17/09/2025
GOING INSANE….OR…UNLOCKING YOUR GIFTS?
Pursuing and developing a spiritually based belief system and lifestyle can be deeply rewarding—but it also comes with new experiences that can be challenging and even a little unnerving.
I stepped into my awakening process 34 years ago and I enthusiastically participated in many workshops and courses that activated feelings of intrigue, some of which delved into practices and belief systems that were new and challenging. My curiosity guided me and at times I had no idea what-the-heck I was getting myself into.
It was 1992 and I was doing a weekend workshop on meditation and Sunday evening was approaching. We paused the class to prepare some dinner and night soon fell. As I sat eating, I had an uncomfortable feeling come over me, like something was about to happen, but I didn’t know what. A sense of unease increased and this created feelings of anxiety which was unusual for me.
I glanced up at a window and for an instant I thought I saw a face peering into the room, but once I stared to see who it was, the face vanished. I thought to myself how strange that was, but continued to eat. Next minute, a presence at the glass entry doors made me look up from my meal again. For a flash of a moment I saw a group of people outside, standing as if waiting to be let in, yet there was nobody there. This increased my anxiety and as fear started to creep in I asked myself, “Am I going crazy?“
The more I observed the glass windows and doors, the more I sensed the presence of many people outside, yet there was nobody to see. I looked around the room for our teacher and made a bee line to her side. I nervously asked, “What’s going on?” She raised an eyebrow and curiously inquired, “Why do you ask?”
I explained that I was sensing and seeing multiple presences outside the building and it was frightening me. Her face relaxed into a smile and she said, “You are tuning into the next session already. Everyone is about to meet their Spirit Guides. They are waiting to be called in.”
You could have blown me over. Until that moment I had never “seen” or sensed anything like it. I was experiencing the affects of the awakening process. From opening myself to new possibilities and potentials, practising connection with benevolent Spirits, and learning to quiet my mind and tune in, my sensitivities were expanding and becoming attuned to other frequencies/energies that existed beyond normal perception.
The Spirit Guide meditation that followed this experience and the following months of practise, taught me to receive connection in unfamiliar ways and to trust how the messages were expressed to me; whether it is through a vision, sound, feeling, knowingness, fragrance or taste. As my senses heightened, I experienced more of what was going on around me that I was previously oblivious to.
I psychically saw more fleeting glances of what existed in the other realms, and I heard whispers, voices and tones that my human ears could never detect. My skin became an alert system for presences- positive or negative, and my inner gut feelings showed me truths that my mind could not discern.
It took me several years to learn how to interpret and discern what I was sensing. Many times I felt frightened, confused, stupid, unwell, angry, heavy, light, sad or happy, and didn’t understand why. However this was all a part of the process to developing conscious awareness and connecting to the authentic divine self. It also taught empathy for those born already highly sensitive and empathic. It’s a mine field out there!
For me, the next step was to learn how to integrate my sensitivities into my everyday life and work. They were very useful when doing intuitive readings or energy healings, but difficult when being amongst the public and feeling the energies people carry. Shopping centres became places to avoid.
People who open spiritually and natural-born empaths become sensitive to the energy of- other people, places, items, large scale suffering from an event/tragedy, the human collective in general, planetary influences, the state of our earth, or universal/cosmic energies. There is nothing that cannot be felt as we are connected to EVERYTHING, and Empaths feel it ALL.
Opening spiritually can also trigger the surfacing of old traumas, limiting beliefs, or shadow material that must be healed, which may make an individual overly distressed, reactive or defensive. Healing these traumas is a must.
Overall, one may feel energetically overwhelmed and without proper grounding, spiritual practices can lead to a variety of issues that may interfere with health, relationships, daily functioning or coping with life in general.
Being sensitive is not a weakness—it’s a divine gift. But it needs gentle nurturing, development and protection.
If your empathic system or sensitivities are being a burden rather than a gift you may like to:
-Talk to others who have been through the same journey and learn from them.
-Give yourself permission to be an observer and not take on what you feel.
-Put healthy boundaries in place that protect your frequency and field of well being.
-Access a healer whose modality aligns with what you need.
Allowing and accepting your sensitivities may be the start of an amazing journey and know that you have a valuable gift to share with the world.
Never forget the truth of who you are…..YOU ARE DIVINE!
May the Source be with You!
