How to Avoid Absorbing Energy from Healing

In a comment to a previous post, the Nutty Professor asked, "Can you tell me how you avoid absorbing the energy/affliction of others when healing them? Or how to "turn off" your empathy? I am sorry if I don't use the right words but I hope you understand me."

That is an excellent question. I will answer in a way that I would have answered at the time of making that post, as my interactions with Flower and The Psychic have taught me and then with my new found understanding from my Reiki initiation.

How I'd respond from a magick point of view...

In magick there is a law of contagion. Any object that has touched another object can be used to influence the other object. I extend that to believe that any contact with another human during magick expands our soul to accept another facet of reality. This a good thing, even if that reality is warped, delusional and problematic. Though, on a fundamental mental health perspective, it can be a most troubling problem indeed. Yes, I know those are contradictions.

One of the things you do magickally to stop that sort of feedback is doing basic banishing rituals like the LBRP and the somewhat lesser known Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram (BRH) immediately before and after such work. These are very good at breaking up those astral ties. They are not so good at a physical level. By that I mean you're not going to banish a stray dog from your living room that wondered in through your doggy door.

Advice form the Psychic

Check in with yourself regularly. Ask, is this my emotion or someone else's?

Of late, I've experienced this a couple of times. The first was when Flower, the woman I do Helpful Deity work with became depressed. I became depressed too. I suppose the brain has to have a reason to explain such feelings to itself. I dredged up all sorts of regrets from my past to explain why I was depressed. Things that are legitmate life regrets but nothing in my current awareness. That was the tip off. I asked Flower if she was sad. She said yes. Her reasons were tied to the reasons my mind dredged up. I immediately understood there was bleed through. I accepted that and my mood went back to my own. Banishing would begin cutting ties with my friend and I don't' want to do that.  Magick is about expanding the size of the soul. I suppose my advice there is the more you know your self and your patterns the better protection you have.

The second time was when the Psychic had a planned night of drinking. I had this overwhelming urge to drink. So, I went to the liquor store bought a brand of booze I don't normally buy and got drunk. I never drink alone. Two tips offs that I missed.

Reiki Advice

This answer comes from my intuitive understanding of Reiki from my initiation. I do not believe it was specifically taught. 

The healing energy of Reiki is very impersonal to the practitioner. I don't 'own' the energy. It isn't mine to give. I simply create connections that allow it to flow. This is more like turning on a spigot. The lack of 'self' put into the process prevents any feedback.

As I advance in the practice of magick, I give more value to the second two responses than the first. Which is not to say that I'd even think about advising a person learning the formal system of magick taught by Golden Dawn influenced groups not to banish. This is a very important part of those systems that should not be abandoned.

I hope that answer was useful to you.