What you surround yourself with, even what you have stored away, has an impact on you at the energetic level.  Some of the things you surround yourself with are Baggage, some are History, and some are Diamonds.  These terms reflect the relative impact the objects have on your happiness and peace of mind.

Baggage represents items that have negative energy or negative memories attached to them.  History items have neutral energy and are often items that are functional and that you picked up to fulfill a need.  Diamonds are objects that awe or inspire you by their beauty or just bring a smile and/or a happy memory.

Let’s start with the most energetically neutral items – the ones I call History.  These are the functional items that you acquired to fill a need as you go through your life.  You needed a dresser or a book case so you bought one.  It may not be the exact style you would have liked at the time but you can always replace it later with something that suits you.

On the other hand, Baggage items trigger negative memories or have some sort of emotional strings attached.  They may have great monetary value or they may be junk.

Maybe you inherited it from Aunt Harriet but you don’t like it.  You may hold onto it out of a sense of obligation or just because you feel it is too valuable to part with.

Maybe your ex-mother-in-law gave something to you, and it brings up negative thoughts of your ex-husband.  The more you revisit the negative in your life, the deeper the pathway is created in the brain until it becomes a trench that is hard to move your thoughts out of.

In addition, negative or down thoughts often lead you to subconsciously seek out things that make you feel better like eating sweets. Do you really want to revisit those negative thoughts?

Maybe you have an unfinished project that you just can’t get yourself to complete.   You need to make a decision to complete it or to let it go.  The knowledge that the project is perhaps even buried away in a closet impacts your sense of worth and happiness.

Let’s look at the Diamonds around you.  These are the items that radiate positive energy. When you see them, they thrill your heart with their beauty or craftsmanship.  They bring a smile or a happy memory.  They just feel right to have around, because they reflect your wants, needs, desires, and happy times.

We have a tradition in my house of purchasing an ornament for each family member that reflects something in their life from the past year. In this way the chore of decorating the Christmas tree becomes a pleasure as each ornament reflects a happy part of life.  The tree then becomes a joy to behold and radiates positive energy.

What I want to encourage you to do today and from now on is to remove the Baggage, the negative energy items in your surroundings and increase the Diamonds, the positive energy items.  You can donate the Baggage item, sell it or give it away secure in the knowledge that you are increasing the amount of positive energy in your life.

If you wish to bring more joy into your life and have your surroundings reflect the Source within you, then you deserve to be surrounded with more Diamonds and NO Baggage.  Spend time only with items that make you think about how wonderful each moment is.

To Price Your Collectibles
Kovels.com –Offers free price checks on many collectibles
Appraisers.org – you can get free advice from local antiques or collectibles dealers

Ginae McDonald connected with me through Facebook and Twitter.  She asked me to respond to some questions which became her blog entry.   You can check out the rest of her blog entries at http://www.rsspad.com/DailySpirit.xml

I always enjoy interviewing a fellow Empath. As each life is unique, there is so much to learn. I am so grateful to find someone willing to share. Via Twitter, I have found a wonderful lady, a talented Empath, and a wonderful person in Sherry Dmytrewycz of Healing Gateway. I know that you will enjoy spending time with her.

How do you use your empathy on a day-to-day basis?

I use my Empathy in my energy healing work to let me know where the problem areas are in the body and the emotional blockages and charges that need to be released. I have learned to distinguish when an issue in a joint is due to misalignment, inflammation, fear of moving forward, or something else.

On a day-to-day basis, I use my empathy to get a sense of which people may be energy vampires or just have a lot of negative energy in their fields. It also helps me to know when it may be time to leave or avoid an area.

In my travels, I have gone to some high-energy places in Egypt, Mexico, Peru, and places like Sedona, Arizona. My sensitivity to energies has helped me to tune into spiritual beings that may be guardians of the area. In addition, I can distinguish whether the place is good for clearing the heart chakra or another chakra. I am often led to specific spots to spend time and receive the gift of the energies in that location.

What advice would you have for someone who’s only recently realized that they are an Empath?

I would definitely recommend that an Empath know how to ground themselves to run off their stress and know how to cut their cords on a daily basis.

Elaboration on cords: We have an energetic cord to everyone that we have a relationship with everyone that we spend time with on a regular basis and people we make please for our sympathy. We have all been around someone that we can’t wait to get away from. That person is an energy sucker.

No one has a right to use your energy for their lessons and you need all of your energy to handle your own lessons in life. Therefore, it is a good idea to cut your cords every night so no one is sucking your energy while your body is being refreshed.

Ask to be covered in the blue light protection of God. Call on Archangel Michael to swing his flaming golden sword severing the cords of all those you are attached to. I visualize the sword coming down in front of my body, under my feet and up the back. Then I move it over and repeat until I have gone completely around my body.

I was initially very skeptical about this and reluctant to cut cords, especially with my children, but I found that they became more responsible within a short period of time.)

They must also know enough to ask Spirit (“If it is not mine take it away”), learn how to turn it off so that they are not intruding in the space of another and doing readings without permission, learn to ask for a shield to avoid picking up negative energies from others, and learn how to clear negative energies from your field.

Do you have an example of an instance when someone close to you started opening up (spiritually) because of being closer (emotionally or physically) to you?

Often after talking to a new, prospective client, they will comment about how much better they feel just talking to me.

A family member happened to be in the room while I was doing some healing work on another family member. They suddenly realized how much they could feel that was coming up for release in the person receiving the healing. They left the room to stop the feeling.

Some of my clients have found that their hands suddenly opened up and they began sending energy and some even began seeing images and were more aware of the shifts in their body.

Please, tell me about one of your more awesome spiritual experiences.

I have a friend who is very bubbly and excited about everything. Several years ago she talked me into taking a class, The Order of Melchizedek. When I arrived at the class and looked at the handouts, I realized that this was a class for those who were or intended to be healers.

Despite several psychics telling me that I was to be a healer, I didn’t feel like it was something for me to do. I really wanted to leave, but the teacher must have realized my fear and asked me to hand out materials to those who came in after me.

So not wanting to say no and bolt out the door, I agreed. During the class time, I did a Spiritual shift and realized that I wanted to be a healer. I said to Spirit that if I was supposed to be a healer I needed a teacher. Within less than 48 hours a flyer advertising classes arrived in my mailbox. Thus began my journey doing healing work.

From a blog post by Ginae Mc Donald  http:www.rsspad.com/DailySpirit.xml

When we are sick, we desire a quick fix, a miracle cure. While miracles do happen, for the majority of us they are not always there when we want them.
What is a body to do? How about considering some of the habitual behaviors and/or thought patterns that got you into this uncomfortable situation? If what you are thinking or doing is not serving you, then it is time for change.
You are in charge of your body, and therefore you may NOT abdicate responsibility for the resultant sad state of affairs. Since the body always follows your thoughts, the mind is the place to begin to create the health you desire.
From there it proceeds to your will power and passion to make your decision a reality through action. Some say that this information was left out of “The Secret,” but it was there. A thought without action and commitment is just a passing thought which will not manifest the good you desire.
If you don’t take into account the fact that it may have taken you a long time to develop a bad thought habit, you may expect to shift your thoughts instantly without struggle. Remember that you have a well-worn neuropathway that needs to be shifted and that doesn’t happen over night. You will be challenged and tempted often to go back on your decision to change.
However, don’t beat yourself up when a thought starts once again on that well worn- pathway of negativity. Just say: “Cancel. Clear.” This lets the Universe know that you recognize the thought as negative and do not choose to send that energy out for manifestation.
You also need to be able to call on some tools to help you. These tools can be friends to encourage you and keep you accountable, distractions to shift your thoughts to more pleasurable things or small rewards that you give yourself for sticking to your decision.
If you are determined to make changes in your life, set up a plan, set yourself a deadline, and decide on the tools that will best help you meet your goal.
Don’t forget that one of your tools should be gratitude for all that you have and all that you will receive.
In addition, an Energy Healing can assist you by removing emotional triggers, removing any negative energies from your field to help you shift your perceptions. You won’t find me saying, “Poof! You are Healed!” but you will find me supporting and facilitating your choice for a healthier life.