Shielding

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Shielding is a valuable tool that can and should be used by everyone, not just those with empathic gifts. Essentially, it creates a barrier of energy about you, keeping you from being affected by other people's emotions and energies. Plus it helps keep out nasties.

Shielding

Center and ground. Should you not know how to do this, PM me, and I'll send you the info. Now, visualize the energy running through your body. See it shinning, holy and pure. Now see it pouring out of your body, pushing away all negativity, leaving the air about you clean and pure. Once that is accomplished, see the energy solidify, making it into a barrier about you, allmost in the shape of an egg. There, you now have a basic shield.

Shields themselves do not stay up indefinitely, so it would be best to reinforce it at least once a day. It's not hard, just a simple repetition of the initial visulization. it may take a while at frst, but the more you do it, the faster it will become. Then, once you are confident with your shield, you can become creativer, adding attributes to it.  

[WebenBanu]

I started developing shielding techniques when I was a kid, though I didn't really know what I was doing at the time (I know we hear this all the time from the "More Pagan Than Thou" types, so my apologies- but this really is a true story^_~). It was because I was having trouble with the nightmares that I've mentioned elsewhere in the forum, and I figured, "I'm afraid of these nightmares that are in my mind, so I'll simply make a barrier in my mind and that should be perfectly suited to keep them away from me!" So whenever I woke up from a nightmare, I'd visualize a globe of energy which started in my heart and expanded as a sphere, sweeping all scary critters out of my body, then out of my bed, and out of my room. After a while I was getting pretty good at it, but then I started worrying that I was sweeping nasties into my family's rooms, so I started alternating between trying to expand the shield around the entire house, or creating a similar shield which was anchored on the others' bodies and would move around with them (this was especially useful for my cat, because she just would not stay in one place). Because I'm a little obsessive-compulsive/paranoid, I started layering the shields one on top of another- sweeping them through in series in case I missed anything on the first try, or as insurance against anything breaking through. And because I started feeling sorry for the poor corpse spirits (or whatever they were), of whom I was afraid even though they weren't really doing anything to me (and maybe they were just trying to eat or be near humans again?), I added a specification to my shield that anything that touched it (with intention to break through and do harm) would be instantly transported to a place and/or plane where they would find what they were looking for and wouldn't want to come back after me, and would also be able to live in an appropriate manner that didn't cause undue harm to anyone else. LOL!

But I don't use shields very much anymore- I get so busy that I just don't think about them. I read about a shielding technique in Sandra Ingerman's book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, where you visualize yourself within a blue egg. That particular shielding technique leaves me with a feeling of peacefulness- probably because of the blue.

I also sometimes imagine myself, when going to bed and feeling restless, back in a spot by a river near where I used to live in my hometown. It's in the same forest where I did my original dedication ceremony, actually.^_^ In this river there are some enormous rocks, and I'd visualize myself laying down into the rock- I'd actually meld inside the stone itself, so that I could kind of feel the presence of the rock but it would be more like thick air, though of course there is a solid foundation upon which I can rest, and the surface of the rock is a stone barrier all around me, but I can still hear and see the water of the river rushing around and underneath the rock. It's very soothing, peaceful, and safe. I go right to sleep. Occasionally I'll do the same thing with a very large tree, but that's generally if I want to sit down and think for a bit, because I can't really lay down inside a tree, and I just can't sleep sitting up.^_^'  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Interesting. My shield has kind of been a growing experince. Bit by bit it's gained layers, as well as a couple gifts from gratefull vegetative beings. (A tree and a houseplant xp )  

[Atma311]

Very nice and informitive thread. I, as I've said some time before, have never heard of shielding before I came to this guild. I think a few books that help with shielding techniques would be helpful as well. WebenBanu already mentioned "Sandra Ingerman's book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self," but are there any books that would be specifically about shields or that spend a great deal of time on the subject that you could suggest? I'd really appreciate it 3nodding

Again, I love this topic whee heart  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Atma311

Very nice and informitive thread. I, as I've said some time before, have never heard of shielding before I came to this guild. I think a few books that help with shielding techniques would be helpful as well. WebenBanu already mentioned "Sandra Ingerman's book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self," but are there any books that would be specifically about shields or that spend a great deal of time on the subject that you could suggest? I'd really appreciate it 3nodding

Again, I love this topic whee heart

Thanks. I konw there's one good book on it, but I can't remember the title right now. I'll get back to you on it.  

[Akwila]

some times i think its wrong to shun your gifts. i will agree that protecting your self is useful sometimes, i dont think i would shut everything off, i love my gift and i embrace it. but thanks for the tips they might be useful to me  

[WebenBanu]

Atma311

Very nice and informitive thread. I, as I've said some time before, have never heard of shielding before I came to this guild. I think a few books that help with shielding techniques would be helpful as well. WebenBanu already mentioned "Sandra Ingerman's book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self," but are there any books that would be specifically about shields or that spend a great deal of time on the subject that you could suggest? I'd really appreciate it

Ingerman's book just mentions shielding tactics in passing- she really glances over it. The book is more about finding and returning bits of our souls which fragment off from the whole due to traumatic experiences- it's a really good read, though, and I think that modern people in general would be a lot more healthy if they would recognize this phenomenon and address it. I very much recommend the book, but it won't help you much with shielding. I'll see if I can find any better books in my library, after I get home, and perhaps my room-mate can suggest some.

akwila

some times i think its wrong to shun your gifts.

It's definitely wrong to shun gifts- they're usually given out for reasons, after all. But personally, I just don't normally make a lot of enemies, and I don't tend to piss off spiritual beings either, so after my nightmares stopped happening I just didn't have much use for it anymore. There have been a few rare occasions when I have had need of protection- there was one time when the god Hka (as opposed to the concept "heka"/magic) appeared to me out of the blue one night in ritual and told me that I needed to make a protective amulet. Fortunately, He included more or less specific instructions on how it was to be made. So I did it, and then I found out that I had made a couple of enemies who were willing to employ magic against me. They told me that they had done some heka on me, but so far as I can tell nothing ever came of it. After the situation passed, the amulet broke. I keep the remnants on my altar for whatever residual effect they may have, but I stopped worrying about personal protection. I know that certain Names are looking out for me, and I also happen to live with a witch who has shown himself to be pretty powerful, who does some warding for both of us. So there's really no need for me to go wild with the protection charms. Who really cares about getting me, anyway?^_~  

[FireonYce]

My aura is a natural shield and if I choose it to be inpenitrable one. I can even block My aura from being read, I have a few empath friends that hate when I do it but I just do. Ever since I can remember I have always worn a quartz Crystal and they helped me to create a natural barrier. I am good enough now to make it where even psychic's can't get into it. I paid a psychic to tell me about my future and she said she couldn't even see me alive at the present. It was great, I told her afterwards why and she was kinda mad but Hey if the experts can't tell then I'm set.  

[Jameta]

Christo Minaverus

My aura is a natural shield and if I choose it to be inpenitrable one. I can even block My aura from being read, I have a few empath friends that hate when I do it but I just do. Ever since I can remember I have always worn a quartz Crystal and they helped me to create a natural barrier. I am good enough now to make it where even psychic's can't get into it. I paid a psychic to tell me about my future and she said she couldn't even see me alive at the present. It was great, I told her afterwards why and she was kinda mad but Hey if the experts can't tell then I'm set.

Speaking of psychics getting things off, both my mom and I have that happen naturally. Is that normal?

I swear, only one person is able to truly get me right. Then again, I believe in making my own destiny. ninja

"These hands are small, I know,
But their not yours- they are my own."  

[WebenBanu]

Hmmm... no books in my library on shielding specifically. It gets mentioned in most books on magic, but most of those don't go beyond its application in circle casting- they don't delve deeply into personal shielding, and if they do, they don't spend a lot of time there. That's probably because it's mostly a matter of practice- though it would be much more interesting to get into the theory of how it all works.^_^

I've done a quick check on Amazon and found several books on "Psychic Self Defense." There's one in particular which I remember from a metaphysical store where I used to work, but I've never read it so I don't know whether I can really recommend it. My room-mate worked at the same store, and he says that he hasn't read it either but he has skimmed through it- it seemed very basic, but it didn't raise any red flags for him. I wonder if anyone else here has read it and would have opinions- it's called Psychic Self Defense, and it's one of several by that title; this one is written by Melita Denning and Osbourne Phillips. It's a Llewellyn book, but just remember: it's not that Llewellyn can't publish anything worthwhile, it's just that they'll publish anything, so you have to pick through their offerings very carefully.^_^' Anyway, Arcane (Dr. Arcane, actually; regular old Arcane's already taken here on Gaia)- my room-mate- says that one would probably be good for a novice. For practical purposes, though, I'm sure you'd get all you really needed to get started from PMing Nihilistic Seraph.

My room-mate knows more on the subject than I do, though, because he takes a different approach to magic. We were just talking about it, actually, and I think that what he's saying makes a lot of sense. Anyway, he's recently joined Gaia and I'm trying to convince him to join this guild. *trying not to be overbearing but really hopes he'll join*  

[Jameta]

Hey, if I have a specific screen name, I can actually invite people. 3nodding

Kinda' a super-secret scouting spy, anyways. ninja  

[WebenBanu]

The screen name is "Dr. Arcane"- I'm sending him a PM, but it would be great if you would invite him too. Your link would probably be a lot easier to follow than my complicated instructions.^_^  

[Jameta]

WebenBanu

The screen name is "Dr. Arcane"- I'm sending him a PM, but it would be great if you would invite him too. Your link would probably be a lot easier to follow than my complicated instructions.^_^

On it.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Akwila, I don't really consider this shunning your gifts. It's not like shielding will cast away your empathic abilities for all time. This just lets you use them when you want, instead of being at it's mercy  

[Winter Black]

Once I learned from a friend of mine, who's a strong Empath, that I could restrict my out-of-control Empathic Powers, I was really happy. She taught me what to do, and now I'm sheilded, and my 'tendrils' of Empathic Power have to stay within the shield, except when I choose for them to be let out.
That was, only the people within the width of my shield are touched by my power. My shiled is a bubbled that conforms around my body, so really, only the people who touch me are affected. I only get the emotions of those who I allow physical contact with. ^^

I prefer summoning things, though, to creating shileds... Dragons are fun to play around with. They are good to read with, to eat with, to talk and walk with... Other things could be that fun, but only if you summon them right. Dragons are the easiest to summon, they are great.