11 Ways to Clear Energy for Empaths and Sensitive People

By Michal Spiegelman
“It’s only a movie!” my husband always reminds me. I decided
years ago to stop watching violent films and TV shows and to
carefully read every review before I commit, yet so many
movies still bring me to tears or make it hard for me to sleep.

In my first years as a social worker, I often felt depressed

because I took on my clients’ pain and anxiety. It wasn’t until I
made Reiki an essential part of my daily routine that I began to
recognize my sensitivity as a gift and to understand that I need
to protect myself in order to preserve it.

Over the years, I have noticed that many of my Reiki students

also report feeling highly sensitive to the energy of others. Just
like me, they experience other people’s pain, get easily
overstimulated, feel deeply moved by music or art, and
overreact to emotions. It took time for me to connect the dots,
but I eventually recognized that empaths and highly sensitive
people share these characteristics.

How Do You Know if You’re an Empath?

Many people are natural givers—intuitive, creative, and loving.
Deeply caring about others. Able to feel intense compassion
and empathy for other living beings. But are all empathetic
people empaths? No

There are three levels of empathy:

People who are empathetic

People who are highly sensitive to energy
Empaths
It is not always easy to identify if you are highly sensitive to
energy or a real empath, but there are differences. For
example, empaths can be introverts or extroverts, but Highly
Sensitive People (HSPs) are typically introverts. Empaths absorb
other people’s energy more easily than HSPs, and they often
internalize other people’s pain.

Whether you are a strong empath or an HSP, you should start

to develop regular practices to clear and balance your energy.
Doing so will help you to stop judging your sensitivity and allow
you to use your acute sensitivity as a gift rather than seeing it
as a curse.
11 Ways for Empaths and HSPs to Clear Energy

Wash your hands

Let’s start with the basics! Every time you cleanse your hands
with soap and warm water, you are also cleaning your energy.
Shower with salt
Keep sea salt or Epsom salt in your shower. Pour some in your
hand and mix it with your soap or shampoo. I use this practice
regularly, especially after teaching a Reiki class or spending a
day in deep conversation with clients who are dealing with
internal struggles.
Take a bath with salt and essential oils
Mix sea salt or Epsom salt with your bath water. Then add
essential oils such as lavender and sage (I love adding ylang-
ylang for a flowery smell), and enjoy a relaxing soak in the tub.
Develop an external or internal water cleansing ritual
A water cleansing ritual can balance the second energy center,
the sacral chakra.
Drink a glass of water mindfully and visualize the internal
cleansing process. When you bathe or take a swim, focus on
the cleansing and energy purifying effects of the water on
different parts of your body.
Clean your space energetically
In my Reiki classes, I teach my students to use specific Reiki
techniques to purify the energy of their physical spaces. One
simple way is to place small bowls of salt water (one cup of
water with two tablespoons of sea salt or Epsom salt) in the
corners of any room or office. Leave the bowls overnight so the
salt can absorb the old energy, and remove them the following
day. It is a great practice for daily life or for purifying a new
space.
Smudge yourself and your space
You can use any incense to smudge around yourself and your
space. (My favorite is white sage.) Simply light it, and wave it
around the area. You can also find smudging sticks online.
Ground yourself
Even if you feel comfortable connecting to spirituality and
centering yourself, it can be hard to “come back to earth.”
Creating a strong connection between your feet and the ground
and visualizing the energy moving down to the earth is a simple
way of grounding yourself.
Listen to guided meditations
Listening to guided meditations helps you clear your mind and
unplug from internal noise. My Reiki students love this guided
meditation from my library, Get Grounded: Step into your
Power.
Set boundaries
If there is someone in your life who drains you with every
interaction, set a boundary. Spend less time with him. Let her
calls go to voicemail. If he tries to dump his anger and
frustration on you in conversation, change the subject. Get
honest and tell her you understand her pain but that you must
limit your interactions in order to take care of yourself. Don’t
take responsibility for anybody’s pain.
Unplug and turn down the noise
Honor your need to detach from your environment from time
to time. Limit your use of technology, and create quiet time for
yourself. Immerse yourself in nature. No matter what, make
time for yourself.
Learn to give Reiki to yourself
Reiki offers empaths a variety of ways to clear and purify built-
up energy, including specific techniques. Simply giving Reiki to
yourself for 10 minutes every day helps you protect yourself
energetically. Every time you tap into Reiki, you create an
alignment with the universe. It might sound strange to you, but
hundreds of my students have shared with me how Reiki has
helped them to detach from other people’s negativity. In just
six hours, you can learn to give Reiki to yourself. We offer Reiki
classes in two locations, New York and Atlanta, but if you don’t
live in those areas, consider looking for a Reiki master teacher
near you.
It took me many years to finally understand how to use my
sensitivity to help others change their lives without depleting
my own energy. In order to serve as Beacons of Change, we
must take care of ourselves first.