It’s a valid question. In an often emotionally suppressed world, managing our feelings and engaging with others is a process of trial and error; a journey that can be quite difficult. Discovering healthy ways to relate emotionally can be a significant challenge.
We’ve learned over the years that thoughts, feelings, and emotions expand beyond our limited physical forms, affecting others, and we can sometimes pick up on energies that are not our own. These once-rare subjects are now rising to the surface of daily dialogue. Growing awareness of our interconnectedness with others and our overall environment can be a challenging shift in awareness if you’re the more grounded, practical type of person. Accepting that another person’s thoughts can affect you in any way could be a bridge too far for you to bear.
Regardless of whether you’re a novice or well aware of your expansive, energetic design, you’re dancing with these laws of nature every moment, and having some sense of your own rhythm could be the difference between plodding through old stories and living your best life! There are proven practices that can help you establish a solid emotional base and sense of well-being.
Here are 3 critical questions to make sure your feelings are truly yours:
- Know Your Personal Patterns: In the midst of heightened emotions, take a deep breath. Ask yourself, does this emotional response feel familiar? Or is it inconsistent with your usual emotional patterns? Think about what's typical for you rather than any sudden, uncharacteristic emotions that pop up after interacting with a certain person, environment, or even media.
- Perceptions and Context: Examine whether the intensity or type of emotion (e.g., sudden anxiety, inexplicable sadness) is proportional to your immediate circumstances, or if your internal perception feels taken off track by external energy not your own?
- Energy Drain: Evaluate if energy levels plummet without a clear physical cause after spending time with specific individuals, situations, or in certain places. Absorption of external emotional fields could be the cause.
Diving so deeply into your emotional motivations can feel disconcerting at first, especially in times of rapid change. Yet in moments of stillness, you may find in the space between the thoughts, your personal center. That unwavering connection within that is your voice. The seemingly infinitesimal yet infinite spark of you. The opportunity within our relationships is to re-member our personal rhythm within the dance; to be self-aware and responsible for what’s ours to heal and to hold respect for the same in others.
The only ‘mastery’ needed here – one that stands the test of time – is self-mastery. Every effort made, every reading, every class, lecture, meditation, retreat, and self-reflection has brought you closer to this ultimate life degree! Each step planted within Mama Earth is a testimony to your navigating the fires of your life! And come through golden! Your conscious remembrance helps her support the unique dance she invited you here to share.
We are connected and made to ‘grow’ one another, if we choose. Beneath some of the biggest relationship challenges hide keys for true healing. The more I re-member that everything I’m feeling is mine, the more response-able I can be. Let’s remember the interconnectedness of everything, and that on the deepest of levels, we are all related.
Ultimately, I’m the only one who gets to choose my inner song and the steps I take, through my thoughts, emotions, and actions. What I bring to my relationships is a daily focus that starts with me! Navigating from my well-nurtured center supports the balance I seek, within and without.
Who is Katrina Taylor?
Meet Katrina Taylor, a recent graduate of SWIHA’s Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner program with a concentration in Spiritual Studies and End-of-Life Doula work. Katrina’s path is rooted in lived experience—emerging from a profound dark night of the soul into a grounded, heart-led life devoted to healing, integrity, and service. A lifelong intuitive, she brings decades of compassionate, gentle care into her work (including over 30 years as a beloved professional pet groomer), and is now translating that deep sensitivity into her spiritual and end-of-life practice. Katrina is in a season of rebuilding, remembering, and becoming—and if you’re drawn to soulful conversations, sacred work, and authentic connection, she’s someone you’ll want to know.
Curious to explore a path like Katrina’s? The Integrative Healing Arts Practitioner (IHAP) program at SWIHA is designed for those ready to ground their intuitive gifts, deepen spiritual practice, and create meaningful change—for themselves and others. If you’re feeling called to healing work, end-of-life support, or a heart-centered career rooted in integrity and self-discovery, IHAP offers the structure, mentorship, and inspiration to help you step fully into your purpose.
