How long has it been since you've looked up at the stars for more than a cursory glance? How long has it been since you've really sat with the cosmos, quieted your mind, and realized that much of the starlight that enters your eyeballs at night took a thousand year journey to greet you?
I have a feeling we're very similar. When I am outside under the stars, my mind cannot do anything other than ponder the incomprehensible Truth that we are all just specks of stardust hurtling through our galaxy at 500,000 miles per hour. That sort of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
As I was sitting last night under the stars here in Woodacre, CA, surrounded by giant, beautiful redwood trees, it occurred to me how incredibly lucky I am.
What a privilege and absolute gift to be able to sit in solitude on my deck at night and enjoy this beautiful feeling, in total silence. With no light pollution or traffic noise anywhere. An empath's dream.
It also occurred to me that the reason I have arrived at this moment, and the reason I am living this simple and rewarding life, has everything to do with how I intentionally have cultivated and nurtured the energy of my Soul and Higher Self.
It has everything to do with the steps I have taken, and the amount of energy I put into, on a daily basis, toward CREATING this life - where I increasingly experience my own Divine energy, rather than being at the mercy of the collective chaos.
I didn't just get here by accident - here's how I have done this, step by step - so that you will feel inspired to do something similar in your own life. I have been gifted this energy and experience of freedom because I made a commitment to my Soul to express my own Divinity. Unapologetically. Without reserve. To share, in a very public way, my Faith, my Commitment, and my Devotion to my Spiritual Calling in as many moments as possible. No matter how much it might frighten my ego.
If I had stayed 'safe' and comfortable, I would still be languishing as a professor of counseling at the University of Wyoming. In that parallel Universe, I would be silently suffering on a hamster wheel of churning out publications in sterile language without a hint of Spirit. My soul wouldn't allow it, so in 2003, I ditched the safety of the lucrative money/prestige and instead lived in a tent for half a year on the side of a mountain, not knowing how I was going to earn a living, but following the Inner Call nonetheless.
I've heard a lot of chatter lately about how this crazy world is affecting empaths. It is true. The world is going through a dark night of the soul, and we are experiencing 'crazy' everywhere as a result of the Light and Dark splitting timelines. Recently, as I was standing in line at the grocery store, some person in line behind me was shouting loud obscenities just because the line was long.
That's a fairly innocuous illustration of the rising polarity in our world. And yet, experiencing that type of duality doesn't mean we cannot enjoy our own Peace and exist in our own sphere of energy in which the darkness cannot lay a finger on us.
So.....here's how I do it. I'd like to offer a glimpse into my daily routine of creation.
My life is a ceremony. It is intentional. It consists of a series of never-ending beginnings, and never- ending endings.
Each morning when my feet hit the ground around 4:30 am, I raise my arms to the sky and proclaim my gratitude to God for having guided me through the dream state and allowed me to enjoy another day in a human body. I plant my feet on the ground, exhale deeply, and say “May you Bless each person I see today. May I bring joy to everyone I encounter.”
I then groggily haul myself to the kitchen, start the coffee, and thank my house for protecting me. I throw my hands in the air and greet the redwood forest, and the 4 directions, uttering the prayer that has become so familiar:
“Spirit of the West, Ganesh, and Archangel Michael, please help us release anything that does not serve. Spirit of the North, help us step into alignment and express our Service as healers. Spirit of the East, help us bring fresh energy of unconditional Love, and Spirit of the South, help us bring fun and silly into our day.”
I then sit in silence outside on my deck, empty my mind, and ground myself into feeling the cup of coffee against my skin. I look around and thoughtlessly observe shapes and forms. Then I raise the energy and crank up the dance music to thunderous levels. And I dance my prayer of gratitude to the Universe, using this time to include personal prayers for all my past and present clients, loved ones, friends, and relatives. I AM POSITIVE THAT I LOOK LIKE A MANIAC. And therein lies the Joy. :)
After dressing, I enter my sanctuary (some might call this an office) - the sacred space where I engage with my sacred work, to sit down and begin the grounded portion of my day. Setting pen to paper, I ask my Higher Self to guide me in setting intentions for the day. On writing days, like today, I always ask for guidance as to what would resonate the most. “What do the people need to hear?” I ask.
And then I shut my mind off, enter the void, and listen for my soul's response. It comes in vague feelings, sometimes imagery, and sometimes a 'keyword'. “Show me more,” I ask. I then scribble down what I am hearing and feeling in my hardbound journal, which I have kept faithfully since I was 12 years old.
When I sense that my daily work planning is finished, I ask myself “What play activities would bring Michael joy today?” And I plan my daily fun as well. It usually involves some form of interaction with Mother Nature or ceremony in the form of hot yoga, where I bust additional dance moves, to the delight of my teacher, Susan, who can feel my intention to raise the energy of the room.
There are very few moments when I am not aware of the dialogue that I am engaging in with God. My preferred relationship is with Yeshua/Christ - but not the 'diety' who has been misinterpreted by religion. I find that I prefer to dialogue with God/Spirit as a friend and Brother, not as some distant being who is judging me. They say “I love you” every single day, multiple times a day. It sustains me, in every moment, especially moments where my Faith is wavering. It makes me want to celebrate and express my Joy even more.
To know that I am loved, held, cherished, and most importantly, DIRECTED by something higher than my own mind gives such comfort. I recognize that I do not need to worry about much of anything. They constantly tell me, “I've got you covered,” and that is really all I need to know to be able to let go of my ego's need for control.
The nighttime is when the communication changes up. I enter the sacred space of my outdoor sanctuary once again, surrender and enter the Silence with reverence, bowing to my Altar - my beloved Redwood trees.
And then I sit in the darkness, for 15-20 minutes, and I simply enter the Womb of God. I savor every single moment of pure spaciousness – simply witnessing the tranquility, the calm, the Peace with which I am infused. Nighttime is for solitude - to receive the energy of Space and to prepare myself for the dreamtime.
After sitting with the stars and the bats flying by my head, I recognize the desire for sleep and return to bed. Before I close my eyes and exhale with intention to fall asleep, I ask God to help me be of Service in the dreamtime, and to be given Service in return. The experiences in my dreams are usually always as meaningful as my daily life.
THIS. IS. NOT. AN. ACCIDENT.
I love living my life in constant union and communion with my Soul, expressing non-stop gratitude for being in a physical body. With a healthy dose of 'crazy' thrown in for good measure. :)
Is my life 'perfect'? Of course not. I wouldn't want it to be, for that's boring. I incarnated in a body to temporarily leave 'perfection' in the first place. I have always been very honest with you about my own messiness. If I wasn't such a hot mess in certain areas of my life, I wouldn't be truthful, first of all, and more importantly, I wouldn't be ME. Embracing the polarity of life is what I, and you, signed up for being here at the most transformational time in human history. Will my life always be as easy as it is now? Nope. Will there continue to be moments, days, months, and years that test my soul? You bet. (Yes, I'm a Minnesota native).
It is important to mention that I don't have children. Nor do I have a partner. I am not care-taking my parents. And I am not working a 9-5 job or even 40 hours a week. And no matter how your life circumstances may differ from mine, you have just as many moments – 86,400 seconds each day – to intentionally connect with your Divine self. That's 86,400 seconds of pure potential.
If you want to know the secret to manifesting a meaningful life, it's this: make sure you spend as much time, if not more, with the Divine, Spirit, and God as you do with Facebook or Netflix.
When you make it your intention to more deeply Serve God by expressing your Authentic Self (e.g. your Soul), no matter how scary that thought might be, the Universe will absolutely conspire in your favor. If you've been feeling stagnant, it's time to listen to the inner soul call and stop ignoring it.
Give yourself permission to get creative with your day. Give yourself permission to deeply engage with the Ceremony of Life.
It's time. You're the creator. You're God.
Wishing you a joyous day, filled with wonder, miracles, and more than anything else: may you know your own connection to your Divine Self.
And here's a little shortcut to help get you there: take a look at the brightest star in the sky tonight.
And when you do, don't you ever forget that that star you're looking at is YOU.
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Michael R. Smith, Ph.D.
For 20 years, Dr. Michael R. Smith's pioneering work to connect empaths & sensitives with their Divine potential has helped millions. As a doctoral trained counselor, spiritual medium, & healing practitioner of indigenous arts, Michael's joy is to serve as a spiritual guide for those at all levels of awakening, including the LGBTQ+ community and gay men. He has published two books, and is founder of Empath Connection, a 200,000 member community. In addition to his annual spiritual retreats, he offers intuition development classes, Lightworker business mentoring, & The Empath Sanctuary community.He lives in the redwood forests near San Francisco, where he enjoys talking to trees.
