Here is another good article I got from a list I'm on.


How To Stop Absorbing The Energy of Others
by Judith Orloff MD

How do you constructively deal with intuitive empathy? What practical
methods can you employ to avoid becoming overamped or depleted? I'm
going to present some strategies I use. Try them. See which appeal. One
is not more preferable than another. Most important is if your choice
works.

Walk away. Let's say you're chatting with a man you've just met at a
conference and your energy starts bottoming out. Here's how to tell if
you're being zapped: Don't hesitate to politely excuse yourself; move at
least twenty feet from him (outside the range of his energy field). If
you receive immediate relief, there's your answer. Most people are
oblivious to how their energy impacts others. Even energy
vampires--people who feed off your energy to compensate for a lack of
their own--aren't generally intending to sap you yet still they do.
Obnoxious or meek, vampires come in all forms. Watch out for them. For
years, reluctant to hurt anyone's feelings, I needlessly endured these
types of situations and suffered. How many of us are so loathe to appear
rude that a raving maniac can be right in our face, and still we don't
budge for fear of offending? Whenever possible--if your well-being feels
at risk with an individual or group--give yourself permission to make a
tactful and swift exit. In a spot, physically removing yourself is a
sure quick solution.

Shield yourself. A handy form of protection many people use, including
healers with trying patients, involves visualizing an envelope of white
light (or any color you feel imparts power) around your entire body.
Think of it as a shield that blocks out negativity or physical
discomfort but allows what's positive to filter in. For instance, your
sister is on the rampage. She's about to blow up; you don't want her
anger to shatter you. Now--take a deep breath, center yourself, engage
your shield. Literally picture it forming a fail-safe barrier around you
which deactivates anger. It simply can't get to you. Shielding is a
deliberately defensive technique aimed at guarding your feelings, not
repressing them. It works by establishing a perimeter of protection
around you that functionally doesn't permit harm in.

Practice vulnerability. One tenet of my spiritual practice is to remain
as vulnerable as I can to everything; not to shield, the antithesis of
defense. Some people prefer my strategy, some don't. Use it if it
succeeds for you. Here's the premise (not madness) behind this: if we
solidify our bond to our inner self, we'll become centered enough not to
need to defend at all. Thus, the best protection turns out to be no
protection--a stance that initially alarmed me. It didn't seem possible
I could do hands-on energy work with someone who had cancer or
depression, for example, without absorbing their symptoms myself. But it
was. What could be more liberating than to find I could hold my own and
still remain open! Too often we're taught to equate vulnerability with
weakness. Not so. I like being vulnerable and also strong. This disarms
people. To me, the appeal of such an approach is that it's a
non-fear-based way of living in the world. It requires that,
increasingly, you harmonize with whatever you confront, let it flow
through you, then recenter again, stabilized by your own resilience.
Pace yourself. A vulnerable posture will feel safer the stronger you
get. It is a choice and a life-long practice.

Meditate. To cement your inner bond and hold your center in any
situation, I recommend a daily practice of meditation where you focus on
the spirit within. Doing so gets you into the habit of connecting with
yourself. Start with a few minutes, then gradually increase the
duration. The technique is simple: follow your breath and explore the
silence. It is not void or empty; that's the mystery. As thoughts come,
and they will, continue to refocus on your breath. Every inhalation.
Every exhalation. The spaces between thoughts are where your spirit
waits to be discovered. There is something real in there worth finding.
My spirit feels like a core of head-to-toe warmth vertically aligned
though the center of my body. Imbued in the warmth itself is an
intelligence and intuitive responsiveness to my rhythms and questions.
It speaks only truth, which resonates like a chiming in every cell.
Silently become acquainted with your spirit. You can return to it to
reinforce who you really are--not just the self you present to the
world, but that part of you that is timeless. Make room to pursue it.

Judith Orloff MD is a board certified psychiatrist, a practicing
intuitive, and author of Positive Energy: Ten Extraordinary
Prescriptions for Transforming Fatigue, Stress, and Fear Into Vibrance,
Strength, and Love (Harmony Books.) She is also author of the
bestsellers Guide to Intuitive Healing and Second Sight. She's an
assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, has a private
practice in Los Angeles, and is an international workshop leader on the
interrelationship of medicine, intuition, and spirituality. Her work has
been featured on CNN, PBS, A@E and NPR. Dr. Orloff's website is
www.drjudithorloff.com.